As my year of celebrating learning Reiki in 1989 comes to a
close I’ve been thinking about why I wanted to celebrate this anniversary and
why we celebrate things in general. As
the time of year when there are several celebrations (Hanukah, Solstice,
Christmas...) So why are celebrations important?
All over the world, in every culture, there are celebrations
of some kind during the year. We
celebrate birthdays, anniversaries of marriages, the turning of the seasons and
one of the recent American festivals gave me a clue as to what it’s all about:
Thanksgiving. I realised that
celebrations are a way to express gratitude – for the people in our lives, for
the blessing of a marriage, for the gift of a spiritual teacher or for our abundance.
One of the Reiki Principles is “Show Gratitude for Every
Living Thing” – and I note that the suggestion is to show gratitude, not just be
grateful. For me this means to do something
in the physical world that demonstrates my gratitude. A celebration or festival is one way to do
this.
Celebrating my sister’s 50th birthday recently with
special gifts and messages was my way of showing my gratitude for her life and our
relationship. Having a younger sister
has not always been easy, so following this Reiki Principle is healing for our
relationship: it challenges me to look past the ego-perspective of wanting to
be the centre of the world (I was an only child until she was born!), to a
wider perspective where I can appreciate the value of having a sister. She offers me an opportunity to explore the
important qualities of love, support and family relationships. She has also provided the wonderful gift of
two handsome and clever nephews!
The celebrations pre-occupying many people in the coming
weeks are Christmas and New Year. As we
gather with family - often the only time of the year we spend a lot of time
with them - this can be a stressful time.
Perhaps remembering that celebrations are about gratitude and keeping
the Reiki Principle of showing gratitude in mind could help. It helps to lift the mind out of the dramas
of wants and disappointments, to a level of appreciation for each other. Our gifts to each other are a way of
honouring the other person and showing our gratitude for them.
So thank you to:
- all of you who’ve helped me celebrate this year
- to my Reiki Master Martha Sylvester, for initiating me into Reiki and supporting me as a Reiki Master
- to the many people who have chosen to receive Reiki treatments through me: I’m honoured to have walked part of your healing journey with you
- to all the hundreds of people who have learned Reiki with me: your gift has been to support me in living a Reiki life
- to the Reiki community: a source of support and enrichment
Thank you to Reiki for opening me to love, helping me find
my husband and for continuing to nurture our relationship; for the healing that
has resulted in continual improvement of my health and well being; for the
deepening of my spiritual life, bringing greater happiness and peace.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Wishing you a wonderful celebration this Hanukah
/Solstice/Christmas/New Year!
