I have learned that pauses are necessary for my well being. For example last month 3 lovely Reiki friends died, all kind generous people, none of whom were old. Reiki has taught me that when faced with loss like
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| Gwen, one of my lovely friends who died recently |
There is a well known saying "Keep calm and carry on" which is a typically English approach to challenging situations. Perhaps this is why so many of us ignore things that are difficult in our lives and, rather than give ourselves time to allow the feelings, 'carry on regardless'. However what Reiki teaches me is that those feelings don't disappear because I ignore them. They are still there and if I don't deal with them may become overwhelming at an inappropriate moment or cause imbalance that results in physical illness.
I know that when I used to go down with the flu it was usually because there was something I was ignoring. Keeping something out of mind is stressful, which depletes the immune system and makes me more vulnerable to illness. The resulting flu is nature's way of giving me an enforced pause!
What I try to do these days is to avoid this sort of collapse by making space for pauses in my life, dealing with the causes of difficult feelings if there's something that needs to change, or simply allowing things to be as they are if it isn't. Pauses are also important for the integration of something new I'm learning. When I learn a new song I know it will work it's way into my memory after I stop singing it.
Reiki practice offers several ways of having a pause. For those initiated into Reiki the self treatment can be a daily pause: at the start of the day it can be a useful way of not rushing headlong into everything that I need to do. Instead I pause, reflect and tune in to my body. During this time I can become aware of intuitions about what nutritional needs my body has. A self treatment during the working day is a good way to pause and become calm before carrying on! As Leonardo De Vinci said: "Every now and then go away and have a little relaxation. For when you come back to your work your judgement will be surer."
Receiving a Reiki treatment from someone else (whether or not you are initiated into Reiki) is also a wonderful way to pause for a while from a busy life. Like the Japanese Tea Ceremony - where "participants withdraw from the stresses of daily life to the peaceful setting of a special tea room" - a Reiki treatment offers time out where the recipient can experience a state of peaceful relaxation. In the gentle hands of a good practitioner, you are held in a time of non-doing, a pause from responsibilities, a time to see what is really going on and to let go of what is not helpful.
As the Easter holiday approaches I wish you time for a pause, for reflection and for re-connection with yourself and those closest to you.
