When there are dramatic world events, such as the pandemic, it is natural to want to send healing to the world. When we are touched by such events, empathising with those who are suffering, it is natural to want to do something.
However, I recall hearing Phyllis Furumoto advising against sending Reiki to world events. Instead she suggested we examine what it is in ourselves that is touched by this particular event and send Reiki to that. I resonate with this suggestion.
I too am touched by things I hear on the news. I would like to be able to help, but given that I do not know the people involved how can I know whether my help would be welcomed or my assessment of the situation accurate? Am I trying to fix something that isn’t broken due to my own filters and assumptions about how I would feel in the same situation? Does this event resonate with something in myself that needs healing?
When my thoughts caught up in an external drama, I can miss things that are closer to hand, like when I was out walking with a dog recently and, preoccupied with some world drama, failed to notice that the dog was having difficulty walking due to the thistles and nettles that were pricking her paws! In a similar way we can miss signs and clues about our own health and that of those around us, while worrying about the problems of someone we don’t even know.
I understand the desire to change the world for the better, to heal what we see as wrong or the suffering we perceive. Working towards a better world is a wonderful thing to do, but to achieve transformation many teachers have counselled that we start with ourselves. Gandhi for example advised “Be the change you want to see in the world” and as Michael Jackson suggests in his song ‘Man in the Mirror’: “If you want to make the world a better place; Take a look at yourself and then make that change”. One of the core teachings of Reiki is that we start with self-healing, which prepares us for healing others.
By becoming a calmer, happier person through our Reiki practice we make a difference in the world. Once we are healthy and resilient enough, we can be more effective in creating change. This will be most effective when we focus on something concrete in our immediate sphere, where the help is welcomed and needed.
A great example of this is a new project – Reiki Medic-Care - that is sending Reiki directly to individual doctors, nurses and paramedics who are suffering stress and burnout through being on the front line in the current circumstances. If you want to send Reiki to help the pandemic, rather than sending to ‘the NHS’ in a general way, this project offers a way to give concrete help - more practitioners are needed to meet the anticipated requests.
There is no issue about permission because the staff request treatment themselves. Practitioners know who they are sending to and have a time requested by the recipient at which to send. This exciting project uses Reiki to support people who are in need, improving the well-being of NHS staff. This will no doubt also benefit the patients they treat whose doctors, nurses and paramedics will be less overwhelmed, stressed and exhausted.
So we can still benefit the wider world by focusing first on our own well-being, then that of our immediate community or another community we have personal connection with.
