Reiki and Mindfulness

I met one of my students when she came into the clinic in a stressed state, asking for a mindfulness course: I suggested she learned Reiki!

I've noticed that mindfulness has become very fashionable recently.  For me Reiki is a mindfulness practice.  Mindfulness is defined as "the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one's thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis"

When I give Reiki, whether it is to myself or someone else, I automatically begin to pay more

What many Reiki practitioners have also noticed is that simply by doing a Reiki treatment we enter a state of mind that is like meditation.  It's one of the reasons so many people enjoy giving Reiki treatments I think - it's such an effortless way to reach a deliciously peaceful state of being. Worries and cares ebb away, it's a state of simply Be-ing in the Now.  The person receiving Reiki often experiences this letting go of past and future too, allowing relaxation of the mind and body.  Whether it's simply because we are being 'mindful' of our hands which brings us to this state, or whether something more is happening it's difficult to say, but the end result is clear.

A treatment can be given in a distracted and non-mindful state, but the best treatments are those when I, as practitioner, am fully present with the person I'm treating - mentally as well as physically.  This is also true of teaching and the opportunity to be present and aware as people learn Reiki for the first time is a real joy in my life!  It's so wonderful to see the changes that happen as people take this practice into their lives.

The Reiki principles also encourage mindfulness.  In order to not worry or be angry, as they suggest, I need to be aware if I am worried or angry - in other words: mindful of my emotional state.  In order to honour my parents I need to be aware of my thoughts and actions towards them.   To do my work honestly I feel that I need to be my authentic self, avoiding self deception and being conscious of how the ego may wish to trick me!

The last Reiki principle is "Show Gratitude to every living thing" - surely the clearest reminder to be consciously aware of all the beings who surround us, without judging them.  You can't judgmental about something and at the same time be grateful for it I find.

So whether it is through daily self treatment or receiving treatment from someone else, through treatment of other people or living with the Reiki Principles: Reiki practice brings your attention in a heightened and non-judgmental way to your body and mind.  This offer a way to have a heightened awareness and experience of life.  As many mindfulness practitioners of different paths have found, this way of being can increase happiness and physical well being.  And Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki does this with elegant simplicity!
attention to what my hands feel like - in other words I have a heightened awareness of my experience of touch and other physical sensations.  As the treatment continues there are often other sensations in my own body that call my attention.  As I spend several minutes in each position, I'm practicing giving non-judgmental attention to those sensations.

Reiki Energy, Reiki Way

The word 'Reiki' is often translated as 'universal life energy'.  However the word 'Reiki' has also come to refer not only to this energy, but also to the way or system of practicing. 

All Reiki ways of practice begin with the founder of this healing art: Mikao Usui.  He offered Reiki healing to beggars in Kyoto, but discovered that some of them became sick again.  This led to one of the first understandings about the Reiki way: that the healing of the mind, emotions and spirit are important for lasting healing.  So Usui developed the Reiki principles, to remind us to pay attention to our non-physical aspects.  These principles have also become part of the Reiki way. 

An essential part of the Reiki way Usui developed subsequently was the initiations (or attunements) by which the connection to the Reiki energy and way can be given by one person to another. 

The next person in my lineage (line of teachers) is Chujiro Hayashi who developed a sequence of hand positions that offer a comprehensive treatment.  His successor Hawayo Takata brought this teaching out of Japan, creating another aspect of the Reiki way: that it is available to anyone who wants to learn.  She gave us her interpretation (rather than translation) of Usui's meaning and intention behind the Reiki Principles.

After Takata's death, the Reiki way evolved further: some chose to maintain unaltered the system she had taught, others made changes such as re- translating the Reiki Principles.  One thing that remains common to most Reiki systems, however, is an understanding that Reiki practice is guided by spiritual principles.

In all Reiki ways people's hands are used to apply the energy of Reiki to the recipient (unless the practitioner has no hands in which case the feet can be used).  Frequently, including the Reiki system as Takata taught it, the healing is delivered through touch - although it can also be given with hands off the body for particular circumstances.   In other Reiki systems the treatment is given without touching the body.

There is no right or wrong Reiki system: each one has a particular quality.  It seems that Reiki wants to connect with as many of us as possible, so is available in a variety of flavours that can meet the wide range of people's attitudes and beliefs!  My personal taste is for simple Reiki practice, honouring tradition (like a Sunday Roast!).  Others may like their Reiki flavour to have added spice, such as the Indian chakra system, angels or crystals.  If it were not for the appeal of different Reiki systems, Reiki might be ignored by people who can benefit from it.

The Reiki way common to most (if not all) Reiki systems is the intention to live healthier lives through natural healing.  People who come together to share Reiki often notice a feeling of connection that goes beyond our differences.  Perhaps this is because we are caring people, wanting to live better lives, to help others and to see more healing in the world.

So the word Reiki refers not only to the energy but also the way that it's practiced.  When you are deciding who to receive a treatment from or learn Reiki with it's important to find the right flavour for you: a way you feel inspired by, so that Reiki (the energy) can support you in living a long happy and healthy life!  

Preparation

As the New Year begins many people think about the year ahead: a time of preparation for what is to come.

I was once a Brownie with the motto "Be Prepared" but didn't learn this lesson in my early life!  I frequently found myself rushing because I hadn't prepared.  Last year I heard a comment about the importance of preparation from Ben Haggard, a wise teacher in the Reiki community.  It resonated with me, so I began to pay more attention to how I prepare in life.

I realised that what causes me to rush out of the door or arrive late is that I'm often   This, I realised, is a cause of unhealthy stress, so I began to make timely preparations.
preparing at the last minute: for example going to a Reiki Share and only getting the blankets and pillows just before I'm due to drive away!

Last year I also had a lot of preparation for my new Practitioner course.  Most of the 10 sessions I was teaching for the first time, so I had to ensure I had plenty of time to do the research and prepare myself, including self treatment or sending Reiki to the session.

My daily self treatment is a way of preparing for each day.  It also supports my health, ensuring I'm prepared for serving my clients and students, especially when they are finding things difficult.  Due to Reiki self treatment preparation I know my immune system is in good shape, so if a client calls to say they have a cold I don't need to put them off, but can give them the treatment they need.

Regular Reiki treatments also help build mental resilience, in preparation for life's more difficult challenges.  Everyone experiences shocks and unexpected happenings that can be distressing - such as my car's radiator blowing up on the way to a Reiki Share in November!  On that occasion I found that although I was scared I had the resilience to deal with the situation without further stress.  This was a small challenge and I know of many people who have found that Reiki preparation has helped them in the face of much bigger challenges, such as a major health diagnosis or loss of a loved one.

In Usui Shikui Ryoho Reiki the way we teach also encourages preparation:

the time of the course, over 4 part days, ensures the student is fully prepared for each initiation.  I also know from many years of teaching that students sometimes take years to be ready to learn Reiki, a time of preparation that I respect.  The suggested time gap between 1st degree and 2nd degree is also a time of preparation for the student, ensuring they have had time to practice and get to know how Reiki feels before taking the next step.  The same is true as people set out on the road to Reiki Mastery, a preparation that may take years.

So like the gardeners who are using this quiet time of the year to prepare the land for the growing season ahead, I am taking some quiet time to prepare for the coming year.  I am planing more teaching to assist you in your growth on your Reiki journey.  I don't mind waiting for  you to join me because I know that preparation can take time.

Peace at Christmas

Christmas is a time when many people in the world pray for peace.  With all the violence happening in the world, this can seem like a prayer that can never be answered.  And yet...

A comment Caroline Myss made some years ago resonated with me: "The gods work in divine paradox: what you think is a small choice is always a big one, what you think is a big one is always a small one".  She went on to illustrate this with the way Jesus came into the world: not in a palace, or with a fanfare, but in a humble stable, among the animals without even a proper bed.  

This particular comment resonates with me because I have seen the truth of it in my Reiki

practice.  Treatments and initiations, given in silence and mostly in stillness, can look as if nothing is happening.  However I've seen amazing transformation as a result of some-one's simple choice to receive Reiki.  In the stillness and calm insights arise, understanding deepens, change and healing takes place.  Peace of mind is a very commonly reported outcome of Reiki treatments, but there are no clever tricks or great effort that bring this about: just the simple fact of one human being acting as a connection for another human being with the greater whole.

Making a choice to become more peaceful does make a difference to other people.  The recent attacks in Paris and elsewhere invite anger, hatred and violence in response.  There are often situations in our own lives that are the same and Christmas can often be a time when conflicts arise.  To react with anger or resentment only continues the disharmony and pushes peace and happiness away.  To respond in a different way may seem like a small choice and can be difficult, but can bring about a transformation that improves the situation for everyone.  When I encounter someone in my life who is angry and unkind towards me  I have a choice: fight back or forgive and move on.  The message of the great teacher Jesus was that we should do just this.  

The Reiki Principles encourage us to live in peace: not worrying (letting go of fear), not being in a state of anger (letting go of hurt feelings), honouring our elders (those we often want to dismiss), being honest in how we live our lives and being grateful for all the blessings we receive.  

You may say how can this make a difference to terrorists?  How can I change their minds to see that the violence they create is bad for humanity?  I think the only way to change the world to make it a more peaceful place is to follow Gandhi's advice: "Be the change you want to see".   I know there is only person whose mind and actions I can change: mine.  I also know that when I feel calm and peaceful it affects other people.  I would rather make that small choice and change what I can than worry about what I cannot alter.  It reminds me of the Chinese saying: "It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness". 

May you be a candle and shine your light, no matter what.  A small choice that can have big consequences! 

Wishing you Peace at Christmas and for the year ahead.  

What small choices are you making? 

Do you want to be a Reiki master?

Each November I reflect on being a Reiki master, because this was the month I was initiated.  I was invited to become a Reiki master by my master Martha Sylvester after just a couple of years as an enthusiastic Reiki practitioner - I had also given some talks

Kate and Martha just after Kate's initiation as a master in 1991

and organised Reiki classes for Martha.  When I gave treatments I saw that people need Reiki every day in their lives for real healing to take place and had wondered about becoming a Reiki master.  So when Martha asked if I wanted to be a Reiki master I said yes.

After a few years as a master I began to wonder about when I would initiate a master myself.  I had some students who were enthusiastic and had organised classes. At this time I met Phyllis Furumoto, lineage bearer of Usui Shiki Ryoho, who was beginning to define this Reiki system.  She recommended that a master should wait 3 years before initiating another master, so I waited.  Then just as I came up to 3 years she changed this recommendation to 5 years, then 7 years.  I must admit I heaved a sigh of relief each time: I didn't feel ready to train someone as a master. 

A few years later the guidelines were changed to 10 years. This guideline hasn't changed and as my 10th Reiki master birthday came and went I now see that by this time I was wise enough to know that I was still not ready!

This November is my 24th Reiki master birthday and in recent months I have been differently about taking on  a master candidate.  I feel I understand what being a Reiki master means enough to begin assisting someone else on this path.  A master candidate is a person who works with a master to become the master they already have the potential to be, over a period of time which may be several years.   The relationship between the master and the initiating master has also been referred to as a 'spiritual marriage' - a relationship that lasts a lifetime.

When I heard Phyllis recently say: "Initiation is not what makes a master, it's just the recognition of the master energy in the student" this touched a deep chord in me.  Becoming an Usui Shiki Ryoho master is therefore a very different choice from those who choose the more rapid (and cheaper) options now available.  Other Reiki systems seem to see becoming a master as being like switching on a switch: one moment you are 'just' a 2nd degree student then through the initiation (or more commonly called 'attunement') you become an instant Reiki master.  However in my experience Reiki doesn't really work like that!

In Usui Shiki Ryoho we recognise that Reiki is the teacher, so my role as a master in preparing a master candidate is to guide and provide opportunities for them to learn from Reiki.  Being a Reiki master is not only about teaching Reiki classes, it is also about bringing Reiki into the centre of your life.  In receiving the fee (which may seem absurdly high) I am acting on behalf of Reiki to assist that potential master to show their commitment.  The fee is sometimes seen as a block, but in reality it is an opportunity to surrender to what Reiki is asking of them, even if it seems to be the impossible!

So now, after all these years of experience and a deepening understanding of what it means to be a master and my role as initiating master, I know that I'm ready to take on a master candidate

Would you like to be a Reiki master?  Then let's begin the journey together....

Gratitude to a tick?

Tick, image courtesy of http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/

While on holiday in the Hebrides in a few years ago I discovered a large tick on my neck.  After getting some help to remove it, I gave the area of the bite Reiki as much as I could for the rest of the day.  I had none of the warning symptoms of a rash or feverishness, but I did wonder whether I might have caught Lymes Disease!

Over the next months I continued to wonder about this, especially when I experienced lack of energy and aches in my muscles and joints.  Eventually I went online and found a self diagnosis questionnaire, which told me that my symptoms were possibly caused by Lymes disease.  So as the Reiki Principles suggest not worrying, I decided to ask my doctor for a blood test to find out.

She was happy to oblige and suggested a range of other blood tests to check other possible causes for my tiredness.  Happily the test for Lymes disease was negative.  However my blood sugar levels seemed a bit high, so a fasting blood test was arranged.   As soon as this concern was raised I began to think that sugar could indeed be the problem, so immediately began to change my diet (having already cut out dairy and gluten).  My husband had bought me a book "Fat Around the Middle" by Marilyn Glenville which I now started to read with more interest!

The evening before my blood test I was giving a talk about Reiki.  I had to fast after a certain time, but thought drinking the J2O I was offered by my hosts would be OK.  I then managed to starve until after the blood test.  What I hadn't realised was how much sugar there was in that drink - not just fruit sugar but added sugar.  This ignorance was typical of what got me into trouble!

The result of that test was that my blood glucose levels were indicative of type 2 diabetes.  It was a shock and initially I did not want to believe it - I told myself that I was only borderline and if I could just change my diet for a while and loose a bit of weight I would be a non-diabetic again.  Again the Reiki Principle of not worrying came in very helpful!

A discussion with the diabetes nurse a few weeks later dispelled my illusions.  However I was determined to manage the condition without drugs.  I found the diet and advice in Dr Glenville's book very helpful and also bought another book that had just been published about reversing type 2 diabetes.

3 months later I went back for a further blood test to check on my progress.  I'd already managed to loose some weight and knew from self testing that things were improving.  However the nurse was delighted with my progress in such a short time.  My initial HbA1c result had been 66, the target was 48 and the result this time was 49.  My latest result, 17 months after initial diagnosis was 40 which is below the level indicative of diabetes!  I've managed this entirely with diet exercise and Reiki.

So the Reiki principle 'show gratitude to every living thing' applies to that tick for me: without it's bite I would not have gone for the blood tests that showed up my diabetes just in time!  Thank you tick!


I plan to share more about how I have achieved this in my new blog:

healingdiabetesnaurally.blogspot.com

When is a good time to receive Reiki treatment?

One of the things I discuss with my students is what time of day is the best time to do self Reiki treatment.  I have found for myself that it's a great way to start the day.  I'm not a morning

Reiki self treatment: a great way to start the day

person - or at least I used not to be.  Now that I start my day with a Reiki self treatment before I get up, I find I'm able to get up more easily!  Treating myself while I'm are still in bed helps to set the tone for the day: I begin in a calm and centred space instead of leaping out of bed into the maelstrom of the day unprepared and flustered!

However some people find that another time of day is better for them: to unwind after work or at the end of the day to help them sleep.  Several of my Reiki students who had sleep problems before learning Reiki  found self treatment very helpful.  It's great being able to give yourself Reiki if you are wakeful in the middle of the night.  Instead of lying there worrying about not being asleep you can relax and heal and many people find they fall asleep without trying.  In fact most of the students who do their Reiki treatment when they go to bed at the end of the day never finish the sequence of hand positions because they fall asleep after just a few positions!

The most important thing, I tell my students, is that you practice self treatment at some time during the day.

There's also the question of when is a good time to recieve a Reiki treatment from someone else.  Often people come for Reiki when there's a crisis of some kind in their life, whether it's health related or emotional.  Certainly I first recieved Reiki after the sudden death of my father and found it a very good time to receive it.  It brought great comfort and peace of mind.  So when there's an acute problem is a good time to receive Reiki.

However I continued to receive Reiki after the initial crisis had passed.   When you have a chronic problem that you want to change is another good time to receive Reiki.  Many people are very stoical and put up with things for a long time. However it's also possible that if you don't ignore it, you and Reiki can change what you are suffering with.  It can't necesarily cure a health problem, but can bring comfort, peace and a sense of acceptance that relieves the suffering. 

I'm often asked how often to receive treatment too.  Mrs Takata (who brought us Reiki from Japan) would treat people daily.  Few Reiki practitioners offer this these days, but certainly when I've received Reiki treatments daily for a period of days it has  been wonderful and often transformative.  Most people receive treatment weekly, fortnightly or monthly, which is fine.  What Takata also taught is that "a little Reiki is alway s better than none", so no matter what the frequency (or infrequency) of receiving Reiki it is beneficial. 

So in my experience any time is a good time to receive Reiki: whether it's you're daily practice or something that you receive occasionally.  The important thing is to receive Reiki sometimes!