5 Principles / Reiki Precepts

Reiki for me is so much fore than “I give people Reiki”. 

It’s hard to describe without sounding like I’m about to launch into some far-out hippy marketing selling cliché but here goes…It really, truly and honestly was a calling.  To this day I don’t really understand and actually I don’t need to understand.  I woke up one day and heard myself saying out loud “I want to learn Reiki”, which is quite peculiar since I may or many not have only once had Reiki 15 years ago but I’m not sure

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Modern Kanjii (Japanese Caligraphy) for

ReiKei - Universal Life-force energy

Rei - ‘sacred’, ‘soul’, ‘spirit’, ‘wisdom and knowledge or all the Universe’

Ki - Life-force energy which flows through every living thin and is present in inanimate objects

Reiki has become part of my daily life which I never expected. 

I wanted to heal myself and now I help other people to aid their body in healing themselves.  I give myself Reiki and every day my aim is to follow the 5 Principles of Reiki. 

As it’s a restful time of year right now, I thought I would share these Principles with you and over the next 5 days, see if you can expand on them too!  So, what are they and who came up with them?

One of the first things Dr Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki, would intrust his students to learn was the Reiki Precepts (5 Principles).  Students would sit twice a day with their hands clasped in Gassho (hands together in prayer in front of the heart) and repeat the following:

The secret art of inviting happiness

The miraculous medicine of all diseases

Just for today, do not anger

Do not worry and be filled with gratitude

Devote yourself to your work and be kind to people

Every morning and evening join your hands in prayer

Pray these words in your heart

And chant these words with your mouth.

Usui Reiki treatment for the improvement of body and mind.

The founder, Usui Mikao

This may seem quite a bit to try to remember to the undisciplined mind. There are may versions written that are all based on this and I will share with you the version I use daily:

Just for today, I will  not anger

Just for today, I will not worry

Just for today, I will count my many blessings

Just for today, I will do my work honestly

Just for today, be kind to all living things.

I repeat this to myself, sometimes out loud, three times.  As I do I imagine situations I may face in the day that these 5 Principles may relate to.  It gives me a sense of calm.  When I repeat them at the end of the day, I use it as a time of reflection of my day and I think about how I have used/called on any of these principles.  In time it becomes quite natural and second nature and t has changed my actions, reactions and interactions.

Take a moment to think about someone cutting you up when you are driving “I will not anger” and “I will be kind to all living things” immediately spring to mind.  How about having to go to a meeting you are anxious about or a dentist appointment “I will not worry”.  Anger and worry are both negative emotions that won’t gain you anything.   Being kind will.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a work in progress and I still do get angry from time to time but on a whole I do tend to catch myself and question why.

So, starting today I will write down a Precept/Principle and give you an idea of the meaning and my example from my day and post it on Facebook. I will invite you to add your example too! As the days progress I will add each Precept to this blog until it’s complete.

 I hope you will join with me. 

Day 1, Principle 1

Just for today I will not anger

What does this mean.  Well, that’s a very interesting question isn’t it.  What makes us angry?  This varies from day to day doesn’t it.  It depends on so many things.  It is sometimes getting stuck behind the school bus.  My anger isn’t at the driver, even though I may direct my grrrr that way. My anger is at me for not leaving early enough.  If I had put away those dishes last night and not this morning, I wouldn’t have made myself late and got stuck behind the bus.

This week I’m not commuting and I can’t think of an anger moment to share, not even an annoyance at my husband.  In fact, most of the time these days I catch myself before I flair up and calm myself.  The best I can do is getting hacked off because I can’t find my Bluetooth headphones for running.  Instead of getting angry I shrugged and told myself how amazing it is going to be to run and listen to the birds singing rather than Aerosmith! So, what has angered you today?

Day 2, Principle 2

Just for today I will not worry

There is absolutely no point in worrying about anything that has happened in the past. It’s happened, you can’t change it. There is equally no point worrying about the future because it has not happened and may not. So much can change and worrying isn’t going to make it go away, if anything worry could potentially make it happen because your negative energy is almost manifesting the event. If you are a worrier like me, it’s very hard to be told by a ‘non-worrier’ to not worry. I wish it was that simple. It takes more than those few words to change a lifetime of habit and reprogramme the way we think and approach life. I struggle with this and have break through days more often than not, which is a win in my book and I am a work in progress. (I can thoroughly recommend Laura Culley Hypnotherapy if you are looking to make changes). However, for me, reciting these 5 Principles has helped.

Today I will share with you my wobble. I had a moment thinking about the next Psychic Circle and if I do a meditation whether it’s going to be good enough, because there are people who come to Circle who do this professionally. My thoughts included: I’m an imposter. What do they think I’m doing? I’m not good enough. And so it goes on. You know what, I have had this same feeling most months. I speak with Barbara Hennessy at Beacon Tarot, whom I run Circle with and, guess what? Circle always comes together, everyone enjoys the evening and come back for another month.

My worry is not necessary. I will not worry should be wrapped up in I will not doubt myself. As soon as I let these thoughts in it’s hard to crush them. I just have to remember the wonderful feeling I have when we all come together for Circle in love and friendship. I have nothing to fear. We look after each other, encourage each other.

What have you worried about today? Did you manage to turn it around?

Day 3, Principle 3

It's New Year's Eve and we have reached Day 3 , Principle 3 of the 5 Reiki Principles I repeat daily. How are you getting on? Have any made you stop and think so far?

Here's today's for you - Just for today I will count my many blessings

Even on your worst day ever there is always a blessing to count so this is a fairly straight forward one but may not feel the same for everyone and particularly on New Year’s Eve when we tend to reflect back on the year that has passed which may have been painful and difficult at times. It’s hard sometimes to count blessings when you are in a low place or you turn on the news and it’s rammed with devastation and destruction. Me for today, well I count my friends as my blessings. Wherever I am in the country or indeed the world, I know I can count on them…and incidentally have done on numerous occasions (you know who you are and when you have rescued me). So that’s my blessing I wish to share with you, the blessings on friendship that I give and I receive. It’s an unconditional love and I never take it for granted.

I understand that not everyone has a close network of friends or perhaps have health issues or are feeling very low right now for whatever the reason so finding a blessing may be tricky. Here’s an extra special freebie blessing I will also share. A wonderful blessing I count most days is being visited by a female blackbird in the mornings. She sits on the wall outside the kitchen window for a few moments and then disappears. It gives me a sense of breathing space almost. Everything is forgotten in those split seconds we share together.

I hope you are all able to find one blessing x

New Year's Day and we are on Day 4, Principle 4. I hope you are keeping going with me.

Just for today I will do my work honestly

Ok, so this one could easily be interpreted as don’t walk off with a pen from your office because you need one at home. How about if you’re at home doing chores, actually move all the furniture out of the way to do a thorough job – don’t cheat to save time. If you have a customer facing job, give 100% of your attention on that person for those moments they are with you, so basically stop your mind wandering off to your plans for the evening.

A deeper thought to this may be to be honest to yourself with your work. If you are unhappy with your job are you being honest with yourself? Are you fulfilling your needs? We spend so much time in the workplace, so don’t we owe it to ourselves to find work which gives us satisfaction in some way, rather than every day saying “I hate my job” but still doing it? Is that being honest? Definitely an interesting thought and not necessarily easy to change.

I will give you mine for today. I wish to stay focused on the research and writing I would like to achieve today in an amount of time that is realistic and brings a balance with being on holiday and spending time with family and friends and achieving my goals. How about you?

Day 5, Principle 5

I really hope you have kept with this, read the accompanying blog on my website and hopefully it's made you think when you have been faced with events during your days. I've enjoyed sharing and here is my last one.

Just for today I will be kind to all living things

All living things! Being kind to your fellow man isn’t always that easy. Let’s face it we all have annoying colleagues, neighbours or acquaintances. Be kind to them. Stop and wonder what kind of day they may have had. Perhaps you are the first and only person they have spoken to today and that’s why they won’t stop talking about seemingly unimportant things. Perhaps a kind word from you will make them inwardly smile for the first time all week.

I was driving to work recently and saw a guy sleeping in the bus shelter. I pulled over and asked if he would like my packed lunch I’d just made. He gladly took it and we spent 5 minutes just chatting with him. It didn’t matter what he looked like (or smelt like) or the situation that brought him to sleep in that bus shelter. I may have been the only kind voice he would hear that day or week.

However, as I said this is all living things for me and my example for today is flies! It doesn’t matter how annoying they are (same goes for mosquitoes), I just can’t kill them. They buzz and land and annoy and I do waft the air near them but I simply won’t kill them. I have in the past but they are living creatures so I open the window instead and set them free. This change is definitely a direct influence of Reiki and the 5 Principles. So how have you been kind today? Please share however trivial you may think it is, I’d love to know.

#justfortoday