Reiki is a philosophy, healing practice and a way of living. We can look at it and approach it from so many powerful perspectives.

Today let’s view Reiki from a perspective of personal growth.

Reiki can be thought of as an expression of Love and compassion in action.

Usui Sensei himself described Reiki as a practice of improvement of body and mind.

Usui Sensei (the founder of Reiki system), throughout his life, observed great healing events with people who received treatments in the Reiki system. He also observed that with some people after receiving some healing treatments,  some problems were still manifesting or ill-health was reappearing at a later date in a differing form. Usui sensei realised that the root cause of the imbalance or build-up of tension within a person’s body was the result of a lifetime of habitual poor thinking, internal conflict, or holding onto feelings, such as anger, worry, resentment, guilt or ill will towards anyone else, and something more than passively receiving a therapy treatment was needed.

To address this issue and provide a framework to the system Usui sensei complimented the original Usui Reiki system with guiding principles to live by on a daily basis, which is infused with emotions of love, compassion, selflessness, co-operation, and respect. These are called the ‘Gokai’.

Just for today):

I will not be angry (I will let go of anger)

I will not worry (I will let go of worry)

I will be grateful (I will be grateful for my many blessings)

I will do my work honestly

I will be kind to every living thing

So there is more to Reiki than the actual Reiki treatments themselves.

Just to consider the spirit of the above principles as a filter for your thoughts and actions and to incorporate this approach into your everyday life, can be a very positive step in itself.

The expression of the personal growth side of Reiki simply means living in a more selfless way, which may be actively helping others or contributing to society, living a more peaceful and accepting life towards ourselves and others, orientation to living in co-operation, and working through personal challenges, life lessons, developing as a person.

For those not wishing to study and learn Reiki, much personal growth can still be experienced. Many find the biggest influence to personal growth is your inner voice, gut instincts, or intuition, with your own intuition having a louder voice after receiving Reiki treatments.

Reiki can act, almost like clearing away the clutter, creating some stillness, allowing you to think with clarity. Many find Reiki also seems to help give people the courage to do whatever they need to do to move forward in their life or realign to the right path for them at that time.

The applications of Reiki to personal growth in the modern world are many. For a start, it can provide some ‘breathing space’ to think. Reiki can help you release feelings of anger, fear, guilt, hurt, regret or pain, for example. It can encourage feelings of kindness (to both yourself and others), encourage compassion, co-operation, love, forgiveness, and peace. It can serve to support you in your life, as a compass to your intentions, actions, and direction in life as well as fortify your resolve.

Still think of this as steps towards a way of being and helping others, rather than the personal development as an endpoint itself.

And just for today…do not worry, do not be angry, be grateful, do your work honestly and be kind to others.