Precepts and Reiki

In the Reiki Precepts, we say ‘just for today’ (or this moment) we will be grateful. Being grateful is being mindful of the moment, and appreciating the kindness of the moment. We have so much to be grateful for, we have food, a roof over our head (not everyone of course), clothes to keep us warm, and a lovely country to live in. We are free and pretty much do as we please.

What is gratitude?

Gratitude is a temporary feeling, one that pops up during our daily lives and night lives. It is an emotion and a very strong one, we understand also that gratitude is an emotion, that makes us feel happy and content for a little while, it is a spontaneous feeling which will dissolve very quickly. To feel gratitude on any level will improve our well-being.

Gratitude walks with Reiki hand in hand and must be included in our practice, making us consciously aware of life around us and being grateful for nature and all it holds. This generates positivity both within and externally; we don’t need to press a switch we just need to ‘feel’ the emotion, which will then reach out to other people.

Gratitude makes us smile and our hearts sing, the feeling is comforting and liberating at the same time.

We all feel at some point the value of these feelings, lightening our very being, counting our blessings.

Our Reiki practice is gratitude, life for us all is gratitude, nothing within the system of Reiki doubts these wise words. Maybe gratitude has been called by a different name over the centuries, but it means the same and has survived.

Showing gratitude for something that someone has done for us is love, is kindness, is compassion and the love we have within us expands to all eternity. We smile which in itself is helping our facial muscles to work properly and our smile will bring joy to others which is gratitude!

What is worry and anger?

Worry is inconclusive. It means nothing. In Japan, it’s called 'Hibiki', which translates to something that is not real, for example, an echo, sound, even a shadow. When we worry, we cause much harm to our bodies and mind. Worry will not solve anything, it will distract us from our daily life, with no result other than being unwell and obsessive with the outcome. It will be much better for us to say the mantra, "For this moment, I will not worry."

I often speak to friends who are going out of their minds, worrying about a family member, or something else. I try to say that we are not responsible for their problem or their lives, our own life is important, we must take care of ourselves, but sometimes it becomes too much and on goes the worry switch again. Solving what exactly?

We can debate the issue of worry until the end of time but, at the end of the day, it means exactly nothing.

Anger is another Hibiki, no one makes us angry - we do that all by ourselves. When we say “You are making me angry”, what does that mean? The anger is within us festering, it needs a key to let it go. However, letting it go can lead to more anger, such as wars and violence; anger is the cause of all these atrocities. If we can walk away and let the situation calm down, we are achieving the exact meaning of the precept. For this moment I will not anger.

I will write an article about the remaining precepts and what they mean another time. If you would like to know more, please get in touch.