The Reiki Ideals
Once you begin to experience the Reiki healing energies, you may find yourself becoming more open to growth and change, as your body, mind, and spirit seek to participate in the healing process. You many begin to see that you have certain strong underlying thoughts or beliefs that are holding you back from achieving health and well-being, prosperity, or other personal goals. You may begin to be aware of certain behaviors, habits, or lifestyles that are inhibiting your healing. You may come to see that there are areas in your work or relationships that you would like to improve. You may find people coming into your life who are able to help you to "think things through", and even to help you to effect the changes that you would like to see occur. You may unexpectedly come upon a book, newspaper article, or TV show that seems to speak to you personally, addressing an issue that you have been struggling with.
The Reiki healing energies do not force us to change in any way. But they do open the doors for us...or maybe they turn on the lights for us...to be able to see how we might be blocking or undermining the healing energies and keeping ourselves "stuck" in unhealthy thoughts, beliefs, actions, habits, addictions, relationships, circumstances, or jobs.The Reiki Ideals offer us an avenue for expressing our openness to these changes. They contain excellent advice on how to achieve good health and well-being in all areas of our lives. They are not meant to judge us or condemn our actions, past or present, but rather to help us to see that there may be a better way of living our lives, a way that brings healing and blessing not only to ourselves, but to every living being. There is nothing in them that is at odds with any religion, as far as I can tell. I would urge you to begin to recite them yourself, twice a day, and see where they lead you.
"...Just for Today..."
The present moment is our point of power! Yesterday, we may have acted out of anger, hurt others, been dishonest. We may have been or done anything that it is possible to do or be as physical beings. Anything that could possibly happen to a human being may have happened to us. But that was yesterday, and yesterday does not have to dictate to us who we are or what we can do today. I envision yesterday as a heavy cape that I am wearing. It weighs me down, restricts me.
But I can shut my eyes, take a deep breath, and as I exhale, I untie that cloak and let it fall from my shoulders. It falls in a mound on the floor, and I can just...step away from it. I'm free of it! I'm free to be who I want to be and to do what I want to do. Just for today!
"Do Not Anger"
Anger is a human emotion...it comes unbidden to us when we feel we have been hurt or wronged. We feel its dark flush run through us without our even thinking about it. Is it possible or even desirable to not feel anger? Probably not! All of our emotions, including anger, are teaching us something. The problem lies in allowing anger to control us. We may strike out at others...physically or verbally...while under its influence. We could become so frightened of our anger that we deny or suppress it to the point of
making our physical bodies ill. But just for today, we could acknowledge our anger, and sit with it for a few moments. Ask ourselves what the anger means...what is the lesson to be learned? Then, just let it go. You could ask your angels to take it away, to be transformed for the highest good. I personally call upon The Violet Flame of Forgiveness and Transmutation daily. What is forgiven can no longer make us angry. I believe it is as important to forgive ourselves as it is to forgive others. I can't be angry with myself and expect my body to be healed at the same time!
"Do Not Worry"
This is a big one...really, really big. I guess that about the first thing we do when we feel something is wrong is to worry about it. It can almost seem as though we should worry. As if...if we don't worry about something/someone...then we really don't care enough. Please, please try...just for today...to not worry. Have you ever heard of a case where worry solved even one little problem? Aside from being a monumental waste of time, worry is actually counter-productive. Scores of books have been written over the past 20 years or more about the law of attraction. It is real. Just remember, "You get what you concentrate upon. There is no other main rule."(Seth, The Nature of Personal Reality) Don't allow your thoughts to dwell on pain, lack, illness, or any other negative condition. Instead, practice replacing
those thoughts...just for today...with thoughts of wholeness, wellness, harmony, and abundance. Whatever condition you are praying for, or seeking a healing for, envision that condition as already accomplished or healed, and give thanks. Try to envision it with all the joy you will feel when it becomes reality.
"Be Filled With Gratitude"
There is one thing of which you can be very sure, and that is this: All things are working together for our greatest good. Occasionally we may be able to look back at something and see how this is so; for instance, we may have lost our job and felt devastated but then a new job opportunity opened up for us that was so much better than the job we had lost. Unfortunately, though, we are often unable to see...in this life...just how things really are working for our highest good. For this reason, we must simply cultivate faith and trust that Divine Love and Divine Intelligence wants only our highest good. Legions of angels and other heavenly hosts work unendingly to ensure that our highest good is indeed accomplished, according to God's will. At some point we just need to stop asking to know the reason why something has shown up in our lives, and just give thanks that it did. Just for today...try choosing just one thing in your life that you think has gone "wrong"--for example, a relationship that has ended, an illness that you are experiencing, job difficulties, etc.--and pray this little prayer of gratitude:
You might also try reciting an affirmation several times a day, like one of these: "Everything is happening just as it should", "I have faith that I am loved and supported in all things", or "Let go and let God".
If you are still struggling with the idea of expressing gratitude for everything in your life, I would like to suggest to you a beautiful book that helped me tremendously in accepting many painful issues both in my past and present. Dr. Michael Newton's Destiny of Souls is a truly eye-opening account of our between-lives experiences in the spirit world, as described by his patients during hypnotherapy. If you can open yourself to the ideas presented in this book (as well as his first book, Journey of Souls) you will never again be able to see your life as a series of random events, but rather as the miraculous unfolding of Divine Plan.
"Devote Yourself to Your Work"
What is your work? If you have come to this website seeking healing for yourself or a loved one, then that is your work. Remember that all healing is self-healing. You can take a pill that will alleviate your symptoms, but that will never be enough for healing. The only true healing comes about when the body, mind, and spirit all come into harmony, when there are no blockages or attachments to inhibit the flow of the life force energy. That is when we can experience true health, well-being, peace, and joy. What is the work that your spirit wishes you to do? I cannot say, but I know that it will be revealed to you as you open yourself to the Reiki healing energies...you will experience a thought, a nudging, a knowing as to what you need to do. It may be that you need to let go of unresolved anger or fear; it may be that you need to change unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as eating too much "junk food" or not exercising; it may be that you need to separate yourself from a relationship that is keeping you stuck or causing you pain; it may also be that you need to begin to devote some time to prayer or meditation each day. But just because healing is your "work" right now does not mean that it should be a dull, forced drudgery. On the contrary, it should be a joyful endeavor, filling you with a sense of your own power and mastery, and bringing feelings of self-love and self-worth into your life. An excellent little book by Louse L. Hay called You Can Heal Your Life could be very helpful to you on your journey of self-healing, and I highly recommend it.
"Be Kind to People"
Sometimes this ideal is seen as "Be kind to all living beings" or "Be kind to your neighbors" or "Be kind to yourself and to all beings", depending on the Teacher or the translation. Somewhere along the line, I came up with this as the fifth ideal that I use each day: "I will show love to my neighbor, to myself, to every living being, and to the Lord God." Maybe the hardest part of this ideal is showing love to ourselves...or even feeling love for ourselves. We receive so much criticism day after day from our bosses, our spouses, our parents, and so many others. We receive messages over the TV and radio in the form of advertisements that tell us we need to have shinier hair, thinner bodies, fewer wrinkles, less acne. We may begin to feel that we somehow deserve to be in pain, lonely, experiencing illness, lacking abundance...because we are...well, "not good enough"! If you cannot look into a mirror and, looking deep into your own eyes, tell yourself, "I love you", then you are going to have a difficult time bringing healing into your life. And you will find it very difficult indeed to love other people.
We are all--all together--the one Son of God. Each of us is perfect, guiltless, and loved unconditionally by God. It seems that it is easier to recognize that God loves us as his precious child, than it is for us to love ourselves! According to the Gospels, self-love and love for others is not just recommended, it is commanded. When Jesus was asked which, out of all the commandments, was the most important one, he answered:
"The most important one...is this:...'The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord our God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and with all your strength'. The second one is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself'. There is no commandment greater than these."
Reiki healing complements traditional medicine. Everyone is able to benefit from it. However, I am not a doctor, nor a health care professional of any kind. Reiki healing should not be construed as the practice of medicine. Although it is my sincere hope and prayer that you will receive the healing that you desire, no specific outcomes can be predicted or guaranteed. If you are experiencing physical or psychological problems, you should seek medical attention. If you are already under the care of a physician, you should continue to follow your treatment plan as prescribed.
