The Five Principles of Reiki

Reiki is an spiritual energy healing method that can benefit both the practioner and receiver of the healing in all levels – physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

Physically it provides deep relaxation, relieves pain, enhances the effects and reduces side effects of medications, reduces the healing time, promotes body’s own healing system, increases vitality and energy levels, and promotes body detox.

Emotionally it helps with the release of stuck or buried emotions, gives the pure sense of love, and promotes emotional growth. 

Mentally it provides clarity, enhances memory, helps with concentration, and promotes insights or inspiration. 

Spiritually it removes energy blocks and helps to grow in consciousness.

As a Reiki practitioner you are able to heal yourself and others, treat animals and plants, energize your food and other objects, heal the planet, solve situations, relax and meditate, and cleanse objects and places.

Mikao Usui, founder of Reiki, recommended repeating these principles “for the improvement of mind and body” every morning and evening.

Just for today. These principles are how every practitioner aspires to live every day. Taking one day at a time. It means to remind us to stay in the present day and moment.

Do not worry. Worrying is mostly thinking about all the negative or bad things that could happen and could go wrong.What if…’s that have not yet happened and most like will not as we imagine. It keeps our thoughts in the future instead of the present. Of course, we can plan for the future, however, we gain nothing from worrying about what’s coming. It is more useful to take action towards what we do want and embrace life as it unfolds before us daily.

Be grateful. Being grateful is about acknowledging and celebrating what we have accomplished this far. It does not mean that we won’t reach new heights. Being grateful means that we are integrating the new skills, knowledge, and accomplishments we have achieved. Every time we allow for this integration, we are becoming a new person, more competent and confident in ourselves and what we do.

Earn your living honestly. Meeting our basic life needs requires work. We need money to pay bills. We need to plant before harvesting. Work with honesty and integrity. Put your heart in what you do. Find the joy of working and work knowing that what you do has meaning and purpose. You are making someone’s life better because of what you do.

Be kind to every living thing. Treat others – people, plants, animals -, with reverance. There is divinity within them, as there is within you. Be understanding, non-judgmental, and respectful. Learn to agree to disagree, we all don’t need to think or feel the same way, or believe the same things. If you do your best to unerstand someone else’s point of view, you will gain knowledge, understanding, and wisdom that otherwise, you would never have.

These principles are at the core of the teachings of Reiki, a mantra meant to guide each practitioner to become their best self. As the Beatle’s song says “Imagine…”, imagine yourself following these principles and the impact you will have leading by example in your family, community, and work.