What are the Reiki Principles? How do I use them?
The Reiki Principles were gifted to Dr. Usui by Spirit at the time Reiki was rediscovered.
These 5 Reiki Principles can be used to enhance your life, even if you have never had any Reiki training.
For Reiki practitioners, using them in meditation every day will deepen your practice and expand your experience of Reiki.
In this post, we’ll break down each of these 5 principles, and take a look at how you can use them to improve your life.
The 5 Reiki Principles
What do they mean?
Let’s dive in:
Just for today, I will not worry.
Worry can intrude on your life in many ways. We all deal with it from time to time.
Worry is generated by a focus on the future, instead of staying in the present. Reiki can help you remain in the now, which is the only place where you can actually do anything anyway.
The worry response to life’s changes can be from fear or a negative mindset. However, you can choose to see these things through a positive lens of opportunity. An opportunity to learn something new that will help you live a more fulfilled life. After all, we’re all shaped by our experiences and the knowledge we gain from them.
This principle helps you adjust to a positive approach and mindset. Focus on what there is to be learned or gained instead of allowing yourself to be swept into worry.
Of course, when you’re “in the moment,” it can be difficult (or impossible) to see the blessing or lesson that any event can carry within it. Even those things we think of as bad, have valuable blessings connected to them.
No matter the cause of your worry, you can be sure that it never solves the problem, creates solutions, or makes you feel any better about whatever is happening.
By meditating on this Reiki Principle, you can help to ground yourself in the present, allowing you to remain in the only place where you can take action, instead of worrying about the future.
Just for today, I will not be angry.
Anger is a low-vibe energy. Dealing with anger is tricky. Most of us haven’t been taught effective ways to manage these feelings. We’re just told “to be nice,” right?
So we’ll suppress it instead, meaning it gets embedded in our bodies. Then we get triggered repeatedly, and often the anger escalates, becoming more deeply embedded. Frequently, this cycle continues until we “blow up.” We’re all familiar with those moments.
This principle wants you to breathe, step back, and let the trigger just pass right by. Like a train passing through a station. You don’t have to get on. You can choose to let it go by.
Meditation on this principle can help you choose your emotions, identify if there is something besides anger you’re feeling (maybe another emotion such as hurt or resentment, for example), and raise your vibration, making it a lot easier to allow this feeling to pass right on by.
If you do respond in anger, meditate on why, to see if there’s a lesson in it. What does it mean for your growth?
Just for today, I will do my work honestly.
This principle ties to you being you. You doing you. Being who you were meant to be. Doing what lights you up, what creates a fire in your belly!
Following your path. Staying away from the “shoulds”. These are all the things you were told you should do by well-meaning parents, friends, peers, teachers and others who may have tried to influence your choices.
This means not choosing from fear, but from inner wisdom. Your dreams are your guidance on what your greatest impact can be here. Do what you’re here to do, not what others have told you to do.
Your work here is important. Don’t ignore it.
Meditate on what this means in your life.
- Are you following your dreams?
- Where are you not true to yourself?
- Where have you allowed others to influence you?
- How can you bring more joy and your unique authenticity to your work?
Just for today, I will give thanks for my many blessings.
Gratitude is a powerful practice.
By being grateful for all that you have, you draw to you even more to be grateful for.
Even those things that we all tend to label as negative or bad are things to be grateful for. These experiences carry blessings too. For example, the job you didn’t get that you really wanted—it wasn’t meant for you. Something better was coming instead.
It’s in these spaces, that we find things to be grateful for in all things.
Starting a gratitude practice is simple. Grab a notebook you have on hand, and each day list out the things that you’re grateful for. It can be tough to get started, but once you begin, your practice will naturally evolve.
When I began my own gratitude practice, life was feeling pretty heavy to me.
On the days that I struggled to find something to be grateful for, I used this: “My exhalations feed the plants.”
There’s always, always something to be grateful for.
Just for today, I will be kind to my neighbor and every living thing.
“Your vibe attracts your tribe.” You attract the vibe you put out there. You can choose positivity, kindness, peace, flow, and joy.
Sit with what you put out there. Meditate on what you are choosing. Bring this into your awareness and notice what shows up for you. From this place of awareness, you can choose kindness, today and every day.
Using the Reiki Principles in Your Life
Meditating on these 5 Reiki principles are the key to unlocking the meaning they hold for you. There is no one meaning, no one way to use them. Experiment with them. Change the wording if you want to. Write them down every day or say them out loud. Speak them into a mirror or visualize what each one means to you. Post them in a place where you can see them every day ( like on the bathroom mirror or refrigerator door) to keep them top of mind.
You can use the Reiki Principles as follows:
- Affirmations: say them one or more times each day.
- Journal prompts: write out how each of these statements feels to you. What does it mean? What comes up for you?
- Meditations: select one statement per day to sit with. It may be helpful to record your thoughts afterwards.
- Morning Intentions: Use these as a way to shape your day. Use these statements to set your intentions for the day.
Enjoy the Reiki Principles
Remember, the Reiki Principles are meant to help you on your personal journey. Like with Reiki itself, there’s no dogma or belief structure associated with these principles.
They are a gift to you from Spirit. Enjoy them!
Want to read more about Reiki? You might like these posts:
Tips for Choosing a Reiki Master
Using Reiki to Create Balance in Body, Mind & Spirit
Blessed be.
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Karen
