Thursday, November 09, 2006


Five Reiki Principles

The secret art of inviting happiness
The miraculous medicine of all diseases
Just for today, do not anger
Do not worry and be filled with gratitude
Devote yourself to your work. Be kind to people.
Every morning and evening, join your hands in prayer.
Pray these words to your heart
and chant these words with your mouth
Usui Reiki Treatment for the improvement of body and mind

Dr Mikao Usui-The founder of the Reiki system of alternate healing.


To maximize the benefits of Reiki and ensure that Reiki practitioners live life responsibly and joyfully, Dr, Usui formulated the five Reiki principles.
They have been simplified into the present form.

v JUST FOR TODAY I WILL LIVE IN THE ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE.
v JUST FOR TODAY I WILL NOT ANGER.
v JUST FOR TODAY I WILL NOT WORRY.
v JUST FOR TODAY I WILL LIVE LIFE HONESTLY.
v JUST FOR TODAY I WILL SHOW LOVE AND RESPECT FOR EVERY LIVING BEING.

While it is true that Reiki is a healing energy it is a fact that healing is faster and more effective when we focus our attention on issues in ourselves that are causing imbalance in our lives. It is easy to leave all the work to the healing system and keep living in the mindless way that we always do, expecting the energy to do all the work. While healing takes place there are several challenges that come up and claim our attention. These have to be dealt with and cleared off before each aspect of ourselves is healed. And it all makes so much more sense and is so deeply satisfying when we scrutinize ourselves and work with Reiki in the healing. We begin to understand ourselves so much better. It brings about a compassion towards ourselves that is so necessary for deep and lasting healing to take place. It is when we take responsibility for our thoughts , emotions and actions that we gain control of our lives. We also become much better channels for the healing energy to flow through.
It is to ensure that all beings take mindful responsibility for themselves and to ensure a good flow of Reiki that Dr Usui formulated the Five Reiki Principles, which are now an essential part of the Reiki system.
Principles and guidelines are a part of many holistic healing systems. Maharshi Pathanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga system emphasizes a code of conduct for all yogis.
They are the first ‘limb’ or ‘anga’ of the eight limbed or ‘Ashtanga’ Yoga. Referred to as ‘Yama’ and ‘Niyama’ they are similar to the Usui Principles.

While it seems a little ridiculous to ask mature adults to follow what seems like lesson one in a grade two moral science class there is more to it than meets the eye. For one, often, all it takes to turn our lives around are a few little tweaks and adjustments. For another, though the principles seem familiar enough they are invariably forgotten and fall somewhere by the wayside by the time we reach a stage where we really need them. In today’s world, where people are turning to self help books and life strategists to make some sense of it all, Dr Usui’s simple guidelines are almost all that is really necessary to get the sanity back into our lives.
Attitude is what makes the difference between a successful person and a not so successful one. And the success that matters is the one which enables us to live in a state of harmony and equanimity no matter what the external circumstances.
You would have heard it repeated ad nauseam that happiness is a state of mind and let me reconfirm it for you. It is! Lasting joy comes from within and has nothing to do with what you have or what you achieve.

Though they may seem simple enough it only requires a little thought to realize that it is not so easy to incorporate these guidelines in your life. We might make up our minds not to lose our tempers but in the first quarter of the day there might be as many as five incidents which push us over the edge. But a conscious effort will ensure that we watch ourselves and the knowledge that we harm ourselves more than anything else will ensure more care. Anger does a lot of damage to the energy body and weakens it. As does worry. One way to stop worrying is to have faith, in God or the Universe. To know that there is no punishing entity out there waiting to make things difficult for us. All the troubles we face are natural consequences of our own actions and we are helped, invariably, by the Grace that is ever present, to overcome.

The attitude of gratitude assures us that by being aware and grateful of all our blessings and of the learning opportunities provided by the challenges in our lives, we ensure more abundance for ourselves. The principle of the universe being that you get more of what you are. So by living in the attitude of gratitude we allow the flow of positive energy into our lives.

Living life honestly is good sense and good ‘karma’. It not only means being ‘honest’ but also that one is being conscientious about doing our best in whatever role we are playing and whatever duties we need to perform. Anything less than that would be ‘dishonest’.

Since we believe that all creation is composed of the same energy with structural and vibrational differences it is only natural that we extend love and respect to all living beings. It is an extension of the Karuna we apply to ourselves. Again, not always easy! It is often difficult to remember to extend love and respect to all creatures. The temptation, very often, is to do the exact opposite! But again we can progress in this effectively by being watchful and conscious of our reactions.

All this is made easier when we have help in the form of healing systems like Reiki and with a meditation process that we use regularly. More than anything it is the desire to evolve and co-create our reality that ensures success at every stage.




Excerpt from Dr. Usui’s manuscript –

“There is a story in Buddhism about a peasant who pleased his Lord and inherited a great castle. The peasant had lived before in a one-room hut. The peasant moved into the castle. When the other Lords in the area came to visit him, they found him, his possessions in the entry Hall. They asked him why and he said that was all his family needed. To his amazement, they explained that here were so many rooms filled with treasures and objects of beauty. Simply because he had not experienced them did not mean they did not exist or that they would hold terrors for him. They showed him the means to open the shoji screens and pass from one room to another. He was amazed and filled with joy at what he saw was his. Of course most of us are that man living in our single room and not knowing the wonders that await us in the other rooms of our castle.”










2 comments:

YOGA IN EVERYTHING said...

Hi for some reason woke at 2 am in the night, unable to sleep and wandered around the house, which seems to have lost its aura of contentment since the fire. Perhaps that is only my imagination. And wondered what was wrong, and why I was feeling so disturbed these days. So for some reason, visited your site about after thinging a lot of pyshic self-defence (in Pranic healing) and read your five reiki prinicples and the simple suggestions you have put out, for Reiki for intentions etc) -- am feeling soothed by the five principles because these are (except for dishonesty bit) pretty difficult to follow:) and if you keep your mind on even one, of gratitude, life seems a roll:)

Bindu said...

That's great Shameem. Remember my Distant Reiki offer? Let me know if you would like me to do it. Sometimes I feel the space needs revitalising and detoxification just like us! :)