Below is a blog post from the International House of Reiki. It briefly touches on the five Reiki precepts and how through applying them it can assist one to live a more healthy and balanced life.
Anger is generally considered a negative mind state that affects our whole being, mind, body and spirit. A thick poisonous cloud, that may overwhelm us very quickly, or sometimes more insidiously, anger distorts our thoughts and leads us to be unable to judge situations rationally and openly. There is a lack of equilibrium in anger, and roles of victim or perpetrator are easily formed by an angry mind. Anger closes the heart, and alienates us not only from others but also from the better part of ourselves. As well as effecting the mind, anger has a negative effect on the body, it is impossible to feel relaxed and balanced when angry. Anger can thankfully be fleeting, often a few days after an argument it’s impossible to see what you were so worked up about, but the harm done to yourself and others lingers longer.
Like anger, worry also clouds our clear thinking, and is depleting mentally and physically. Worry will often cause a sort of paralysis, it is a stagnant, constricted state, where there is a lack of ability to make decisions in a balanced way. Worry, and it’s close relative fear, destroy our confidence in our own abilities, close down the ability to see other possibilities, and drains our inner strength. Worrying takes us away from life as it’s happening right now, worry is focussed on the past or the future, and saps our ability to life fully right now. Worry and fear erode resilience, and resilience, is essential in living life more joyfully.
Humility is a quality that can be hard to find in our modern society. To be humble is to be in a state of openness, of fluidity, to not be a self appointed authority, to have room to question ourselves, and to grow. Humility is a state of exploration; without set views, and concrete ideas about ourselves, we can be more creative in how we live. Arrogance, closes down possibility and growth.
To live honestly is to see clearly your own delusions, and be open and truthful in your dealings with yourself and others. Self delusion, and deluding others, taints our relationships and closes us down. Honesty, used with kindness, is essential in creating close relationships with others and seeing our own difficult mind states more clearly.
Compassion for oneself and others, is the scaffolding that supports all the other precepts in Usui Mikao’s teachings. If one can be truly compassionate to oneself, and to others, it seems hard to imagine how they could be angry, worried, arrogant, and dishonest. It is often found when practicing Reiki that people realize they haven’t been true to themselves, and their own needs, when they do something that doesn’t feel right for them, there are negative repercussions not only for themselves, but also for others. To be compassionate is to be in a state of kindness and openness, to be able to empathise with others and treat them with dignity. Compassion draws us together, it unifies, and opens us up the beauty of others, and ourselves.
The Reiki precepts support balance in life by giving us guidelines to live by. By aspiring to live by the precepts you may feel you have a bit of a toolkit to work with. If you can keep in mind the precepts and live by them, just for today, then you may find you create more an open, unanimous mind, a healthier body, and a happier more connected life
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link the the international house of reiki blog: http://www.ihreiki.com/blog/
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