by Sasha Vivelo

     Reiki is a simple, easy method of hands-on energy healing. We all have a natural ability to heal using energy, or ki. Learning to do Reiki will strengthen your inborn healing touch.

     I started teaching Reiki more than 10 years ago. Since then, this healing method has gone from obscurity to great popularity. If you have been drawn to learn about Reiki at this time, you are ready to open to your full healing gifts.

     Reiki is healing energy that flows to us from the universal source of all that is. Anyone can receive and benefit from Reiki. It aids in physical, emotional and spiritual healing. Receiving Reiki takes no effort for the person being healed and it is simple and easy for the practitioner too.

     The word Reiki consists of two Japanese characters, each with a meaning that ties in with what Reiki means to us on our healing journeys. The syllable "rei" is pronounced ray. It stands for the universal or divine source, the place from which all life, all energy and all love flow. The syllable "ki" is pronounced kee and means energy in its purest form, which is similar to the translations of the words "prana" in Hindu and "chi" in Chinese. Ki is the energy that gives us life and breath. It is what we are at the deepest level.

     Anyone can heal using ki. All it takes is a loving intent. Becoming a Reiki practitioner strengthens your ability to channel healing energy by allowing you to become especially open and connected to Reiki's frequency of healing.

     Once you become connected to the Reiki source and declare your intent to act as a healer, Reiki energy can flow through you whenever you place your hands on someone with the intent to heal. As the healer, you are filled with loving energy just as a vase fills with water. Only when your energetic body is filled with energy does the energy overflow and transfer from your hands to the recipient, just as water overflows from a vase. Reiki protects the giver from being adversely affected by any "stuck" energy or disease the receiver may be experiencing.

     Following are two exercises you can try even if you are a complete novice.

Accepting Healing
     Sit in a chair as you normally would or cross-legged, whatever feels most comfortable to you. Center yourself by taking a few deep, slow, relaxing breaths. Hold your hands together in prayer position. After a few moments, you will begin to feel warmth between your palms. Place your hands over the center of your body, in the region of your belly button.

     Feel your hands rise and fall with your breath. Imagine loving energy pouring down on you from the universe, entering your body through the top of your head and flowing down through your shoulders, through your arms and out through the palms of your hands. Let the center of your body receive this energy. Just take a few moments to accept and enjoy this positive flow. Your belly may feel as though a pleasant warmth is spreading through it.

     Next, think of one area in your life where you would like to experience healing. It could be something physical, from a major issue to something as simple as a sore muscle or a head cold. Or it could be something emotional, from ingrained patterns you want to change to a minor irritation. Imagine this flow of energy from your hands going to the area you want to heal. If it is physical, feel the warmth radiating directly to the spot of discomfort. If it is emotional, see the energy surrounding and penetrating the issue in your mind's eye.

     Spend the next few minutes letting that positive energy soak into your center and into the area you want to heal. No effort is needed. There's no need to struggle for a particular outcome. Just trust that the energy of the universe will move toward your highest good. Enjoy the warmth and love that flow through you.

     When you are ready, slowly and gently remove your hands from your center. Open your eyes and feel yourself grounded in the present moment.

Visualizing Your Role as a Healer
     Set aside about 15 minutes when you won't be disturbed. Have a pen and paper or a tape recorder handy. Close your eyes and take at least 10 long, slow breaths that go all the way down into your belly. Focus on the feelings of your chest rising and falling, your stomach expanding and contracting, and air flowing in and out of your nostrils. If any extraneous thoughts come up, just let them float through your mind without judgment and then return your attention to your breath.

     When you feel calm and peaceful, silently tell yourself that you are now going to learn more about what it means for you to be a healer. Ask to receive any thoughts, images, impressions or feelings that will help you understand how healing fits into your life. Give yourself several minutes just to sit, breathe and receive whatever might come to you.

     Let yourself be open and don't censor the thoughts that arise. If you find that an image or thought seems irrelevant or strange, don't dismiss it. Just make note of it and continue to receive.

     When you feel ready, open your eyes. Give silent thanks for the messages you've received. Write down or record anything you would like to note for future reference.

     May your journey be gentle and full of wonder.


Sasha Vivelo is the author of non-fiction books REIKI TO GO and MEDITATION MAMA, YOUR GUIDE TO A POSITIVE PREGNANCY and psychic fiction novel THROUGH A STRANGER'S EYES, all published by The Lotus Circle and WINGS OF ESCAPE, published by Cerridwen Press. To learn more about her, visit her website at shavivelo.googlepages.com/home.78