Last night when I went to check on my eight-year-old daughter one last time before she went to sleep, I decided to give her Reiki while guiding her in a Chakra clearing meditation. As I finished up, she said, “That was nice. Why did you do that?” I was a bit taken aback. “Because that’s what I do,” I told her, “It’s my job. I do it for other people all the time, why shouldn’t I do it for my own children?” We used to do this every night, but the children had tired of the routine and it just sort of faded away. I had not realized it had been so long since I had treated her in this way. My son began asking for Reiki and a meditation every night before bed again a couple of weeks ago, but she had not seemed interested. She fell asleep quickly, slept well through the night, and woke up ready for a good day.
I try not to push my practices and beliefs on my children. Sometimes they are enthusiastic about their own Reiki practice, enjoy listening to guided meditations, and are eager to learn more spiritual and self-care practices they can experiment with. Sometimes, they just lose interest and do not feel like making Reiki a part of their daily life. They know I am always there to offer Reiki if they need or want it, and I thought that was good enough, however this exchange made me realize it must not be.
I took some time to think about it and realized I have treated children professionally more in the last couple of months than I had my own children. I took for granted they would ask if they wanted me to work with them or that they would practice on their own as long as I set an example and they were regularly exposed to my personal practice. I have been so busy managing my business, supervising virtual schooling, and running the household, that I had not realized the poor condition of my family’s energetic health. Not only my children need healing, but my life partner, as well. Now I know, I have to reprioritize and find a better way.
Starting today, Reiki sessions and guided meditation will be following bedtimes stories and songs as a regular part of the bedtime routine again. When the kids are in bed and settled, I will be offering sessions to my partner. We will be spending more time talking about the things we are grateful for. We will spend less time watching television and engaging in other distraction activities. We will continue to say the Reiki Principles each morning and night, but we will also talk about how to implement them. I will be reminding my kids of the fun ways we can use Reiki.
Starting today, I will remember that my healing work should start at home with myself and my family. I will remember that by serving my family, I am still serving the greater good through their healing. I will remember that I will be in a better place to serve other when I have my own house in order.