Reiki saved my life. When I first came across a Reiki class, I had never heard of it before. I wasn’t sure I really believed energy healing was something you could learn. I believed people could do it but thought there were very few people born with the gift and that there was something special about them that allowed them to access this ability. I was suffering physically, mentally, and emotionally though, and figured anything was worth trying.
I took a chance, took a class, and my life was forever changed. It was a life defining decision that I will always be grateful to myself for making. I had been in a place of such complete suffering that I felt the only thing left to do was surrender to Spirit and as soon as I let go, Spirit led me to Reiki. In the years that followed so many healing changes took place in my life. Here are the top five benefits of learning Reiki that I am thankful for today:
1. I relaxed. The stress relieving benefit of Reiki allowed my poor, frayed nerves to begin healing. The chronic pain I’d been experiencing for more than a decade finally began to subside. Eventually the constant pain I’d been experiencing faded and now I only suffer from an occasional, manageable flare. My depression also lifted and the anxiety I had experienced since I was a young child became easy to treat with regular self-care.
2. I set boundaries. I began to see clearly where I had not been setting healthy boundaries and I made changes in my life to protect my energy. I no longer treated myself badly or let anyone else do so. I lived honorably and expected the same from those in my circle. My circle got a lot smaller but became safe and supportive.
3. I learned to serve. For years of my life, I was living in survival mode and had nothing to give to others. When I began to heal, there was nothing I wanted more than to share that healing with everyone I could. Being able to offer Reiki sessions and training to others gave me a way to contribute to society in a loving way that can have far reaching effects. I feel part of something bigger than myself and it brings joy and meaning to my life.
4. I learned to trust Spirit/nature. For a long time, I had felt that if there was God, he must hate me. I had prayed, begged, and pleaded for help, relief, and guidance to no avail. My prior experiences with religion left me feeling that God must be punishing me, so I had no faith that He would bring me any salvation. Without faith, my prayers couldn’t be answered. Taking the religious idea of God out of the equation for a while and replacing it with Universal Energy allowed me a new way to trust that not only brought me the help, relief, and guidance I had prayed for, but eventually brought me back to God.
5. I fell in love with myself. Taking actions that improved my wellbeing so much caused me to fall in love with myself. I cared for myself in the way I always wanted to be cared for. I had learned to be loving, nurturing, and affectionate with myself and that was the most healing part of the entire experience of learning Reiki.
There are so many reasons I am glad to have learned Reiki and made it a part of my everyday life. Just for today, I am most grateful to have learned to relax, set boundaries, be of service, trust Spirit, and truly love myself. I am grateful for the life I am living and to Reiki for making it possible.