Living in the city, as opposed to living in more rural areas, has its own trials and tribulations. After returning this evening from Tokyo, one of the busiest cities in the world, I’d like to take a look at how Reiki might take a little bit of the sting out of city life.

First off, its rather interesting to note how different cities have different energies. Here in Japan, the energy of Osaka is quite distinct form the energies of Kyoto, Nara or Tokyo. Just as mountains and other land forms harness their own unique energies, so too do cities, for a variety of reasons, and it is quite interesting to notice the differences and similarities as I travel by train across the country.

Cities each have their own frequencies, or hums, which most city dwellers (at least the sane ones) have learned to ignore by successfully filtering them out. Visitors are often overwhelmed by this energetic noise, and it can be both exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. Subtle Reiki energies that I generally have no problem in detecting were drowned out by the overpowering vibrations of the city, and were it not for my faith that the Reiki energies are there regardless of whether I can sense them or not, my Reiki would have been totally useless.

Michael Crichton in his book Timeline discusses how, if time travel were possible visitors to our time from the past would be deafened by the noise that our unconscious minds mercifully filter out every day. By the same token, he points out that travelers going back in time would experience a kind of reverse deafening as the filters in place would still be working and the slightest sound would be multiplied a thousand fold, soon causing the same deafness. I guess this is one of the reasons why time travel is so dangerous.

My trip to Tokyo had the same effect… the noise of the city was deafening in and of itself, but the overpowering energies present rendered my scanning abilities quite ineffective while the energy workers I met, who were used to it, experienced no problems at all. It was most interesting and led to these thoughts being jotted down on the bullet train home.

Thus the first thing for urban dwelling Reiki practitioners to take note of is the existence of these energies and how they may (or may not) effect your energy perceptions. I feel meditation is a must if living among such energies, whether active or passive, and a daily Reiki meditation should seriously be considered by all city dwelling Reiki practitioners that are not engaging in such a practice.

Cities big and small also have seemingly limitless varieties of people with their own various attitudes and behaviors. Generally classified as ‘city folk’ many have become immune to the hustle and bustle going on around them on a daily basis and this has resulted in a somewhat cold perception. I find it generally takes a longer time to ‘thaw the ice’ so to speak and get down to the warmth within. But ‘folks is folks” as my old Grandpappy used to be fond of saying, and Reiki has a way of breaking through even the thickest ice… so the second thing for Urban Reikiers, is to really push the 5th Reiki principle… i.e., be kind to everyone, after all, what goes around comes around!

Small aggravations abound, especially for those of us lacking in patience, when being confined in limited spaces. Japan is roughly the size of California, with a population equaling approximately half of the United States. Also, since half of Japan is also mountains, lakes and golf courses, imagine cramming half of America (about 150 Million people) into an area the size of Southern California. Singaporeans might sigh at the spaciousness of that particular visualization, but few else would. There are lines everywhere. The philosophy seems to be… if you see a line stand in it, it must be there for something!

There are even waiting lists to get into lines… seriously!!!

I can think of a few more Reiki principles that might make city life more bearable… but I’ll let you connect the dots. My friends living in cities laugh at these ideas and tell me I just don’t get out of my cave near enough. Maybe they’re right there…

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!