The Reiki principles were prescribed by Dr. Mikao Usui as being necessary for leading a life as clean and pure as the Reiki spirit. The “just for today” part is reminiscent of the one day at a time philosophy inherent in many self help systems (e.g., Alcoholics Anonymous, Overeater’s Anonymous, etc.) and directs us to begin by focusing on the present. This is an extremely important concept to grasp and one that is generally overlooked in may of the Reiki systems on the market today. Basically it directs us to not worry about yesterday or tomorrow… as there really is no yesterday or tomorrow… in all reality, yesterday is just a memory and tomorrow is but imagination. Don’t let your memories or imagination stand in the way of how you want to be.
Eckhart Tolle, while not a Reiki teacher, does a far better job than I ever could in explaining this concept in a detail that is generally impossible to achieve when discussing such things in his book “The Power of Now” which I have added to my recommended reading list. In “The Power of Now” Eckhart teaches that only the present moment truly exists. Can you actually touch the past? Can you actually touch the future? Of course not… therefore they are not real. It is the present moment where all life can be found and once you become aware of what Eckhart calls “the now” you can fully appreciate your surroundings and everything you experience. By looking and listening intently and giving full attention to the smallest details you learn to accept the present moment. It is resistance to the present moment that creates most of the difficulties in your life. What is important is to drop the resistance so that you allow the present moment to be, and the result is that any action you then take arises from a much deeper awareness, rather than from resistance. Eckhart stipulates that the vast majority of pain in a person’s life and inability to reach the peace of mind necessary for a true state of enlightenment comes from resistance to what is.
Application of this concept to Reiki, and to the Reiki Principles, creates the mindset necessary for a true Reiki life.
For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!
2 responses to “The Reiki Principles – Just for Today”
This is interesting… is there something in the reiki books that teachers this or is it your own idea? Is this what most teachers teach?
Hi Tim!
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
I haven’t seen it anyplace else… but that doesn’t mean it isn’t there… seems kind of common sense to me really. When you’ve read as much as I have, taught (and sat in on) as many classes and learned from such a wide variety of teachers things start to click in a more abstract way…. if that makes sense.
As far as I know there are no other teachers who teach it this way (but again that don’t mean they don’t exist). 🙂
Love & Light,
Duane