~ Artist Unknown ~
Ever since I first heard about Reiki, I’d always presumed it was some form of magic that only Reiki Masters could harness to help people. To be completely honest, when a school friend told us her Mum was a Reiki Master, I wasn’t quite sure if I believed any of it. It sounded like a nice idea and if it helped people feel better, then why not? But my mind at the time couldn’t comprehend how something as bizarre as this could genuinely and on a physical level work, aside from through the placebo effect.
As always, you learn from your own experience. The first time I truly felt the power of Reiki was when another friend, years later, conducted some through to me via an excruciating pain in my back. I remember being astonished, my eyes wide and mouth an open O in awe, at the immediate disappearance of my agony as he focused and held his hand over the area. The word that springs to mind is simply, miraculous.
Still, I believed only certain people had this gift and most definitely that I wasn’t capable of such a thing. Only recently, after a gathering of some very warm-hearted beings, have my eyes been opened to the fact that seeing as we all have our own form of energy, we all have the potential to use it in this healing way. Of course, Reiki Masters are like any veteran out there – they have devoted time and committed themselves to a practise in order to be able to do something with such apparent ease and strong will. But it is important to remember that anyone who is a professional was once a beginner. And I think the perfect way to begin is thinking about hugs.
Hugs are one of my favourite things in the entire world. Lovely deep hugs, heart to heart, wrapped in another’s embrace, feeling safe and loved. Happiness is boosted, trust is established and you enter a state of relaxation. I think most people in a real endorphin-releasing hug are doing Reiki without perhaps even realising. When you enhance a hug with pure intention, sending love to each other allows the flow between you both to optimize. You will know you are experiencing Reiki, or ‘life force energy’, when you feel a warm glow enter your being from another’s touch…
HOW TO ENHANCE YOUR HUGS
To have an epically enjoyable hug whilst tuning into some universal healing energy:
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Clear your mind with a long, deep breath
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Hold one another heart to heart, on your left side (people tend to go right!)
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Embrace gently and find a comfortable spot (perhaps resting your head on their shoulder)
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Visualise a glow emanating from your being and encompassing the other
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Allow yourself to express contentment through sounds (‘Mmm’/‘Ahh’)
Nowadays my scientific mind laughs at my pessimistic younger self – why, everything in the Universe is energy and vibration and frequency. Of course Reiki is possible and indeed plausible. It’s an extremely powerful healing method and a super special something we get to experience as humans.
I think it’s so important for these terms to not become a part of ‘spiritual mumbo-jumbo’ that so many people dismiss too easily, as I myself once did. Especially as all of us will in one way or another come across the energy of it at some point in our lives. Becoming aware of what it is we are actually capable of only heightens our sensitivity to giving and receiving such things.
Happy hugging!
Coco
