But if you think about it, ego’s not the problem. What would we do without ego? How would we function as individuals? What motivation would we have to practice?

Ego has its purpose. It serves like a skeleton to our psyche, or a tender skin. Ego delineates and gives backbone to our individuality, yet it’s acutely sensitive to touch. Ego is not inherently bad, but it does have a skewed perspective, remaining convinced against all argument that we are separate and disconnected.

Ego is not entirely wrong. There are ways in which we are separate. But although we sometimes feel disconnected, that’s a feeling, not a truth.

So it’s not ego, but wrong understanding, that is the problem. Wrong understanding: identifying with ego and believing its biased broadcasts.

If we are clever, we make ever-present ego our ally. We use it to be steadier, more responsible, more committed; to strive higher, to serve more fully.

Feeling adventurous? Try accepting that ego will keep doing what ego does. That’s not an error; that’s its job, what ego exists to do.

Then harness ego’s ambition. Let ego’s desire to be the best motivate you to practice, and practice every day. Ego doesn’t take vacations.

The inner spaciousness that comes with daily Reiki self-treatment helps us stay mindful and compassionate, and keeps ego’s pain and machinations in perspective.

As long as we try to rid ourselves of ego, or pretend it’s not in play, ego sticks like flypaper. The moment we get over the shame of ego and start trusting it to do what it does oh-so-well, we come to a place of peaceful, and useful, coexistence.

It’s not possible to be human and not have ego, but it is possible–through diligent, committed, mindful daily practice over time–to loosen ourselves from the delusion that ego has our best interests at heart.

Ego has no heart.

But we do.

Related reading: Reiki Self-Treatment Poll, Hire Yourself Health Care, With Gratitude, Work Diligently

Reiki, Ego, and Heart is a post from: reikiinmedicine.org

Muriel Stockdale strode up Fourth Avenue in New York City on an unusually cold November morning in 1996. An artist and Second degree Reiki student, Muriel was en route to support my Reiki class at Beth Israel Medical Center’s HIV clinic.

She stopped moving when she heard a plaintive meow, and noticed a homeless man selling kittens out of a box. The second of Muriel’s two cats had recently died. The kitten continued meowing as Muriel lifted him from the box with his orange brother.

The sale took place in front of a pet store, so Muriel went in to purchase a carrier. But the store owner wouldn’t take her money, insisting she accept a Rocket Man carrying case as a gift. Muriel draped her shawl over the lid to protect her kittens from the bitter cold and hurried to the hospital, where her determination took the three of them safely past security.

The director of complementary therapies was happy to have kittens in his office for the day. By lunch, the kittens had visited every office and lapped up a bowl of milk.

Muriel had an appointment that evening, and left the kittens in their Rocket Man carrier with a note of introduction for her husband.

She came home to see the always dapper Chris playing with the kittens on the floor in the semi-darkness, his coat beside them, scarf still around his neck.

“Who’s are they?” he asked. The response, “Ours if you want them,” brought a sigh of relief.

Naming the kittens was easy. Muriel felt they were a gift of her Reiki practice, and so they become known as Hawayo and Takata.

Have you experienced direct blessings from your Reiki practice? Please share it in the comments section.

Related post: Reiki Connection

Reiki Cats: Hawayo and Takata is a post from: reikiinmedicine.org

In Reiki healing, the most important thing is to practice daily self-treatment.

Just as it is impossible to develop a relationship without being in touch with your friend, it is impossible to develop your relationship with Reiki without self-treatment.

Daily self-treatment keeps us close to our Reiki practice. When we self-treat every day, we’re more likely to remember the Reiki Precepts or place a hand when we need support during the day. Otherwise we walk around like a sick fool who carries her medicine instead of taking it.

And it’s so easy to practice daily self-treatment. You simply place your Reiki hands on your body.

Of course the mind can make the distance between hand and body seem far longer than your arm, so it helps to have a regular schedule. When your chosen practice time comes, you don’t think about practicing, you place hands.

I practice every morning, before I leave my bed. If I’m cranky, I allow the luxury of complaining only after I’ve placed my hands. And then of course the crankiness quickly dissipates.

The Reiki chime timer provides effective support on the occasional morning when I’m just not in the mood. Somehow it makes the time go faster. I set it for the three-minute interval, which soon feels much too short. Then I can defy that lovely chime and linger on a placement twice as long if I want. After all, it’s my practice.

Any longterm relationship goes through ups and downs, and daily self-treatment is no different. Sometimes we have to be creative to find our inspiration; other times, it’s just a matter of discipline.

If you practice daily self-treatment, please share your tips for practicing consistently.

If the distance from your Reiki hand to your body seems too far to travel regularly and you’d like some support, try giving yourself a full treatment at the same time of day for the next three days, and let us know what a difference it makes.

If you are receiving this in your inbox, click here to comment.

Related posts: Reiki Self-Treatment Poll; With Gratitude, Work Diligently

The Most Important Thing is a post from: reikiinmedicine.org

Or not. The process repeatedly stalled. No explanation. No support option. The usual fixes accomplished nothing. I persisted. A week-and-a-half and 5 emails later, my donation was accepted.

Yes, donation. I was giving money. Should be easy, right?

But it wasn’t. My good intention seemed obstructed at every turn. Each failed solution brought the Precepts to mind. Today only, do not anger.

Annoyance laced my bewilderment, until an epiphany made me flush. How fortunate I am to have the desire to help, and resources to share.

With thankfulness, work diligently.

In a perfect world, perhaps it would be easy to do good, but this is the world we’ve got. Some actions flow with unbelievable ease, synchronicity, and serendipity.

Other good intentions are harder to manifest. They require commitment and hard work, for an uncertain result.

Related reading: Reiki Precepts, Manhattan Reiki, Today Only

Reiki Precepts and Effort is a post from: reikiinmedicine.org

PollDaddy lists the number of votes rather than the number of voters. Many readers didn’t notice this detail, and some expressed dismay at what seemed to be a low percentage of practitioners giving themselves daily Reiki treatments. But the stats were meaningless.

Which brings us to Round Two. How many Reiki practitioners give themselves daily treatment? Let’s find out.

Please respond to this very short poll and share it widely. All practitioners from all lineages, at any level of practice are asked to vote.

Can we collectively bring in over 1000 votes? The more votes we get, the more meaningful the poll is.

Once you’ve voted, click here to comment why you do or don’t practice daily self-Reiki.

INTRODUCTION to MEDICAL REIKI WEBINAR Have you been waiting for online training to help you bring Reiki into hospitals and other health care settings? Wait no more.

The Introduction to Medical Reiki Webinar will give you skills and strategies to get you started in health care. Let’s get Reiki where it is needed, and raise the professionalism of our practice. Click here to learn more.

Reiki Self-Treatment Poll is a post from: reikiinmedicine.org

Please fill out this brief poll and share it with your friends. The button under “Vote,” next to “View Results,” makes it easy to share with your Reiki buddies. The more practitioners who respond, the better understanding of our community we will have.

This poll is open to Reiki students and practitioners of all lineages and practice styles, at all levels, whether they have a home practice or a professional practice.

If your entry doesn’t register, you may need to come to ReikiCentral blog to vote. And please share your comments.

Thank you thank you all!

Reiki Practice Poll is a post from: reikiinmedicine.org

So it sometimes happens that a few other people are strolling the sidewalk or the subway steps just as I am purposefully heading somewhere, no time to spare.

My path totally impeded, the phrase arises: “Today only.”

The crowd settles me.

Today only.

Right now.

This moment is mine to savor.

How are the Reiki Precepts supporting your well-being these days? Please comment below.

Related Reading: Reiki Precepts, Today Only, Practice Makes Present

Manhattan Reiki is a post from: reikiinmedicine.org

As with any practice, the only way to develop a feel for it is to actually practice, and to do so consistently over a period of time. There is no shortcut.

Reiki classes really only teach us how to practice. It is through practice, and practice alone, that Reiki practitioners develop. The experience of practicing Reiki treatment on others–on people of different ages, in varying stages of health, in a range of settings–is greatly enhanced when done against the backdrop of daily self-treatment. Through consistent practice, observation, and contemplation, slowly over time, we enter into a profound relationship with Reiki.

When, through a long association, we come to know someone well, we don’t feel a need to know every little detail, and we don’t get caught up in stories that may circulate about that person. There is a mindful trust, a willingness to partner, even as we take full responsibility for our actions.

In the same way, as we develop a profound relationship with Reiki through consistent practice, observation, and contemplation, we find an inner knowing that doesn’t need stories to buoy it. When supporting others, we prefer to leave the focus on our clients’s process of healing, allowing them the opportunity to engage within. We gradually become less interested in embellishing and distracting, quite content to say simply, “I don’t know.”

The process of developing a feel for Reiki healing is never-ending. Practice, observe, contemplate, repeat.

Related posts: With Gratitude, Work Diligently, Practice Makes Present

A Feel for Reiki Healing is a post from: reikiinmedicine.org

Someone had just asked Kristof–who frequents places of profound suffering such as Darfur–how he holds it together in the face of so much suffering. He spoke about focusing on the good, on the people that are helped, and referred to the old starfish story.

The old starfish story? I hadn’t heard it either–

After a storm in Hawaii, the beach is littered with starfish.

A boy picks up the starfish, one by one, and throws them back into the ocean. An adult strolling on the beach sees futility in the boy’s efforts, and pauses to ask why he bothers. “When there are so many starfish, how can one person make a difference?”

The boy picks up another starfish, throws it in the ocean, looks the adult in the eye, and says, “It sure made a difference to that one.”

Every time we practice Reiki, it makes a difference.

And we make the greatest difference in this world when we practice daily self-treatment, and practice consistently.

Related reading: Reiki Precepts, Today Only

Reiki and Starfish is a post from: reikiinmedicine.org

WHAT THE REIKI COMMUNITY CAN LEARN FROM THE YANKEES

This week the Yankees received their 2009 World Series rings before the opening game at Yankee Stadium. Hideki Matsui was a member of last year’s championship team, and a hero of the World Series. But Matsui is now a member of the Los Angeles Angels, the opposing team for the Yankees’ home opener.

Matsui was called onto the field to receive his ring with his former teammates (now opponents), and the respect and affection of both players and fans brought tears to my eyes. (Now you know what a softie I really am.)

Do I hear you wondering, And just exactly how does this pertain to Reiki practice (other than that we all have to practice)?

Baseball has different teams, and the Reiki community has different lineages. Baseball players and fans are loyal to their teams, just as maintaining clarity of lineage is valuable.

But when you watch a ballgame, you see the opposing players (even Yankees and Red Sox, the most intense rivalry in baseball) chat it up while one is on the base the other one is minding, just looking for an opportunity to tag him out. Even as each hopes—and plans, and works—to best the other, theirs is a respectful, and often a personally friendly, relationship.

Now, professional ball players’ careers depend on winning, and they compete intensely with one another. But Reiki practitioners simply have different perspectives on the same (or at least similar) practice.

So this is where we diverge. Unlike baseball, Reiki professionals are not in a game in which every time one team wins, another team loses. There are more than enough prospective students and clients to support the number of Reiki professionals.

Relationships among Reiki practitioners are more like the phenomenon that stores and restaurants experience, that when they are clumped together, everyone gets more business. The more Reiki shingles out there, the more the public notices. All we have to do is represent our Reiki perspective accurately so that the public can choose practitioners who are qualified, and a good match for them.

So let’s remember that we are all playing on the same ball field, that even though the details vary, we all love our Reiki practice, and we have so much more in common than the details that separate us. The more each of us shares our Reiki perspective (thoughtfully) with the public, the more everyone benefits.

Perhaps this is a competition in which those who give the most, win—and there are no losers.

If you need help getting your Reiki word around, that’s what Saturday’s webinar is all about.

Reiki and Baseball is a post from: reikiinmedicine.org