The Reiki of Compassion
When the time came in my spiritual journey to learn Reiki, I was immediately drawn to the energy of Karuna Reiki®. I did not know that it was based on the principles of the bodhisattvas (bodhis), those who compassionately seek to allay the suffering of mankind. I also did not realize that I would first have to learn and become proficient at all of the levels of Usui Reiki up to Master Practitioner before I could even learn and be initiated into Karuna Reiki®.
It didn’t matter. The aim of Karuna Reiki® fit my life path:
“Karuna means any action that is taken to diminish the suffering of others (1).”
It is deep compassion and empathy to feel the suffering of others and wish them relief. The practice of Reiki in general is very spiritual, like an inter-dimensional highway of compassionate energy that transports us to our highest good.
What we often fail to realize is that it is very difficult to feel compassion for others at a meaningful level, if we do not first feel compassion for ourselves. Before I go further, I want to clarify that self-compassion is not the same as self-pitying. The former has an upward, forgiving, lifting flow of energy; the latter has a heavy, downward flow. Our life journey ultimately is a solo one, with our most important work being mastering our mind and the highest achievement being remembering our true Self. It is challenging to accomplish these feats if we do not have self-compassion and the ability to forgive ourselves.
Often, our minds are in such a swirl we are not able to sit still to do much of anything, let alone learn to meditate. Yogic teachings explain that the mind and ego, with their likes and dislikes, create our suffering. Sometimes we can be so overrun by these likes and dislikes, we cannot be still in mind or body to see the truth of a situation or the way through. We are stuck in fight or flight, only able to react versus thoughtfully respond. If all matter begins first as a thought and thoughts affect our interactions with others and the state of the world, then we can see how important it is to get the mind under control to begin to reduce suffering.
Reiki is a very helpful and powerful assist, a way to begin the process of calming the mind when we want to change but don’t yet know how.
In a Karuna Reiki® session, the person receives an infusion of life force energy that begins to quiet the nervous system similar to the effect one experiences in a regular practice of classical meditation. The breath calms. The mind calms. In this state of quiet rest, life force energy can flow uninhibited. Pain is reduced, deep healing begins. The energy brings self-love, grounding, and peace. It opens up clarity for expansion to heal past wounds and limiting beliefs. Physical, mental and emotional suffering are abated, even if it is for just 24-48 hours (sometimes longer), which is how long the effects of a session can last one these energetic levels.
But…
If we are done with suffering in the swirl and intend to be courageous enough to change and understand what “healing" means to us, Karuna Reiki® presents the door to the life we are meant to lead. It can open our awareness to forgiveness in relationships past and present. It can present the path we must take for physical and emotional wellbeing. It can lay the foundation for personal and spiritual development practices, like meditation and sound nutrition, that benefit both us and the greater world.
In the process, perhaps a new bodhi wakes up with a mission to relieve suffering.
And, the world gets brighter, more peaceful and compassionate.
