by William Lee Rand
The New Year is upon us and at least for most of us, we’ve had time to recover from the holidays. So, this is a good time to think about what lies ahead and how we can use Reiki to make this an absolutely amazing year. We know from experience that it’s always helpful to maintain a positive mental attitude. This is validated by research indicating that optimists are healthier and live longer than pessimists. According to an article in The Archives of General Psychiatry (Nov 2004), optimists have a 55% lower risk of death from all causes and a 23% lower risk of cardiovascular death than pessimists. By keeping your vibration high, you’ll always create better results and enjoy life more regardless of what you’re doing. What better way to uplift your spirits than to do lots of Reiki throughout the coming year. Here are some ideas on how you can accomplish this.
Self-Sessions: If you’re not already doing it, create a schedule to give yourself Reiki sessions everyday. You could take 15 minutes or more during lunch each day to do this, or as soon as you get home from work, or at a specific time each day. Making it a regular habit is what will make this work. You’ll be amazed as you do this everyday, now much better you feel.
Sessions for Others: If you haven’t given a Reiki session to someone lately, go ahead and offer a free session. Most people will agree and usually enthusiastically to accept a free Reiki session. Remember, when you give Reiki to another you also receive Reiki. Giving free sessions to friends and family are a great way to help others and when it’s someone you know the good karma comes back right away!
Reiki Share Groups: Attending a Reiki share group is a great way to both give and receive Reiki. These groups are usually free or sometimes request a love donation or a small fee. By joining a group, you’ll meet new Reiki people, and feel the joy of sharing Reiki with others. You can sometimes find ads for these groups in your local metaphysical/holistic paper, or at health food store bulletin boards or new age book stores or just by asking around. If you discover there isn’t a group in your area, consider starting one. To learn more on this subject, read Reiki shares by Laurelle Shanti Gaia and Amy Z. Rowland in the Spring 05 back issue of Reiki News Magazine.
Volunteer Reiki: There are a number of ways you can volunteer to give Reiki sessions to those in need. More and more hospitals are offering Reiki sessions to their patients. These sessions are usually offered free as part of the hospitals regular services. Often lay volunteers are asked to take a short hospital orientation program before being allowed to take part in the hospital program. To learn more about this, go to The Center for Reiki Research. These programs are also offered at retirement homes, hospice care centers, churches and other locations. By volunteering for programs such as these, you’ll be giving Reiki to those who really need it which is not only a great blessing for them, but can also have a wonderful affect on your heart. If you can’t find a volunteer program in your area, consider starting one. To learn more about how to do this, read: Creating a Volunteer Reiki Program by Karen Wise Olander, M. Ed in the Winter 2005 issue of Reiki News Magazine.
A Professional Reiki Practice: If you’ve been giving sessions to family and friends then perhaps it’s time to start a professional practice. By charging money, you’ll have a business and be earning an income which is a great accomplishment for 2008. Also, you’ll be offering a very special service that allows people to choose when they receive their Reiki sessions. Not only will you receive income, but also you’ll receive their appreciation for all the good you’ll be doing. Start at a low fee such as $5 per session and let everyone know you’ll be giving 8 sessions at $5 and then will raise your price to $10 – let everyone know this. This will motivate people to get their session right away before the price goes up. Continue with this process until you raise your price to your target fee which as a rule of thumb can be whatever people are charging for massage in your area. To read more on developing your Reiki practice, click here.
Teaching Reiki: This can be a very rewarding experience. Start by teaching family and friends for free or for a very low fee. This can be done in a casual way as long as you include the main topics: What is Reiki, how does it heal, a brief description of the history, explain the attunement, and give the attunement and practice. Self-treatments and treating others are important. Once you’ve done this a few times, you’ll be ready to go on to teach your first professional class and charge money. To prepare create outlines of your talks and practice by speaking into a tape recorder and playing it back. Make notes on how to improve your talks, and then practice some more until you’re confident. Set up a fee development schedule similar to the one mentioned above for a Professional Reiki Practice. Take your teaching practice seriously and as you gain in experience and develop your professional qualifications, your classes will be more valuable to your students and you can charge more. I suggest charging at least $25 for your first Reiki one class, and work your way up to your target fee which can be between $100.00 and $200.00. Having a good Reiki manual and other teaching aids can be very helpful to you and your students. Here is a link to the manuals and teaching aids I use in my classes. Also, to learn more about developing your teaching practice in back issues of Reiki News Magazine, click on these links; Create a Thriving Reiki Practice, Part I or Create a Thriving Reiki Practice, Part II in the Spring 2007 issue of the Reiki News Magazine
These are ways to increase your use of Reiki that are both practical and uplifting and you can use them to make 2008 the greatest year of your life! As you do more Reiki, your attitude will improve and this will have lasting benefits, affecting everything you do.You’ll be healthier; you’ll smile and laugh more, make new friends and have good things to say to all those you meet. Your creativity and self-confidence will improve and this will affect the way you move and walk, giving a special spring and rhythm to your step as though you’re moving to music. Blessings and wonderful new opportunities will seemingly drop into your life more frequently and you’ll move easily toward greater success and happiness. Believe me. Reiki can do this for you. All you have to do is start using Reiki more frequently on a regular basis everyday. May your use of Reiki bless you with great joy and enthusiasm; may your life overflow with an abundance of everything that is good and loving and kind.
