I’ve made a lot of dramatic changes in my lifestyle over the past few years in an effort to lead a more sustainable and stress free life.
I’ve closed down my gym, retired from personal training, rid myself of many possessions, and lived out of a converted van while travelling across the country to a place with a slower pace of life to buy some land and homestead on.
In the ongoing struggle to overcome burnout and improve my health, I’ve re-ignited my reiki practice. Reiki is a form of energy healing, and one of the things that has always attracted me to reiki is its ability to help improve one’s mental and emotional health.
At the core of reiki’s health benefits are the 5 Reiki Precepts. My first reiki teacher placed a heavy emphasis on these principles going so far as to claim that integrating these tenets into your life is more important than working with the energy itself. I agree, and fortunately the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Rather, they reinforce each other.
That said, there is some improvement that can be made on the 5 precepts. As translated from Japanese, they are as follows (note, some translations will have subtle differences):
Just for today, I will not worry.
Just for today, I will not be angry.
Just for today, I will do my work honestly.
Just for today, I will give thanks for my many blessings.
Just for today, I will be kind to my neighbor and every living thing.
In my original reiki training, my teacher phrased them as such:
I give thanks in gratitude for my many blessings.
Just for now, I shall not anger.
Just for now, I shall not worry.
I shall honor and respect all beings.
I shall earn my living with integrity.
In the second example, gratitude is placed as the first in the list. This is a good change, as there is a lot of good science that points to the health and wellness benefits of a solid gratitude practice. Fundamentally, gratitude gives rise to the other four principles.
Another change is the descriptor of time. Rather than saying “Just for today”, there is a more immediate tense used, or none at all. This focuses attention on those ideals to the present moment. And truly, when life is at its most stressful, the moment is all we can consider. Sometimes just focusing on a whole day is a challenge. It’s a subtle, but important distinction.
Because of the two above reasons, I’ve always liked meditating on the reiki ideals as listed in the second example. Our words matter when we’re working on ourselves and the world.
But I think even more refinement can be done. In my studies in psychology, coaching, mindset, and habit building that were influential in my work as a personal trainer I learned of the importance of framing goals and intentions in a positive manner.
Positive language seeks to limit the use of statements such as “I can’t”, or “I won’t.” Further, we can eliminate the passive voice used in some of the original examples of the 5 ideals. And that’s what I’m focusing on right now.
As part of strengthening my own reiki practice, meditating on the 5 precepts at the beginning and end of the day is important. And I want the words I’m using to be as powerful as I can make them. Considering that, here’s my current way of considering the 5 Reiki Precepts.
I give thanks in gratitude for my many blessings.
I embody calmness.
I am carefree.
I shall honor and respect all beings.
I shall earn my living with integrity.
In the interest of avoiding toxic positivity, it should be pointed out that the above list is what suits ME at the present moment in the context of my personal goals. It is how I am currently focusing on SELF while doing my best to honor the interconnectedness of people, places, and situations I have no understanding of. For another person, the more common translations might be exactly what they need.
Expression and understanding of these fundamental ideals change as we grow and change. Letting our language evolve with us is an important part of growth. Actively directing that language evolution is one of our most important tools in the pursuit of that growth.
I give thanks for you taking the time to read this, and welcome your own thoughts on the matter.
