On Facebook I often see friends’ posts telling everyone that they’re ill or injured and a common response from others is immediately to say that they’re sending Reiki. I often wonder, but what if that person doesn’t want it? Does an unsolicited offering make it seem equivalent to a prayer?
Once you become a Reiki practitioner after completing Level II you gain the ability to send Reiki through space and time and it can be very tempting to begin flinging it here and there at people. But even at Level I the lure to give Reiki to everyone you come across can be strong. We benevolently rush in the name of healing and love to spread the energy to everyone. Please reconsider.
Check your agenda. Why do you want to give people Reiki? Is it because you want them to feel good, you want them to see the truth, you want them to heal, you want…? If so, you’re making it all about you and Reiki is never about the giver. It’s always about the recipient.
I get why people do this. We all seek approval, love and connection and by sending Reiki...
Once you become a Reiki practitioner after completing Level II you gain the ability to send Reiki through space and time and it can be very tempting to begin flinging it here and there at people. But even at Level I the lure to give Reiki to everyone you come across can be strong. We benevolently rush in the name of healing and love to spread the energy to everyone. Please reconsider.
Check your agenda. Why do you want to give people Reiki? Is it because you want them to feel good, you want them to see the truth, you want them to heal, you want…? If so, you’re making it all about you and Reiki is never about the giver. It’s always about the recipient.
I get why people do this. We all seek approval, love and connection and by sending Reiki...
here and there we feel connected to people and as though we’re doing something substantial to help. Part of me says “Yes! Let’s Reiki the world” but a stronger voice within wants to hold back, savor and honor the energy. After all, we can’t be responsible or even attempt to care for every sad story or crisis—that would certainly lead to burn-out. Instead, savoring the energy means giving it to ourselves first and then only to those who want it. It makes the experience more special and meaningful for us and also more potent as a result. As an analogy I like to think about what a wise person does with advice. Rather than going up to every person she encounters giving her opinion on any matter (mediating an argument, giving financial counsel to the mom who can’t pay for all the groceries, suggesting what a homeless person could be doing to get out of his situation), she waits to be approached and then chooses her words carefully making them like prized jewels.
When we ask first if we can send someone Reiki we show respect for that person’s free will and acknowledge that we’re all on an equal playing field. That’s also honoring Reiki. Just because we have the ability to send it doesn’t mean we should attempt to force it upon others. Even when we’re coming from a loving place it’s still force that will ultimately fail—the energy will only be received when accepted—and place ourselves in a position that is counter to the very spirit of Reiki.
Some folks I know work around receiving conscious permission by checking in with the intended recipient’s higher self. Of course this is an exercise in intention. I wholeheartedly applaud the use of intuition, but also know that the responses travel through a filter. Can you be sure that your filter is completely clean and that the answer you sense you’ve received from another about another is accurate? It’s one thing to see what’s best for you and to act upon it. It’s another entirely to check in for someone else and respond accordingly.
Another approach around permission is to intend for the energy to go to someone or something else nearby who wants it if it’s rejected by the intended recipient. Is this worthwhile? Yes, the energy will be beneficial but why even direct it if there’s a possibility of it not going where you want it? Perhaps it would be more constructive to send the energy outward to anyone, anywhere at any time who wants it. Moreover, what’s stopping you from seeking approval? Truly the only time you can’t get approval from someone is when they’re completely out of reach: in a coma or perhaps in a foreign prison. How often are you going to encounter these situations?
Permission may seem like an unnecessary limitation these days when we view ourselves as all one. This is true, in a sense, but we are also separate, unique souls having our own experiences. Honoring one another is part of oneness and is, in fact, showing respect for ourselves by extension.
As an alternative, there is the option of sending Reiki to non-physical entities, like relationships or actions. Directing the energy to connections between people or to the process of decision-making is not an encroachment upon anyone's rights. By sending Reiki to these concepts we can help to promote peace, love, ease and grace—all these things that are Reiki. Isn't that we're ultimately after?
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