What does your daily Reiki practice look like? Chances are, it looks and feels exactly the same as it did last year. But why should it? With these eight daily habits, you can keep improving your Reiki meditations not just today and next week but for years to come …
1. See with your heart. This habit can be especially hard when our hearts open wide every time we see a sick or hurt animal. Next time you offer Reiki to animals at a shelter (or even to your own dog or cat who may be sick), try your best not to focus on negative outcomes or their suffering. A better approach is to look deep inside for the abused or elderly animal’s inner light that continually shines. I call this seeing with your “Reiki eyes,” or seeing from the heart.
2. Be open to change. Don’t get me wrong: I love routines just as much as the next person. But are you meditating the same way day in, day out, year after year? One cannot evolve intellectually or spiritually without change, so make an effort to switch things up. Think different this week (and next week, too). Do a walking meditation instead of the same one you always do in your home, or vice versa. Offer Reiki to wild animals instead of to your own dogs and cats. What other ways can you liven up your routine?
3. Find time to volunteer in your community to help others. Volunteering requires an extra commitment of time that you think you may not have, but think of the benefits: It will help you to deepen the kindness and compassion that your Reiki practice fosters.
4. Set aside 20 minutes every day to practice. Practice makes perfect—and that goes for Reiki, too. Find time every day to share Reiki with family, yourself or animals. You will find that accessing that healing space gets easier and easier.
5. Keep learning. Follow blogs, people and movements that inspire you. As a breast cancer survivor, I learned to cook vegan/gluten-free. Two of my favorite inspirational blogs that help me eat for health are Kris Carr’s website and Oh She Glows. Find what inspires you, and stay informed every day.
6. Rise early. Start your morning off right so you are not rushing around stressed. That way, you can start each day peacefully (and make time for that ever-important meditation).
7. Smile. Seek out humor and joy in every day. Welcome others around you with a smile. Find the funny in small things (a skill we all had as children, but so often lose once we turn into boring and serious grown-ups). The endorphins in laugher can ease pain and anxiety, and help you get closer to achieving the Reiki precept “Do Not Worry.”
8. Take time each day to connect with nature. In a world of multiple “virtual” distractions, this small habit will help keep your energy grounded and centered.