Loving laughter

An unanticipated side effect of engaging with my Reiki path has been an increase in my experience of humour and a lessening of taking life, and myself, quite so seriously. I find myself laughing and having fun more frequently, and end up enjoying mundane situations much more as a result.

When we are smiling and laughing it is very difficult to hold on to our feelings of worry or anger. Therefore, we are able to focus our attention on the moment in front of us. Sometimes we have to practice, if you like ‘fake it to make it’. Maybe stopping worrying is too daunting a task, but instead perhaps we could try out a smile and see where it takes us.

When my daughter was born, over 10 years ago, I experienced a couple of years of immense joy, laughter and smiles, as we took every moment as it came and found enjoyment in simple things. This was the first time in my life I had really been present in the here and now. But then several things happened, all at once, including having my son. Life suddenly became more complicated, more serious and much less fun. I felt I should dedicate more time to doing, and less to being. Thankfully, during this time I began to engage with giving myself Reiki (not just to the kids), and bit by bit I made many changes that have helped me slow down and appreciate what I have around me.

Through daily Reiki practice I have found the strength to let go of things that have hurt me, like my marriage, and to embrace the learning, moving forward empowered and centred in the moment. I wonderful outcome of this is being more connected to the people around me, including my children. Now I hold acceptance, not judgement, for how life has been over the recent years, feeling gratitude that I have moved to a different space.

Being lighter of heart and having more fun, doesn’t mean not caring, or laughing at someone else’s expense. It means not taking yourself quite so seriously, it means freeing your heart to love more.

So please engage with some comic relief and share some laughter on this fun Friday.

Best intentions

intention: determination to act in a particular way, to have in mind a particular purpose or goal (from the French tendere: to hold or stretch)

The Penguin Dictionary

What intentions do you hold and how do they help you?

In Reiki practice, and frequently in life, we recognise the importance of the intentions we set and encourage you to look at the intentions you hold. We start using Reiki (once attuned) by holding the intention for the Reiki to flow, which it the does, straight away. As Mrs Takata, one of the original Reiki Masters and a lineage bearer, used to say to her students “hands on, Reiki on”. We frequently also set our intention that the Reiki will flow for ‘the greatest good and/or highest healing’, if we are giving a self treatment it would for our own greatest good, if we are treating someone else then for their’s.

Beyond this we can use intention in many different ways in life as well as in Reiki practice, but this doesn’t always help us. It can draw our focus on controlling a situation, giving us very specific ideas about what the outcome should be, instead of letting go of the outcome and trusting that what happens is what we need to experience in order to grow. If we make a very specific intention we are engaging our consciousness, which is helpful, however, we can then also become attached to the outcome, which is, perhaps, less helpful.

We cannot control or direct Reiki, either as a practitioner or a recipient, but we can consciously engage with our spiritual growth and development, this in turn can heighten the way we individually take on the Reiki and move forward.

Can we effectively hold an intention for the Reiki to work in a particular way? I doubt it…. We may have a clear sense of how the Reiki is being used by the body and the way we engage with this may  shape the intention we hold, but the healing that takes place is beyond our control, and will always be for the greatest good.

Like with other things that we learn, I feel we first have to learn how to ‘switch on’ our intention, and then subsequently we have to learn how to moderate our intention, to simplify it, or perhaps not use it all. We certainly have to learn how to use it in a way that does not hinder us.

When using intention I encourage you to take a moment to reflect, to be guided by the small, quiet voice within. We will then gain greater clarity about how to focus our attention. In this way we can increase our conscious awareness and our actions will be in greater alignment with our individual purpose.