Reiki is your bright light and we can think that by practising Reiki and learning Reiki, and doing Reiki meditations, and following the precepts, that in these ways we are returning to our bright light.
It is good to follow the precepts and I do teach about the precepts on my Reiki courses.
Just for today
Do not worry
Be humble
Be honest in your dealings with people
Be compassionate to yourself and others
These precepts come from a Tendai sect of Shugendo that Usui was in contact with. I do believe that is a good thing to follow these precepts and especially, not becoming angry with yourself and with others. Being angry with yourself, can lead to all sorts of problems, and being angry with other people can lead to further aggression, and problems in relationships.
There are many people who are all the above and have not even heard of Reiki, so I think it is important to remember that one doesn’t need to be a Reiki practitioner to be honest, or compassionate, or to be trying to avoid worrying. Also, one important strength which I would add to these precepts is: Do not be selfish, be considerate of other people and their needs.
When Usui talks about ‘Just for today’, I think that he was saying about trying every day to do this, to think each day, that ‘just for today’ I will…..He was saying to try and follow the precepts every day.
Another aspect of ‘Just for today’ is that he could have been talking about being Mindful, and saying right now, be mindful of what you are doing, you don’t need to be angry, or to worry about anything, and be compassionate with yourself, because right now, you matter, this moment, you matter, and be kind and compassionate to yourself and others this moment.
Living your life with the precepts in your heart and in your spirit, will help your spiritual path, it will help your life. Reiki and meditation will help you if you are prone to any negative issues, like being angry too often, or worrying too often as well. When you feel angry or worried, remember that ‘Just for today’ you will try not to become angry or worried, and will do what you can to resolve the problems which have brought about this negative emotion, as well as sitting and relaxing in Reiki energy and meditating.
Being compassionate with yourself can mean many things. Some things it can mean are: not being hard on yourself for your mistakes, means forgiving yourself of your past mistakes, means not pushing yourself so hard that you make yourself ill, means not pushing yourself so hard that you are unable to do everything you need to do, it means making sure that you treat yourself as important, and that you remember that your needs are important. It means caring about yourself and your life.
Being compassionate to others, all the above, can be applied to other people. Other people’s needs and feelings are important, and being kind to other people and treating other people with care and kindness is important. It is important not only for those people we come into contact with, but it is important for ourselves, for our lives.
