The 5 Reiki Principles Explained

Whether you're familiar with Reiki or not, you may have heard of the 5 Reiki Principles by Dr. Mikao Usui. These five principles are a guideline suggested by Usui for all Reiki practitioners and enthusiasts to live by on a daily basis, which allows the Reiki energy to be more effective.

Yet these principles are guidelines that everyone can live by, to promote a healthy, loving way of living. So let's take a look at each of these principles and learn how they can be applied to our daily lives.
 

WAIT! If you’re more of a visual learner, check out my YouTube video where I detail everything in this post.

 

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1. Just for today, I will not worry

It's not a secret that stress is a major issue of our time. And worries add a lot to this unhealthy state of mind. Now, let's think of what worries are in the first place.

Worry is the state of being anxious and troubled over actual or potential problems. Wiki 

Despite its definition, worries more often deal with future events. It's not about our past or our present. It's about what is going to happen.

But if we ask ourselves if worries help us prevent undesired outcomes, we'll find out that they don't. What they do though, is make our present, our today more stressful.

Now, let's look at the first part of the principle, that is 'just for today'. The 'just for today' phrase takes off the heavy burden from our shoulders: we don't make life-time promises; it's just for one day. A small step. It's doable, it's realistic.

So, we promise ourselves to give up worries for just one day. We let things happen as they have to for just one day. And then for another day, and another. In short, this Reiki principle helps us to develop a habit of being calm. Out of the all 5 Reiki principles, this one is my favorite.

2. Just for today, I will not be angry

Another stress component is anger. Being angry, we end up with an elevated heart rate (and more stress!) which is not good for our well-being. Though Reiki is an excellent tool to remove anger blockages which have accumulated in the body over years, it cannot remove the residue of anger which occurs daily. And what we usually do is, we get angry by default. Just like Pavlov's dogs, we see a trigger and we react. Without actually thinking about why we experience this emotion.

So this principle suggests that just for one day we stop just before this emotion arises. We just stop. And ask ourselves: What will I achieve by remaining angry? Will my anger change the situation for the better? Is there any other emotion I can feel towards the situation?

Again, it's just for one day – no strings attached. But this is the secret ingredient to forming a habit of being present, of being mindful.

 

3. Just for today, I will be grateful

There's so much been said about being grateful. But still, we are always asking for more and only tend to focus on what we don't have. But what if we focus on what we already have for just one day? This principle resonates with the Law of Attraction that states that contentment attracts contentment and lack attracts lack.

Needless to say that forming a habit of being grateful from your heart is no less important than living a stress-free life. Gratitude lets us feel the ground, and move on.

 

4. Just for today, I will do my work honestly

Now the fourth principle is more like a tool to reveal our true purpose. Doing our work honestly brings understanding of whether we truly love what we do. If we do love it, then when doing it honestly and with purpose, at the end of the day we'll feel good about ourselves and more fulfilled. If it doesn't bring fulfillment, probably this particular work is not something that we have to be doing.

It's a perfect principle to find a purpose by trying new things and reflecting on how it feels. Again, it's doable and realistic: just one small step a day.

 

5. Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing

Out of the 5 Reiki principles this one is the most complicated principle. The first thing you may ask here is: Why in the world should we be kind to everyone? To start with, being kind doesn't mean we have to love everyone. Then what is kindness?

Kindness is a type of behavior marked by acts of generosity, consideration, rendering assistance or concern for others, without expecting praise or reward in return. Wiki

Should I say that we sometimes forget to be kind to people we love and appreciate in the first place? We do. So this principle is a reminder to be in the present moment with the ones we love and show them our appreciation by being kind to them.

But what about those other people? What about those whom we don't at all like? Now, this principle forces us to think mindfully. We never know the reasons behind one's unpleasant behavior. For example, anger is an emotional representation of fear. So, will hate and counter-attack help? Unlikely. Will a small act of kindness help? Much likely. I'm sure you've experienced this phenomenon in your life. And if you don't, give it a try. Again, don't push too hard. Remember, it's just for today.

To sum things up,

The 5 Reiki principles are universal, no matter if you are into Reiki or not, if you believe in God, in the Universe or are an atheist or agnostic. They help to form positive habits, improving our lives day by day. If it seems overwhelming to live by all five of these principles every single day, you can start by trying just one.

 

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And one more thing, – some people are skeptical about the 'not' particle in the first two principles. I will not worry; I will not be angry. The reason is, our brain tends to skip the 'not' part, and thus will concentrate on the 'I will worry' and 'I will be angry' phrases as a guideline. If you notice that your brain tends to act this way, you may rephrase these principles into: I will let go of worry and I will let go of anger.