How to Channel Reiki More Clearly
Four ways we slow the flow of Reiki and how to shift it.
In practicing and performing Reiki, we’ve all made these mistakes at one time or another. They are well intentioned and come from a place of eagerness and wanting to make a positive difference in the world. Despite good intentions though, they contain under currents of fear and ego-based thinking that get in the way of our fully enjoying the process of channeling Reiki and helping others.
You probably winced at the word “ego.” These days, the ego gets a bad rap, but I like to think of the ego as child that doesn’t know any better. It’s an aspect of our human personality that has forgotten its divinity and its connection to the Divine. When we boil it all down, the spiritual journey is about remembering who we are as Divine beings and fully integrating this knowing into our human experience.
In any case, the ego-child aspect of us operates from a place of fear and lack. And, it can get in the way of channeling Reiki clearly. Think of channeling Reiki, as if the energy were running through a garden hose. You are the garden hose and when your thoughts are clear and holding the highest intention, the energy flows abundantly and smoothly. A kink in the garden hose occurs when our work is hindered by fear-based thoughts.
How to shift these 4 fear-based thought pattens so you can experience greater confidence and joy when giving Reiki.
#1 I can’t feel anything, so maybe nothing is happening? When we ask Reiki to flow, it flows. In the traditional Usui Reiki system, intuition and being able to sense energy is not a requirement. This is one of the many reasons why Reiki is so wonderful. It’s easy to learn and anyone can do it. And, being intuitive is definitely not required. Reiki Level 1 teaches a series of hand positions that a practitioner may use to channel Reiki. Once you receive the Reiki attunement, you simply set the intention for Reiki to flow and it flows.
That said, if you practice long enough, Reiki will activate and expand your intuitive abilities, and as a result, you will begin to sense the energy in both yourself, other people, and in the world around you.
In the meantime, relax and trust that the energy is flowing. When you are relaxed and enjoying the process of channeling Reiki energy, you are an open and free-flowing conduit.
#2 My hands aren’t hot, so maybe I’m not doing it right? Although having the sensation of warmth or heat in your hands, especially in the palm of your hands, can be a strong indication that Reiki energy is flowing, the opposite is also true. The energy is flowing whether our palms feel warm or cool. Once we are attuned to Reiki, the energy flow is activated simply by intention. So if your palms aren’t heating up, you can rest easy. Reiki doesn’t need them to be hot in order for it to work its wonders.
However, if you want to better experience of the energy flow during a session, it might help to have a routine that you follow prior to each session. Much like an artist has a routine for getting into the creative flow, we can use a routine practices such as Gassho and Reiji-ho to get in to the Reiki flow. You might try the following:
- Vigorously rub your hands together to get your own chi (life force energy) flowing.
- Move your hands into Ghasso (prayer position with thumbs on the heart-center and your awareness on the space/energy between your palms) and ask/intend for the Reiki to flow.
- From Ghasso, move your hands up and touch the thumbs to the space between your eyebrows, the third eye chakra, invoking Reiji-ho to activate your intuition.
- Lastly, gently cup the client’s head in your hands and let the Reiki energy flow.
For an even greater experience of the energy flow, practice Qigong. It’s an ancient Chinese system that cultivates greater energy flow for health, spiritually, and in its more rigorous form, martial arts training. If you do Qigong on a regular basis, you’ll become much more aware of the energy flowing in and around you and how to direct it intentionally for healing, vitality and well-being.
#3 I want people to feel the energy I’m channeling. Channeling Reiki and having that beautiful, divine energy flowing through us is truly incredible. Of course, we want everyone else to feel it too. But sometimes we also want them to feel it because we want validation. This distracts us from our true purpose, which is to be a clear conduit for Reiki; to channel Reiki energy and leave the outcome to the individual’s higher self and the Divine.
It takes lots and lots of practice to become a clear and confident Reiki practitioner. And the truth is, even after many years of practice, sometimes we’ll receive wonderful confirmation of our efforts, while other times the “only” feedback we’ll get is the person saying they feel deeply relaxed. While it might not seem much, experiencing deep relaxation shouldn’t be minimized and is a very good indicator! One of the key benefits of Reiki is that it facilitates deep relaxation. This helps calms the nervous system and re-balance the energy fields allowing the individual’s healing system to correct itself and function properly. In essence, all healing really is self-healing.
Another thing to remember about Reiki is that it is a very gentle healing process. It’s so gentle and gradual that most will attribute their newfound health, vitality, motivation, and/or positive feelings to something else going on in their life. When in truth, the only thing that changed in their routine was they began receiving Reiki treatments! Again, Reiki is such a gentle healing process, with the healing and integration happening at the energetic level down to the physical, that those who aren’t hugely self aware may not notice the Reiki connection.
#4 I really want to help this person be free of pain, cancer, or disease. It may seem counter intuitive but when we really want to help; it can taint our experience of channeling Reiki. This is because some unconscious fear is riding along with our desire to help and it causes us to try to control or force (via intention) a particular result. We must let go of the outcome. We don’t know what the individual’s spiritual journey is about or if the illness is here to teach them something. It can help to remind ourselves that we’re not doing this work alone. The divine life force energy is working through us. We are not responsible for the outcome. Our job is to let go of our fear-based thoughts and allow ourselves to become one with the Reiki energy. Be one with the spiritually guided life force energy, and allow it to do what is the for the highest good for all involved.
We learn Reiki, or some other energy wellness modality, because we want to help others and because it feels so good to channel its beautiful energy. We can improve our pleasure in giving Reiki by recognizing when underlying fear-based thoughts may be hindering our experience. Not only are these thoughts discouraging, they also can exhaust us and disrupt or slow the smooth flow of energy.
Energy flows where intention goes, so it’s best to keep our thoughts aligned with the Divine and/or “the highest good”, as much as possible. If you need to give your thoughts something to do or focus on, then focus on “seeing’ the perfection within the person you’re channeling Reiki to. Imagine the person is remembering their own direct connection to Source, and It’s guiding them to their highest good. Or just let go and let God. This supremely loving consciousness ultimately knows what is best for everyone.
About Natalie Eve Marquis
An intuitive healer, coach and teacher, Natalie helps growth-oriented people transform fear, heal emotional wounds, get clarity, and live a fabulous life.
She is the founder and a practitioner of the Reiki Release Emotional Healing Method, a powerful process that pinpoints and releases the root cause of emotional blocks and negative beliefs. A Reiki Master Teacher, Natalie also teaches all levels of Usui Reiki certification both online and in person. She also provides Clarity Life Coaching, spiritual intuitive readings, and hypnotherapy, and a variety of fun and informative workshops on intuition development, past life healing, dreams and symbols, personal growth, and more.
