Learning to hear the voice of Reiki

Article by Kumud Bothra (Reiki News Magazine Fall 2016)

Through my practice of Reiki, I have found the way to hear the voice of God through the voice of Reiki. For me, they are one and the same. My understanding can be found in the very meaning of the word Reiki: the Japanese character for Rei may be translated as spirit consciousness, God consciousness, the Supreme Being: the ki as energy of life. I have learned to listen to Reiki's voice- to trust it, to follow its guidance and surrender to the changes that I have had to make. As a result, my life has been transformed to one of bliss and peace. Reiki heals our lives on all levels if we willingly follow the voice of Reiki and work on our problems. Knowing that God wants only the highest good for e has made it easier to surrender and change. I know that I am on the right path for my life when I follow Reiki's guidance.

Reiki can heal our overall being, right into our core, as it heals on all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. But to do this, we must be prepared not only to take Reiki in but also to release our bad habits, and this requires that we make changes. With Reiki to guide us on our right path, we can make these changes and begin to make the right decisions on all levels. This then assists us in our transformation process, healing us so that we are better able to help others through the voice of Reiki.

During my childhood, I was taught and trained how to hear the voice of my heart or sour, or as one might say, God's voice, which has always guided me. At first, I was unable to understand this concept. So I asked my Nana how to know what the voice of God was, and how to tell the difference between the voice of God and the voice of my own mind. My Nana told me that it was very simple- the voice of God is the first voice that you hear, as that is the voice that comes from your heart and that is the voice of God speaking to you. She asked me to think over any incident in which I had followed my heart, and I remembered the time when she had bought me a doll, but the shopkeeper, by mistake, had begun packing up two dolls for me: the one that had been paid for and another one that was also very beautiful. I knew that Nana had paid for only one doll and that by mistake of the shopkeeper, I was about to get two. The first thought that came to me was "It is wrong! My Nana paid for one doll so I must tell the shopkeeper about his mistake." But the second thought was that I should not tell him and simply let him pack both so that I would have two dolls. I decided to follow my first thought and simply be happy with the one doll that my Nana had purchased for me. When I shared this story with my Nana, she said that by choosing the first voice, I had chosen the voice of God, and that voice would always guide my choices in a way that would bless my life.

Because I was taught in that way, throughout my childhood it was easy for me to understand how to listen for the true voice of God. But as I grew up, the many complications of life arose as they do for all of us, and it became more difficult to be sure that I was taking the right path and making the right decisions for my highest good. It is not always simple for an adult to do that.

And then I learned Riki, and I found that it became easier for me to connect with the voice of God through Reiki. Reiki comes from the third heaven or God and has the qualities of love, compassion, through, peace, joy, Karna and more. These qualities do not originate from the ego. Riki can activate these qualities if one is truly willing to let go of the choices that originate in the ego. Because we have the gift of free will, we have a choice as to whether we want to listen to god's voice or not, knowing that we may sometimes be asked to make changes and choices that may not be easy ones, just as I had to make that choice as a little girl about whether or not to alert the shopkeeper about his mistake. Reiki works only with our freely chosen decisions. Reiki will only help those who want to help themselves.

Throughout our lifetime, we find ourselves in many situations in which we feel helpless or need guidance, and some of us do ask for God's help. If we are fortunate enough to have Reiki in our lives, we are reassured that since Reiki comes from God, it not only helps to heal these situations but also enable us to make the right decision in the right time, in God's time. It is there to guide us every moment, to speak to us about what is for our highest good, but we must understand its guidance and be able to follow it.

These examples will help you understand more about discovering the voice of Reiki. I will also share some techniques that I have shared with my students that have helped them to better hear the voice of Reiki.

Techniques for connecting with our voice of Reiki

Once you are attuned to REIKI, you can begin to listen for that first voice, the one that is coming from your heart and is the voice of Reiki. Once you begin to "hear" your Reiki voice, you will want to use it all the time. However, sometimes you might find yourself in situations where that is not so easy. If you are determined to have a certain outcome, if you are confused by too many choices or feel that you have no choice, or if you are frightened, anxious, sad, angry, or in any kind of turmoil, you may have trouble hearing this voice or you may be drawn to ignore it. Here are some techniques to use to learn how to hear the voice of Reiki more easily and how to find ways to help you follow it.

If you are learning to discern the voice of Reiki from other voices, either an inner ego voice or the voice of those around you, even those who want to help you, try these suggestions:

1. If you have taken a Reiki Level 1 class, get in touch with your teacher to learn more about listening for the Reiki voice.

2. If you have taken Reiki Level II, you can use the Mental/Emotional symbol either during self-Reiki or with an affirmation.

3. If you are attuned to Karuna Reiki, you can use Gnosa to connect with the higher self and Rama to clear the mind.

4. If you have had the Holy Fire Ignition, just merge with Holy Fire by imagining it inside you and pray for guidance for your highest good.

In all cases above, listen for the first thought--that thought is the voice of Reiki;any second thoughts are coming from the voice of your mind or from the vibrations of others or from any force that stops us from hearing the voice of God.

Affirmations can inspire you to make a connection with Reiki's voice. First, draw Reiki symbols on your palms(if you are attuned) or connect with the Reiki energy. Place your palms on your heart and repeat any of the following affirmations:

1. I surrender to the voice of Reiki (or the voice of God or the guidance of Reiki) for my highest good

2. I hear the voice of Reiki for my highest good.

3. I hear the voice of Reiki in every activity I do for my highest good.

4. I use Reiki to hear the voice of God.

5. I use Reiki to be successful in life through peace, love and joy.

If you have an overload of too many thoughts and ideas, are unable to take a stand and or are unable to understand what the voice of Reiki is telling you, it is better not to make any decision at that time. Instead, follow these techniques to help you become more peaceful and be able to make a more Reiki-informed decision.

1. Ground yourself: use a grounding technique that you are familiar with, or go outside and take a walk in nature.

2. Try Kenyoku- dry-bathing with Reiki.

3. Go outside and take a walk in nature.

One example of Grounding:

• Stand on the earth barefoot (dirt, sand, grass anything that is actually earth!)

• Spread your toes wide and then relax through the feet

• Center your weight over your feet, rock back and forth, side to side until you find your center

• Ground down through all four corners of each foot

• Traveling upwards, lift up your knee caps and activate the thighs

• Become aware of your femur (thigh bone) plugging into your hip joint

• Keeping the spine long, bring awareness to your hips again, notice if you are slumping into your hips and if you are, lift up out of them by pulling the lower and upper abs in and up. This will elevate the spine

• Keep your shoulders broad, think of spreading your collarbones wide

• Your arms actively extend down by your sides, hands and fingers active

• From your tailbone all the way to the crown of your head, extend upwards and find length

Now you are all plugged in, close your eyes, and gently push down through your feet and into the earth. You will notice this positive resistance as you gently push down, earth energy will rise up through you.

Keeping your body aligned and connected is important, we don't just want this energy to travel up our legs but all through our body. Inhale, imagine (or feel) yourself pulling up this earth energy from your feet all the way up to the crown. Exhale imagine this energy, from the crown of your head, traveling back down along your spine, into your feet and growing your roots deeper into the earth.

Let your body drink in this nourishing earth energy, you only need a few long breaths to reconnect. Let the past and the future fall away, absorb those negative ions into your body and come back into balance.

Lastly, give thanks to Mother Earth, for Her support, for providing for your every need in Divine timing and bringing you back to the eternal now, the only real moment we ever have.

Once you feel more settled, go back to the suggestions above and work with them until you can discern the voice of Reiki for help and guidance in making a heart centered, God-centered, Reiki-centered decision.