Just like our refrigerators and cupboard shelves demonstrate our food choices, our medicine cabinets are an indicator of our beliefs about medications. Medications are simply chemical agents that work with the body chemistry to elicit an outcome. These chemicals can take away aches and pains, lift depression, cure the common cold, and so on. Many times, these chemicals do exactly that – and the purpose of this article is not to criticize, or question the use of medications. In many cases, medications can be helpful, or necessary.
However, all of us should thoughtfully consider our own personal use of medications. When you have an ache or pain, what is your first action? Do you run to your medicine cabinet and find a pain reliever? Or, do you take the Reiki path? The Reiki path is a natural, holistic option.
You wake up with lower back pain, a not uncommon occurrence. Rather than take a pill for this, you activate your Reiki connection, and place your hands on your lower back, for fifteen minutes. Immediately, you feel a decrease in the physical pain. You also use the fifteen minutes to consider why you are having this pain and ask for spiritual guidance to find the true cause. You think about the previous day and realize how stressful it was for you; you acknowledge the fact you did not make time to do any physical stretching or exercise. You decide you will have some physical activity today.
Then, a new thought (it seems it came out of nowhere) arrives; you remember something you read several months earlier – one emotional cause of lower back pain is approaching life in an inflexible manner. You remember the argument you had with your spouse last evening when you took a stance and held onto it firmly, not listening to her opinions or feelings about the matter. You were even pleased with yourself that you did not give in! Ouch. You realize this attitude was not loving and conducive to building the close relationship you desire, and it manifested itself in a physical form, in your back. You learn, yet again, the mind, body, spirit connection really exists. Then, you realize the thought that seemingly came from nowhere was actually from Spirit, who is guiding you to wholeness. That is living the Reiki path.
If you had taken the easy way out, by taking a pain relieving pill, you would have fixed the symptom. But, you would not have found the root causes of the physical pain – the stressful day, the lack of exercise, the inflexibility you brought into your most meaningful relationship. The "quick fix", the pill, would have prevented you from engaging in this thoughtful, learning process.
Living the Reiki path applies to the smallest decisions in our lives. My back hurts – what do I do? I feel a cold coming on – what steps do I take to prevent it? The greatest gift of Reiki is the opportunity to become more connected to the healing, loving energies of the Universe, in the everyday aspects of our lives.