The Five Reiki Principles Taught by Dr Usui

by Steve Hill

Dr Mikao Usui believed that in order for anyone to practice Reiki and transfer healing energy to others, they must have first taken responsibility for their own health and wellbeing. He developed five principles which he taught to his students as strategies to apply to life these he defined as:-

Just for today, do not be angry. Anger can be a vast destructive force; it hurts others as well as ourselves. Anger closes us off from love and compassion. Try to detach yourself from situations you feel are engendering any feelings of anger; do not just suppress the feeling for it to return another time. Anger will create a massive leak of the vital energy force from our systems. Constantly remind yourself that anger is not your real nature and as such it will pass, try to acknowledge it, witness it and then let it go forever. Remember the opposite of anger is calmness.

Just for today, do not worry. Worry, like anger will also create another great vital energy leak. While anger deals with past and present events, worry deals with perceived future events and happenings. Although worry is not always a negative phenomenam, we should all disregard thoughts of future events and circumstances over which we have no ultimate control. The source of worry is fear of change, one thing we do not always have complete control over.

Just for today, be grateful. We should all try to be grateful and show appreciation for the many blessings that can fill our lives, especially when times are difficult. If we can be grateful we can eliminate worry. If we live in a state of gratitude, appreciating and giving thanks for the many blessings of life we can help transform negative attitudes and thoughts into positive ones. When we are grateful for all that we have received, and when we believe that we will continue to receive these things then we will attract abundance.

Just for today, work hard. We should all work to the best of our ability each day. There is no job that is too humble that it does not require our full effort. Through work we learn and grow, our whole day should be filled with an effort to work hard and honestly at all we do. Devotion will grow through working hard.

Just for today, be kind to others. We should all try to show kindness to our fellow men. We must honour all living things and be tolerant of the way others choose to live their lives It is important that we realise and accept that being kind and friendly to everyone must include ourselves.