Time to Transform

We launched the New Renaissance in this year’s Reiki Revival by coming in for a gentle landing, establishing our nurturing Cocoon, and now it’s time to explore the ways we can Transform in this safe, sacred space we’ve created.

We Transform not only by what we do but also by what happens naturally when we allow it, open to it. By creating a nurturing, protective place physically and energetically, we provide the opportunity for healing and growth to happen. This is our mindfulness practice.

And there are active practices that can steward this process along as well. Self-Reiki, exercise, healthy food, deep breathing and a million other rituals and activities, big and small, contribute to our ability to Transform.

Yet the Transformation is essentially the result of these endeavors, like a shadow or the wake of a boat, not the actions or environments themselves.

Part of the power to Transform is embracing the element of mystery. We are scientists studying our own existence, performing experiments to see what will happen if we ingest more of this or cut out that food or substance, if we expand our exercise routine, or increase the amount of time we spend in meditation, self-Reiki or prayer.

We can make educated guesses, but until we’ve experienced it, we don’t know for certain what will happen. We learn, we set up the best situation we can and then we act, but we also need to observe and continue to adjust our environment, our practices and our expectations.

Maybe that exercise routine turned out to be a little more strenuous than we expected and we’re feeling sore muscles that tell us to dial back a bit. Maybe we didn’t feel confident that we could hold still for 5 minutes of self-Reiki or meditation, but it turns out that 10 or 20 minutes can fly by while we enjoy relaxing.

The nature of Transformation is that it’s dynamic, without clear beginning and end. Our human suits may seem pretty solid, and we may think we know ourselves quite well, and yet life is an endless flow of change even though there is also relative stability, and sometimes change can slow down enough to seem like stillness, or speed up enough that all seems in chaos. But even these things don’t last forever.

Gentle nurturing is the key to healthy Transforming, not forcing. Subtle awareness can alert us, long before an injury occurs, that we need to adjust our exercising schedule, and Reiki practice can show us just how tired or stressed we really are, which we may not notice when we’re too busy.

Compassion for ourselves is absolutely critical to Transform in healthy ways because there is no state of perfection, only learning, growing, healing, wondering, adjusting, crafting, sensing. It’s important to celebrate our successes, no matter how minor, and to forgive our excesses and mistakes, no matter how significant. This is how we guide our natural process to Transform more easefully, in alignment with our Optimal Wellness and Success.

“Ikaruna” is the first Reiki precept in Japanese, and it means not only to avoid cultivating too much anger, but even on a more subtle level to release conflict and open to healing where we may feel resistance, annoyance, opposition, and to lovingly and mindfully hold the line when we do need to set firm boundaries, say “No,” or take a stand against something wrong or dangerous.

In the philosophy of Reiki we Transform our world by the ways we Transform ourselves. Just as our environment and practices shape the way we Transform, we contribute to the environment around us and the changes that are possible in the world.

Creating that comforting Cocoon isn’t something we just do once and forget about, it’s part of our ongoing practice. While the butterfly is the emblem for this year’s Reiki Revival theme: A New Renaissance, the turtle is also a wayshower, retreating into its shell whenever necessary.

And like the turtle, we need patience for the slow work of progress. This New Renaissance may literally take centuries if we are truly dedicated to creating a more just, sustainable, renewable, healthy, caring world for all. It has been many centuries in the making already, and there is still much work to do to bring it to manifestation.

And yet we can Transform our own personal experience on any scale, beginning at any time with a refreshing deep breath, a decision to try something new or stick to a familiar practice until we see results, with a shift in our understanding, a new opportunity embraced, even an entirely new lifestyle or path.

The cycle remains the same: Cocoon, Transform, Emerge and Flourish. And repeat as needed, every day and throughout our lives. We become more skilled with practice and reflection, and our cycles and rhythms become more powerful. This is the natural way of things, with no need to make it happen yet with myriad opportunities to participate, to co-create. Just allow life to beautifully, magically, mindfully Transform.

~~~

Join me live this Thursday at 2pm EST for the Reiki Cafe, where we can discuss how Reiki helps us Transform and other wellness-related topics.