In a world of change, unrest and uncertainty, we need more than ever to have reliable ways to come back to our centre, our ground of wellbeing, and to connection with ourselves, each other and nature. Reiki is of course, just one way to do this - and I'll talk about other possibilities in a moment. However, if you are not already using Reiki in your everyday life to help you navigate the ups and downs, injuries and ailments, even illnesses we encounter each day - I highly recommend you begin to do so. It's the easiest, most natural way to help yourself and those around you.
However, there are many ways to ground and centre and it's good to have access to a variety. We will each have our own favorites, but if you have not or are not yet in the process of establishing solid foundations as you negotiate the current world climate, I recommend you experiment with new experiences to find the things that allow you to breathe deeply and ground yourself in the eye of the storm.
A few of the things currently helping me include:
Daily Taichi and Qigong
Wild swimming
Visiting Positive News magazine
Heart Circles - Tej Steiner, the incredible founder is running an online one here
Speaking and laughing with friends
Going into nature and connecting with trees
Feeling my body from the inside
Free-writing to let go of anything bothering me
Noticing my reactions and looking at what they reflect about me
Doing new things
Meditation
and of course
Reiki
Your list may be similar or very different - these are not the 'correct' things to do. What matters is having things that you know for sure will help you swim the seas through challenging times. Some of my list I am doing well, and others I know I want to do more of.
Almost everyone I know is experiencing difficulties of some kind or another at the moment, something that I have not been aware of on this scale before. If we can take a step back from time to time and remember the bigger picture - that everything happening is here for us, as opportunities for growth and understanding at a soul level, it helps to recalibrate.
So rather than asking,
'Why is this happening?' or
'What have I done to deserve this?' or
'Who's fault is this?'
...the questions can change to
"What can I learn from this?' and
'How can I use this experience to go deeper into love?' or
'What will help me to feel connected right now?'
Easier said than done in the midst of extreme difficulties, but that is why it's important to have practices that ground and centre you when life is easier, so that in the most difficult times, they are already there for you to lean on, to help you through. And if one of those practices is to ask ourselves these kinds of questions on the good days, they are closer to the surface and become easier to access on the harder days.
We are all just doing our best, given where we are in life. And the good news is that our best keeps changing as we learn and experience, and as we become more conscious of what we want our best to be.
Be kind to yourself, and prepare for the way ahead.