What's Your Scope of Practice as a Reiki Practitioner?
As Reiki practitioners, we dedicate our lives to living by the precepts. We enter into a contract with the Divine, allowing the energy to flow through us clearly so we may serve as a conduit for the best and highest good of all involved. Every morning, we are told recite:
But how often do we leave the precepts behind in our practices? When we become practicing Reiki healers we answer the call of holding space. But holding space gets complicated when you add in your own emotions and thoughts, the emotion and thoughts of a client, and the day to day of running a business.
Suddenly "Just for today I will not worry" seems like a mile away. The big three, anger, gratitude, and worry, tend to monopolize our focus as we try to dedicate life to living by the Reiki precepts. But what about doing our work honestly?
We tend to think of doing our work honestly as not lying, being clear with our intentions, and honest with our money. But for a Reiki practitioner, honesty goes beyond the surface. This precept calls us to be honest with our every word- including our feedback post-session.
After a session ends, we may want to share every detail of what we felt or experienced, infusing our words with our own opinions or stories of what we think they meant. But interjecting our opinions is where dishonesty comes to play.
Honesty means having the clarity to bring forward only the facts, without clouding you feedback with opinions or stories. When a client asks what you think or what you believe, it is your job as a practitioner to keep things client focused, and instead may ask what they thought and what they believed.
It is not our job as Reiki practitioners to tell the story of the session. It is our job only to present the facts. Just as we try to become a clear channel for the Reiki energy to flow through, we must also strive to be clear containers for the information we receive during a session.
It is not our job as Reiki practitioners to share our opinions. It is our job to share the facts, and allow the client to fill in the gaps.
This is where self-awareness is key for the Reiki practitioner. In order to share only the facts, we have to be aware what stuff we are carrying. We need awareness of what shows up for us, so that when something is there for us instead of the client, we will be able to understand.
Being a Reiki practitioner does not make us exempt from keeping up with our own spiritual wellbeing. We need to prioritize our own self-Reiki practice to maintain the clarity that holding space for another soul requires.
We are each on our own journeys. We have to recognize this and allow each other to walk that journey, without our own interjections or attachments. Doing our work honestly does not only mean telling the truth. It means having the clarity to know what to share and when, and to help your client piece it together for themselves, free from your opinions or beliefs.
You walked your healing journey. Now it is time for your clients to walk theirs with Reiki as a complementary therapy.
In love and light,
Christine Renee
ReikiCafe University Founder and President