Embodiment and Reiki

The word embodiment points to the idea that we have to embody the teachings and practices we follow. And if we look more closely, we can see that the word body is the main focus.

The body is important for many reasons. First of all, it is the vehicle in which we are transforming. The transformation is not taking place outside of us; rather it is taking place deep inside our body. It is the cauldron for our alchemical practice. With no cauldron, there is no real transformation.

The body is thus the vessel in which we need to carry around this transformation. It is the vehicle which houses our energy and grounds our mind.

Often when we start to practice spiritual teachings, we start to focus somewhere outside of ourselves. We turn our focus away from the physical body, as we often think that it is there where the energy of spirituality resides, outside of us. But the more we focus outside of ourselves, the more we become unbalanced. It is as if we are trying to escape our physical body. We often also do this because we don’t want to deal with the emotional issues which are stuck inside our body; we would rather escape our body than confront and deal with these issues. But if we keep escaping the emotional issues stuck inside of our body and energy, then there will be no transformation. Hence we might practice something for a long time and find that it is not benefiting us. But for teachings and practices to really benefit, we therefore need to bring them into our body, not keep them outside of us.

This is also why it is so important that when we do certain visualisation in spiritual practices, that we bring those visualisations deep inside the body. Because the more we visualise them outside of ourselves the less transformation takes place. This is the same when we recite mantras; if the mantras simply are projected outside of us, then reciting them will be of little benefit. But when they are recited from deep inside the body, then the transformation can start to take place.

The more we bring all of the teachings and practices into our body, the more the body becomes a stable vessel for our daily life. This means that we can start to bring our spiritual transformation into all we do during our daily life, and not just on the meditation pillow. And it is in our daily physical life where the spiritual teachings really matter, so that we can be kind and compassionate in all we do.

The opposite of embodiment is disembodiment. So look at your own practice and see how you are working with your physical body in a healthy way. Do you accept your body the way it is? Are you happy with your body, do you internalise your practice, etc…

The more we start to be aware of our body, the less we start to feel disembodied in our daily life. Through this embodiment we start to feel more open and safe in our daily life. And this will have a wonderful effect, not just on ourselves but also on the world as a whole.