How to Empower Yourself and Others Through Sacredness

Within the system of Reiki there are many tools: precepts, symbols and mantras, meditation practices, reiju/initiation, and hands-on healing.

Many practitioners or teachers will say that the tools within the system of Reiki are sacred and cannot be shared openly. Some might even say that the teachings are sacred and cannot be shared unless you have paid a certain fee to attend a course. Some teachers even have their students sign a form not to disclose anything.

But what is sacredness?

For me sacredness comes from our heart/mind, embodying a state of mind of being holy. However if we embody this kind of sacredness in our heart/mind then we realize that everything is sacred; a book, a blade of grass, a precept, a tree, a symbol, you name it. The whole universe is sacred. If we only come from an intellectual understanding of sacredness, then we might only see certain things, like symbols or mantras, as sacred. We might see other things as not sacred. But that kind of sacredness is a dualistic kind of sacredness. If we embody sacredness in our heart/mind, then we have non-dual sacredness and everything is scared. This is the direct experience of sacredness.

“Feelings, whether of compassion or irritation, should be welcomed, recognized, and treated on an absolutely equal basis; because both are ourselves. The tangerine I am eating is me. The mustard greens I am planting are me. I plant with all my heart and mind. I clean this teapot with the kind of attention I would have were I giving the baby Buddha or Jesus a bath. Nothing should be treated more carefully than anything else. In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

So what starts to happen if we see everything as sacred? We start to share more freely. This is because sacredness is interlinked with what is holy. Holy comes from the old English word halig which means wholeness, to make whole, or complete. To make whole is moving from duality into non-duality. Thus we could say that sacredness is to make whole.

But how does this relate to the system of Reiki? The easiest way to understand this is to look at the precept “show compassion to yourself and others.” What is the most compassionate thing you can do for yourself? That is to rediscover your own inner sacredness, wholeness. What is the most compassionate thing to do for others? To help them to rediscover their inner sacredness and wholeness.

Thus if we get obsessed by seeing the tools or teachings within the system of Reiki as sacred, and therefore only to be shared in a class, then we miss the point of the precept of compassion and meaning of real sacredness. Compassion is helping all beings to attain a state of sacredness, wholeness.

Lets look at a few examples how we can share the sacred state of compassion more freely.

*The precepts can be shared with a friend who is worried about a specific situation, you can show them the precepts and explain what it means not to worry.

*The mantra choku rei or the symbol can be shared with a family member who feels the need to be centered.

*Joshin Kokyu Ho can be shared with someone in the plane when she feel anxious or has a panic attack.

*Reiju/initiation/attunement can be shared when you meet someone who feels that he has lost the connection to his True Self

*Hands-on healing can be shared in many ways. But you can also show a person who has not done a class how to do hands-on healing on herself.

A few years ago a new client came in for a hands-on healing session, she was pregnant and had 3 more weeks to go. She had a terrible time during her pregnancy and her mother in-law suggested to go for a session. This client had no idea what the system of Reiki was, but she was willing to try as she was so tired and suffered from lots of emotional issues during her pregnancy. After the treatment she said she felt amazing. Then she asked; “Frans, how can I take this feeling home?” So I taught her hands-on healing on herself and suggested that when she places her hands on herself, that she sets the intent that she wants to heal herself and that she receives whatever she needs. She left the clinic and a week later she booked in again, when I saw her she said, “Frans, I had the best week in my whole pregnancy, I felt so amazing.” She also told me that when her husband came home she told her husband to place his hands on her tummy with the intent that she would receive whatever she needs. When he did so, he became extremely emotional, as he had never felt this deep connection with his wife and the baby before.

Some teachers might say, “But she didn’t receive a reiju/initiation/attunement, she didn’t do a class!”

But isn’t the system of Reiki about compassion? Isn’t it helping others to remember their wholeness? Isn’t that what real sacredness is about?

This is why the system of Reiki is full of meditation practices so that we can become more open minded and have a direct experience of that all is sacred and holy. To make the world a more sacred place, we have to start to share more openly and freely.

Of course we need to have the clarity/wisdom to know when to share and when not to share openly, but this kind of clarity comes from practicing the meditations taught within the system of Reiki. Traditionally, Reiki means your True Self, which is wisdom and compassion. Thus the more we rediscover our True Self, the more wisdom we have to know when to share compassionately.

Frans Stiene

Based in Holland, Frans Stiene teaches in North America, Europe, UK, Australia and Asia.
Frans is also the author of Reiki Insights, it is the continuation of his previous book The Inner Heart of Reiki, taking your personal practice and understanding of the system of Reiki yet another step deeper.

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