3 Reasons Why Healers Fail to Become Reiki Professionals - Part 1

A lot of people would like to make a living as professional Reiki therapists, but few actually succeed.

That doesn't mean that it's impossible or that you can't do it - quite the contrary - but if you are to succeed you will most likely need to avoid three key mistakes:

1) Becoming a professional Reiki healer for the wrong reasons.

2) Giving up too soon.

3) Not diversifying.

This article looks at the first of these three reasons and, well, may offend some!

Becoming a Professional Reiki Healer for the Wrong Reasons

If you are going to succeed where most people fail, then your heart needs to be fully engaged in what you are doing. If you think working with Reiki would help you to be a 'good', 'noble', 'spiritual' person but aren't genuinely motivated by passion, then you are not going to succeed as a professional.

Perhaps you might succeed in other fields, but not Reiki.

Reiki requires passion for your clients and passion for your overall work.

You need passion for your clients' wellbeing because that is the best way to create a strong energetic connection to them. (If they feel you care about them, they are much more likely to open up energetically.)

You need passion for your overall work because that is the most potent engine for overcoming obstacles that block your path.

You see, if you are passionate about what you do then obstacles are just temporary inconveniences - things you're happy to work your way around or through. You'll be like water streaming down a mountainside: if a rock gets in your way, you'll simply find an alternative route down.

If you are not truly passionate, however, then you're either going to stop in front of that rock, through a tantrum and refuse to go on, or make your way around it but spend half of your energy cursing it.

The difference between working in alignment with your passion and working against it can be likened to the difference between being pulled on by a locomotive and pulling the locomotive on.

When you are doing something you're not passionate about, it can be like trying to move a locomotive with your own force: you tug, you pull - but to make even the tiniest progress feels like lot of work.

When you're filled with passion, however, it's the exact reverse: it's like the locomotive is pulling you - and your job is simply to hold on! Here you may encounter obstacles that temporarily slow down your speed, but it's going to take a lot to stop you altogether.

To give you an example from my own life, I have a second business in literacy that I set up before becoming a Reiki professional. The business is a noble one and I truly believe the system I help market is the best method in the world for children who need to learn to read and write English. The thing is, it's not my passion so, even though it only takes up about 2% of my total working hours (but rewards me nicely), inconveniences still feel like a triple dose of gravity and, when they pop up, it takes self-control not to give in to the negativity my mind would so love to spin.

With Reiki, however, when problems arise, I just find a solution. I may feel momentarily frustrated, but next instant I'm on the lookout for a fix to the issue - and one always comes along. After that, it's full steam ahead again.

Once we recognise the importance of passion in working with Reiki (or whatever we do!), another issue often arises: we are not 100% sure what we are truly passionate about it!

Do what you love, they say.

I have no idea what I love, we say.

A scratch of the head. Confusion. And back to a job we hate because we can't think of what else to do. We can't decide whether Reiki is a big enough passion to make things work.

My experience, however, is that almost everyone does know what they love doing, it's just that they are afraid of admitting it to themselves because they don't think it is possible and, as a result, don't want to be disappointed or laughed at.

If you don't believe me, imagine having a chat to God one day and getting His / Her assurance that whatever profession you decide to do, you're guaranteed to be a massive success. You'll be brilliant at it. You'll be fabulously rich. Just take your pick and voila, it's all yours!

Spend a moment now and imagine the above scenario. Then notice how clear you've suddenly become!

(Note: if the exercise doesn't work then almost certainly you've let fear get in your way. So try again and remember that whatever you choose is guaranteed!)

Apart from fear of failure, another thing that can get in your way to choosing the job that's right for you - something I touched on at the start of this article - is a sense of MORAL obligation. You feel you need to make a difference in the world. You feel you need to help people. And that could very well lead you to inappropriately choosing Reiki.

But if you look into your heart, isn't it clear that the best thing you can do is simply be YOU?

You have been created uniquely. You have a unique set of inner drives and passions. So isn't just possible that your job is to live in alignment with those passions and drives?

That, I believe, is when you live in the FLOW.

That is when you have the biggest impact on others, when you inspire them to live true to who they are, when you are the brightest light you can be.

Because when you are true to yourself you have a radiance that brightens everyone's day. You have an energy that enthuses the world. And that is when you'll truly make a difference. It's not when you're trying to be good. It's not when you're doing what you think is the 'right thing to do'. It's when the Spirit picks you up, lets you fly, and connects you to God.

So forget about trying to be good!

God doesn't want 'good' people. God wants honest people. God wants people to do the job He / She put them on this planet to do.

Can you imagine how frustrating it must be for Him to give someone, say, the gift of music, to know how much happiness and inspiration this person's music could give the world, only to find this person bugging passersby on the street with Reiki or Bibles or whatever - all without any real passion or joy?

No, if that has been your show up until now, I recommend tossing morality out the window. Just give it a boot, take a deep breath and smile. For then you will be free to be true to who you really are. Free to illuminate the world with your unique light. Free from agonizing over what is right and wrong.

Yes, once you've gotten rid of the dogma of moral law, you'll be ready to live in the Flow, to live intuitively, to live in harmony with the whispering of the Spirit.

This may mean working with Reiki. It may mean something else. But whatever it is, the Heavens will cheer, the world will rejoice, your heart will sing - and no obstacle will ever be big enough to stop your triumphant march.

********

Jeremy O'Carroll

Om Reiki Centre

 

Becoming a Beacon

"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. "

Christ (Matthew 5: 28)

One of the great points of emphasis in Christ's teachings is that if we wish to live a truly happy life (and, in the process, make a positive impact on the world around us), we need to go beyond mere external actions.

Yes, they are hugely important; but important too are our thoughts and feelings.

If our external actions are 'good' but the accompanying thoughts and feelings are 'bad', then negative results will inevitably follow.

To return to - and expand - Christ's quote above, we read the following (modern translation by Eugene H. Peterson):

"You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices - they also corrupt."

This highlights the problem with simply 'doing your duty', with simply doing 'the right thing', with simply performing the 'correct rituals'.

Unless they are also done with the proper spirit, then they can easily do more harm than good.

The reason for this is simple: thoughts and feelings also carry energetic vibrations. So if our mouth says one thing and our thoughts and feelings another, then we can be blasting someone with negative energy even as we praise them.

Similarly, if we help someone out of obligation but resent doing so, we are showering them - and the world - with negativity even as we do this apparently noble deed.

This problem becomes apparent when we make 'fake' apologies.

You know those times when we're pissed off with someone but feel that, in the circumstances, we'd better try to smooth things over even though we are still furious.

So we approach the person we're mad with, we apologize through clenched teeth and, lo and behold, find that the best result we ever get is a frosty reconciliation.

But we've also experienced the opposite: times when we are genuinely sorry, apologize and find that, in many cases, even when it would be fair enough for the person we are apologizing to to still hold a grudge, we are forgiven.

This person feels the regret beneath our words and is moved by this energy.

Beyond External Actions

Of course, sometimes - as Christ's quote suggests - the problem doesn't so much arise from the dissonance between thoughts, feelings and actions, but simply the thoughts and feelings alone. In other words:

You don't have sex with your friend's wife.

You don't whack someone over the head with a bar.

You don't verbally abuse someone.

You don't provoke someone with a wicked stare.

But you do imagine, think and feel doing some of these things and, as such, send negative shockwaves out into the universe.

You may object that holding ourselves accountable to this 'inner morality' seems rather tough and, possibly, even unfair ('Hey, we didn't do anything after all, did we?'); but you only need to turn to your past experience to see that positive and negative energy emanating from a person can easily make a huge impact on those around him or her.

Recall situations, for instance, where you're enjoying time with friends, the mood is positive and then...someone enters the room full of hurt and anger. Haven't you noticed that, even if he or she doesn't say anything, the mood of the entire group often shifts?

Naturally, the reverse can be true: the group is feeling down, someone full of life and positivity enters and voila - everyone starts to feel better.

So we're talking about a phenomenon that we have all experienced. Something we can verify as true if we look within.

And that is why we would do well consider this higher form of morality, because otherwise we might be doing all of the 'right things' but still end up miserable.

The Rainmaker

There is a well-known - apparently true - story about a rainmaker (made famous by Jung), who was called into a village in China that was suffering from a terrible drought.

The villagers had tried everything to make the rains come. The Catholics had made their processions. The Protestants had said their prayers. The Chinese had burned incense and fired guns to frighten away the 'drought demons', but all to no avail.

In the end, desperate, they called in a little, old rainmaker from a far away province.

When he arrived they asked him what he needed and he said only a quiet room, some food and water. Once he received these, he disappeared into his room and didn't come out.

Four days went by and then, from out of a clear blue sky, a massive snowfall came - something totally out of character for the season - and, with that, the drought was broken.

When asked how he made the snow and rain come, the rainmaker at first said he did nothing.

Then, pressed further, he explained that when he first arrived, the village was in a state of disharmony.

He therefore retreated to his room so that he could bring himself into a state of inner harmony and, as a result of that, draw the village into harmony with him. After that it was only natural for the rains to come.

Becoming a Beacon

From the above story and from your personal experience, it should be clear that your inner state of being matters both to you and the world.

I therefore invite you to embrace this higher form of morality. A form of morality that includes both the inner and outer world.

In so doing, I invite you to become a Beacon.

Beacons know that every thought and feeling they have makes a difference to the world and, as such, do everything they can to create as much inner harmony as possible.

Yes, there will be moments - sometimes short, sometimes long - when inner balance crumbles and they feel grumpy, irritable and dark; but each time this happens they do their best to rebalance themselves, because they understand that their inner happiness is no longer only about them.

Afterwards, once their inner balance has been re-established they then do their best to shine as brightly as possible so that the world around them can be bathed in healing energy.

In this way they are 'Warriors of the Light'.

Protectors of the planet.

Guardians of Earth.

Are you willing to join their ranks?

********

Jeremy O'Carroll

Om Reiki Centre

 

The Young Monk and the Little Imps‏

One of my teachers (Frans Stiene) once told me an anecdote that went something (but not entirely!) like this:

Once upon a time a determined young monk headed off deep into the Himalayan Mountains to meditate uninterrupted for three months straight. After hiking for several days he came to the top of a craggy ridge where he found an isolated cave that would be perfect for his purposes. Immediately, he set up camp, sat down in full lotus position on the icy stone floor and, without delay, began to meditate.

Having trained for many years, the young monk soon entered into a deep state of meditation. He remained in it for over a week, only getting up a few times to eat and relieve himself. Then, late one night after the moon had already set, his meditation was disturbed by a band of impish creatures who crowded in around him, curious to find out what he was doing.

At first he tried to ignore them, but inside he grew more and more restless, more and more distracted. In fact, the more he tried to ignore them, the more irritated he got. Eventually, using all the calm he could muster, he explained to the little imps that he'd came to this far away cave to meditate undisturbed and would appreciate it if they left him alone.

Unfortunately, the imps ignored his plea for peace and continued to press in around him, often coming so close that once or twice they even bumped into him, knocking him halfway to the floor.

For a little longer the young monk forced himself to meditate as best he could, then, overcome by a wave of anger, he decided that if asking the imps to move nicely didn't help, he would get so mad with them that they would be frightened off.

No sooner had the young monk decided this than he jumped up from his lotus position and started screaming and waving his arms. Given how big he was compared to the imps, he expected them to flee in terror, but instead they seemed amused by his outburst and, before long, dozens more of them crowded into the cave.

When he realized that getting angry wasn't working, the monk decided to change tack. He decided that perhaps he wasn't being spiritual enough and that what was needed was a bit more love.

With this in mind, the monk calmed himself down and started thinking as many loving thoughts as he could towards the little imps. He opened his heart chakra as wide as he could, he imagined hugging them, he filled the cave the most positive emotions he could find.

Having gone into 'love mode', the monk certainly felt better than he did when he was angry, but the little imps obviously liked this new state too, because the longer the young monk continued to generate his loving emotions, the more they squished their way into the cave. Soon there were so many of them that some were literally forced onto his lap for lack of room.

Irritated once more, the young monk took a few long deep breaths and thought things over. He'd tried forcing himself to ignore the imps. He'd tried getting mad at them and scaring them off. He'd tried being loving to them - and nothing worked! If things kept going like they were he would soon need to pack up and leave.

Determined not to be outdone by the little imps, however, the monk decided to try one final approach: doing nothing. He decided that if everything he did only increased the number of imps, then the only real alternative was to do nothing at all.

With this in mind he decided not to resist the little imps. He decided that whatever happened he would simply sit with the emotions that arose as they crowded in around him. If they irritated him, he wouldn't try not to be irritated, he wouldn't try to go deeper into his meditation so he could forget about them; rather he would simply observe his anger with total passivity. He would watch his thoughts and emotions from place of total surrender. And if he felt the urge to change his state of being, to be rid of the little imps and the irritation they brought with them, he would simply repeat a special mantra: 'I will not try to change anything' - and then do nothing.

Armed with this new approach, the young monk resumed his meditation as the imps jostled about him, bumping into him regularly. This annoyed him, but instead of pushing the irritation away, he simply let it flow unimpeded through his body until bit by bit it dissolved.

The young monk continued to observe his thoughts and emotions without trying to change them for several minutes. Over this time he noticed that he became more and more settled, until he actually didn't mind whether the imps came or went. It was at this point that a miracle occurred: the imps gradually began to lose interest in him and leave the cave - until less than half an hour later he was alone once more.

For the rest of the young monk's retreat he continued to apply the same practice of non-doing / non-resistance to any troublesome emotion or thought that arose in his body or mind, until he was so relaxed and at ease that he would have been happy to stay in his cave for many years to come. It was precisely at this point, however, that his master came to fetch him with the news that he was now ready to go out into the world and teach.

The practice of non-doing / non-resistance is one of the great secrets of meditation. You can use it to heal the past, clear blocked energy and connect with your true Self. Try it and experience your own miracle!

Jeremy O'Carroll, Director of the Om Reiki Centre. 

Web: www.om-reiki.com.au 

Tel: 1300 853 356 

Note: If you would like to post this article on your website you are free to do so, so long as you include all of the above details (name / contact details etc.) beneath it. 

As always - 

Be well and shine brightly, 

Jeremy 

Director - Om Reiki Centre 

Tel: 1300 853 356 

Mob: 0417 328 457 

Email: info@om-reiki.com.au 

Why Most Reiki Courses Fail

Choosing a Reiki course can be a little like choosing a wine: if you have no experience it can be hard to tell one from the other.

As far as Reiki goes, there are three main reasons why courses fail:

1.     A Lack of system and structure
2.     A teacher with little practical experience
3.     A lack of post-course follow-up


A Lack of System and Structure


It might come as a surprise to many, but the system of Reiki most people learns today is far removed from the original system created by the founder of Reiki, Mikao Usui.

I discuss in detail how Reiki has changed over the years elsewhere; so in this section of my article I'd simply like to focus on the most concerning development: the lack of system and structure that has arisen in most courses taught today.  Because this, in essence, is the major point of contrast between what we might call 'Western Reiki' (what almost all courses nowadays teach) and the more traditional Japanese variation.

Naturally, the Western style of Reiki still works well; but there is nevertheless a logical historical reason for its current lack of system and structure, a reason that dates back to the kind of person the original Reiki teachers were.

This perhaps shouldn't have been a problem given that Mrs Takata (the founding teacher of Western Reiki) made all of her Master Level students vow to maintain and teach the Reiki system and structure exactly as she taught it; but it only ever takes one and, as soon as one of her teachers deviated from what she was taught, others quickly followed.

And, since many of the Mrs Takata's Master Level teachers had previously travelled to places like India where they learned a rich assorted of wonderful healing techniques, it came naturally for them to add these techniques to what they taught.

After all, if they were great techniques that truly worked, how could they hurt?

The problem is that over time the coherency of the original system got lost.

Reiki had become a collection of great techniques that no longer fit together, that no longer built on each other systematically to achieve a precise outcome.

As a result, the system of Reiki lost a lot of its original force.

Fortunately, in the mid 1990s, Japanese Reiki re-emerged to both the Western and Japanese public after many decades of secrecy.

As a result, we learned that while a good part of the original system had been preserved in Western Reiki, there were also serious differences between it and the traditional form which, true to Japanese custom, had been passed down from teacher to student without change.


The Reiki Teacher

Unfortunately, Reiki isn't like most of the martial arts that have some sort of 'dan' system.


In Reiki there are only three traditional levels, the highest one being that of a Reiki Master.

What this means is that officially there is no simple way to differentiate between the level of skill and expertise of Reiki Masters.

And yet, the differences are enormous, so potential students need to consider their prospective teacher carefully.

After all, there is a big difference between a Reiki teacher who works with Reiki full-time and a Reiki teacher who specializes in massage but does a little bit of Reiki on the side.

There is a big difference between a Reiki teacher who has taught hundreds of students in all levels and one who has only taught a few.

There is a big difference between a Reiki teacher who works on his or her craft daily, who has done extensive research and studied with influential Masters, and those who seldom reflect on Reiki and only use it sporadically on themselves.

There is also a big difference between Reiki Masters who have been working with meditation and Reiki for years and those who have only just begun.

This, of course, is not to say that anyone without a great deal of experience can't be a good teacher (they can!), it is simply saying that the odds are against it.

Again, since it is a relatively easy thing to become a Reiki Master - as opposed to a master of most other disciplines - it pays to select your teacher carefully.


Course Follow-up

The number one reason why most 'learning' courses fail is because there is not enough - or no! - follow-up.

If you've been to a personal growth seminar you know the drill: you attend it, get lots of useful information, intend to apply it all and then, somehow, find that the busyness of everyday life sucks you in and before you know it the weekend simply becomes a fond memory - one of theoretical rather than practical value.

The difficulty is that we are all creatures of habit, and habits - of any variety - tend to be sticky.

Once we get caught up in them it is hard break free.

It's almost like the gravitational pull of a planet: the larger it is (or in our case, the longer we have been stuck in a habit), the harder it is to pull away from it.

To be successful, we generally need to replace the old habit with a new one and this takes time.

Not surprisingly, if there is structured post-course guidance for what we are learning, this will make it easier for us to form a new habit and, as a result, journey deeply into the material we have just learned.

This will then move our knowledge from a theoretical to a practical plane, making it possible for us to experience true growth and change.

The necessity of post-course structure in Reiki became clear to me early on when I observed that many students who learned Reiki didn't go on to use it in the long-term.

Initially, this was even a problem in my own courses because I, like all of my teachers, didn't have any concrete post-course material for students to use.

Once I started to introduce this material, however, the percentage of students enrolling in level 2 and 3 not only increased; the percentage of students who kept working with Reiki well beyond my course also rose sharply.

Some examples of post-course material I have introduced are:

•  A 21-day e-course that helps students consolidate and extend what they learned in the course.
• A video and articles web portal with additional information to help students overcome common practice-related issues while continuing to enhance their healing ability.
•  Monthly Reiki practice nights where students can come together, ask questions and learn additional techniques not covered in my courses.
• Regular Reiki newsletters with articles on developing one's Reiki practice.
• The opportunity for students to phone and write in with any questions they have regarding Reiki.

All of this post-course support makes it easy for students to go deeply into their new Reiki skills and, as a result, make them an important part of their daily life.


Conclusion

Choosing a Reiki course is a lot more complex than simply finding the best price. Reiki teachers and the support they offer varies enormously, so it pays to do some research before enrolling in a course.

Reiki has the potential to become one of the greatest blessings in your life. You want to make sure you get off on the right footing.

********

Jeremy O'Carroll

Om Reiki Centre