Has Reiki Stopped Working?
In all my years of teaching I can honestly say that I have never met a student who can’t do Reiki. However, on odd occasions, a student will share that they can’t feel Reiki as powerfully as they used to or as strongly as they felt in class. In my experience, there are several reasons why this might happen so I will explore a few of these reasons below:
The Power of Many
The combined energy of others, whether in a group Reiki session or when learning Reiki in the classroom, will always intensify the Reiki energy. When a student returns home, the energy may feel less initially (not always) but with consistent daily practice, it’s not long before it becomes much stronger.
Overthinking the Process
Our standard education system teaches us to learn new things in a very prescribed, structured way, with little room for adaptation, flexibility or intuitive thinking. So when learning something fluid like Reiki, for some, it can feel refreshing to not have to abide by strict rules, to be able to play a little with the information and trust your intuition but for others, this can feel stressful initially. Remembering that intention plays a big role in Reiki can soothe much of the overthinking.
Imposter syndrome
The fear of not providing a great treatment can also lead to imposter syndrome. When we’re too much in our thinking mind, it can prevent us from sensing the Reiki energy. However, it doesn’t stop Reiki from coming through. The receiver of the Reiki treatment can still have a blissful session filled with all sorts of experiences despite the giver’s self-doubt. In time, the feedback received from others will soon build confidence.
wanting to find Meaning
It’s the nature of human beings to want to understand and give meaning to everything we encounter, and Reiki is no different. With Reiki, meaning can usually be reached energetically rather than through our logical mind.
When we experience something spiritual be it seeing colours, tingling in the body, visions or anything unusual, we can get caught up in needing to know what it means. This moves us out of our creative mind and squarely into our analytical mind.
If this happens during a session it can sometimes block our ability to sense the Reiki energy. In this situation try to let go of the outcome and remain as calm as possible.
When giving Reiki, If something comes up that we don’t understand, it’s fine to let the person know that the meaning may come to them over the next few days.
Needing Feedback
When we first learn Reiki it’s natural to want the person we’re treating to feel something. During the session, self-doubt might creep in at the prospect of them not feeling anything. leaving us feeling inadequate. Moving into gratitude for doing this beautiful work is humbling and gets us out of our own way. We’re not doing this for the fireworks or the validation, our role is to be a vessel for the energy and that’s it. Even if they fall asleep, it’s ok.
Always connected
Once someone is attuned to Reiki they are always attuned. Even if they haven’t been practicing Reiki, once activated the energy will be there for them to reconnect to whenever they need it. Reiki doesn’t always present itself to us as a feeling, it can be through seeing, hearing, smelling or just a strong sense of knowing.
Remaining calm, grounded and open whilst giving Reiki and letting go of wanting a particular outcome or needing to add meaning to what comes up, will keep the overthinking, logical mind at bay so we can naturally sense more. Daily self-Reiki practice will also help you to sense more and build self-confidence.
Even if you don’t experience it in any of the aforementioned ways, which is rare, simply trust that Reiki is always working and feel gratitude for being able to do this beautiful work.
With love and light
Gwen x
