A lot of people ask me, “What is Reiki like?” It’s a difficult one to summarise because each person experiences it in a different way. But I have come to realise that whether you are the one giving or the one receiving the Reiki, you’ll have your own ‘language’.
By that I mean you will see, hear, smell and/or feel (emotionally or physically) the energy. And there is no right, wrong, better or worse way to experience it.
I have a couple of friends who practice Reiki, and I used to be jealous of the vivid visions they had when they practised on me. There would be fantastic landscapes, spirit animals, angels, spirit guides with messages, me flying around – the works!
Then when I practised on them, I’d maybe just feel a lot of heat from the heart chakra, feel pulled to the right side of the body and see a couple of colours in my mind’s eye. This left me feeling like my spiritual gifts were lesser or that the energy I was channelling wasn’t as powerful.
But then I realised I was letting my ego get in the way. The whole point of going for a Reiki session, is to lay down, relax and simply receive the energy. I’d got so wrapped up in the idea of passing on impressive psychic messages, I’d lost sight of what was important.
Not all Reiki practitioners do this, but I enjoy gathering clues like a psychic detective, piecing them together and advising my clients on ways to improve their mental, physical and spiritual health. But this shouldn’t be the main aim. Channelling the Reiki is.
The way I used to experience Reiki, first as a client and then as a practitioner starting out, was colours. I’d close my eyes and I would see a dot (or another shape) that would either stay the same, or merge into another colour.
As a client, I’d tell my therapist that I saw certain colours, and she would tell me she saw the same. Not only did this reinforce that Reiki was a very real and universally experienced force, but that these colours related to chakras, and areas of my life that needed work. I was blown away by how precise this intel was.
As I continued on my journey, from Level 1 rookie to Level 2 professional, I started to have physical sensations too. At first, some chakras would feel hot or cold, but soon, I was feeling my client’s symptoms such as a tight chest, a bad shoulder or an emotion such as grief.
Nowadays, I experience mostly sensations and see colours. Occasionally, a phrase or word will pop into my head to reinforce their meanings. On a couple of rare occasions, I have heard a voice, smelt an old-fashioned perfume, or felt another person’s presence.
There are four ‘clairs’ – clairvoyance (seeing), clairsentience (feeling), clairaudience (hearing) and claircognizance (knowing), and it is possible to experience and develop all of them. However, one will be more prominent.
I am now proud to say that my strongest Reiki language is clairsentience, but even if I couldn’t feel the Reiki, I trust that it is flowing through me and working its way through each of my clients, for their highest good.
Want to experience a Reiki session for yourself? Contact me to make an appointment.