In a previous blog post, I provided an overview of the 5 Reiki principles, how I alter their wording, and how to use them. This week, we’re looking a bit more in depth at the first Reiki principle and how it can help us add balance and peace to our lives.

The most widely used translation of this first principle that I have seen is “Just for today, I will not worry.” To me, this principle is not meant to be an admonishment against worry but a reminder to not dwell in our worry. After all, worry never actually leads to anything productive or helpful. All too often, it results in us spinning our wheels, getting mentally stuck in thoughts of fear and dread.

I find that I have the best results in my life when I use positive language, so when I find myself worrying, if I think of the wording “Just for today, I will not worry,” I am more likely to feel bad because I realize I’m already worrying. And then I might as well keep on worrying, right? After all, I’ve already wasted my one shot for the day to not worry.

Then I’m more likely to get into another thought spiral, triggered by should/shouldn’t. Should is a dangerous word, a gateway word. It leads right to thoughts of failure and, worse, shame about that so-called failure. Should is a word of judgment, and it acts like a deadweight, pulling us down.

All of this, of course, does not help us bring balance and peace to our lives. I thus rephrase this principle to “Just for today, I let go of worry,” to remind myself to shift my focus from the problem to a solution. After all, worry is simply a focus on our problems. Worry also leaves us powerless. To worry is to accept that we have little or no power in a situation. But shifting our focus from the worry by repeating, “Just for today, I let go of worry,” reminds us that we are not powerless, that we can let go of the worry.

By shifting our focus in a slightly more positive direction, we remind ourselves that we are not powerless. And that helps us to see an entire vista that is unavailable to us mentally when we are stuck in powerlessness; we can begin to see possibilities, and options.

Let’s look at an example.

Pain tends to bring humans automatically into a state of worry, and I am no exception. On the day I am writing the first draft of this post, quickly changing barometric pressure has triggered aches throughout my body, including my head. I have noticed myself numerous times today worrying when something wasn’t going the way I wanted it to or the way it usually does—the way it should go. Between the two of us, my husband and I have been trying to load a video to various platforms on the Internet for almost 7 hours, all to no avail. I want this video to be made available tomorrow for my YouTube and blog subscribers. After hours of unsuccessful attempts and problems, I found myself worrying that because people have come to expect a monthly video with this post, the post won’t do so well if it doesn’t have a video. It should have a video, darn it!

I noticed myself in this unhelpful spiral of thinking, then repeated the first Reiki principle: Just for today, I let go of worry.

I exhaled deeply.

Still worried.

I inhaled again, focusing on the worry, then exhaled, and pictured the worry getting kicked out of my headspace.

Thus unencumbered (if only momentarily) by worry, I recognized that I could still schedule the blog post, just without the video.

I know, it’s a groundbreaking thought, right? (Yes, that’s sarcasm.)

 

But that’s the thing: When we’re stuck in worry, we get blinded to completely obvious solutions, because we sell ourselves on the idea that we are powerless. Here, one of my favorite sayings comes to mind: The only thing in this world that I have control over is my behavior. I can’t control that first worry that pops into my head. But I can keep myself from giving it the attention that would turn it into a spiral. I am choosing to not make myself powerless.

So I scheduled the blog post without the customary video. I’m not going to should all over myself, as my mentor says—I’m making no mention of the video’s absence in the post. If the problem is fixed before the post goes live, I can post it as normal, with a video link. But if not? It’s my blog, and I control what goes up there, regardless of what I “should” be doing.

There are plenty of other things that can be worried about, but by shifting my focus ever so slightly using this principle, I eliminated one of the sources of worry. That is empowering and brings more peace to my life.

Try it for yourself today.

***

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