Today, I want to discuss something called the Reiki principles. These have had a profound influence on my mindset and behavior since I began my study of Reiki several years ago. Over the next few weeks, I’m going to explore the principles with you, including how I use the principles and what they mean to me.

According to the system of Reiki that I learned (Usui Ryoho Reiki), there are 5 Reiki principles. These principles are ideals toward which we strive in order to add balance and peace to our lives.

 

The Wording of the Principles

• • Just for today, I will not worry.
  • Just for today, I will not be angry.
  • Just for today, I will do my work honestly.
  • Just for today, I will give thanks for my many blessings.
  • Just for today, I will be kind to my neighbor and to every living thing.

 

Because these are principles that are meant to help us guide our lives, I believe we can reword them in the ways that best suit us as individuals. For example, some people wish to have only positive words in their consciousness, so they modify the language of the first two principles to eliminate “not”:

For all of today, I will trust.

For all of today, I will love.

I have found that when I use the wording “will not” or “will,” I do not have as much success in achieving these ideals. One thing I have learned about affirmations is that to be most effective, they should be in the present tense, so I modified the wording of the Reiki principles accordingly, to the present tense, because the wording will or will not puts the focus on “future me” and can allow “present me” to slip by and make excuses.

For example, if in the morning I say, “Just for today, I will not be angry,” but then in the afternoon, I get angry, I am more likely to say to myself, “Oops, I messed up just now; I’ll do better next time.” The problem is that we cannot act in the future; the only time in which we can act is the present.

Here is the wording of the principles that I have found most beneficial:

• • Just for today, I let go of worry.
  • Just for today, I let go of anger.
  • Just for today, I do my work honestly.
  • Just for today, I give thanks for my many blessings.
  • Just for today, I am kind to my neighbor and to every living thing.

 

With the new wording, if I find myself getting angry, I remind myself, “Just for today, I let go of anger.” This brings my awareness to the anger trying to continue its surge through my body like a freight train, and I work to release it in that moment, rather than finding excuses for why I just became angry. Instead of saying that I will do better next time, I am doing better right now.

For my nighttime recitation of the principles, because I am trying to calm my mind before bed, I leave the wording mostly the same but change “I do my work honestly” to “I let go of thoughts of work.” (More on this in a bit.)

 

Ways You Can Use the Principles

One way that we can use these Reiki principles to better ourselves—and thus our lives—is to focus and meditate on one principle each day. For example, consider what the phrase “Just for today, I do my work honestly” means to you and your life, or the many ways that you can live out the principle that day.

Another way we can use these Reiki principles to guide our lives is to choose one principle each day and repeat it, rather like a mantra, at various points through the day—for example, for 5 to 15 minutes while you’re waiting in line for your morning coffee, while you’re doing the dishes after dinner, and before you go to bed.

 

How I Use the Principles

I have found that I benefit most by treating the 5 principles like affirmations each day, first during my Miracle Morning and then as part of my bedtime routine. In the morning, repeating the principles puts me in the best frame of mind for meeting the challenges of the day. In the evening, repeating the principles helps me let go of the worries of the day and to calm my mind and body for more restful sleep.

For both morning and evening, I combine the mental recitation of each principle with a breathing exercise and visualization. As I think the first part of each sentence, I inhale. As I think the second part of each sentence, I exhale while relaxing my body further and visualizing the principle being enacted.

Here’s a step-by-step example:

1. Inhale, thinking, Just for today …

2. Exhale, thinking, I let go of worry. At the same time, visualize all of your worries exiting your body on the exhale, and feel your shoulders, chest, and abdomen relax as the weight of your worries is released.

3. If necessary, spend another breath or two on this principle, visualizing any remaining worries gathering together in one part of your body or consciousness during your inhale and then being released with your exhale.

4. Move on to the next principle, repeating the process for each.

 

Over the next few weeks, I will discuss each principle in greater detail, including what the principle means to me and how I use it in both the morning and the evening.

 

Until then …

may you not worry,

may you not be angry,

may you do your work honestly,

may you give thanks for your many blessings,

and may you be kind to your neighbor and to every living thing.

 

***

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