Reiki For Dummies. Nina L. Paul

      Seeing your aura

      

If you can see the aura, you’ll be more likely to believe in it. Your Reiki teacher may take you through some exercises to sense auras. Here’s one exercise you can do:

      1 Hold your hand in front of you.If possible, use a blank or white background.

      2 Look softly at your fingers; try to close your eyes halfway.

      3 Take your attention to the space surrounding each finger.Move your eyes out a little until you see a color or line. Close to your body, the aura may appear purplish gray or yellow.

      It takes a little practice, but keep focusing on the space surrounding your hand. After you get the hang of it, you’ll want to keep practicing.

      Don’t worry if you’re unable to see auras. With Reiki training, you’ll become able to sense energy with your hands.

      

Keep in mind that this is a subtle energy. When you think you see something, you have. Trust your impression. Now you can practice seeing auras on yourself in the mirror or on other people. Look softly for best results.

      Have you ever looked at old religious paintings? The saint’s gold halo in religious paintings represents a golden colored aura.

      Reiki and the aura

      When you get a Reiki treatment, the energy treats your entire system, including your aura. Your aura holds the energy of

       The state of your body, mind, emotions, and spirit

       What you’ve picked up from others

       Memories and stuck energy

      Awareness of your feelings (upbeat and open, or closed and with negative emotions like anger, sadness, and overwhelm) indicates the state of your aura or your general state of being. You’re complex, and many energies affect you and emanate from you at any given time. As your spiritual awareness blossoms from Reiki or another spiritual practice, you become more aware of subtle energies within and around you.

      

Because the aura holds energy of all sorts, a Reiki practitioner might want to do an aura cleansing or sweeping both before and after the Reiki session. Another good practice is Kenyoku Ho (dry bathing). See Chapter 13 for more information on both of these techniques.

      Pinpointing the acupuncture system: The meridians

      Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki, was aware of the acupuncture system, which has been used in China for thousands of years. Acupuncture uses needles to stimulate tiny points of energy in the body. Acupuncture points are like traffic signals that light the way of main thoroughfares for energy movement throughout the body, which are called meridians.

      Listing the meridians

      The body has 12 main meridians that transport energy to the organs and systems of the body. The meridians crisscross through the body from head to toe and exchange information. Imagine that these meridians are running through your body’s front, back, side, head, feet, and hands.

To give you an idea of the different meridians, consider that each is associated with different organ systems. Remember, though, that each organ system is “fed” by more than one meridian and that each meridian is associated with more than one organ. Here’s a list of the major meridians:

       Bladder

       Circulation-sex/pericardium

       Gallbladder

       Heart

       Kidney

       Large intestine

       Liver

       Lung

       Small intestine

       Spleen/pancreas

       Stomach

       Triple warmer (endocrine glands)

      There are also two systems — central meridian and governing meridian — that are used in the Hui Yin breath or microcosmic orbit described in Chapter 9. By holding your tongue at the roof of your mouth and squeezing the muscles of your perineum, you can enhance the energy flow coming out of your hands or breath for use during Reiki attunements or treatments.

      Treating the meridians

      Treatment of the meridians, whether by acupuncture, acupressure, or Reiki, seeks to remove energy blocks so that the energy may flow smoothly. Because the meridians are interconnected, balance and harmony between the meridians are essential. Acupuncture or acupressure practitioners plan which acupuncture points to treat. When you have Reiki treatments, the healing energy facilitates healing, but the practitioner doesn’t necessarily know much about meridians because this information isn’t part of standard Reiki training (see Chapter 7).

      

Any practitioners of energy healing, including Reiki healers, will find it worthwhile to study the meridians and even consider professional study if they feel called to do so.

      Locating your energy centers: The chakras

Chakra is an Indian Sanskrit word that means spinning wheel of energy, vortex, or energy center. The human body has multiple chakras that transform information between the spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical parts. For example, if you have emotional issues involving your heart chakra, the issues could be transformed into heart disease by way of the heart chakra. Similarly, if you’re in a state of feeling unconditional love and forgiveness, your heart chakra transforms that energy to a healthy heart and circulation. Table 2-2 describes the chakras and the parts of the body and issues that they govern.

TABLE 2-2 Chakra Locations, Descriptions, and Governages

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Chakra Number	Chakra Name	Organs and Systems	Associated Glands	Issues	Affirmation
1st	Base	Excretory systems and spine	Adrenal glands	Survival and grounding	I have
2nd	Sacral	Reproductive system	Testes and ovaries	Sexuality and creativity	I feel