A personal list of Reiki Principles
I had the honor of attending my first Reiki training and attunement in March. As part of the training, we received a list of Reiki Principles to recite daily as part of our ongoing self-Reiki practice.
The original Reiki principles, known as the Gokai (Five Precepts), were created by Mikao Usui, the founder of Usui Reiki, in Japan around the early 1920s.
Many Reiki practitioners have since revised and expanded the original principles, offering different variations on them. After reciting the list I received during my training daily, I decided to create my own revised list of principles to help support myself in an even more personalized way.
The following is my own list of personal Reiki Principles, based on the original list and the list I received during my training:
Just for today, I will choose the courageous path
Just for today, I will let go of worry
Just for today, I will let go of anger
Just for today, I will treat myself and all beings with kindness
Just for today, I will give thanks for my many blessings
Just for today, I will know what I really know, feel what I really feel, say what I really mean, and do what I really want*
Just for today, I will see everything as an opportunity to grow and learn
Just for today, I will trust that I am enough and this is enough
Just for today, I will live each moment as the first and the last
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A note about the notion of “Just for today”: Each principle begins with “Just for today” to encourage practitioners to focus on the present moment, one day at a time, rather than looking too far into the future and feeling a sense of pressure to practice these principles “forever.”
* “Know what I really know, feel what I really feel, say what I really mean, and do what I really want” comes from something Martha Beck originally shared in her
The Reiki Principles I received during my training:
Just for today, I will let go of worry
Just for today, I will let go of anger
Just for today, I will give thanks for my many blessings
Just for today, I will do all of my work honestly & work on becoming my best self
Just for today, I will treat all beings with kindness (including myself)
