You cannot give what you deny yourself
Self-love is often misunderstood. Some hear in it only feel-good talk; others confuse it with selfishness. In Reiki, the word has a much more sober meaning. If your inner way of dealing with yourself is harsh, devaluing, or shaming, then this affects your whole state: your breath, your body, your nervous system, and therefore also your energy flow.
Reiki flows through you, not out of heroic effort. But for this flow to be free and calm, there needs to be a certain degree of consent to your own life within you. Someone who constantly judges themselves narrows the channel. Someone who defines themselves only through performance, avoiding mistakes, or external recognition often works inwardly against themselves.
Why self-love is not a luxury
The principle is very clear: you cannot give what you deny yourself. In Reiki, this is more than a beautiful sentence. Someone who wants to give others calm, warmth, and healing touch must learn not to withhold these qualities from themselves. That is why self-treatment comes first in many Reiki schools. Not as a preliminary stage that is soon left behind, but as a daily foundation.
An exhausted person can certainly be friendly and make an effort. But if they constantly ignore themselves, their help will eventually become thin. An old Reiki master would therefore be more likely to praise regular self-treatment than any grand talk about compassion. For this shows whether the path is really being lived.
The inner critic
Many people carry an inner voice that compares and devalues without mercy. "You are not good enough." "You cannot do this." "Who are you to want to heal?" Such sentences often feel personal, but they are usually old patterns. They come from experiences, upbringing, school, shame, fear, or pressure to adapt. Reiki does not work against them by driving them out by force. It invites you to recognize them and no longer believe them blindly.
That is a subtle difference. Healing does not always begin with struggle, but often with honest acknowledgment. When you notice that the inner critic is speaking, you can say inwardly: I hear that there is fear here. But I do not have to submit to you. This attitude is friendly and clear at the same time.
Self-love and the body
A central aspect of this topic is how you deal with your own body. Many live as if the body had to function, obey, or finally become different. But in Reiki, the body is neither enemy nor beast of burden. It is the place where energy is experienced. It carries you, signals overload to you early on, and responds subtly to touch, breath, and rest.
If you constantly only judge your body, it becomes difficult to truly hear it. Self-love here does not mean standing in front of the mirror every day full of enthusiasm. It can begin much more simply: not insulting the body, allowing it rest, treating it carefully, and taking its signals seriously. That too is already healing.
The connection to the Gokai
The fifth Gokai means, in essence: Be kind to all beings. That includes you. This point is easily overlooked. Some are kind to strangers, patient with colleagues, helpful in the family, while inside themselves there is a tone they would never impose on another person. In Reiki, that does not fit together.
Self-love is therefore not a sentimental addition, but a form of inner truth. If you want to learn to let Reiki flow through you clearly and calmly, then it is also part of the path that you do not constantly attack yourself from within. Only then does your channel truly become softer. Practicing self-love in everyday life
Many people think of self-love as a feeling. In Reiki, it is often an action first. You treat yourself even though you are tired. You speak to yourself less harshly inwardly. You allow yourself not always to merely function. These small decisions in particular are often more credible than any grand claim of now fully accepting yourself.
One example: after a mistake or a difficult conversation, you would otherwise keep attacking yourself inwardly for days. Self-love then does not mean glossing over the mistake. It means, rather, calming the body, laying on your hands, and allowing yourself to see that correction is possible without self-contempt.
Another example: you notice that you always find time for others, but never for your own self-treatment. Here it often becomes very concrete where self-love is missing. Reiki makes this imbalance visible and at the same time workable.
What you should pay attention to
Self-love is not self-infatuation, nor is it an excuse to avoid everything uncomfortable. Mature self-love often makes you more responsible, not more comfortable. An old Reiki master would say: Someone who truly meets themselves with love becomes neither soft nor hard through it. They become more reliable.
Your answer belongs in your personal Reiki journal. It grows with every day and stays with you alone.
Self-love is often misunderstood. Some hear in it only feel-good talk; others confuse it with selfishness. In Reiki, the word has a much more sober meaning. If your inner way of dealing with yourself is harsh, devaluing, or shaming, then this affects your whole state: your breath, your body, your nervous system, and therefore also your energy flow.
Reiki flows through you, not out of heroic effort. But for this flow to be free and calm, there needs to be a certain degree of consent to your own life within you. Someone who constantly judges themselves narrows the channel. Someone who defines themselves only through performance, avoiding mistakes, or external recognition often works inwardly against themselves.
Why self-love is not a luxury
The principle is very clear: you cannot give what you deny yourself. In Reiki, this is more than a beautiful sentence. Someone who wants to give others calm, warmth, and healing touch must learn not to withhold these qualities from themselves. That is why self-treatment comes first in many Reiki schools. Not as a preliminary stage that is soon left behind, but as a daily foundation.
An exhausted person can certainly be friendly and make an effort. But if they constantly ignore themselves, their help will eventually become thin. An old Reiki master would therefore be more likely to praise regular self-treatment than any grand talk about compassion. For this shows whether the path is really being lived.
The inner critic
Many people carry an inner voice that compares and devalues without mercy. "You are not good enough." "You cannot do this." "Who are you to want to heal?" Such sentences often feel personal, but they are usually old patterns. They come from experiences, upbringing, school, shame, fear, or pressure to adapt. Reiki does not work against them by driving them out by force. It invites you to recognize them and no longer believe them blindly.
That is a subtle difference. Healing does not always begin with struggle, but often with honest acknowledgment. When you notice that the inner critic is speaking, you can say inwardly: I hear that there is fear here. But I do not have to submit to you. This attitude is friendly and clear at the same time.
Self-love and the body
A central aspect of this topic is how you deal with your own body. Many live as if the body had to function, obey, or finally become different. But in Reiki, the body is neither enemy nor beast of burden. It is the place where energy is experienced. It carries you, signals overload to you early on, and responds subtly to touch, breath, and rest.
If you constantly only judge your body, it becomes difficult to truly hear it. Self-love here does not mean standing in front of the mirror every day full of enthusiasm. It can begin much more simply: not insulting the body, allowing it rest, treating it carefully, and taking its signals seriously. That too is already healing.
The connection to the Gokai
The fifth Gokai means, in essence: Be kind to all beings. That includes you. This point is easily overlooked. Some are kind to strangers, patient with colleagues, helpful in the family, while inside themselves there is a tone they would never impose on another person. In Reiki, that does not fit together.
Self-love is therefore not a sentimental addition, but a form of inner truth. If you want to learn to let Reiki flow through you clearly and calmly, then it is also part of the path that you do not constantly attack yourself from within. Only then does your channel truly become softer. Practicing self-love in everyday life
Many people think of self-love as a feeling. In Reiki, it is often an action first. You treat yourself even though you are tired. You speak to yourself less harshly inwardly. You allow yourself not always to merely function. These small decisions in particular are often more credible than any grand claim of now fully accepting yourself.
One example: after a mistake or a difficult conversation, you would otherwise keep attacking yourself inwardly for days. Self-love then does not mean glossing over the mistake. It means, rather, calming the body, laying on your hands, and allowing yourself to see that correction is possible without self-contempt.
Another example: you notice that you always find time for others, but never for your own self-treatment. Here it often becomes very concrete where self-love is missing. Reiki makes this imbalance visible and at the same time workable.
What you should pay attention to
Self-love is not self-infatuation, nor is it an excuse to avoid everything uncomfortable. Mature self-love often makes you more responsible, not more comfortable. An old Reiki master would say: Someone who truly meets themselves with love becomes neither soft nor hard through it. They become more reliable.
Your answer belongs in your personal Reiki journal. It grows with every day and stays with you alone.
Self-love is often misunderstood. Some hear in it only feel-good talk; others confuse it with selfishness. In Reiki, the word has a much more sober meaning. If your inner way of dealing with yourself is harsh, devaluing, or shaming, then this affects your whole state: your breath, your body, your nervous system, and therefore also your energy flow.
Reiki flows through you, not out of heroic effort. But for this flow to be free and calm, there needs to be a certain degree of consent to your own life within you. Someone who constantly judges themselves narrows the channel. Someone who defines themselves only through performance, avoiding mistakes, or external recognition often works inwardly against themselves.
Why self-love is not a luxury
The principle is very clear: you cannot give what you deny yourself. In Reiki, this is more than a beautiful sentence. Someone who wants to give others calm, warmth, and healing touch must learn not to withhold these qualities from themselves. That is why self-treatment comes first in many Reiki schools. Not as a preliminary stage that is soon left behind, but as a daily foundation.
An exhausted person can certainly be friendly and make an effort. But if they constantly ignore themselves, their help will eventually become thin. An old Reiki master would therefore be more likely to praise regular self-treatment than any grand talk about compassion. For this shows whether the path is really being lived.
The inner critic
Many people carry an inner voice that compares and devalues without mercy. "You are not good enough." "You cannot do this." "Who are you to want to heal?" Such sentences often feel personal, but they are usually old patterns. They come from experiences, upbringing, school, shame, fear, or pressure to adapt. Reiki does not work against them by driving them out by force. It invites you to recognize them and no longer believe them blindly.
That is a subtle difference. Healing does not always begin with struggle, but often with honest acknowledgment. When you notice that the inner critic is speaking, you can say inwardly: I hear that there is fear here. But I do not have to submit to you. This attitude is friendly and clear at the same time.
Self-love and the body
A central aspect of this topic is how you deal with your own body. Many live as if the body had to function, obey, or finally become different. But in Reiki, the body is neither enemy nor beast of burden. It is the place where energy is experienced. It carries you, signals overload to you early on, and responds subtly to touch, breath, and rest.
If you constantly only judge your body, it becomes difficult to truly hear it. Self-love here does not mean standing in front of the mirror every day full of enthusiasm. It can begin much more simply: not insulting the body, allowing it rest, treating it carefully, and taking its signals seriously. That too is already healing.
The connection to the Gokai
The fifth Gokai means, in essence: Be kind to all beings. That includes you. This point is easily overlooked. Some are kind to strangers, patient with colleagues, helpful in the family, while inside themselves there is a tone they would never impose on another person. In Reiki, that does not fit together.
Self-love is therefore not a sentimental addition, but a form of inner truth. If you want to learn to let Reiki flow through you clearly and calmly, then it is also part of the path that you do not constantly attack yourself from within. Only then does your channel truly become softer. Practicing self-love in everyday life
Many people think of self-love as a feeling. In Reiki, it is often an action first. You treat yourself even though you are tired. You speak to yourself less harshly inwardly. You allow yourself not always to merely function. These small decisions in particular are often more credible than any grand claim of now fully accepting yourself.
One example: after a mistake or a difficult conversation, you would otherwise keep attacking yourself inwardly for days. Self-love then does not mean glossing over the mistake. It means, rather, calming the body, laying on your hands, and allowing yourself to see that correction is possible without self-contempt.
Another example: you notice that you always find time for others, but never for your own self-treatment. Here it often becomes very concrete where self-love is missing. Reiki makes this imbalance visible and at the same time workable.
What you should pay attention to
Self-love is not self-infatuation, nor is it an excuse to avoid everything uncomfortable. Mature self-love often makes you more responsible, not more comfortable. An old Reiki master would say: Someone who truly meets themselves with love becomes neither soft nor hard through it. They become more reliable.
Your answer belongs in your personal Reiki journal. It grows with every day and stays with you alone.
Once you are signed up, single days become a path: your progress is saved, your journal is kept, and the attunement days open at the right time.