A Spirituality Without Status
Perhaps one of the greatest confusions in Reiki arises when we begin to associate spirituality with status. A person who has more levels, knows more symbols, reports more experiences, or speaks with greater confidence about energy can easily be seen as more spiritual.
It is also common to hear statements such as “I am a medium,” “I was chosen,” “I have a mission,” or “my guides told me that…”. These experiences may have meaning for the person who experiences them, but they should not become a measure of anyone’s spiritual worth.
Spirituality is not necessarily measured by what we are able to say about ourselves, but by the way we treat others when we are not being observed, by our ability to admit that we do not know, by the way we deal with our limitations, and by how we use what we have learned.
“You do not need to be a medium, have visions, feel a grand mission, or be chosen for something.”
Life is already deep enough without us needing to add an extraordinary narrative about who we are.
The spiritual dimension does not begin only when we receive a message, an initiation, or an unusual experience. It can be present in the very experience of being alive, in the way we inhabit the body, in our relationship with others, and in the attention we give to the world.
Control and Transformation
Many people seek Reiki to manifest, attract, or achieve what they desire. There is nothing wrong with having desires, but it becomes a problem when we try to turn the practice into an instrument of absolute control over life.
Life is impermanent and is not a mechanism that always responds in the same way to our thoughts, intentions, or rituals. There are events we cannot control, such as loss, change, uncertainty, people making decisions that do not depend on us, and limitations in the body and in time.
“Perhaps the practice does not exist to make life obey our desires, but to help us transform the way we live what we cannot control.”
This does not mean resignation, nor does it mean stopping ourselves from acting or accepting every situation without seeking change. It means distinguishing what is within our hands from what is not, acting where we can act, asking for help when we need it, and learning, little by little, not to waste all our energy fighting against reality.
How Are We Living What We Believe In?
In the end, the question returns: “How am I living what I say I believe in?”
If I say I believe in presence, can I be present in a conversation? If I say I believe in care, do I treat my body as someone who deserves care? If I speak about balance, do I recognize when I am living beyond my limits? If I practice Reiki, do I allow the practice to transform my behavior, or do I simply talk about energy?
We do not need to answer perfectly, because this is not a test, and there is no moment from which we suddenly become fully conscious, balanced, or spiritual people. Practice is precisely the place where we realize that we are still learning.
Therefore, Reiki does not need to fit into our hurry in order to have value. It does not need to produce phenomena, make us special, or be presented as an answer to everything. It can simply be a practice of care, a way of returning to the body and the present moment, and an opportunity to observe life with a little more honesty.
And perhaps that is why, the more deeply we study it, the less we need to make it extraordinary, because it already is.
Reiki can be greater than the promises we make about it, greater than titles, greater than expectations, and greater than the need to prove that it worked.
“Because, deep down, perhaps transformation is not about achieving a life without difficulties. Perhaps it is about learning to live with greater responsibility and greater humanity with what life presents to us.”
About the Author
Justino Pereira lives in Vila de Rei, in the interior of Portugal. He is a Reiki practitioner, therapist, and Reiki Master, as well as the founder of Vila de Reiki, a project that seeks to offer a serene and integrated space for the practice, teaching, and communication of Reiki.
His main professional career was as a prison officer, where he spent more than a decade working in a prison environment. That time deeply marked him, placing him face to face with questions of dignity, suffering, and the possibility of human transformation. It was also during this period that he became self-taught in the field of personal development and began exploring esoteric and spiritual paths, seeking to understand what lives within us and how it relates to the way we are in the world.