REIKI AS SUPPORT FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Beyond personal development, a path of reconnection with our essence
Wanda Álfama
Throughout life, we seek to grow.
We seek knowledge, attend courses, develop skills, set goals and learn new tools that allow us to improve what we do. We invest in personal development because we want to evolve, overcome challenges and build a more balanced and fulfilling life.
But there is a dimension of development that is often overlooked: human development.
Developing the Human Being means looking at who we are beyond the roles we play, the abilities we develop and the expectations we learn to fulfill.
It is a process of self-knowledge, awareness and reconnection with our essence.
What is the point of developing what we do if, in the process, we move away from who we are?
From an early age, we learn to adapt in order to be accepted, loved and recognized. We assume roles, create personas, adopt beliefs and, many times, do all of this so unconsciously that we reach adulthood without realizing that part of what we call “I” was, in fact, built to respond to the expectations, experiences and needs of the environment in which we grew up.
Perhaps this is one of the deepest questions on our journey:
Who am I beyond everything I have learned to be?
It is when we feel the need to make the journey back to ourselves, for the development of our Being as a human being and for the recovery of our own identity.
It is a process of reconnecting, recognizing and remembering.
We reconnect with ourselves in order to gradually remove what we have placed over our essence.
Recognizing who we are at our essence: the unique being who inhabits us.
Remembering what we felt before we learned to hide; what we desired before we learned to please; remembering who we are before we believed that we needed to be someone else in order to deserve love, recognition or belonging.
It is in this space of pause that the true encounter with ourselves and the conscious connection with nature and the universe begins.
The importance of Reiki in this process
Reiki is the harmonization of our vital energy with the energy of the universe.
It can therefore be used as a tool to support balance, self-care, presence and self-knowledge.
During a Reiki session, we create a space of pause in a daily life so often marked by hurry and an excess of stimuli.
When we stop, we begin to hear what usually remains unheard: emotions, needs, thoughts and internal signals asking for our attention.
And, when we begin to look within, we also begin to better understand who we are, how we function and what we need to transform.
More than an energy healing technique, Reiki also has a philosophical dimension through the five principles, which can be experienced as guidelines for everyday life.
They invite us to cultivate greater presence, confidence, compassion, altruism and gratitude, and also to reflect on the way we think, feel and act, including how these align with the way we work.
Its true integration takes place when we bring this awareness into our lives: into our relationships, our family, our work, our choices and the way we treat ourselves.
Because developing as a human being does not mean becoming perfect.
It means stopping automatic reactions and becoming more conscious; recognizing patterns before continuing to repeat them; learning to recognize and express emotions; setting boundaries; no longer living only to meet the expectations of others and also making choices that are more aligned with our essence.
Human development happens when we make ourselves available to look within, recognize and embrace what we need to improve, and take responsibility for that choice.
It is an internal process that involves self-knowledge.
It is in this dimension that, for me, Reiki finds one of its greatest values.
Not only as an energy practice, but as a path that can support human beings in the process of recognizing themselves and moving closer to their essence once again.
There is an essential dimension in every human being connected to love, peace, wisdom and awareness.
Essence is not created, but it needs to be recognized.
Personal development and human development
Personal development and human development are not separate paths, but rather two dimensions of the same process.
Personal development helps us acquire tools, skills and resources to live better, while human development invites us to use these tools in a way that is more aligned with who we are and how we choose to be.
It is like taking care of a car.
We can paint the bodywork, put on new tires, change the accessories and improve its appearance.
But if the engine is not working properly, there will come a time when we realize that working on the exterior is not enough.
We need to look within. We need to take care of the engine.
Human development can also be understood as the development of our spiritual dimension, and Reiki as one of the paths that assists us on this journey.
Reiki is a gift available to everyone to heal, to be and to express the divine love that exists in the essence of each one of us.
With love!
Wanda Álfama
Reiki Master and Teacher
Wanda Álfama is the founder of AMA Terapias Holísticas, created in Praia, Cape Verde, with the purpose of expanding access to holistic therapies and knowledge about Reiki.
Her journey began in 2004, in Portugal, from a concern about the absence of love in human relationships. This search led her along a path of self-knowledge and training, with studies carried out in Portugal and Brazil.
She is a Reiki Master and Teacher in Traditional Reiki and a member of the Portuguese Reiki Association. Her work brings together different tools and approaches, including: Traditional Reiki, Radionic Tables, Psionic Tables, Emerald Resonance, Karuna, Crystal Therapy, Pranic Therapy, Family Constellations, ThetaHealing, Aromatherapy, Phytotherapy, Flower Remedies, Tarot and Oracles.