Reiki and returning to true self is my account of lessons learned with my journey of practicing Reiki.

After experiencing anxiety, depression, low self-worth, and the effects of trauma, I found that Reiki helped me to rediscover balance, peace, and a greater sense of connection in everyday life. Reiki returned me back to my true self and I don’t just dream of living the life I want, I’m living it!

Finding my true self with Reiki

If you have found yourself in a rut, or you have lost touch with Reiki following an attunement to it, then I invite you to discover my learning lessons and how you too can create a happier life.

Firstly, allow me to begin by explaining the concept of ‘being my true self’.

For a long time, I was simply existing in life, and I often thought that there must be more to life. Looking back, I was living for everyone else and most certainly not me. I was a people pleaser with a total lack of self-love and it’s no wonder that it culminated in a diagnosis of General Anxiety Disorder in 2017. This is a defining moment for me as it put me on my path to becoming my true, authentic self.

Instead of being afraid of the following: –

• Speaking my truth
• Following my calling
• Saying ‘no’
• Putting myself first
• The future
• Not being good enough

Reiki taught me how to live again, but how?

The Concept of Reiki

Another defining moment in my journey of practicing Reiki was contemplating the words of my Reiki Master, Pauline Mahony.

‘Reiki is healing the mind’.

Pauline Mahony

As many of you may know, if already on a holistic, spiritual path, most dis-ease in your physical body reflects your mind. Therefore, it pays well to look after your mind as equally as your body.

Take for example the link between chronic stress and the health of your heart. The British Heart Foundation have been studying this link, and you can read more about it here.

Chronic stress if left unmanaged can lead to severe mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. It can also lead to severe illness, especially with your body being under the strain of continual fight or flight. It also takes a toll on your immune system, which assists in protecting you against illness.

What is fight or flight?

The adrenal glands regulate stress and are responsible for putting us into flight or fight.

During fight or flight, your body is preparing for action by increasing blood flow to muscles and has directed blood away from your inner organs. Your digestive system is slowed down, causing dry mouth, upset stomach, diarrhoea. Your heart beats faster to circulate the blood and breathing speeds up to allow more intake of oxygen. Your body heats up due to working harder to circulate blood and it becomes difficult to focus. Possible feelings of impending doom begin. This then leads to the urge to run away or avoid.

Being stuck in continual fight or flight can lead to serious conditions such as anxiety, depression, mental exhaustion and physical ill health. Therefore, it pays to look after not only your physical health but also your mental health and overall wellbeing.

A regular practice of Reiki is key.

Returning to my true self

My journey of returning to my true self had already begun the very moment I sought help in 2017. Following my attunement, I was open to the concept of Reiki but also sceptical. My expectation of being healed and life becoming instantly rosy was naieve.

I can tell you however, right now, I’m living my best life and obstacles and challenges that come my way are managed well. I’m stronger than I have ever been and I continue to grow. I’ve fully reconnected with the very essence of who I am. I have returned to my true self, which is thanks to my daily practice of Reiki. In fact, it’s more than a daily practice. I live and breathe Reiki. I committed my path to understanding and working with the spiritual healing energy, every day.

I’m authentic, I am my true self!

Lesson’s Learned on my path to becoming my true self

Stop waiting for change – Make it happen!

Study and reflect on the five Reiki precepts because these are your foundation.

Your attunement to Reiki is not going to miraculously heal you or make your life change instantly.

You must put in the work; you must commit to your daily practice of self-care. If you are not prepared to work with Reiki on yourself, live, feel and breathe it, then how can you truly assist others in their journey of deep inner healing?

Of course, this is a major lesson I learned about myself. It’s so easy to help others but when it comes to helping myself, I had a major block to overcome.

By the way, allow me to clear up the question of a treatment or an attunement to Reiki releasing such blockages. Well, yes, it can in some cases, but if you are not working on yourself, not prepared to make any changes, they will simply build back up again.

I’ve already mentioned that prior to 2017 and my breaking point, I had absolutely no self-love. I had no regard for my physical health and the concept of having an energy body was non-existent.

What is an energy body?

Your mind, thoughts, feelings, emotions, senses, spirit, soul are not physical objects that are tangible. Therefore, this is what we refer to as our energy body.

Because it is not taught to us on the school curriculum, it is something that many of us have absolutely no awareness of but as I have unfortunately experienced, the imbalance of our mind can weigh heavily on our physical health.

Your energy body is as equally important as your physical body.

Restoring my true-self

My physical health pre 2017 was terrible.

Diabetes type 2 is a result of my lack of self-love.

More importantly, I was vastly obese reaching a size 22-24 at my heaviest. I wanted to lose weight however, I was subconsciously failing by not believing in myself. If I had committed myself to going to the gym, I would also have committed my mindset to believe that I will fail. It was easier to believe that I will miraculously lose weight, and I will live happily ever after.

The importance of a balanced mindset

Now, you must remember that I am not medically trained to be making the following assumptions but a part of me feels that my subsequent overactive thyroid was a result of too much stress and harbouring my true authenticity.

I lost five and a half stone within six months without dieting. At the time, I thought that this was fantastic despite the physical strain this was putting on my body. I even disregarded this information from my GP practice. This led to a total thyroidectomy in 2018 and guess what?

I put the weight back on!

Of course, I lowered my self-worth even more when the weight crept back on. A cycle of sabotage and destructive thinking was at play, which had been at play since childhood. I did not care enough about myself. I had no self-love and no self-worth. Again, I had an unrealistic expectation that Reiki will miraculously make my life better in no time at all. I do however believe that my first attunement to Reiki, SAVED MY LIFE!

Within a month of my first Reiki attunement, I was fighting for my life, which was a result of contracting an infection, causing sepsis. Luckily, I was in the hospital when it suddenly took hold. I was waiting to go home following my thyroidectomy the day before.

By this time in my healing journey, I was very new to Reiki. I had also gained knowledge with very little experience of looking after my mindset thanks to CBT and practicing mindfulness and meditation.

True Self and Practicing Reiki

The day I understood Reiki and I committed to becoming my true self, is the day I began to significantly chang my life.

Everything that Mikao Usui created in his practice of Reiki, teaches us the concept of bringing harmony to our mind, body, and soul. All three must be balanced for us to become whole. If fragmented, we create dis-ease.

Create a self-care routine that incorporates the practicing of Reiki

I tell my students that creating a self-care routine is the very foundation of becoming their true authentic self. You need a strong foundation to heal within.

If you are continually ruminating or catastrophising, you are not present. If you are not present, you are not in touch with your senses and as a result, you can easily miss out on all the joys of life that raise your energy vibration.

Also, you’re not fully in touch with the people around you and you are missing out on opportunities that come your way. You are also not in touch with your physical body and recognising tell tale signs that something is amiss. Instead, you may worry, which can turn into procrastination, which can easily turn into avoidance, fear, which can result in the possibility of severe illness. This is just an example of self-sabotaging behaviour. There are many more.

A good self-care routine begins with raising your vibration by doing things that will bring you a sense of joy, no matter how big or small. If you feel it’s a chore, look for something else but don’t procrastinate or wait until something comes your way. Your self-care routine should consist of pleasure for the mind, body, and soul. Reiki is a practice that brings harmony to all three bodies.

Practicing Reiki

Your intention and belief are important because I fully believe that we create what we think, feel, and believe. Therefore, working on our mindset, daily, is vital.

If you tell yourself that you don’t have time to do this, then you really need to assess what you’re doing. If you told a loved one that you don’t have time for them, how would this make you feel?

Ritual is integral to your Reiki!

Of course, I do understand how hard this can be, but you must begin somewhere.

Don’t set your expectations up so that they are too high and you will fail. This will only take you backwards. Also, seeking help is an excellent starting point if you are struggling with ideas or motivation.

Please get in touch if you would like my assistance.

Begin your practice of Reiki with committing to completing at least 5 minutes a day because the benefits are profound. This obviously follows your twenty-one day practice of self-healing following attunement. Such benefits include: –

• Better management of anxiety, stress, and depression
• Improved sleep, focus and clarity of mind

Perform a cleansing breath meditation

Mikao Usui taught the ‘Joshin Kokyu Ho’ to clear the mind and body of unwanted energy. By setting our intention to connect with life force energy on our in breath, we fill our body with cleansing, purifying light. This light clears any unwanted energy such as trapped emotions, trauma, and stress. With each outbreath, we are circulating the cleansing light around our body. During this process, we are also training our ability to focus on the present moment, by feeling how our body responds to each intake and outtake of breath. We are also, training our mind to observe when we attach to thought so that we can observe that thought and let go, returning our focus back on our body.

This practice alone allows you to feel the energy, the life force of the universe within you. In other words, you are feeling the flow of Reiki within and around you.

For non-Reiki practitioners, find a mindful meditation that allows you to focus on one of your senses such as your breath.

Do something physical

A holistic approach is treating the whole and only doing one or the other is creating an imbalance. Therefore, just working on mindset and neglecting the physical body, or vice versa is not good. Below I offer a few suggestions based on my own journey.

Take at least a 10-minute brisk walk and be mindful. Make it a challenge to see, smell, hear, feel, or even taste something different on each walk. Be fully present and open to experiencing the beauty of life. Don’t be inside your head where you are living in amplified doom and gloom. What started out as one walk a day quickly turned into two, 20 minutes of walking a day because I enjoy it so much.

Starting a physical activity such as line dancing or jive, even bowling, anything that gets you moving is another option. Within the last year, I’ve started dancing and the joy it brings me is immense. I’m also enjoying the socialising aspect of it too. I chose dancing because I’m not ready to attend a gym. I just don’t feel it!

You are what you eat!

It’s true and personally, I found this to be the most difficult self-care practice, which was down to my mindset.

Since 2023, I’ve lost a total of four stone, and my sugar levels as of February 2026 are now pre-diabetic.

This is through a combination of all I have learned so far. In 2022, I studied hypnotherapy and one of the modules was weight management. I became mindful of what I choose to eat and how this affects my energy, and physical body. This was followed in 2024 by specifically asking Reiki to assist me further with losing weight. I also learned about menopause and good foods to eat and lastly, past life regression to see what if anything I can learn from previous lifetimes.

Most importantly, it’s incorporating a daily practice of Reiki that got me to where I am today. I grew my self-love and worth enough to love and respect who I am.

I finally got my head around it! 😉

A final thought on returning to your true self

Do you remember how you felt as a child before life became hard?

As children and free of inhibitions, and life worries, we had a strong sense of wonder and adventure. Nothing stopped us from exploring, which as a result, took us forward with experience that assisted our journey of personal growth.

Well, over the decades that followed in my life, I lost my inner light, and I most certainly wasn’t shining bright. My judgement was continually clouded and rather than being in touch with myself, I looked for inner strength, security, love, whatever that might be, everywhere else, except for within me. Impending doom held me back!

We are all born with this beautiful pure energy, our inner light and it is up to us to keep it shining bright.

A lack of a self-care routine dulls our inner light. We create blockages within each time we keep our mouth shut or do something to please others, or we are too scared to follow our true calling. Not dealing with emotional hurt and avoidance of the pain is also creating such blockages.

These blockages prevent the universal light source of energy to flow freely through our bodies.

If we cannot connect fully with heaven and earth source energy, we will not be whole. We will remain fragmented and low in energy, feeling dark, and heavy. We will remain out of touch with a sense of loss or disconnection.

Reiki is simply the Japanese word that describes life force, spiritual, universal, healing energy and we are all born with it, along with the ability to harness it. We never lose it, but we can deplete it by not respecting and looking after our energy.

Thankfully, we can all regain it.

Be free of expectation

Being present teaches us to go with the flow and be free of rigid expectation. Being rigid with a demanding expectation will not allow you to adapt to changes around you. We can only control how we react to something and we can plan and adapt to changes if we are free of an exact, or unrealistic expectation.

Additionally, if I had remained with my unrealistic expectation of Reiki becoming my path to a self-employed career without practicing it on myself, I would have given up long ago with the belief that Reiki isn’t working for me. Without a doubt, this would have resulted in lowering my self-love and inner strength even further.

Lastly, I would not be a successful Reiki master running my own business and following my calling of helping others.

My life changed the moment I committed myself to a daily practice of understanding, working and feeling Reiki. I reconnected with my soul and began feeling whole.

Today, I know longer dream of a happier life. I’m truly living it and you can too!

Would you like help returning to your true self with Reiki?

Get in touch to see how I can help you with your practice. I offer beginner classes and reiki refreshers that are 100% unique and tailored to you, and your requirements.