Why I teach the 7-steps Method. Particularly to Reiki people.
Background
My wife Mischa Vögtli-Egloff and I have been full-time Reiki teachers since 1992. Since 1995 we accompany Masters in their training to become Master Teachers.
Sooner or later most Reiki students develop an awareness of their emotional reactions. As personal and spiritual growth accelerates the confrontation with and awareness of one’s own conduct in life becomes increasingly unavoidable. For many this starts in Reiki 1 or the second degree but the third level regularly brings this question to the forefront of our consciousness. To optimally accompany our students on this path I trained to become a 7-step instructor, maybe ‘guide’ would be a better word.
The self-treat
For us the single most important aspect of Reiki is the self-treat. Its holistic impact is perfect support of and preparation for personal and spiritual growth.
‘Limitation’ of the 5 precepts
With the 5 precepts we start integrating the idea that we best plan one day at the time. We start comprehending more and more profoundly that we are responsible for our anger, honesty, worry and sorrow. We are the captain of our life’s ship, we are responsible for the way we choose to live. So far so good.
But then there is everyday life
An example, a scenario from my life: At the dinner table, my son did not behave how I expected and he ‘pushed my buttons’. He ignored the good manners I had taught him and put his elbow on the table while eating.
Automatically and beyond control – like a kneejerk – an emotional charge takes hold of us in such situations. We do something outwardly or inwardly. Hopefully, we have a measure of control over our action but – truthfully – whatever we do, it is probably poisoned and ultimately destructive; no matter how civilized we play our role as parent, partner or teacher.
So, we know the principle ‘do not anger’ but in such situations, how exactly do it?
‘Danger’ of affirmations
In Reiki 2 we often learn that we can send reiki to the antidote of our negative believe systems. For example, we send reiki to the affirmation “I am a courageous woman” (in the case of a person who sees herself as indecisive or cowardly).
The danger is that the affirmation mutates into another believe-system loaded with an expectation. In the above example that would be the case if the woman expected of herself to always and in every situation and under all circumstances to be courageous. This is extremely unhealthy and dangerous, because we are bound to fail sooner or later. Recognition of one’s vulnerability and knowledge of my limitations are life-saving and wholesome. Such traits must not be artificially cloaked over or be denied by the addiction to a new mind-set.
The pace quickens
People who consciously reflect their own life, will become increasingly aware of certain strategies and behavioural patterns which repeat themselves. People who follow a spiritual practice will no longer be able to escape from noticing. “Each time I meet Olga, I get irritated”, they might catch themselves thinking and they avoid meeting with Olga. This might be a worthwhile decision in the short run but the true cause of the irritation is not healed.
When Reiki practitioners unfold in their personal and spiritual growth a degree of intended self-reflection is the natural consequence. Note: this is of course not only true for Reiki!
The pace of this dynamics increases over time and the initiation to the third level is like the ignition for a turbo-charge in the unfolding process. Eventually, we cannot escape anymore from the power our believe-systems and deep rooted convictions hold over us. The scenarios in daily life will be like ever bigger and clearer mirrors. This is when we need answers immediately.
The 7-steps …
… are a systematic sequence of 7 questions. Answering them truthfully and each fully before going to the next will trigger new insights. Very often the most obvious of answers gets a new meaning. Like Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said: „To see clearly, it often suffices to change one’s perspective.“
But with the 7-steps we explore deeper than that to unravel hidden dynamics in our system. Their discovery catalyzes a shift and heals the emotional charge in the scenario at hand. And more importantly, it starts to resolve the true cause of our expectations, thus preventing similar destructive behaviour in the future.
The final goal is a letting go of the root-cause of unwholesome emotional reactions. The liberation it creates will allow us to lead a life in which we respond rather than react.
In action – a case-study
I was invited to give a presentation in a self-support group on the topic of ‘AIDS and Reiki’. There were 30 people all infected with HIV. Hardly into my lecture, a man interrupted me because I had misspoken Mikao Usui’s death year. No 10 minutes later, he found another reason to interrupt and eventually he said: “You are not personally affected by AIDS, so you are not qualified. I am and I am a Reiki teacher myself.”
How would you respond? Maybe you can sympathize with me getting very angry. I am not proud of it, but I was. Just try and put yourself into my shoes for a moment and allow anger to be present in that Reiki teacher at that moment. I knew I had the rhetorical skills and the facts to ‘shut that man up’ and it was a tempting thought. I also knew beyond any doubt that such a reaction would be entirely in contradiction to what I stood for and what I ‘preached’.
I took a glass of water. With the first gulp I did the first of the 7 steps and by the time I had emptied the glass – in all of 20 seconds – I was free of the anger and was no longer ego-driven. What I responded I cannot remember. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it was not saturated with aggression, cynicism or other toxic feelings.
Empathy and compassion
The process of the 7-steps is a self-discovery. It is not free of confrontational observations bringing us to the edge of our comfort zone. The 7-steps lead to a profound understanding of how we tick. This process allows forgiving for ourselves and entails a new and compassionate view of our very existence and its purpose.
As this new dimension opens, we start perceiving our environment around us in a new light. We comprehend how people in our life tick. Compassion for them can unfold. And true forgiving can commence. Note: Forgiving is not synonymous with forgetting or agreeing with the wrong being done (by others or by ourselves).
Next opportunity to learn 7-steps
In English I teach only online at this moment but – of course – I am available for in-person workshops, too. Contact me directly at kontakt@reiki-international.ch.
