What Should I Think About While Sending Reiki?

Christian Stone

When you send Reiki, what is happening in your mind? Are you thinking about anything in specific? I have been a Reiki practitioner for years, and since the beginning, I have continually repeated “sending Reiki” or “sending” in my mind during the session. I keep thinking if I don’t continue repeating that in my mind Reiki may stop. I know this is foolish, since Reiki is intelligent, but I can’t get out of the habit after so long! What should I be thinking about?

This is actually a common question, and many practitioners wonder what they should think about while sending Reiki, so you're not alone. For me, what I think about or where I put my focus depends on whether it's distance or in-person. For distance, I visualize the person's energetic body. For in person, since I'm not visualizing anything, I am always striving to bring my attention back to the moment, which isn't always easy.

​Your "sending" repetition really acts like a mantra to focus your mind. Yes, Reiki is still doing it's thing whether you say "sending Reiki" or not, but your repeated phrase is actually really helpful for keeping you focused on the present moment and aware. It's keeping your mind focused on the session, which is the best place for our minds to be. So repeating "sending Reiki" is not so foolish as you might think!

Some practitioners will think about all kinds of things and allow their minds to wander during a session. They might think of their grocery list or things they have to do or their plans for the weekend. And some practitioners may disagree with me, but I do believe it's ok for Reiki practitioners to lose focus or think of other things during a session. I actually believe it's inevitable because humans are prone to losing focus, mind wandering, and getting off track.

It's ok when this happens, and Reiki (the system) calls us to gently bring ourselves back to the present moment while Reiki (the energy) isn't judging us. Like with meditation, it's unrealistic to expect that we will always stay 100% focused in the moment. 

And this is where the real practice lies, anyway...in recognizing when we're thinking of other things, like the grocery list, and gently, without judgment, releasing the thought and bringing ourselves back to gentle attention and awareness of the present moment.

We will think about other things during sessions, this is ok, and it's an opportunity to deepen our practice. "Just for today" is really "just for this moment," and that includes the moment of our Reiki session.

Some practitioners think it's inappropriate to experience mind wandering during a session and that it's even offensive to our clients to reflect on our grocery list or think about our weekend plans. Yes, clients do deserve our awareness and attention during a session. But we can also argue that what's in the headspace of the practitioner doesn't matter because the session is about the client and what really matters is their experience, not ours. So whether you're repeating "sending Reiki" or "eggs, bread, milk," what's happening for the client is way more important than what's happening for us.

I share more of my thoughts in this What Should You Think About While Sending Reiki? video. 

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Sending blessings to whatever you're thinking when you're sending!