Personal practice Monday: Be true to yourself

By Deborah Flanagan

Editor's note: This article is excerpted from Deborah Flanagan's March 16, 2011 newsletter.

"No more words, hear only the voice within." --Rumi

As I've discussed in past newsletters, the system of Reiki offers five precepts (or rules to live by). The third one is "Be true to your way and your being."

This precept is about trusting your internal guidance and finding your unique way. Reiki helps engage our inner resources, the answers we so often seek already lie within: we don't need to go outside ourselves. So often clients ask me what I noticed during the session but it's more enlightening to hear what clients themselves discovered during a session--they usually have the answers they're asking me. Being true to your way happens when you start trusting yourself.

It's also interesting to notice how the precepts build on each other: you can't be true to your way if you're feeling angry or worried (Precepts #1 Do not bear anger, and #2 Do not worry.)

An Exercise

Take a minute or two to think about what you do or need to do to support yourself so you can be true to the light that makes you special and different from anyone else.

Try writing it down. Journaling is about tapping into your inner wisdom and internal guidance and you can uncover and discover many answers this way.