Silencing my anxious mind: my journey to finding inner peace
You know the saying, “Plan for the worst, expect the best”? For many years, that was the philosophy that governed my life.
I spent my days consumed by thoughts of every little thing that could go wrong, and then I would come up with multiple ways to resolve my nonexistent issues. I think the technical term for this is anxiety. But I thought this was a very normal way to live. In fact, I truly believed I was making my life better because I was resolving potential problems before they materialized.
In reality, I was causing myself to go insane, and all this worrying was taking a toll on my body. I became a walking magnet for bacteria and viruses. Just as I got over one illness, another one would find me. It was not fun. The tension headaches were no fun either.
My mental health was even worse, though you would never know it by looking at me. But if you heard my thoughts – oh mama! Lots of crazy, obsessive, “what if” thoughts!
“What if I had said….?” or “what if such and such happens” or “what if I have to…” or “how am I going to…” or “should I have said…”. Or more specifically: “what if I lose my job” or “what if I say something stupid” or “what if I make a mistake?”
These relentless “what if” thoughts were a constant companion, a nagging voice in the back of my mind, always ready to pounce on any hint of uncertainty or vulnerability.
Eventually, I realized that this was not the way I wanted to live my life. I wanted to be at peace, free from constant rumination, and I wanted to be healthy, both physically and mentally. I understood that I needed to do something to stop this self-induced madness.
I tried many practices to quiet my mind: yoga, running, meditation, breathing, and gratitude practice. All of them worked, but only to some degree. The thoughts would stop temporarily, especially when I was exercising hard, but then at the slightest sign of discomfort, they returned. I thought that I was destined to live with this inner turmoil indefinitely.
One morning, as I was getting ready for work, I heard a voice in my head. It was a familiar voice, one that has been with me ever since I can remember. As usual, it spoke with compassion, love, and authority, and I knew to trust it. “The Voice” said: “You must learn Reiki and not just learn it, you must teach it.”
The fact that I had never had a Reiki healing, and aside from hearing this word from time to time, I had no idea what it was, did not faze “The Voice.”
“Alright,” I thought, “sounds like fun.”
I signed up for the entire Reiki 1 to Reiki teacher program.
A month later, an unexpected thing happened. I was driving home from my first Reiki training when I noticed that my mind was quiet. The what-if thoughts were gone! It was just me and my car heading home. It was quite shocking, really. The next day I woke up, and my mind was still quiet.
At first, I thought something was wrong. The what-if thoughts were such a part of me that I did not feel safe without them. Sure, I thought, a situation will surely arise for which I was not prepared, and then what would I do?!
But this fear never materialized.
Reiki had created a subtle shift in my energy, ushering in a newfound sense of inner peace. That was quite unexpected because when I signed up for the class, my intention was not to find peace. I had no intention, in fact, I had no clue as to what I was getting myself into. “The Voice” said go, and I went, trusting it as it had never let me down before.
“Wow,” I thought, “if one short class can do this, what will happen if I actually start to use Reiki and apply its principles consistently?”
I began to integrate Reiki into every aspect of my life, calling upon its healing energy whenever I felt overwhelmed or anxious. And to my amazement, it worked. Reiki became my go-to tool for finding balance and harmony within a mind that was perpetually tangled in worries and uncertainties.
But the most profound realization came when I began teaching Reiki. As I watched my students experience the same sense of inner peace and empowerment that I had, I knew that I had tapped into something truly extraordinary.
Sharing Reiki became a passion born out of my own journey from darkness into light and a calling to spread love, healing, and transformation. I want others to experience the same sense of freedom and liberation that I did, to know that there is a way out of the endless cycle of fear and worry, and that this way is very simple to learn and even simpler to use.
Join me on a journey to find peace amidst chaos, to heal from past wounds, and to embrace the present moment with clarity and serenity.
Whether you are seeking a way to become healthier, a method to quiet your mind, or a deeper connection to yourself and the world around you, Reiki is the path that will help you get there.
