Reiki is really helpful for cultivating our ability to remember. It supports the deactivation of our survival response, also called the fight/flight/freeze mechanism, which blocks access to our ability to think clearly or retrieve memories. When we’re not perpetually stressed, memory can come back online.

What’s even more interesting to me, is that Reiki (more specifically the mental/emotional symbol taught in Reiki 2) can help cement new memories.

Many years ago, I heard someone (can’t remember who, but the impression is of a doctor or researcher) say that part of the problems we face in the chaotic, fast-paced world is that we are just not paying attention enough to what we’re doing to actually make new memories.

Can you relate?

I can! Especially now that I’m wearing reading glasses. I haven’t yet gone looking for them while they’re on my head, but they do get misplaced sometimes.

So for those pesky, maddening experiences of not being able to find your keys or wondering if you left the iron on at home the moment your plane takes off for a distant land, there is hope.

I had a scare a few years ago when on a hike with a friend. I was certain I’d return and find my apartment burnt to a crisp. It didn’t really matter than in my decades of adulting, I’d never ever left a candle burning or the stove on, I was freaking out.

Of course, I got home and everything was fine. But for weeks, every time I went somewhere, I was worried about having forgotten to turn the stove off.

It didn’t matter that every time I came home, sometimes immediately and inconveniently because I just couldn’t deal with the discomfort of not knowing, never ever did I find what I feared to be true.

Then I realized that I was not creating new memories of turning off the stove or oven, blowing out the candle, or locking the door.

A new strategy arose. One much more effective than circling back each time I went somewhere to double check my home.

Before I leave, I stand at the stove, check all the knobs and say, “off” while taking a mental snapshot of the stove indeed being off. This same technique can work for any situation. “Keys”. “Glasses”. “Candle”. Whatever.

A week after I started doing this, my out-of-the-home panic diminished greatly and about a month later I didn’t need it any more. I had effectively cured my paranoia. I only do it now if I’m going out of town or some unusual circumstance has me out of my routine.

Anyone can do this. It’s simply a matter of turning your attention for just a moment to that which you’d like to remember. If you have Reiki super-powers, use SHK to stamp your memory in deep. If you’d like to have Reiki super-powers, get on my mailing list to be in the know about upcoming classes.