Music, Reiki…and the art of switching off

So much of modern life consists of staring at screens. Studies find that today’s children are more distracted than past generations, a direct result of the amount of time they spend staring at screens (https://childmind.org/article/kids-shouldnt-use-phones-during-homework/). Screens emit blue light. Medics admonish us to avoid blue-light emitting screens before bedtime. Late night scrolling on our phones interferes with our sleep and even with our creativity. Our brainwaves are ever active, and maybe that is not a good thing. And that is without even addressing potential harm to the body caused by electro-magnetic waves when keeping one’s phone in one’s pocket, on one’s bedside table etc., about which medical journals have raised the alarm for a while, thus generating a growing debate.

So going to a classical music concert the other night, performed by musicians from one of the most traumatised places on earth, was a real revelation in how to get away from the distractions of phone-led modern life. At one point the audience was asked to close its eyes and imagine the answer to a question about whether a journey that required jumping a series of hurdles had been successfully completed or not. I went with a friend who remarked that shutting his eyes and focusing only on the sound and how it related to the question that was being asked, carried him far away from the worries and preoccupations of his daily life. It actually made him focus on the far greater troubles of others. He felt both grounded into the “here and now,” yet transported and calmed by the experience.

This is also how I view Reiki. The hope is by providing the individual with a tranquil environment where they can feel safe, not feel judged and can basically let go, enables them to focus on their own body and the sensations that they are feeling. At this point of stillness, the healing can take place. Reiki can potentially transport people away from the distractions and the preoccupations of modern 24/7 existence, preoccupations that are particularly visible in SW5/Kensington/Chelsea. From what my friend told me about his experience at the concert, letting go of external distractions and letting the sounds and sensations that were immediately before him carry him away was cathartic. Just like with music, Reiki can produce powerful emotions and bring a sense of release, and a cathartic experience similar to what my friend experienced the other night. The “release” that I have in mind has never been more important in a world in which we are bombarded with images and distractions that ultimately are greatly detrimental to our physical and mental wellbeing.

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