Yes, I chose the word "bonus" intentionally.

Ever since I started teaching Reiki, more and more of my attention has shifted towards self-practice, meditation, Gokai, symbols and mantras. Towards everything that happens beyond hands-on healing.

The longer I practice Reiki, the more I see it as a spiritual path rather than a technique. And yet recently, after offering Reiki sessions to people close to me, I found myself thinking about hands-on healing again.

Because Reiki can become part of a yoga practice, massage, bodywork, or simply a way of supporting another person through a Reiki session.

I called this a bonus. Although, from a wider perspective, it is not a bonus at all.

The Reiki system consists of five elements. Each of them matters. And this is exactly what Shoden, the First Teachings, is about. Not teachings that we learn in two days, practice for 21 days and then somehow have “sorted for life”.

Shoden is the beginning of a path. A way of extending a hand to yourself for the journey through life. A journey that has its ups and downs that unfolds in a world that is just as unpredictable as our own lives. And in such a world, I believe that caring for the spiritual aspect of ourselves is one of the most valuable investments we can make.

This is also why I teach Reiki as a complete system. Not as one element separated from the others. Because when we build our entire practice around only one part, sooner or later we reach its limits.

And no, you do not need special abilities to begin practicing Reiki. You do not need to open someone’s chakras. You do not need to see past lives. You do not need to base your practice on external phenomena.

I teach Reiki from a Japanese perspective. A practice rooted in presence, simplicity and direct experience.

I wrote more about this in the material I share before the course. If you would like to receive it, you are welcome to join my newsletter and I will send it to you.

PS. Words are only words. We are the ones who give them meaning. And I still like this “bonus” even though, from a wider perspective, it isn’t a bonus at all.

PS 2 As I write these words today, I find myself returning to Shoden once again.

Almost a year after closing my studio in Warsaw, I am returning to teaching Reiki in Copenhagen, the place I now call home. And perhaps this is a bit of a digression, but I feel like sharing it.

Reiki has been one of the greatest gifts in my life. Not because it made me perfect and made my life easier. But because it helps me live in alignment with myself rather than with the image of who I think I should be. It helps me listen to myself. And perhaps one of the greatest gifts Reiki has given me is the growing inability to lie to myself.

Over the past year I have been rebuilding many things. I reviewed my offers. Created new programmes. Developed materials for Reiki practitioners. Created 21 Gokai for people who have never practiced Reiki at all. I explored different ways of teaching.

I considered running Reiki courses in Copenhagen several times. And now, almost a year later, I am returning to regular Reiki trainings.

From June, they will take place in my home in Copenhagen (I am also happy to teach organised groups in other locations). To me, this is what living without pressure looks like. Not forcing life into an image of how it should look. Not waiting until everything becomes perfect.

I could have spent another year searching for the perfect venue because that is how I once imagined teaching Reiki should look. But do I actually want perfection? No.

I want to share Reiki. I want to continue building the 21 Reiki platform. I want to create programs. I want to enjoy my life. And I want to do it all in a way that feels true to me. Because there is always a behind-the-scenes reality. Mine too. Even when I was running my studio in Warsaw, there were moments when I needed rest, stability or simply a different rhythm, and I returned to freelance work from my former profession. Interestingly, something that once felt like a limitation later became a source of freedom. Perhaps that is a story for another article. For now, I will leave you with this:

Reiki is living in alignment with yourself, not with a copy of who others — or even you yourself — think you should be.

PS 3

About the author: Kasia Wac is a Reiki Master Teacher based in Copenhagen, Denmark. She teaches Shoden Reiki, Okuden Reiki and offers Reiki sessions, Reiki training and online Reiki programs for students around the world. Her work is inspired by Usui Reiki Ryōhō and focuses on daily Reiki practice, Gokai, meditation and Japanese-inspired Reiki teachings. Learn more at kasiawacenergia.com.

This month I had something different to work with. I ran the 21 Gokai program through May and wanted to look at the month through that lens. Through the five principles. As an honest look at where I was close to myself and where I wasn’t.

So here is how I experienced May, through Gokai.

Just for today.

Every Gokai principle begins with the same two words. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not when everything falls into place. Just for today. This is not a limitation. It is a reminder that I only have this moment. And through that lens everything that happens can be met differently. I don’t need to resolve everything at once (uf!). I don’t need to be further along. I only need to return to what is already here.

That is the whole instruction.

Just for today do not anger.

This principle was present in May in a very gentle way. And I have to admit I am proud of that. It showed me how grounded I am in hara, how much in contact with myself. When I think about this principle now and about what happened in the small and bigger moments when anger could have exploded and stayed longer (because yes, being human beyond all titles) I can summarize my May with one sentence.

Just for today do not worry.

I’ll be honest this one had the most work. I have a very well developed ability to create scenarios, to live in control, to anticipate what could go wrong. I know this about myself. And for a long time I called it responsibility.

What I saw more clearly this month was how much energy I was giving to a version of myself that felt comfortable-uncomfortable. A version that talked about abundance but lived in lack. That waited for things to be different before allowing herself to feel okay.

Just for today be grateful.

May is the month I returned to evening swims in the sea. Living close to the sea has always been my dream so having a beach five minutes by bike from home cannot be wasted (even by bad weather :) ).

Every time I push through the cold (yup, Baltic Sea) and start swimming I have this feeling that I don’t want to think about what happened during the day, what still needs to be done, what tomorrow looks like. I just want to be there. In that water. In that moment. This experience is so beautiful that I don’t want to ruin it by not being present for it.

Just for today be honest in your work.

This principle is not about professional work. It’s about whether I’m living in alignment with myself, with what I do, how I speak, how I use my time and energy.

I recently saw a poster of an exhibition called “being safe is scary” and it became the most accurate summary of my month. Because isn’t that exactly what stops us? Letting go of what limits us so we can actually live in peace instead of waiting for peace to arrive once everything falls into place.

The comfortable-uncomfortable place feels safe. It’s known. It’s familiar. But staying where you no longer belong has its own cost. And at some point that cost becomes higher than the discomfort of change.

Just for today be compassionate to yourself and others.

There is no separation — you, others, experience, place. It is one field, one energy.

The moment I start comparing, I leave myself. And when I leave myself, everything outside begins to look like proof of what I feared. Not because anything changed. Because I stepped out of contact with myself.

I wrote more about this principle and how I experienced it here.

May reminded me of something I want to carry forward. We are only human. Each of us has our own layers, our own path, our own goals. And all of that can be met through experience, through the feeling of our True Self, with Gokai as a compass.

I have to admit that working with this program made me more attentive in how I use my time and how I speak. And then there was one more thing. Simple but deep. Something that might sound trivial but showed me how much I had let go of control, of thoughts, of constant mental noise.

While listening to music I noticed the words. Not because I was trying to. Not because I had to. I simply noticed the moment I was in and instead of running through another scenario in my head, another to-do list, another analysis of what had happened...

I just listened to music.

Sounds simple, right? For me it carries something much bigger.

And speaking of songs, here is one for you :)

If you want to start this conversation with yourself, the 21 Gokai program (for everyone, not only Reiki practitioners) is here.

Reiki has been part of my life for years. I’ll be honest - there were years when I called myself a Reiki practitioner without really practicing, but that’s another story I’ve already shared. Gokai has been a big part of my path. I even had the principles on the window of my studio so that everyone passing by on the street could be inspired by them. So deep inside me was a feeling that I wanted to explore Gokai more — for myself and for others.

I am someone who loves to know what’s next. Someone who needs control in order to feel safe. So you can imagine how Reiki practice and Gokai especially has been quietly pinching me for years.

When I was creating this program I felt every word. There is a saying that we always create for ourselves first and I agree with that completely. So I sat with the 21 days simply to embody my own teaching and see how the program flows. I began with one intention: to just be with one day and embrace what was happening, using Gokai as a compass for my thoughts and the way I respond to what is unfolding right now.

Beyond all the titles, I am just a human.

And this program showed me that fully.

When I first came to Reiki I treated it like a magic pill. I wanted to have everything figured out, to feel calm, to simply live in alignment with myself. Everything sorted and then just live. You know how life works. It isn’t linear. I knew all of this. And yet it turned out there were still layers and probably always will be, that’s what being human means - layers that cover our True Self.

Because in Reiki, beyond all the beautiful information about working with energy and hands-on healing, the real purpose of the practice is the return to the True Self. Living in alignment with it.

I often write about this: we live in a time of constant external stimulation. So much is happening that it is completely natural for these layers — placed on us by ourselves, by situations, by life, by society, you name it — to keep appearing. Not as obstacles but as invitations to a more conscious conversation with ourselves each day.

And these layers often don’t show us who we really are. They show us what many spiritual teachers call the old personality.

What the practice kept showing me.

When I began the program I allowed myself to simply be. To remind myself of what I teach: you don’t need more. Just for today is enough.

And every day, the morning meditation followed by a conscious conversation with myself would stop me:

And just like that I caught myself living exactly what Marianne Williamson describes: “Ego says: once everything falls into place, I’ll feel peace. Spirit says: find your peace, and then everything will fall into place.” Only I wasn’t being the wise one. I was drifting toward the ego’s conversation, not the spirit’s.

Day after day I began noticing something I hadn’t expected. I started observing the behaviors of my old personality through the lens of just for today and the Gokai principles. Each day was a gentle reminder that it was an illusion. An illusion covering who I am. And I realized I was holding on to that older version of myself and … calling it devotion.

What if — I only have this one day?

This one day to fully dedicate to creating a life in alignment with myself. Step by step. Without assuming everything will be resolved today. Being honest in my work, doing everything as well as I can … but without pressure. Without treating myself as a project with the assumption that once I get somewhere, then I’ll feel peace.

I smiled at myself when I remembered a similar conversation I once had when I was trying very hard to be in a relationship. I wanted someone to love me so much, I wanted everything already in place so I could feel peace, that I forgot to love myself first. And to simply be in the day that was actually happening. I was everywhere — in the past, in an idealized future — and when I didn’t have what I imagined I should, I felt sadness and emptiness.

When I became aware of this, the pressure released. I simply told myself: I want to be happy, and from that place — loving myself, loving life — I want to meet my partner. Not from lack.

The funny thing is I received that lesson some time ago. And it came back to me in a different form — in the form of my own work. I smile at myself now. Whether it’s love, work or anything else, it’s always about the same thing. Practice and simply living verifies whether we’ve actually learned the lesson. As I say with my friend: the universe checks.

… And it checked me during this program. It reminded me to be in this day, to have my compass, to release control and trust. Not to feed the version of myself that is comfortable being afraid.

Spiritual practice is not a magic pill.

It is a daily return. And we live in conditions that make that return harder … the noise is too loud, the pace too fast, the distance from ourselves too familiar to even notice. That is why books exist, meditations, programs, podcasts, conversations. Not to replace the inner work but to walk alongside it. To offer a hand when the return feels too far.

The question is never which inspiration is right. The question is whether it points you back to yourself.

Let your compass always be your own True Self. And Gokai — if it resonates with you.

This program carries no promises.

I won’t tell you that after 21 days something extraordinary will happen. What I can tell you is that it will offer you a hand — to walk through life in alignment with yourself, one day at a time. Learning along the way without assuming what that learning will look like. Because we cannot control the universe. But we can live in alignment with ourselves and have a life that reflects the desires of our True Self.

That is the most beautiful gift we can give ourselves. Just for today.

This program which I created to inspire others toward daily practice, to bring these principles also to people who haven’t taken a Reiki course — became for me a release on a level I didn’t know I needed. Beyond all the labels, I am just a human. And I am so grateful that Gokai holds my hand while I walk a path directed by my True Self.

If you made it to the end of this article, I want to invite you into something.

Not another thing to consume. A moment to embody what you just read.

Sit for a moment and ask yourself:

• What changes when I bring my attention to today instead of a longer time horizon?

• Where in my life am I still waiting for something to fall into place before I allow myself to feel peace?

• What is one thing that actually only needs my attention today?

• What becomes possible when I stop carrying more than one day at a time?

I have shared one of the meditations from Day 2 of the 21 Gokai program on YouTube — Just for Today as Direction. A simple place to begin the conversation with yourself.

You can download it here as well.

Here is a link to the program: 21reiki.kasiawacenergia.com/21-gokai

To celebrate that it’s finally live, I have a discount code for 21 Gokai — 21% off, valid until May 31st:

Code: JUSTFORTODAY21

The most non-obvious Reiki precept comes to me first when I travel (because you might think it would be “just for today, be grateful” and of course that one is very much present too, but today I want to write about a different one.)

Just for today, be compassionate to yourself and others.

Traveling reminds me not to compare experiences. And what does that have to do with compassion? Well, this precept is not only about being compassionate. It is for yourself, others, all beings. And that “all beings” part, that reminder that we are one, holds a very special place for me while traveling.

It is so easy to compare, especially when you have already seen many places around the world. I remember traveling once during a really difficult period mentally and looking at everything thinking: “it’s okay, but I’ve seen something similar already…”

Comparison became a way of searching for happiness outside of myself. In places, people and experiences connected to moments when I once felt good, hoping to feel that way again.

Compassion taught me something else instead. To simply be there.

Just for today. As simple as it sounds. A practice of connecting the inner and outer world.

That is why now, every time I am somewhere new, experiencing another culture, nature or meeting new people, I try to notice that ego habit of comparing and gently stop feeding it. We are one. There is beauty in how each of us experiences life without constantly labeling things as good or bad, better or worse, because ultimately those divisions are not as solid as we think.

And yes… if something feels energetically lower, I will not experience it in the same way. But what I mean here is a more general way of seeing things as they are. Looking with compassionate, loving eyes. Eyes that are not blind, but that do not constantly compare, rank and judge everything. Eyes that allow things to be exactly as they are.

Madeira is a beautiful island where nature changes constantly. Fog, sun, wind, silence, green mountains. And that too reminded me how life works. However simple it may sound, we slowly learn to flow with what happens while remaining connected to ourselves. To see and experience life from a place of love instead of constant evaluation.

That is what compassion and kindness mean to me now. Towards yourself, others and everything you meet along the way.

Just for today finds us when we stop comparing and start truly seeing. What is inner and outer is is separate. Just for today.

And yes… this is Reiki too.

You can subscribe for free if you would like to stay connected with my writing and support my work.

I remember many moments when I closed a book feeling relief. A quiet sense that something finally made sense. That perhaps now things would unfold differently.

I have always been open to learning. Books, podcasts, teachers, different perspectives. I still am. I genuinely enjoy discovering how others understand energy, spirituality, presence, the human experience. Reading often gave me language for something I already felt but could not yet describe - much like in one of my favourite scenes from Poor Things, when Bella says: “It is the goal of all to improve, advance, progress, grow. I know this in me, and I am sure I am indicative of all.”

More than once I had the thought: now everything will change.

And yet, after some time, life continued exactly as it does for everyone. Ordinary days, uncertainty, doubts, distraction, emotions, responsibilities. The clarity I felt while reading slowly became less tangible. Not because the ideas were wrong, but because they were still only ideas.

There is no single magical pill. Insight alone rarely transforms how we meet everyday life.

For me, the most supportive combination has been learning and Reiki practice together. Reading, listening, exploring open the space. Spiritual practice allows something to stabilise within that space.

Without practice, words remain external. With practice, they begin to become experience.

Reiki has always been my main foundation, but not the only framework through which I understand spirituality. Spiritual sovereignty is very important to me. I do not feel the need to limit my understanding of energy to one system. I am interested in what supports a deeper relationship with presence, with the reality of being human.

So when I refer to practice, I naturally speak from the perspective of Reiki. But practice can take many forms. It can be Reiki, meditation, yoga, journaling… you name it. Any form of inner work you return to regularly.

Some books and podcasts have genuinely shaped how I understand practice and the role of energy in everyday life. And here they are:

1. The Inner Heart of Reiki: Rediscovering Your True Self — Frans Stiene

Frans Stiene’s books have been especially meaningful. I often say that everything he writes feels very close to how I intuitively understood Reiki even before I could fully articulate it. When I read his words for the first time, I felt relief. Relief that Reiki does not need to be complicated, dramatic or focused on fixing anyone. Relief that practice can be simple and deeply human. That Reiki is not something outside of us. It is not something we perform. It is something we recognise as already present. I deeply appreciate what Frans contributes to the understanding of Reiki today. His work helps move the perspective away from control and towards presence. He recently published an updated book “Inner Heart of Reiki - Rediscovering Your True Self” which I often recommend as a starting point, although honestly each of his books brings value in a slightly different way.

2. The Universe Has Your Back: Transform Fear to Faith — Gabrielle Bernstein

Another book that stayed with me is The Universe Has Your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein. I received this book when I was still living in Australia. It stayed on my shelf for almost four years before I finally picked it up. I remember looking at it one day and wondering what it was actually about. As I started reading, I again felt that quiet recognition. Many passages reflected how I personally feel the relationship with energy. The book brought comfort during moments when my mind felt more restless. I have small sentences from it written down in different places. Discovering Gabby’s podcast also came at a moment when I needed that kind of voice - one that reminds you that difficult days are part of the process, not evidence that something is wrong.

3. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom — Don Miguel Ruiz

A book that often returns in conversations with people close to me is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I sometimes joke with a friend that we are ambassadors of this book. Over the years we have bought many copies to give to others, often keeping more than one at home so we could share it when someone needed it. The simplicity of this book reminds me of the simplicity present in the Reiki precepts. Four agreements that support personal freedom:

Be impeccable with your word.
Do not take anything personally.
Do not make assumptions.
Always do your best.

4. The Creative Act: A Way of Being — Rick Rubin

Another book that gave me a sense of relief was The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. Reading it helped me realise that creation is not primarily about external validation. The first person we create for is ourselves. Our work is an expression of how we see the world, how we feel, how we listen.

5. Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle — Colin C. Tipping

This book showed me how deeply our patterns shape the way we interpret reality. It opened the perspective that we can learn to recognise these patterns instead of depending on external circumstances to define how we feel. For me, it was an invitation to take responsibility for my inner experience, rather than searching for resolution only outside of myself.

Alongside books, there are also voices I return to in moments when I need perspective.

6. The Pathway To Your Results (DG Mindset) — Derick Grant

One of them is the podcast by Derek from DG Mindset. Derek has a unique way of speaking about spiritual truths in a very direct way. Sometimes also very funny in a way that makes things immediately clearer. When I notice that my mind is starting to build unnecessary stories, I often return to his episodes. They work for me like the elastic band he once mentioned wearing on the wrist - a simple reminder that brings attention back to what is actually happening, instead of what the mind is trying to create around it.

7. Benshen Talks S.H.I.T. — Desiree Pais

Another podcast that often feels like a very honest conversation is Benshen Talks S.H.I.T by Desiree Pais. In one of the episodes, someone described her as a cheerleader for everyone - and I feel that as well. Her way of speaking feels very genuine and supportive, you cannot fake this kind of energy. Very real conversations about building a business and the ideas that help us keep going, while remaining human (with all the rodeo of the mind) within that process. I often share specific episodes with people who are creating their own projects. Many messages starting with: “you may want to listen to this, it speaks very directly to something you are currently navigating.”

8. Dive Into Reiki — Nathalie Jaspar

My favourite Reiki podcast. Conversations that show how Reiki exists in many different contexts from research and personal practice to hospital settings and initiatives supporting veterans and police officers. I often share these conversations when speaking about Reiki, as they expand the understanding that Reiki is not limited to one environment or interpretation, but can accompany very different human experiences.

Books and conversations like these can open something in us. They can show new perspectives, give language to subtle experiences, sometimes simply reassure us that what we feel is valid. They can inspire us to explore further.

But reading about water is not the same as entering the water.

We can read many books. We can hear many inspiring words. We can meet teachers who open new perspectives. But no book can practise for us.

There is no single moment after which everything suddenly becomes simple. No single thought that permanently quiets doubt. No one answer that makes life stop changing.

What truly supports us is much quieter. Returning.

After this Reiki book everything will finally change.

I thought.

Today, I see it differently.

It is not one book that changes everything.
It is the relationship with practice that changes the way we meet everything.

A book, a podcast, a conversation can feel like a hand extended towards us, an invitation to see from another perspective and continue growing as a human being.

P.S. Other books have already started appearing in my mind, but I will stay with these for now and I will share more over time.

And speaking of books, for many years I had a quiet dream that one day I would publish a book. Writing has always helped me understand my own experience more honestly. When I finally felt ready, I began writing. First in Polish, creating my Reiki programmes and ebooks. Later also in English. Step by step, allowing the process to develop naturally. In March I published something very close to my heart. Creating it felt alive. Not as achievement, but as alignment. A feeling that what I am making reflects something real in my own practice.

I created guided journals. Not another book explaining Reiki, because many important perspectives already exist and continue to support me. What I felt was missing was a space that allows the reader to meet themselves directly.

A book that is not meant to be completed, but experienced.
A book that remains open.

Something I personally wished I had earlier. A simple companion for practice. A place for reflection without comparison, without pressure to interpret experiences in a particular way.

Just Reiki and nature. As simple as it is.

This is where my practice finds me now: offering you a gentle hand towards your own way of being. Not a more advanced way. Simply your way.

You can find the Gokai Journal on Amazon US and Amazon UK, together with other guided journals I have created as spaces for personal reflection and your own way of writing what practice means to you.

With love
Kasia

When I first encountered Reiki, it simply didn’t belong to my world yet.
My aunt had started practicing Reiki when I was still in high school. I am 37 now, so this was quite some time ago. I remember she offered me sessions, and I remember seeing the Five Principles somewhere, beginning with the words: Just for today.

At that time, I didn’t understand why it would only be for today. I remember thinking:

why only today?
why not tomorrow?
why not always?
If something is meant to help, shouldn’t it help permanently?
Shouldn’t it guarantee that I will always feel calm, stable, certain?

Without even noticing, I was already looking for something fixed. Something I could rely on. Something that would finally stay. I didn’t see the principles as a practice. I saw them as a promise. And maybe also as a quiet expectation that something would change once and for all.

Years later, when I began to practice Reiki myself, the same question returned.

Why only today?

If I practice, I want to know where this leads. I want to know that I am progressing. That something is improving. That something will remain. I wanted spiritual certainty.

Instead, I met something much simpler.

Each time I returned to the Gokai, I saw that nothing in them promises a permanent state. They don’t say:

from now on,
you will never feel anger again.
you will never worry again.
you will always feel grateful.
you will always be calm.

They say: Just for today.

And at first, this felt almost insufficient. But over time, I began to see something different. Just for today brings attention back to what is actually here. Not yesterday. Not the imagined version of tomorrow. Not the idea of who I should become.

Just this moment. Just for today, I notice when irritation appears. Just for today, I notice when the mind begins to move into worry. Just for today, I notice what is already here that I can feel grateful for. Just for today, I ask myself whether I am honest in the way I live and work. Just for today, I observe whether I am able to meet myself and others with compassion.

Because there is no “always”. There is only this moment. Practice does not remove the movement of life. Practice allows me to stay in relationship with it.

Over time I understood that Gokai are not affirmations. Their role is not to convince the mind that everything is positive or to replace one thought with another. They are an invitation to notice. To become aware of the moments when attention drifts into reaction, tension or self-judgment. And then to gently come back.

Just for today gives me a way to return. Not to the idea of who I should be. But to the experience of being here. Growth is not linear. It moves through different landscapes. Moments of clarity. Moments of doubt. Moments of openness. Moments of resistance.

Gokai feel like a hand I can hold while walking through these changes.

They do not promise that the path will always be smooth. They remind me that I don’t need to walk it in distraction. And this is where the initial thought slowly changes its meaning.

If this reflection resonates with you, I invite you to explore the materials I create to support daily Reiki practice. Everything I create is something I once needed myself (and still need today). Not to achieve something. But to stay in relationship with practice.

You can explore:

• programs and materials for Reiki practitioners at 21reiki.kasiawacenergia.com

• printed journals on Amazon, including the Gokai Journal at amazon.com/author/kasiawac

I create these materials as support in everyday life and in working with Reiki as a practice of being, not doing. Because beyond all titles, we are simply human. Learning. Forgetting. Returning again. Just for today.

Alongside this reflection, I recorded a Gokai meditation to support staying in relationship with the Five Principles in a simple, everyday way.

If it feels supportive, you can listen to the Gokai meditation and notice what appears for you.

You may ask yourself:
Which principle feels most present today?
What does it reveal?

If you feel like sharing, you are welcome to write in the comments.

Leave a comment

Just for today.

With love,
Kasia Wac

It didn’t.

And that’s exactly the point.

Here are 10 things Reiki never gave me:

1. Reiki didn’t give me instant enlightenment.

No fireworks of sensations. No permanent bliss. No sudden disappearance of my ego. No instant spiritual awakening.

What it gave me instead was something much less dramatic: awareness. Awareness of understanding more and more myself as a spiritual being.

2. Reiki didn’t remove my anger.

I still get triggered. I still feel heat in my body. Reiki didn’t erase anger. It simply taught me to notice it before it becomes my identity.

3. Reiki didn’t stop me from worrying.

My mind still travels into the future sometimes. Reiki didn’t silence my thoughts. It just keeps inviting me back to now and doesn’t allow fear to control my life.

4. Reiki didn’t make me “special.”

No magical status. No spiritual superiority. I can call myself a Reiki Master Teacher. But beyond the title, I am simply human. A title is just a word. Like any other name we use for professions or roles in life. It doesn’t define who we are. It doesn’t make us wiser or more evolved. It describes a function - not a soul.

If anything, Reiki made me more ordinary. And more at peace with that.

5. Reiki didn’t fix my life.

Reiki didn’t organize my finances. It didn’t choose my relationships. It didn’t make hard conversations disappear. It didn’t remove responsibility. It didn’t offer an escape route (I know!! What a “pity”!). Reiki helped me meet all of it differently.

No pretending everything is “high vibration.” No hiding behind spirituality.

Life happens to everyone. We are human. And the only constant is change. Reiki didn’t protect me from that. It simply helped me stay present while it unfolds.

6. Reiki didn’t give me control over outcomes.

I cannot decide how a session for myself or for someone else “should” go. I cannot promise results. Reiki humbled me. It showed me that control is not the same as trust. That guidance is not the same as directing.

It reminded me that I can rest in being, rather than doing. That nothing needs to be forced for something meaningful to unfold.

Sometimes the deepest work happens when I step aside.

7. Reiki didn’t protect me from discomfort.

I still feel doubt. I still feel uncertainty. But I no longer see discomfort as a mistake.

8. Reiki didn’t turn me into a healer.

I don’t heal anyone. Reiki is not something I “do” to others. It is a space I hold and something that unfolds on its own.

9. Reiki didn’t make me fearless.

Fear still visits. But I no longer believe every story fear tells me.

10. Reiki didn’t give me something new.

Reiki didn’t give me a new power. It didn’t add anything I didn’t already have. As a spiritual practice, Reiki simply helped me remember that I am Reiki and that there is no separation. I began to feel (not just understand with my mind) that I am energy. Not as a spiritual idea. But as a lived experience.

Thankfully, that didn’t happen overnight. It unfolded slowly, through practice.

Reiki didn’t give me a new identity. It didn’t give me perfection. It gave me something simpler: a daily return to remembering my true self, because I am Reiki, Reiki is me.

And when I write about what Reiki “gave me”, I am really speaking about the practice. Reiki itself is not something separate from me. The practice and teachings of Reiki slowly show that there is no separation. There is no “my Reiki” or “your Reiki”. My Reiki is not better than yours. Reiki is life force energy, the energy we are. From that perspective, nothing can truly be given by Reiki, because nothing is separate from it in the first place.

I know I often repeat: practice daily. But this is how it works. In Reiki, and in any path that asks for honesty. Daily practice is like giving your own hand to yourself. A gesture of support and a way of choosing to live in alignment with your soul.

This daily return also helps me see clearly what is not aligned. Because yes, sometimes I still take shortcuts. Sometimes I drift. But those shortcuts verify themselves quickly. And I return. Back to my path with Reiki. Back to living in alignment with my true self.

If what I’ve written resonates with you, I invite you to explore my platform:

21reiki.kasiawacenergia.com

You’ll find programs and materials designed to inspire and support your daily Reiki practice.

Just for Today

With love
Kasia Wac

PS
On the weekend of 21–22 March, I will be offering a Shoden (First Degree) Reiki course in Copenhagen.

The group is intentionally small, maximum 5 participants, so that we can work closely and with full attention.

More information and registration are available on my website:
kasiawacenergia.com

These were my excuses.

I’ve heard this so many times: “It’s easier for you to practice Reiki.” And as you can imagine, it’s not true.

Was practicing Reiki easy for me, especially at the beginning, when I finally decided to stop stealing time from myself and stop saying “I will practice later”? No. It was not easy.

I am not different from most people. Building a habit takes time. I failed many times. I started practicing without really knowing how, with very little guidance after my first Shoden training. I didn’t receive many instructions or materials back then. And I kept putting the practice away.

The place where I am now took time. And practice. I tried. I failed. I learned from different teachers. I had sessions and classes with people all around the world, online and while traveling.

And at some point, when I was not practicing every day, I asked myself very honest questions.

Do you think someone will come to you with a magic wand and in one session, remove all the clouds from your light? Do you think someone will come and do the work for you?

That was the moment when I decided to follow the Reiki principle “Just for today, be honest in your work.” And simply start practicing, because understanding and living Reiki begins with the mind - a pure mind - and there is no shortcut other than meditation and living the Gokai.

What is the “magic” behind it?

• Honesty

I started from this. I asked myself why I invited Reiki into my life in the first place. I asked this question after yet another failed attempt at daily practice.

My answer was simple. I wanted to take care of my energy. I wanted to feel freedom. I wanted to start each day with a good mindset, no matter what life brings. Just for today. With this answer came the next steps of building my daily practice. No transaction. This part is very important. I do not practice Reiki to achieve something. I practice Reiki daily to support myself, to connect with myself, so that I can meet whatever happens during the day. Not every day is beautiful or easy. But practice gives me trust. It gives me a sense that I am not afraid. That I live my life for myself.

• Micro habits

This is how things are built. I did not invent this. Mikao Usui did not invent this either. It is something we can observe very simply in everyday life.

If we eat one healthy meal from time to time, will it nourish us for the next few days while we eat randomly? Of course not. So how can we expect that sitting down for Reiki practice once in a while will build a routine? That was exactly my experience. I practiced once in a while. Sometimes not even once a month. At first, those sessions felt intense. But later expectations appeared. And frustration. “I don’t feel anything. It doesn’t work. I can’t focus.” This is completely normal with occasional practice.

So I told myself something very simple. Okay, Kasia, you wake up 15 minutes earlier. You don’t look at your phone. You brush your teeth, drink water, and sit down to practice. Because honestly, 15 minutes? Will that really change how much I rest? No. And that is exactly how it turned out. And that is how it stayed.

• Journaling

When I finally started practicing honestly, I began to see my patterns more clearly.So I took a notebook and started writing. What I feel. Questions to myself. Talking to myself as I would to a friend.

It wasn’t easy at the beginning. Journaling is very romanticized on social media. And again the thought appeared: “I don’t have time to write.” But do I have time to carry thoughts that want to be seen and cleared? Do I really want to help myself?

Just start writing. How you want. How you feel. And allow it to develop in a way that is honest for you.

A short story from one of my students: When I saw how much journaling supported me, I started creating journals that I shared after sessions, meetings, or courses. One of my students would always say that she would take the journal, but she wouldn’t write. It simply wasn’t for her. I always told her to do what felt right, because there are many tools and not everything that works for me will resonate with someone else. I also said that if one day she felt the need to write something, maybe what I share could become an inspiration. One day she came to class and said: “You know what, I felt it. And I started writing. Just how I feel. Not because I had to, but because I wanted to.”

So if journaling does not resonate with you, don’t close yourself off. Leave some space. Maybe one day the thought will come.

I don’t journal every day. I write when I feel I want to speak honestly with myself. And once a month I summarize the month. I don’t wait until the end of the year.

• Inspiration

Now I have a steady practice. I journal. And I keep learning.

Growth is not linear. I draw inspiration from podcasts, books, audiobooks, and content that resonates with me. Not only from the Reiki world. Over time I noticed that everyone is speaking about the same things, just in different languages.

• Returning to the foundations

When I discovered that Reiki is not only “healing through the hands”, but a practice of connecting with myself every day, something shifted. It did not happen after a few days. It was a process. A process that started with returning to the foundations of Reiki. That is why the materials I create are designed as if I were creating them for myself at the moment when I was saying: “I don’t have time for Reiki practice.” Or “I need to learn more before I start.” Or “I’m not ready yet.”

If what I wrote resonates with you and you want to return to practice in your own rhythm, I invite you to explore my programs created to inspire daily Reiki practice.

One of them is 21 Reiki Shoden.

21 Reiki Shoden is a 21 day online journey of daily Reiki practice. It is designed to deepen your connection after your First Degree Reiki training or to reignite a paused practice. It supports integrating Reiki into everyday life as you reconnect with your true self.

The program includes:

• 21 guided meditations with daily inspiration and intention

• 21 printable journal cards to support practice offline

• an ebook of nearly 180 pages

I create these programs as something you can return to. In your own rhythm. Because at some point I understood something very simple.

I have time for Reiki because it means I have time for myself.

I show up every day. Not because it is easy. Not because I always feel calm or motivated. But because this practice supports me in meeting myself honestly, exactly as I am.

And this is the place from which everything I share grows. Because you cannot learn how to swim by reading about water. I want to inspire a daily Reiki practice and to show that Reiki is a practice of being, not doing.

If you’ve made it to the end of this text, thank you for staying with it.

I’d like to leave you with a invitation and one question, so that this reflection can integrate beyond reading, and enter your everyday life.

For the next few days, notice how often the thought “I don’t have time” appears in relation to your practice.

And when it appears, pause for a moment and ask yourself: what am I moving away from right now?

The question I’d like to leave you with is this:

If time were not the issue, what would I honestly need to stop postponing meeting myself and return to practice today?

You don’t have to answer this perfectly. You don’t have to answer it right away.Let the question stay with you, and see what it opens.

Just for today.

With love,
Kasia Wac

Spiritual practice is not immune to hierarchy. In fact, it can hide there very well.

When I first felt drawn to Reiki and began practicing, I had no idea how many different lineages and styles existed. For me, someone who loves both structure and freedom, this became a quiet challenge once I moved beyond the manual and the teachings I received during my Shoden training.

I began to notice that in this spiritual world, which I was initially drawn to because of the sense of freedom I felt within myself, there was also a lot of comparison - in myself and in others. Comparison of teachers, lineages, styles, levels, certificates. Comparison of how long someone had practiced, how confidently they spoke, how they placed their hands, whose Reiki felt “stronger,” whose presence seemed more convincing, whose words sounded wiser.

Even when I wasn’t saying it out loud, the thought appeared: their Reiki must be better than mine — or sometimes, the reverse.

Yes, I’ve experienced both.

There were moments when I felt disconnected, simply confused. And moments when I thought I had finally “understood” something others hadn’t.

And here I am with an unexpected inspiration: Kung Fu Panda 3. This may sound trivial, but it stayed with me

In the film, pandas once known for their healing abilities have lost their power. They no longer remember the technique, the method, the “how.” But as the story unfolds, they don’t regain their strength through instruction. They remember through being themselves. One through softness. One through joy. One through stillness. One through movement.

Piece by piece, they rediscover that their power never lived in a method. It lived in authenticity.

That story mirrored something I was beginning to understand in my own practice.

You do not become a stronger practitioner by adding more.
You do not need perfect hand placements or external validation.

You become a stronger practitioner by becoming more you.

By returning to your body.
By connecting to your hara.
By listening to your breath.
By staying present long enough to notice.

By remembering that Reiki is not something that moves from one place to another — it is a state of being that reveals itself.

Just like the pandas, you already carry what you are looking for.

What makes Reiki “strong” is not precision.
It is relationship.

Relationship with your body.
With daily return.
With not knowing.
With listening instead of performing.
With just being.

When practice becomes about comparison, something subtle breaks. We stop listening inward and start measuring outward. We replace intimacy with technique. We trade presence for correctness.

Over time, I’ve studied with many teachers and practiced in many places, temples, studios, private rooms. I’ve observed how different people carry the same practice in radically different ways. And slowly, one thing became clear to me: behind every title, there is a human being. Equal. Unique. Learning. Forgetting. Remembering again.

There is no universal way of placing hands. There is no perfect form to achieve. Because the core of Reiki is the same principle found in many energy practices: revealing your great bright life, becoming one with life force energy. And speaking of life force, this is the most common translation of Reiki (though I encourage you to explore the kanji more deeply to gain a clearer and more nuanced understanding).

So the same energy that creates everything exists within us. We are energy. There is no separation. There is nothing to achieve. There is only a return to ourselves and to practice, beyond a dualistic world where the ego whispers that my Reiki is better than yours or your Reiki is better than mine.

This is where spiritual practice is pointing us, toward the great bright light. And to move in this direction, we need time and practice. We also need teachers, experiences, and information that challenge us and challenge the way we think.

This understanding is what shaped the way I teach and share Reiki today.

It’s why I created 21 Energia Reiki not as a next step, but as a place to stay longer with the foundations. A space for people who don’t need pressure or comparison, but who benefit from a daily point of reference, a simple structure that supports practice without forcing it. I create the programs I once wished to have. Programs without group settings. Programs that are meant to inspire daily practice for yourself. And believe me, some days I feel like saying, “Okay, I’ll give up today — I have no power to practice.” But then I remind myself why I do it. I do it for myself. And honestly — 15 minutes? Fifteen minutes will not change much in terms of rest. But it can make a big difference in how I feel, how I speak to myself, how I experience the day. Just for today.

And it’s also why the Reiki Practitioner Toolkit exists for those who already work with others and want to remain clear and responsible in how they practice and speak. Not to control energy, but to protect the relationship with it.

My Reiki is not better than yours. It is unique, because you are unique. And that is how Reiki expresses itself. When practice is rooted in honesty and daily return, comparison slowly disappears.

Reiki reveals itself most clearly when we stop trying to be better or looking outward (in many meanings of this — something I will write about one day) and start listening more closely.

With love,
Kasia Wac

I am an Energy Entrepreneur and Reiki Master Teacher based in Copenhagen. And beyond these titles, my mission is to inspire a daily Reiki practice and to show that Reiki is a practice of being, not doing. I see energy work as a form of self-care that helps us connect with ourselves and live in alignment with our truth. I offer Reiki courses, programs, workshops, and individual sessions that teach how Reiki can be used to support us in everyday life. More at 21reiki.kasiawacenergia.com

Photo by Karina Lempkowska

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This is a text about Reiki practice.
About why Reiki didn’t work for me — until it did.
And about what happens when we stop waiting for energy work to save us.

I’ve done the first level training.
Then the second.

And still — it didn’t work.
At least not in the way I wanted it to.

I had this thought many times: “everything should work out now. I’ve done the training. I sit down and practice Reiki from time to time — once a month, sometimes even less (!) — and yet I couldn’t find the peace and freedom I had read so much about.”

So here I am, sharing my first text in this space — about Reiki practice, and about what happens when we stop waiting for energy work to fix our lives.

At some point, I had to ask myself one honest question:
was I actually doing the work — or was I treating Reiki like a magic pill, hoping it would sort out my life, my work, my relationships, my health?

From waiting to practice

It’s easy to say: I should practice every day. And just as easy to answer: I don’t have time, I don’t have energy, I don’t really know how.

I remember wishing someone would take my hand and show me what comes next — beyond the manual, beyond the structure of the training. During the course everything felt simple. Afterwards, the path suddenly wasn’t.

This uncertainty is common, especially at the beginning of any inner work — spiritual or otherwise. For a long time I wished I could somehow share my own thought process, all those inner loops and doubts. And this space is part of that answer.

The moment something shifted

What changed was not that I suddenly became more disciplined or “better” at Reiki. What changed was much quieter — and much deeper.

At some point, I stopped waiting for Reiki to work for me.
I began to take responsibility for my daily practice — not perfectly, but honestly.

This honesty slowly led me back to one simple principle from the Gokai that I had known for a long time, but had not fully lived yet:
Just for today, be honest in your work.

For me, this honesty was not about doing more.
It was about admitting where I actually was.
About noticing when I wasn’t practicing — and not pretending that I was.
About letting go of the idea that Reiki owed me peace or transformation simply because I had completed the training.

Being honest in my work meant showing up for Reiki as it was — and as I was.
Some days with presence and commitment.
Other days with resistance, tiredness, doubt.
And allowing all of that to be part of the practice, instead of something to fix or overcome.

When I approached Reiki from this place of honesty, something softened.
I noticed that even during periods when my practice wasn’t regular, Reiki never fully left my life. It kept returning in subtle ways — in moments of pause, in how I related to myself, in how I met everyday situations. Unlike many other practices I had tried and abandoned, Reiki stayed.

When I finally embraced Reiki as a gift I had already invited into my life — and not as a technique that should deliver specific results — the practice deepened naturally.

Reiki didn’t fail me. I simply wasn’t being honest in my practice yet.

Looking back from a different place

A quote by Vex King stayed with me while putting my words together in this text:

“What feels like a delay may actually be divine alignment in disguise.”

For years, these words were just words. Today I feel them differently.

I can look at my past now like a quiet observer — almost as if I’m watching a film of my own life. That perspective didn’t come from thinking more, but from a daily Reiki practice that reconnects me with myself and with life as it is.

I can see now that what I once perceived as setbacks or slow progress were not failures. They were redirections. Preparation. Time needed for something to mature.

Even last year is just a perfect example. I worked as a Reiki Master and teacher in Poland. I had my studio in Warsaw, created online Reiki programs, taught courses, and worked with people individually. And then life led me elsewhere — to Copenhagen.

Why I’m sharing this now

I’m writing here today to begin sharing my Reiki practice more openly and more internationally.

Reiki, for me, is not a technique and not a transaction. Reiki is a daily practice — a practice of being, not doing. It’s a form of self-care that supports inner clarity and ripples naturally into our relationships, our work, and the way we move through the world.

This understanding is what led me to create the Reiki Practitioner Toolkit — a resource I truly wish I had when I began working with Reiki. It grew directly out of my own and my students’ questions, doubts, practice, and lived experience.

Soon, I’ll also be sharing my first English-language Reiki course, opening a new chapter after years of teaching and creating in Polish.

If you’re here because you feel that Reiki is not a shortcut, but a practice — you’re in the right place.

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Because Reiki does work.
Just not when we expect it to do the work for us.

PS
My name is Kasia Wac. I’m an energy entrepreneur and Reiki Master Teacher. I’m Polish and currently based in Copenhagen.

My mission is to inspire a daily Reiki practice and to show that Reiki is a practice of being, not doing. I see energy work as a form of self-care that helps us reconnect with ourselves and live in alignment with our truth. I offer Reiki courses, programs, workshops, and individual sessions that support integrating Reiki into everyday life.

This Substack is a space for reflections rooted in lived experience and practice — as well as updates on my work at 21reiki.kasiawacenergia.com. I don’t have everything figured out. And I trust that the first step doesn’t require that.

Photo by Karina Lempkowska