"The secret of bringing happiness, the spiritual medicine for all diseases."
The Gokai are the five principles taught by Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki. They are at the heart of Jikiden Reiki and offer simple guidance for how we live our everyday lives.
Practised alongside hands-on Reiki, the Gokai encourage us to notice our thoughts, feelings and actions — and to work gently on ourselves.
Their words are simple, but their practice can last a lifetime. Rather than something to achieve or perfect, they invite us to begin again each day:
Just for today.
Bringing the Gokai into Daily Life
The Gokai are simple words, but their meaning unfolds through everyday life. They invite us to notice how we respond to the experiences, challenges and people we meet — and, through that awareness, to look within ourselves.
We may find ourselves pausing before reacting in anger, recognising when worry carries us away from the present, noticing reasons to be grateful, attending more fully to what needs to be done, or finding opportunities to show kindness.
Do your duties fully can also invite a deeper reflection. There are the duties of everyday life — the work, responsibilities and tasks that are ours to do — but there may also be an inner duty: to continue our own practice and personal development. What that means is individual, and may reveal itself naturally over time.
Traditionally, the Gokai were recited each morning and evening as part of Reiki practice, helping to define the way in which practitioners lived and practised Reiki. In Jikiden Reiki we continue to recite the Gokai in Japanese, using the words given by Mikao Usui. Their sound, rhythm and meaning are part of the practice itself, allowing the words to become familiar through repetition and, over time, to resonate more deeply within us.
Through Reiki practice and living the Gokai, we gradually come to know ourselves more deeply. We begin where we are, just for today, and allow our own light to shine a little more brightly.