How to be clear when making a decision

I have often been struck with indecision. Which is the best place for me to live? Is this the right person for me? Which course would be best for me to take? Reiki? Which Reiki? Yoga? Taichi? Self help? Meditation?

Recently I have come to realise that a central theme in my life is learning to trust myself and my inner knowing, no matter where I am, who I am with or what they think. I understand that if I can trust myself and my decisions to honour what I am drawn to, then whatever the consequences, I can be confident that they are taking me to a great place.

So how do I know what my real feelings about things are? The feelings buried deep beneath the chatter of my mind?

Try this...

When you are not sure if something is going to be ‘right' for you or not, find a quiet place to sit quietly, close your eyes and take some deep, slow breaths. You are going to ‘feel into' the course, place, person or thing you are wondering about. The easiest way to start with is to compare two feelings, so to make it easy I'll use the following example:

Just as an example, let's say you are not sure whether to go to a meditation workshop in London, or a Reiki workshop in Scotland (remember this could be any decision ).

1. Close your eyes and have in mind whatever your question is - ‘will this course support me in my life and my growth' for example.

2. Imagine the London workshop and feel the feeling of it - remember,feeling not thinking about it. Does it feel open and expansive, positive, flowing, relaxed? Or does it feel more closed, tighter, darker, sharp, odd, or strange?

3. Now try the same with the Reiki workshop in Scotland, really feel the feelings inside it.

4. Compare the two feelings - which one felt ‘better'? Maybe they both felt good, but one felt more open, more flowing? You can try a third or fourth option if you like, just to play around with how they feel.

Once I had practised this exercise for a while, I was amazed at how fast and how easily I could ‘tune in' to my deeper feelings around things. You can use this for any decision, big or small - from where to move house, to which teacher to choose, to which item of food to buy in the supermarket.

How do I know it will take me to a great place?

If you have felt into something and are aware of your deepest feelings around it, you can be sure that it is leading you to wonderful things - even if it may not seem so at first!

Here's an example...

My first Reiki class was with a man in Kyoto, Japan, who advertised the class in an English Language magazine. After all my searching for a Reiki teacher and not feeling drawn to anyone I met, I found myself ringing this man and arranging to take my first level of Reiki with him.

The Reiki I learned was fine, yet I had a very uncomfortable feeling in the class and later when we met again socially. I realised that despite feeling great about the Reiki I was using, I no longer wanted to continue my classes.

I questioned myself. Had I been "wrong" to choose this teacher? Why did I think I was drawn to someone who clearly didn't resonate with me?

It was very soon after this that on receiving a Reiki treatment from me, my Japanese friend checked the internet and found the Chiyoko and Tadao Yamaguchi, who taught Jikiden Reiki (translated as directly passed down Reiki) living close by. Curious, we went to visit them. There was no mistaking my feeling and what I was drawn to on meeting them. As soon as I walked into the room and saw Chiyoko Yamaguchi's smiling face and felt her warm loving energy, I just knew I wanted to learn with her.

Looking at the bigger picture, I saw that there was a good reason behind my being drawn to my first teacher's class. My first Reiki class gave me the opportunity to give a treatment to my friend, who then led me to what proved to be a wonderful opportunity for me - to learn Jikiden Reiki with the Yamaguchis, something that has become a vital part of my life.

There was another question on my mind though. Why, when some people I have spoken to and read messages from have found my first teacher to be a wonderful teacher, did something not feel "right" to me? Who was right about him and who was wrong? The answer I came to was that we were all right because it's natural to be drawn to different people, courses and places etc. - that's why there are so many choices out there. What resonates with one person may be very different from another person. For me, the key lies in learning to trust myself and my feelings about people or situations, even when others around me are feeling differently. I may change my mind later, but if I go with what I am drawn to, deep inside me, then I am "right". And the person next to me making the opposite decision for the same reason is also "right".

Play with it and have fun. Learn to trust yourself. After all, you only have your best interests at heart.

Amanda Jayne

www.learnjikidenreiki.com