The following article appeared in the March/April
1999 issue of INSYNC, a Chattanooga, TN publication.Reiki
for Stress Reduction and Relaxation
and a whole lot more
by Margaret Dexter
Reiki is a Japanese system of relaxation and stress
reduction that often promotes healing. It was discovered - or rediscovered - by Dr. Mikao
Usui in Japan in the early 1900s. Reiki is a form "hands on" healing
similar to techniques have been practiced for thousands of years.
Reiki is powerful, and yet very gentle. A Reiki
practitioner is trained to do Reiki treatments in a weekend workshop, yet people devote
their lives to the study and practice of Reiki. Reiki can be learned in a weekendand
studied for a lifetime!
Reiki Defined
The word "Reiki" comes from two Japanese words,
"rei" and "ki". Ki is life force energy, also called chi, prana and
many other names. It is the life force energy that animates all living things. All healers
work with ki. What sets Reiki apart from other forms of healing is that is Reiki,
not just ki. Rei means universal, meaning that it is everywhere, so one definition of
Reiki is universal life force energy. But Japanese words have many levels of meaning. The
esoteric meaning of Rei leads to a more meaningful definition of Reiki.
"Research into the esoteric meaning of the Japanese kanji
character for Rei has given a much deeper understanding of this ideogram. The word Rei as
it is used in Reiki is more accurately interpreted to mean higher knowledge or spiritual
consciousness. This is the wisdom that comes from God or the Higher Self and is the
God-Consciousness which is all-knowing. It understands each person completely. It knows
the cause of all problems and difficulties and knows how to heal them.
"It is the God-Consciousness called Rei that guides
the energy called Ki in the practice we call Reiki. Therefore, Reiki can be defined as
spiritually guided life energy."
William Lee Rand, "Reiki the Healing
Touch"
The Reiki Session or Treatment
During a Reiki session, the client lies on a message table, fully
clothed, while the Reiki practitioner places his or her hands on or near the clients
body. The Reiki energy flows from the universal Reiki source to the practitioner, and
through the practitioner to the client. The Reiki energy knows what is needed and where it
is needed. Since the God-consciousness and not the mind of the practitioner direct the
energy, it can never do harm.
The experience of the client varies greatly from person to person
and from time to time for the same person. You may expect to feel deeply relaxed and
centered after a Reiki session. It may be a profound spiritual experience, a super nap, or
just a pleasant time of relaxation. You may have images come to mind, or experience
feelings or emotions, or you may not. Clients often report that pain is diminished or gone
after a Reiki session even if the practitioner did not know that the pain existed.
Many people feel heat from the practitioners hands; they may
feel like little heating pads. Some people feel the vibration of the energy. As a
practitioner, I feel the energy flowing through me like feeling water flow through a pipe
or a hose. I can feel more energy flowing in some areas and less in others. One beautiful
thing about a Reiki session is that I receive a Reiki treatment every time I give one. My
body will take what it needs as the energy flows through me. I am never drained by a
session. On the contrary, I feel wonderful after giving a session because I have received
a mini-session myself!
True health is a state of vibrant energy. When the life force
energy in your body is low, you do not experience vibrant health. A Reiki session allows
your body to receive additional life force energy, which can assist the body in healing
itself. Healing is not the same as curing. Reiki works on all levels - physical,
emotional, mental and spiritual - so great healing can occur even when the physical body
is not cured of a particular condition.
The only way to really know what a Reiki session is like is to
experience one. If you are interested in Reiki, I encourage you to find a Reiki
practitioner with whom you feel comfortable and schedule a session. Go without
expectation, but be open to anything. There are no limits to what Reiki can do.
The Reiki Attunement
There are many books about Reiki, and you may
want to read some of them to learn more about Reiki. But you cannot learn to do Reiki from
a book. Reiki training includes attunements or initiations during which the ability to do
Reiki is transferred to the student by the Reiki Master. During the attunement, the God
consciousness makes necessary adjustments to the students chakras and energy
pathways to allow them to transmit the Reiki energy, and the student is connected to the
universal Reiki source. The attunement energies are channeled through the Reiki Master.
The process is directed by the Higher Power. A Reiki attunement is a powerful spiritual
experience for most people.
The Reiki Class or Workshop
Reiki is taught in three levels or degrees: Reiki
I, Reiki II and Reiki III. Reiki III is also called Reiki Master. There are numerous
different schools of thought as to how Reiki should be taught. Some Reiki Masters teach
Reiki I and Reiki II as separate workshops with a waiting period between, others teach
Reiki I and II in an intensive weekend workshop, and others teach Reiki I, II and III in
weekend. The amount charged for the workshops also varies widely. If you want to study
Reiki, you may want to talk to several Reiki Masters to find the one who is right for you.
Reiki I Training
In a Reiki I class or workshop you are attuned to
level I of the Reiki energy and taught to do a complete Reiki session on yourself and
others. Yes, on yourself. Reiki is one healing modality you can use for self-healing.
Reiki I is focused primarily on the physical body.
Reiki II Training
Reiki II includes three Usui Reiki II symbols. In
a second-degree class you are attuned to level II of the Reiki energy and to the Reiki II
symbols. Traditionally, the symbols are considered sacred and secret. They are not
revealed to an initiate until they are attuned at the second level. They have now been
printed in books, so you can find them if you look, but they will not "work" for
you until you are attuned to them. Reiki II increases the power of the Reiki energy,
extends the healing power of Reiki to the emotional and mental levels and includes a
method of distant healing. After the Reiki II training, you are qualified to do Reiki
treatments as a Reiki II Practitioner.
Reiki Master Training
In Reiki III/Master training, you are attuned to level III of the
Reiki energy and to the Usui Master symbol, and you are taught how to do Reiki
attunements. The additional symbol and attunement increases your healing ability. Some
teachers require an apprentice period and others offer Reiki Master training as a
workshop. After the Reiki III training, you are a Reiki Master qualified to teach Reiki to
others.
Some Reiki Masters, myself included, teach an Advanced Reiki
Training or ART class between Reiki II and Reiki III/Master. In ART you are taught the
Usui Master symbol and attuned to this symbol, but you are not taught to do attunements.
ART includes several healing and meditation techniques using the Usui Master symbol,
including Reiki aura clearing, also called Reiki psychic surgery. This process is a
powerful way to assist the client in releasing negative energies that are blocking the
flow of ki. The purpose of ART is to enhance your healing abilities and prepare you for
the Reiki III/Master class.
Reiki Masters teaching ART include two additional Tibetan symbols
in the Reiki III/Master class for a total of six symbols. You are attuned to these symbols
and taught to do all attunements including the Reiki Master Attunement and the Healing
Attunement. The Healing Attunement increases the energy available for healing without
attuning the recipient to Reiki. Advanced Reiki Training and Reiki III/Master are often
offered as a three-day intensive.
There is no right or wrong way to teach Reiki. Reiki works by
intention, and if it is the intention of the Reiki Master to transmit Reiki and the intent
of the student to receive it, it works. If you are interested in learning Reiki, I
encourage you to find the Reiki Master Teacher who is right for you.
Copyright © 1999 Margaret
E. Dexter.
Please contact Margaret Dexter for additional information
about
Private Reiki Sessions and Reiki Workshops in your area. |