Reiki  Healing

Reiki is a natural, simple, safe, effective healing system that uses spiritually guided universal energy, the energy which permeates our entire universe and all living things. This energy is channeled through the hands of the practitioner into the body and aura of the receiver. It is an ancient healing system that has been used for thousands of years and was rediscovered by Dr Mikao Usui. Reiki is a Japanese term meaning universal energy, or spiritually guided universal energy, because it is the divine consciousness, the All-knowing that guides this life force. Because of this, Reiki can also be sent to someone who is not physically present, this is called distance healing. It can also be used on animals and plants. During a Reiki session, the person receiving Reiki lies or sits, fully clothed, while the practitioner places his hands lightly on or a few inches over the person's head and body. Reiki opens the mind and spirit to the causes of disease and pain and the necessity for taking responsibility for one's life. Reiki heals on all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual to help return the body to its natural perfect state. It increases spiritual awareness and progress and is a means for each person to access the richness of his soul and discover his own great potential. Reiki is not a system of religious beliefs.

History of Reiki

The traditional story of Reiki relates to Dr Mikao Usui, a Japanese person who in the late 1800's began a quest to re-discover a universal energy that could heal, irrespective of the mental and or physical state of the person applying it. He fasted and meditated for 21 days at Mount Kuriyama and thus received the Reiki ability. Usui applied what he learned and developed what is now known as The Usui System of Natural Healing. He trained others in his methods, one of them was Dr Chujiro Hayashi who in turn trained a woman named Hawayo Takata and it is via her that the majority of people in the West now know about Reiki. Since then, Reiki has blossomed, and some of the original Usui system has been adapted by some and changed by others. Today, there are at least thirty variations of the original Reiki system. 

Is It Easy To Learn?

Healing is a gift inherent in everyone, just like psychic ability and intuition.The beauty of Reiki lies in its great simplicity. Even a child can be initiated into Reiki. Reiki is the innate ability to channel healing energy through the hands; we are all born having this natural ability to heal ourselves, have you noticed how you immediately and unconsciously put your hand on a sore part of your body in order to bring relief to it? However, this ability is very weak and unfocused and is awakened through the attunement process which instantly transforms this ability into a very effective and powerful force. Anyone can learn Reiki because it does not require any previous experience or special ability. Reiki is not taught like any other healing method, the only way to learn Reiki is to be attuned to it by a Reiki master. The attunement process is a spiritual ceremony in which the Reiki master transmits the Reiki ability and symbols to the student. The attunement process is performed purely on the spiritual body, so it does not matter whether the person is physically present or not, this applies also to distance healing.
The Attunement Process

The Reiki attunement connects us to the healing power each of us has within ourselves. During and after the attunements many of the important energy channels are thoroughly cleansed with the strong flow of pure Divine energy. The attunement can start a detoxification process that affect the physical body, the mind and the emotions. After being attuned, the person becomes an open channel for the Reiki energy to flow through him as soon as he places his hands lightly on himself or others and intend healing. Moreover, because Reiki is channeled, his energy is never depleted but on the contrary, both he and the receiver benefit from a Reiki session. The healer also never takes on other people's symptoms and is always protected. There is no right or wrong way to practice Reiki, the energy flows from the same source; anyone who tells you it can be done wrong, or can harm, or "you have to know what you're doing" is selling something, any method or technique that says certain procedures must be followed has little understanding of the processes involved. Distant attunements are as effective as regular attunements, to claim otherwise is to set limits on the source of Reiki, which is Divine. Reiki being spiritually guided universal energy is not bound to earthly laws; universal law knows no time and no space. The attunement is guided by the source, the Reiki master is only a channel and is not the power behind the attunement, therefore he must not take credit for it. Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki, was self attuned, and it was the Reiki source that attuned him.
The Reiki levels

Traditionally, Reiki is divided into three levels or degrees, I, II and III which is the Master level. Regarding the need to wait between levels, this differs among Reiki masters and you will get conflicting answers. For many people it is difficult to accept new possibilities beyond what is currently accepted by the majority. The Universe provides a great variety of teaching methods (in Reiki and every other aspect of personal development) and the methods are vastly different depending on the individual needs and spiritual path of the student, every person has his own individual needs and spiritual path to follow. So I do not set a specific time elapse between levels, I personally believe that it is not up to the master to determine what is in a students best interests, but it should be left to the student to decide if he is willing and ready to go further. I have had students attuned to all levels at the same time. Each person will receive what he is ready to receive and will 'grow into' his full potential with continuing practice. 

How Does Reiki Work ?

"There is in all things... a hidden wholeness."  Thomas Merton

You do not direct the Reiki energy because it is directly connected to the source of our universe and has it own inherent divine intelligence . The Reiki energy directs itself to the correct areas where there are blockages and imbalances in the body's energy system. This is what makes Reiki so simple yet so effective and this is why anyone can learn it. Reiki restores energy balance and vitality by stimulating the body to heal and starting a process of purification. It opens blocked energy channels and chakras, and clears the energy bodies. Reiki cures both the exterior bodily symptoms and the deeper root causes, to help return the body to its natural perfect state. Thus the term Holistic healing, we are treating the whole person and not just the physical symptoms. Reiki works on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. In order to be whole beings, we need all these aspects of ourselves living in harmony.