Lineage in the Reiki community is one of those tenacious subjects that never really goes away. Many Reiki students first hear about their own lineage from their teacher and, from then on, it can become increasingly relevant to them.

In many traditions, lineage is used as a kind of validation that the practices, methods and teachings taught in the tradition really do stem back to the person who first created them. This means that, within some of the more competitive corners of our Reiki community, lively “my lineage is shorter than your lineage” discussions flourish abundantly. There is often an unspoken belief lurking quietly beneath this kind of discussion, that a shorter lineage can make a teaching more relevant, stronger, or even more directly transmitted from Mikao Usui although, if we examine this view rationally, it is impossible to find any logic or common sense in it. However short their lineage is, any teacher can make changes to the practices they teach.

Some Reiki students spend a lot of time collecting lineages from different teachers by attending lots of different classes, keeping track of their resulting personal lineage in a kind of complicated spider’s web or expanded family tree which contains the names of all the teachers they have worked with. The unspoken thought behind this could be based on a need to feel “well connected” within the Reiki community, or it could express a search for pure truth which is, as yet, undiscovered.

These are both rather uncomfortable ideas when placed in the context of spiritual practice, so where does the concept of lineage come from and how does it really relate to us as Reiki practitioners?

In many eastern spiritual schools there are 3 different ways of describing lineages and how they function:

1.Transmission Lineage is used to describe the line of teachers who link current practitioners back to the founder of a particular school, such as Mikao Usui in Reiki or Bodhidharma (Daruma – Japanese) in Zen Buddhism. This kind of lineage validates the practices which are currently taught as being directly transmitted in unbroken line from the founder. It can only work effectively as long as none of the teachers in the lineage have changed those original practices. Keeping practices exactly as they were taught to us is known as “practising purely”.

2.Organisational Lineage is held by the people who are senior members of a particular school and therefore influence what happens within it. This kind of lineage is an administrative tool which allows decisions to be made and actions to be taken for and in the community organisation. It functions in the same way as a senior management structure in businesses.

3.Primordial Lineage is a far deeper and more direct form of lineage. It is the most profound connection to our own reality that we can find within ourselves. It is where we discover our own true enlightened nature deep inside of us. This kind of lineage is the ultimate answer to those “who has the shortest lineage?” competitions. It is not possible to hold a lineage shorter or more direct than the primordial lineage because it is the thing that connects us with our original nature in one simple, pure, deeply profound step. It is available to every practitioner and the person who is responsible for it’s cultivation is ourself. Primordial lineage is our heritage as living beings. It is the centre of our being, our primordial energy.

Primordial energy can be described in many different ways. In some eastern teachings it is described as a direct experience of Emptiness. In other traditions it is seen as discovering our own inner wisdom and knowledge, or the union of wisdom and compassion or wisdom and method. It is the state of being where we are able to see things as they are without any attachments whatsoever. Here we become part of the lineage of all beings who have discovered this primordial energy within themselves. It is this primordial state that eastern spiritual practitioners are aiming to achieve.

As we can see from the definitions above, the primordial lineage is a far more innate kind of lineage than the transmission and organisational lineages, although both these forms of lineage perform extremely relevant functions within the community. The primordial lineage differs from them on a fundamental level in that it is central to each one of us as a human being and therefore as a Reiki practitioner. It is the thing that makes us one with all that is and allows us to understand how that works. It is our true being, stripped of all the paraphernalia that we carry round with us in this life. It is the thing that would be left if all our baggage was miraculously lifted from our shoulders. It is the diamond at our heart that our spiritual practices polish.

The teachings and practices taught in eastern spiritual traditions have their origin in this primordial lineage or energy. It is in this space that the teacher finds the answers to how to teach their students, so that they too can remember their own primordial lineage. This primordial energy has an unlimited potential and therefore is a vast storeroom of limitless methods. In this space the teacher will understand the uniqueness of each student and therefore be able to teach different methods, practices or ideas to each one, depending on their own distinct qualities and abilities.

Seen from this angle, the primordial lineage gives us an explanation of why some Reiki practitioners find it easier to work with the precepts, others prefer chanting the mantras, while others finds it easier to work with symbols and mantras together. The Reiki teacher’s role is to direct their students in such a way that they get the most out of the system of Reiki in order to eventually discover their own primordial lineage.

The foremost reason for being part of a Reiki lineage is to find our own primordial energy. If a teacher is not working with this in mind, but is maybe focussing on gaining personal power or influence, then the primordial lineage cannot function. When it is functioning correctly it empowers the student and teacher together. There is a deepening of self knowledge for both of them. This is the true wisdom that the very best Reiki teachers can show us and help us to work towards.

The relationship between a teacher and student can last many years. With this in mind, choosing a teacher is a significant decision. As students, it is important that we take responsibility for ourselves and our own practice. This means that it is our role to evaluate potential teachers so we can learn how to recognise those that are in the primordial lineage. This will allow us to make a wise decision when we choose a teacher.

Although many students find it tricky to recognise a teacher who is in the primordial lineage, we should remember that this energy is intrinsic to us. It is our birthright and the truest part of ourselves. This means that our recognition can be instinctive and instantaneous. It is never an intellectual thing. We know deep inside ourselves when things feel right and the primordial lineage is the most right part of us, flawless and absolute. Nothing can be more right than that. This is how we can tell whether a teacher is in the primordial lineage. When our Reiki path feels both simple and profound it is clear that the teachings are coming from the primordial lineage root. It is useful to understand that this is where our path should be heading if we are to make the best progress we can.

As Reiki teachers the primordial lineage is what we should aim to be sharing with the students we have accepted. We need to constantly work on our own practices and keep in mind the goal of a personal state of egoless-ness. If we are going to teach as well as possible we need to know ourselves very clearly and honestly. The energy space we are currently able to work in can be misleading. Our mind and ego can be very good at deceiving us. In a mind that is not free from “self” it could be very easy to confuse the energy space we are in with something deeper. Sometimes the best way to make sure we do not fool ourselves is to take guidance from our own teachers. It is comforting to remember that the primordial lineage is always within us, as we work towards finding it.

In many lineages there is an initiation or empowerment. In the system of Reiki it is often called an attunement or reiju. Initiations from a teacher within a lineage help us to become part of that lineage. It is important to understand that an initiation is an active process for both the teacher and the student.

For the teacher, an effective initiation is always given from the space of the primordial lineage or, at a bare minimum, with the primordial lineage in mind. If this is the case, it will trigger an initial experience of primordial energy within the student.

For the student, an effective initiation is received with an openness and willingness to accept it in the intention that we want to practice the system of Reiki to discover our own primordial energy.

If these two principles are not met the initiation can only be a pale reflection of a true primordial initiation with no deep trigger of that energy within the student. In short, the primordial lineage is always the base for any true initiation, empowerment, attunement or reiju. This is relevant to all initiatory spiritual practices.

The central purpose of the Reiki teacher is to work towards finding the primordial energy or lineage within themselves so that they can become an effective vehicle for the initiation to flow through. Once they are working in this lineage they need to be mindful of their role, guiding their students constantly towards discovering their own primordial energy. Each student needs to make a commitment to their own practice, staying in contact with the teacher so that they can be guided into the right way. Without this guidance, the student could quickly become lost in the darkness of dead-ends and side alleys.

As students and teachers, we are given simple tools in the system of Reiki that we can use diligently. This ongoing work will help us to move steadily towards experiencing our own primordial lineage. There is no quick fix option if we really want to deepen our practice and delve into the absolute. “Practise, practise, practise” really does make perfect. Perseverance is not exciting but the rewards are. We can take encouragement from seeing our fellow students and teachers making headway along the path and knowing that our own efforts are helping us to do the same thing.

Help walking the same way is something good that we can share with our fellow practitioners. We all have the potential to experience our primordial energy if we work at our practices steadily and patiently. Working with a teacher who is deeply connected to the primordial lineage and practising with people who are doing the same thing as ourselves are great ways to make sure we don’t get lost down those dead-ends or side alleys as we walk along the path towards our true heritage: our primordial lineage.

Here’s a little bit of that help right now: The next time you are faced with a “my lineage is shorter than your lineage” discussion, remember the truth of your own primordial lineage – and the potential primordial lineage of the person who is facing you.

In a nutshell, Reiki is a healing art that can help people with various types of physical and emotional healing needs. It involves the healer placing his or her hands on or over the client without actually manipulating any parts of the body. You may have seen similar healing modalities such as healing touch and therapeutic touch. But Reiki is not the same thing. Nor is Reiki the same thing between its practitioners. The oldest and most potent form of Reiki is formally known as The Usui System Of Natural Healing According To Hawayo Takata. It is called this because it was discovered by Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan and was developed by Mrs. Hawayo Takata. “Reiki” was the word Dr. Usui used to describe his discovery. Since being introduced by Takata to the United States in the 1970s, Reiki has become diluted and intertwined among other “healing” arts and modalities. Some people have even “invented” their own styles of Reiki.

But what is Reiki, really? How does it work? That is summed up in the word itself. “Ki” is the word to describe the universal life force that keeps everything alive and in motion. Ki, or chi, is the force that gives your heart the energy to beat, your lungs to breathe, your brain to think, and for you to become inspired. “Rei” means “movement.” Thus, we have the practice of moving the life force energy in order to create a healing effect. We all have the ability to do this to some degree. We always feel just a bit better when we hold our ankle for a while after tripping off a curb. A child feels more soothed and happy when we hold our hand over his or her cut finger. In effect, we are moving energy to create healing. The Reiki practitioner is specially attuned to do this in a much more magnified way, and the magnification of the moving force of energy has many implications. It can help a headache to go away. It can help a deep cut heal without scarring. It can help a person concentrate better while studying. And it can help a person overcome deep emotional hurts. It is a powerful healing force that balances the energies within the body to bring a state of wellness to all of its parts and to the whole.

A complete Reiki session is best performed in a relaxing environment, a quiet studio or office with soft music or sounds that are pleasing to the ear. The client lies on a massage table but is not unclothed at all. The practitioner then places his or her hands on or over different body areas, twelve on the front side of the body and five on the back. Even though no private areas are involved, the client has the right to let the practitioner know on which areas they do not feel comfortable being touched. In that case, the practitioner can hold his or her hands over the area, and the client receives the same healing benefit. A complete session lasts anywhere between sixty and seventy-five minutes, depending on one’s specific needs. Personally, the longest session I ever performed was two hours in length. The practitioner will hold their hands over a certain area longer if they sense that more healing energy is needed in that area. During the session, both the client and the practitioner may feel different sensations in different areas of the body, such as extreme warmth, tingling, or a deep relaxation. These sensations are clues as to where the healing energy is needed and indicate that the energy is definitely working. If a person is receiving a session because of emotional or subconscious needs, they may experience feelings of emotional “release” and relief. After the session, one definitely feels that something has changed for the better.

At the Sufletesc Center located in Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, I practice the original Usui System Of Natural Healing According To Hawayo Takata. Since I began practicing Reiki in June of 1998, I’ve taken care of many people who have said to me that they have been to other Reiki “practitioners” but somehow felt an enormously powerful difference between what I did and what they received from others. I then explain to them that there are different types of Reiki out there, and what I do is the unadulterated version. This leads to the discussion of what is involved in the training of a Reiki practitioner. First of all, you CANNOT learn Reiki in an all-in-one weekend that costs only $100. I have had Reiki “Masters” (teachers) ask me about things that I do that they never learned. In the original Usui system, there are three degrees of practice. The First Degree practitioner works with physical conditions. The Second Degree practitioner can take care of emotional and subconscious healing matters and can even perform healing sessions in-absentia (from a distance). Then there is the Master level. While the practitioner is complete in his or her abilities at the second degree, the Master is the one who attunes and teaches others. The cost of training in the original method is $150 for First Degree, $500 for Second Degree (after a three month training period), and, after a three-year period of practice, one can become a Reiki Master for $10,000, which entails a lengthy, detailed apprenticeship.

The most important thing for you to know is that it can help you no matter what ails you, what bothers you, what pent up emotional disturbances you may suffer from, or what strange addictions you may have. It is also beneficial to the person who wants to maintain their state of wellness. Many hospitals offer Reiki to their patients to help them relax before a procedure and to heal faster afterwards. There has even been a study done several years ago at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center in Cleveland, Ohio proving that people who receive Reiki healing do recover faster from open heart surgery. Several other studies have been conducted since that time. When I am caring for a chiropractic patient who is experiencing a tremendous amount of muscle tension and mental apprehension, I place my hands on them for several minutes, if they are willing to accept the treatment. This relaxes the patient, which allows the chiropractic adjustment to be delivered with greater ease and less stress. Reiki has helped me to be a better chiropractor. It can certainly help you to be a healthier person!

Do you believe that you can be healed of sicknesses by someone laying his or her hands on you? You may have read accounts of this in various religious books like the Bible. Anything is possible and these days, we are seeing more and more of such practices. One such example of hands-on healing is in Reiki. Hands-on Healing If you have never heard of Reiki before, allow me to introduce it to you. Reiki is the ancient Japanese art of healing using the hands, thought, symbols and other techniques. It was founded by Dr. Mikao Usui who was very intrigued when he read the Bible about how Jesus Christ could heal people when He laid His hands on them. This led him to do his own research into the phenomenon. As a result, he formulated a set of beliefs, principles and techniques we know as Reiki today. Reiki itself has evolved over the years primarily due to other practitioners after Dr. Usui who further developed the techniques. In the original Reiki teaching, Dr. Usui had 3 levels of training. But today, it is not unusual to find Reiki trainings that have 7 levels or more. Reiki Healer How does Reiki healing work? As you can imagine, there is no correlation between Reiki and modern medical science so there is no way to explain Reiki methods physiologically or scientifically. But basically, Reiki centers on the principle that the human body is a field of energy that gives it life and health. When this energy is disrupted or blocked, the body becomes sick. This belief is also found in other ancient therapies like Ayurveda and traditional Chinese acupuncture. The function of the Reiki practitioner is to restore the flow of life energy and thus bring healing to the sick. Reiki is able to bring about the same benefits as traditional massage. It can alleviate pain, lower stress, increase energy, strengthen the immune system and improve symptoms of acute and chronic diseases like asthma and arthritis. It can also speed up recovery from trauma and surgery. Reiki Master Besides the physical healing benefits of Reiki, there are also emotional and mental benefits. You can experience emotional healing and mental wellbeing through Reiki. In Reiki, it is taught that the body has 7 energy centers called chakras. When these chakras are properly energized, they improve your senses of security, pleasure, creativity, intuition and focus among other things. It also brings about a release of pent-up negative emotions due to your past experiences. All these lend themselves to your emotional healing and mental stability. The result is that you will become a more balanced, stable and wholesome individual that knows how to relate to the world and people around you.

“Healing without energy depletion.” That is how Reiki was described in 1922 by its originator, a man named Mikao Usui. It combines the practice of palm healing with other methods to move energy throughout the body to restore a person’s health. While there is scant documentation which supports its effectiveness, the methodology has attracted a large following in the West. Today, tens of thousands of people extol the health benefits of receiving treatment.
In this article, we’ll briefly explore the practice’s history. We’ll also explain the ways in which Reiki is used to heal various disorders and the structure under which the methodology is taught to students. Lastly, we’ll discuss its movement throughout the West and the factors which influence it.
Origin Of The Teachings
The origins of Reiki began in 1922 on Mount Kurama near the city of Kyoto. Mikao Usui embarked on a 21-day retreat to the mountain in order to meditate, fast, and pray. When he had completed his retreat, he described having a revelation that opened his eyes to the spiritual practice. He claimed to have discovered the secret behind harnessing a spiritual energy and using it to heal others. That same year, Usui relocated to Tokyo to build a university that would be focused entirely on teaching the principles of this new practice.
Usui died four years later, but during that time, he had taught his methodology to over 2,000 students. One of those students was named Chujiro Hayashi who emphasized a simpler approach. Hayashi became a teacher and was instrumental in training Hawayo Takata who in turn, spread the practice throughout the U.S.
Different Paths Of Treatment
The underpinnings of Reiki maintain that there is an unlimited store of healing energy within the universe. This energy can be harnessed by a Master to cure all types of conditions, from physical to spiritual. There are two main paths of treatment: whole-body and localized.
When performing whole-body treatment, the practitioner either places his or her hands on the patient’s body or an inch above it. Each position is held for several minutes and an entire session will normally include up to 20 positions. When performing localized treatment, the practitioner will focus on one or more specific areas. This might be performed to heal a physical injury, skin condition, or sporadic pain.
Degrees Of Expertise
There is a structured approach taken when teaching the methodology to new practitioners. Students achieve three “degrees” of learning. The first level focuses on body positions that are considered favorable when performing whole-body treatment. The second level teaches students to use three symbols in harnessing and directing the spiritual energy over greater distances. The third level teaches the student to use a symbol known as Dai Ko Myo. At the end of earning the third degree, the student becomes a Master.
Movement In The West
As noted, Hawayo Takata spread the Reiki methodology throughout the United States decades ago. He was the person who first popularized starting a business which offered Reiki treatment. Since then, the spiritual practice has expanded to include elements of the New Age movement. It is not uncommon to see practitioners integrating the use of Chakras, crystals, and even communicating with spirit guides.
While the use of these New Age techniques is not bad, they do tend to obfuscate the elegant simplicity of Reiki. For purists, it’s worth remembering that the foundation of Reiki is based on accessing a universal spiritual energy that can be used to heal all forms of ailments. To that end, it can be a potent strategy for developing a well-balanced, healthy life.

Reiki Healing: Using the power of human touch.

Reiki is a healing technique or therapy designed to reduce stress and promote relaxation and peace of mind. The word Reiki is made up of two Japanese words – “Rei” which means “Higher Power or Wisdom” and the word “Ki” which means “life force energy”. Everything around us is composed of this energy.

When our daily lives become stressful, this is a sign our energies are not balanced. Reiki healing therapy aims to bring our energies into balance and bring health and well-being to our emotional, physical and spiritual systems. It works on the assumption that we have natural healing abilities within our selves and it is the Reiki healing technique that stimulates this process. The role of the practitioner is to channel this “universal life energy” through to the recipient.

The founder of this technique was a Principle of a Christian seminary in the middle of the nineteenth century by the name of Mikao Usui. He offered a set of guidelines for a healthy and peaceful life as well as advocating this technique to redress any imbalances in our energy systems that result in physical illness or emotional upset or trauma.

Below are some of the benefits of Reiki healing:-

Dr. Mikao Usui founded Reiki in the mid-nineteenth century while he was searching for the ancient secret of healing. It was in the Indian sutras, written in Sanskrit, where he discovered a formula for contacting a higher power that could bestow healing. During a 21 day fast and meditation on the mountain of Kort-Yama, he followed the formula and experienced a beam of white light that had the consciousness and healing power he had been seeking. This beam of light struck him in the forehead and rendered him unconscious. During this state he rose out of his physical body and was shown beautiful colorful bubbles of light that contained the Reiki symbols. As he contemplated each symbol he received an attunement for each symbol and the knowledge of its use. This was the beginning of Dr. Usui practicing Reiki energy healing around Japan for the remainder of his life. There is much more about the history of Reiki. I encourage you to check out “The Spirit of Reiki,” by Walter Lubeck, Frank Arjava Petter, and William Lee Rand, “Reiki: Universal Life Energy,” by B. Baginski and S. Sharamon, “The Reiki Handbook,” by L. Arnold and S. Nevius, “Empowerment Through Reiki,” by P. Horan, and “The Reiki Touch,” by J. C. Stewart. Reiki is hands on energy healing. It can also be done a couple of inches off the body as well as absentee long distance healing. Traditional Usui Reiki attunes practitioners to different levels of Reiki with the symbols Dr Usui was shown on Mt. Kort-Yama. This allows the universal life-force energy to flow though our bodies and out our hands into our clients. Our hands may get hot or our clients may feel heat flowing from our hands into their bodies. In the case of long distance healing we are sending the energy through an ether tube to our client. With Reiki, we are really just conduits for the universal energy of Love. This healing energy is channeled into different parts of the body for the highest healing purpose of the client, the Reiki practitioner, and the universe. We are not doing any healing. The client decides whether or not to heal with the help and healing power of the universe. We are just facilitating the energy process and witnessing the results! Reiki has been shown to facilitate many types of miraculous healings. It can and may happen. However, to practice Reiki and claim healing of sickness or disease or any other type of illness is in error and out of integrity. Healing energy is always present with Reiki; it’s just that we as ego based carbon life forms do not know what the real healing is for each individual client. Much healing is associated with the lessons we are to learn in this incarnation. I urge you to not be attached to what you think healing is for each individual. It will not benefit you or your clients. Love is the only thing that is real when it comes to healing. In Reiki I students experience the first level attunement, learn about the history of Reiki and their Reiki Master linage, hand positions, kanji positions, grounding and centering, scanning and beaming, hands on clinical practice, and other more specialized techniques depending on the Reiki Master. In Reiki II students experience the second level attunement, learn some of the Reiki symbols, long distance healing, emotional healing and balancing from the heart, root/sacrum, and the mental level, removing clouds from the emotional layer, hands on clinical practice, and other more specialized techniques depending on the Reiki Master. In the Reiki III Masters Certification students experience the third level attunement, learn the Reiki Master Empowerment Symbol, how to teach Reiki, attune students to all three levels of Reiki, how to Love and heal thyself, hands on clinical practice, and other more specialized techniques depending on the Reiki Master. I must stress that Reiki has become so popular with many different teachers and as a result there are many different techniques and preferences that have been incorporated into Reiki under the traditional Usui Reiki umbrella. One thing I would recommend is that you look for a teacher who will give you plenty of clinical hands on practice. In addition, there are a plethora of other Reiki practices that have arisen over the years. No one type is better than another. It is the intent and humility of the Reiki Master teacher and practitioner that is most important. It is how the different Reiki practices resonate for you. You are the only one who knows what works best for you. I have found over 30 forms of Reiki other than the traditional Usui Reiki founded by Dr. Mikao Usui. I encourage you to read about them and research them to determine you own Reiki path or in finding a Reiki Master or Reiki practitioner that resonates with you. Here are a couple of useful places on the Internet to begin your search: http://www.reiki-4-all.com/index.php?showtopic=17 andhttp://www.medindia.net/alternativemedicine/reiki/Reiki7.htm. Here is a quick list of the different types of Reiki I have come across: Usui Reiki, Tibetan Reiki, Usui/Tibetan Reiki, Karuna Reiki, Gendai Reiki, Rainbow Reiki, Five Element Seichem, Seichim or Seichem or Sekhem, Tera-Mai® and Tera-Mai® Seichem, Shamballa Reiki, Kundalini Reiki, Imara Reiki, Raku Kei Reiki, Shamanic Reiki, The Radiance Technique® (TRTAI), Reiki Plus®, Johrei or Jo Reiki, Men Chho Reiki® or Medicine Dharma Rei Kei©, Traditional Japanese Reiki, Satya Japanese Reiki, Reiki Jin-Kei Do©, EnerSense-Buddho, Golden Age Reiki, New Life Reiki, Blue Star Reiki, Mari el®, Saku Reiki, Sun Li Chung Reiki, Jinlap Reiki or Tibetan Jinlap Maitri Reiki, Chi Sekai Reiki, Vajra Reiki, and Violet Flame Reiki. I’m sure this is not an exhaustive list. Do your own research. This will help get you started. I would once again like to reiterate that there is no one best method. It is what you feel drawn to, the integrity and humility of your Master Reiki teacher, and intent. If a teacher says their method of Reiki is superior to others then I would say that is a red flag of ego. I do not connect with arrogance. Follow your intuition. All healing modalities have their place. In closing, an empowering way to live one interpretation of Reiki and its teachings is to practice The Five Spiritual Principles of Reiki Plus:

 

In this article I would like to talk about the energy that we work with when we practise Reiki: when we work on ourselves and when we share Reiki with others. The energy that we channel is described in various ways: we are said to be working with universal energy, we are passing on unconditional love, or chi, or prana. But there are aspects of the energy that are not being explained through this use of words, and in this article I want to talk about the essence of Reiki energy. In doing this we will touch on Taoism, QiGong, Shintoism, meditation, breathing, chanting and the use of the Reiki symbols.



Now many people reading this article will be practising something called “Joshin Kokkyu Ho”, an energy breathing method taught in the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, the Usui Memorial Society in Japan – part of a longer sequence of exercises referred to as “Hatsurei ho”. It was also used in Mikao Usui’s original system, according to a group of Usui Sensei’s surviving students who are in contact with one or two people in the West. Joshin Kokkyu Ho translates as something like ‘technique for purification of the spirit’ or ‘soul cleansing breathing method’, and on its own ‘Kokkyu Ho’ means ‘the way of breathing’. When we use this method we are moving energy in time with our breath, into and out of our Tanden (Dantien in Chinese), it is a way of achieving balance, but there is more significance to this technique than simply moving energy through our bodies.



With each in-breath we are filling the body with ki. This ki is yin in nature, it is the breath of earth, of physicality and the power of separation. By contrast the out-breath distributes ki throughout our bodies. This is yang in nature, it is the breath of heaven, of spirituality and the power of unification. So from the moment that we practise Joshin Kokkyu Ho we are experiencing earth ki and heavenly ki.



In fact, earth ki and heavenly ki are what we are: we are physical reality and we are spiritual essence. In Taoist philosophy, Earth and Heaven – along with Humanity – are known as the “Three Powers”. Humanity is in a pivotal position between the cosmic powers of heaven and the natural forces of earth, covered by heaven above and supported by earth below. Qi Gong, the energy cultivation technique which is practised in Japan as ‘kiko’, allows us to work with these two energies and bring them into balance. Shinto practices also refer to these two basic energies, these two essential aspects of what we really are.



It is not surprising, then, that these two energies are the basis of Usui Sensei’s spiritual system, and latterly his healing system. When we practise Reiki we are working with earth ki and heavenly ki, in a conscious or unconscious fashion; when we channel Reiki, we are channelling either the ki of earth or heaven, because that is what we are.



But Usui Sensei’s system goes further than just acknowledging our true nature, our physical and spiritual nature, because Reiki allows us to fully experience our physical reality, and fully experience our spiritual essence. This is a powerful method for achieving balance. We can return to that state of perfection we enjoyed at birth, before life corrupted us; we can be reborn. How this was achieved is as follows: At second degree in the original system the student would be shown how to experience earth ki and heavenly ki, they would learn to ‘become’ the energies of earth and heaven. How this was achieved very much depended on the student’s background, since Usui Sensei varied his teachings and methods according to the needs of his students. If the student had a Buddhist background then they would have used meditations, and if they had a Shinto background then they would have chanted sacred sounds called ‘kotodama’. Later on in Usui’s system, symbols were introduced for the Imperial Officers, but all these approaches had the same end in mind: to fully assimilate, to fully experience or become the energies of earth and heaven, the essence of what we are. The meditations, the kotodama, and the symbols are all tools used to trigger, to invoke within us, to allow us to experience an energy or a state. Second degree is all about getting to grips with earth ki and heavenly ki, to fully assimilate those energies, to reconnect to what is within and realise our true nature.



CKR and SHK represent earth ki and heavenly ki respectively, but they do not represent something new: these two energies are already within us. They do not represent something additional that we are connected to: they emphasise or flag up something that is already there.



Now, Usui Sensei’s students worked long and hard to assimilate or integrate these energies. The might have spent 6-9 months just meditating on one energy, before moving on, so there were no short-cuts and it was a long process. They started with the energy of earth and moved on to work with the energy of heaven. We can echo that original practice by working with the energies of CKR and SHK. It is not enough to be ‘attuned’ to a symbol – whatever that means – and it is not enough to use a symbol in practice when treating someone. To fully get to grips with an energy we need to meditate on the symbol, using its energy individually, not combined with others, and we need to commit ourselves to doing this regularly if we are going to fully experience the benefits that are available through Usui Sensei’s simple spiritual system.

 

In this article I want to talk about Mindfulness and Compassion, which I believe are two essential components of Reiki practice. Whether we are treating others, working on ourselves, empowering others or living our lives with Reiki, we should grow to embody those two states, the essence of the Reiki precepts.

Mindfulness

According to Usui Sensei’s surviving students, Mikao Usui introduced his students to the practice of mindfulness at First Degree level, and emphasised this more at Second Degree level. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary (9th Edition), to be mindful is to take heed or care, to be conscious. Mindfulness or being mindful is being aware of your present moment. You are not judging, reflecting or thinking. You are simply observing the moment in which you find yourself, fully aware. Moments are like a breath. Each breath is replaced by the next breath. You are there with no other purpose than being awake and aware of that moment.

So mindfulness is a state of living in the moment, of being relaxed, calm and fully engaged in what we are doing. Mindfulness is being fully aware of what is happening right now and giving ourselves completely to our task without distraction. By learning how to enjoy and be in the present moment we can find peace within ourselves.

Like precepts, mindfulness is largely associated with Buddhism and it is a meditative practice that is not reserved for special meditation sessions: it is a practice that you can embrace as part of your daily life and when carrying out routine and mundane tasks.

The best guide that I have found to the use of mindfulness as part of your daily life is the following book, written by Thich Nhat Hanh: “The Miracle of Mindfulness” and I recommend that all Reiki practitioners and teachers obtain a copy and practise being mindful during their daily activities.

I believe that Mikao Usui’s precepts are all about mindfulness, and that when we are exhorted by the precepts to “just for today” release anger and worry, we are being guided to exist as far as we can in a mindful state. Anger and worry are distractions, you see, and if we can exist in the moment by being mindful then we will not dwell on the past and beat ourselves up for things that did not go the way we wanted, and we will not dwell on the future, perhaps worrying about things that have not yet happened. We can learn to release our attachments to the past and the future and just “be” now, content and accepting in the moment, by learning to be mindful.

Compassion

The final precept, that of being “compassionate towards ourselves and others” is for me an exhortation to be gentle with ourselves, to be patient, to be light-hearted, to not take ourselves quite so seriously and above all to be forgiving – first of all of ourselves but also of others. By accepting and forgiving ourselves we start to release our anger and our worry, and move towards a state of contentment in the moment.

The original system was a spiritual path, a path to enlightenment, and the precepts were what Usui Sensei’s system was all about. These principles are a foundation for everything we do with Reiki: the states of mindfulness and compassion arise from following the precepts and from working with Reiki.

For example, how do we feel when we carry out a Reiki treatment? Treating someone with Reiki is a special, special gift. We feel a closeness, an intimacy, a merging with the recipient; we receive trust and we experience compassion. Ideally we should just be there in the moment, with the energy, with the recipient, with no expectations. We do not treat someone with the intention to resolve their health problem or eliminate their headache. We just merge with the energy and allow Reiki to do its work; we create a sacred space for healing to occur. If our mind wanders, as it may do, then we notice this and gently but firmly bring our attention back to the present and what we are doing. We become one with the energy as it flows through us, we become one with the recipient, and we experience that blissful contentment in the moment. When we treat we are mindful: we are an observer, not a participant.

Though some are taught that you can hold a conversation with someone as you treat, or watch television at the same time, this really will not lead to the best being given to the recipient. To be the most effective channel we can be, we need to be there with the energy, fully and gently engaged in our work, giving ourselves fully to the task without distraction.

Those same principles apply when working on ourselves, whether carrying out Hatsurei ho or self-treating. The state we should seek to achieve is that of being fully engaged in the endeavour, of being with the energy without distraction, merged, aware and simply existing in the moment, with a gentle feeling of forgiveness, love and compassion towards ourselves.

So both Mindfulness and Compassion are fundamental to our life with Reiki, fundamental to the Reiki precepts, to working on others and working on ourselves. Not surprisingly they are also an essential component of the transmission of Reiki to another person through carrying out Reiju empowerments. Reiju is the ‘connection ritual’ that Usui Sensei used, and taught to his surviving students. It is simple, elegant and powerful, free from the clutter and detail that surrounds most Western attunement styles. When we perform Reiju we have no expectations: we are there in the moment with the energy, following the prescribed movements. We are relaxed and fully engaged in what we are doing, aware of what is happening right now, and we give ourselves completely to our task without distraction. That is the essence of Reiju, the essence of treatments, the essence of the precepts, and the essence of our life with Reiki.

Reiki means – Universal Life Force energy. It is the energy that everything and everyone in this world is made up of. Reiki is the embodiment of universal unconditional love.  A Japanese Buddhist Monk, Dr. Mikao Usui, Who experienced the universal healing force during a 21- days fasting and meditation period on Mt. Kurama , discovered Reiki in 19th century. Since then it has spread throughout the world, transforming the lives of millions of practitioners.

 

Reiki is a hands-on healing technique. It is a very simple yet powerful technique that can be easily learned by anyone. Reiki heals the body and emotions, bringing them into balance and promoting health, happiness, prosperity and long life. Reiki heals by calming the mind and relaxing the body thereby raising the life force of the recipient. Reiki heals the body and illumines the mind, it is both a wonderful healing energy .

 

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.

 

The way in which Reiki healing technique is taught is different from the way other healing techniques are taught. The Reiki master transfers the healing technique to the student during the process of attunement. Reiki attunement is an extremely spiritual experience. Attunement energies are channeled into the student through the Reiki master.  Reiki is an intelligent energy that knows its path and purpose.

Reiki Healing will enrich your life and give you happiness and health on all levels – Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual .

 

 

Reiki (Ray-kee) is an ancient healing art that is a gentle, non-invasive, natural treatment method. Its origins are ancient Tibetan; it was rediscovered in the late 1800s by Japanese educator Dr. Mikao Usui. Reiki means universal life force energy-the chi which flows through all living things. It has no religious affiliation and requires no special belief system or ability to be effective. The treatment is usually hands-on,or hands above the body, but can be distant. Reiki works on all levels (physical, spiritual, mental and emotional) and complements and enhances all other treatment methods.

Reiki…

Reiki is a technique that addresses both chronic and acute conditions, gently and powerfully promoting the normal regenerative processes of the body and mind as well as harmony among all the body’s systems. Medical research has focused on Reiki’s effects (with impressive results) rather than how it creates the healing experience.

This article is explaining how and why Reiki heals.

Reiki is not just a pure healing technique: its biggest value is based on attaining emotionally healthy state, expanding emotional and spiritual intelligence. REIKI IS VIBRATION OF UNIVERSAL UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

Ability of practicing Reiki means that practitioner has established connection with his/her higher emotional and spiritual energies (Higher emotional body and spiritual bodies in Aura. This is partially the source of healing energies which flow through practitioner´s body). Practitioner becomes connected with his/her own higher vibrational parts of self, which are more loving, intelligent and conscious, more Divine, more perfect; changing the consciousness to the more healthier level naturally acures while sending healing energies.

The main difference between Reiki system and the other spiritual techniques is that emotional health and love is able to flow through the whole body, whenever practised.

It is much easier to develop healthy emotional habits, while using Reiki: Reiki IS EMOTIONAL HEALTHY ENERGY (Universal love).

Energetic techniques are based on the fact that we all are already in possession of all our qualities and abilities, because we are all part of one creative source, one Divine intelligence who / which creates us all the time. This Source is EVERYTHING what was, what is and what will be. We can always choose to be in contact with our Source, our Source has ALL energies and vibrations we need or we can imagine, so we just have to get used to be and stay connected to that source which will provide us with all high quality energies we need (practice is of main importance).

Main difference to the other spiritual techniques is that emotional health and love is able to flow through the whole body, whenever practised. After Reiki, when you pray, you feel energy of prayer through all body, heart and soul, when you meditate, you feel flow of energy, when you sing spiritual songs, you feel them more completely. Spiritual experiences are much deeper, and more useful with Reiki, because you use energy of your spiritual experiences for healing yourself, the others, the world.

Every process of attunenment and Reiki course is deep emotionally healing session, where are many aura wounds and blockages transformed and healed and few important energy centres are activated:

1.Thymus (heart chakra)

2. Pineal and pituitary gland

3. Energetic centres on palms , which influences possibility of giving / sharing.

4. Flow of energy through spine is also healed, as much as possible, so energy can flow more easily up and down.

After all that, it happens the following:

Energy level is increased, because attunements opens energetic channels (nadias) which are responsible for bringing vital energy from Aura to body level. Energy flows through all Acupuncture meridians, every cell and atom can feel that energy, and get impulse for balance and self-healing.

After attunenment, course and by practicing the technique people start to change, emotionally become more open:

-they feel much more self-love and self-respect (gift of self-healing , self-balancing and healing the others is great one and starts to change emotional intelligence permanently!)

- Feel more connected with others and more sensitive to the needs of the others,

- Empathy starts to become natural

- They become more able for team-working and cooperation, because of group meditation and exchanging the healing and spiritual energies with others, what opens a completely new level of communications with others.

- Focus becomes better

- They start to develop spiritual intelligence as well, so they become able to look all what is happening from higher perspective, so Reiki is transforming the fears into love in action.

-They become more spiritually connected to the other people, to the other living beings, to the nature, to the whole planet Earth.

Reiki also teaches about very simple and highly effective meditations which:

 

Reiki can be used on many ways, as a part of group working, because it attunes whole group on the same level of emotional healthy energy , so they feel like a whole and become more cooperative (this is part of consciousness which this energy carries within)

When group of people is able to meditate together for purpose achieving the goals, the success comes much more easier, because meditation harmonizes individual energies and combines them to the group purpose.

Reiki is useful you in every area of human life, YOU CAN SEND IT TO ANY SITUATION YOU WANT TO IMPROVE; and put on higher vibrational level:

REIKI FOR PEACE: “MAY THE FOLLOWERS OF ALL RELIGIONS AND SPIRITUAL PATHS WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE PEACE AMONG ALL PEOPLE ONE EARTH”

The World Peace Crystal Grid program is a way for Reiki practitioners to promote peace on earth. Peace grids have been placed at the North and South Poles of the earth as well as in old Jerusalem. Their design allow Reiki to be sent to them and stored like a battery which is then made available to promote peace on earth. Their placement at the magnetic poles of the earth takes advantage of this tremendous energy source that also functions like the crown and root chakras of the planet. The Reiki energy emanating from the Peace grids is carried by the magnetic field around the planet to heal and balance the earth’s aura. The reservoir of healing energy it holds is available to empower all those working toward world healing and peace.

ON THE GRIDS IS WRITTEN:

“May the followers of all religions and spiritual paths work together to create peace among all people on earth.”

In Love& Light,

Tatjana-Mihaela, Usui & Karuna Reiki Master-Teacher

Contact: mihaelat999@yahoo.com

All detailes about services on:http://dreams-materialization.blogspot.com