All About Reiki Pt 1.

By: Alex
Many people have been asking me about Reiki. I have been a Reiki Practitioner since 1995, so that’s about 24 years or so. I first learned it from a couple of Australians who were Reiki Masters and were taking a workshop I attended in Colorado Springs.

I don’t really know why I was attracted to learn Reiki, although in hindsight I can see causes and connections. I just went ahead and did it without any hesitation. It has turned out to be quite a good thing. What is Reiki? Reiki is a form of healing energy, which is typically transferred from the practitioner to the recipient through the practitioner’s hands.

It is not a form of massage, although I have known massage therapists who were also Reiki practitioners. Typically, the Reiki practitioner places their hands on certain areas of the recipient’s body and allows them to stay there for several minutes. These hand placements are called “Hand Positions.” The practitioner’s hands will often get warm or hot as the energy flows through into the recipient.

After a period of several minutes, the practitioner will shift their hands to the next part of the body. I know that sounds simple, but that’s pretty much it. The practitioner is a “channel” or conduit for the Reiki energy to flow through. There isn’t any visual way to confirm that the energy is being transferred. However, most people will feel it after a while.

Reiki’s Origin, History, and Development
Reiki was originally discovered by Dr. Mikao Usui of Japan in 1922. He is said to have gone up on a mountain to meditate for 30 days. He was doing a special meditation where he sat under a waterfall for a period of time. I think this must have opened up his Crown Chakra.

Just before the 30 days were up, he was hit by a bolt of light and the Reiki Symbols flashed into his mind. On his journey down the mountain, Dr. Usui hit his foot on a rock. He put his hands on the injured area and immediately felt better. I think he realized immediately that something was different.

Soon afterwards, he began teaching Reiki to students. Dr. Usui established Reiki clinics in Japan. I think he made special efforts to help poor people as well.
Dr. Usui developed all the basic methods and ceremonies that are still used by Reiki Practitioners today. This includes the Hand Placements, the Reiki Precepts, the Reiki Symbols, and the Attunements.

The Reiki Precepts
Dr. Usui developed the Reiki Precepts. They go something like this:
Just for today, do not be angry.
Just for today, do not worry.
Just for today, be grateful.
Be diligent in all undertakings.
Treat others with kindness.

I think these were developed as simple reminders for his students to guide them in their practice. I think it was a way for him to help ensure that his students enveloped and maintained a certain mindset in their practice.

The Reiki Hand Placements
In his clinics, Dr. Usui made careful notes of the various ailments that his clients reported, and on the various hand placements that his students (practitioners) used. Eventually, some patterns emerged and this gave birth to the sequence of Hand Positions that are used in Reiki today.

The Reiki Symbols
The first Reiki Symbol is the so-called “Power Symbol” or Cho-Ku-Rei. This initiates the energy transfer and can help to get people grounded. In Reiki Level Two, the practitioner is given three special symbols to use in their practice.
These symbols seem to amplify the energy and extend its healing abilities into other realms.

The second Reiki Symbol is called “Sei-Hi-Ki” and is said to be used for mental and emotional healing and clearing.

The third Reiki Symbol is called “Hon-Sha-Sei-Sho-Nen” and is used for distance healing. It allows the energy to travel through time and space. I know that probably sounds fantastic (and in some ways it is), but I have used this symbol to send Reiki to people far away, and to heal things in my past and past lives. I have sent Reiki to people I don’t even know and have never met, and have received confirmation that they have felt it.

Learning Reiki
Reiki can cost a lot of money to learn. I don’t know what prices are nowadays, but when I learned it, Reiki I was about $75.00, Reiki II was (I think) $150 to $250 and Reiki III (Master Level) was $2500. There was a Reiki Master years ago that a friend went to in Denver that would do the attunements for all three Reiki Levels for $400. But he would attune 10 people at a time.

It was probably almost more like an assembly line. So be warned and ask questions. My friend liked it, it seemed to work for her and she didn’t have the money to spend that the other Reiki Masters were charging. The whole subject of Reiki Lineage can be confusing. Apparently there is something called “Usui Reiki” which is supposedly traces its origin back to Dr. Usui, and then there are another lineage or lineages that goes back through other Reiki Masters.

In reality, all Reiki practitioners should be able to trace their lineages back to Dr. Usui through one of his students whom he passed on the lineage to. In (traditional) or Usui Reiki, people are required to pay large amounts of money to learn it.

This is still the case in the other lineages but I think perhaps the prices are lower. I myself did not learn “Usui Reiki”, but as far as I know, my Reiki masters still trace their lineage back to Dr. Usui. This may or may not be an issue for someone contemplating learning Reiki.

In such a case, it might be well to investigate the alternatives. I didn’t know about “Usui Reiki” when I first learned Reiki back in 1995, but this appears to make no difference. I know from my own experience that Reiki is effective – I have proven that to others and myself repeatedly.

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