THE USUI SYSTEM OF REIKI: USUI SHIKI RYOHO

Usui Shiki Ryoho (the Usui System of Natural Healing), known as Reiki, is a form of healing and spiritual awakening, received and developed 100 years ago by a Japanese man, Mikao Usui, and brought to the West via Hawaii in 1937. It is passed on from one person to another through specific initiation rites, teachings and defined forms of practice. The Japanese word reiki can be translated as 'universal or spiritually guided life force' and the Usui System is a way of working with reiki for healing of self and others. The word healing is used in the sense of regaining harmony and wholeness and Usui Shiki Ryoho addresses the whole person, physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

The integrated way of Usui Shiki Ryoho has four Aspects: healing practice, personal development, spiritual discipline and mystic order. For the gifts of the whole to be realised they need to be held in a balanced way, not allowing any to overshadow the others. The Aspects spring from a central core of practice and philosophy called the Form, comprised of nine Elements, each bringing unique lessons. The combination of all the Elements and Aspects and their inter-relationships creates the system which has a proven, predictable capacity to take people along a profound path of healing, growth and spiritual deepening. If any part is changed or left out, it is no longer Usui Shiki Ryoho.

The importance and deeper meaning of the elements and aspects and the whole system is mainly beyond words and gradually unfolds through personal experience. The following is a brief outline

Four Aspects

Healing Practice Usui Shiki Ryoho has as its basis a hands on healing practice for regular self treatment and a form of treatment which helps others to use universal life energy for their own healing.

Personal Development Giving and receiving Reiki through Usui Shiki Ryoho stimulates a process that brings a clearer sense of one's own true self and humanity, with a deepening self love.

Spiritual Discipline Inherent in the regular practice of the Form is the awakening of a spiritual practice, spiritual development and awareness of the sacred in daily life.

Mystic Order Practice of Usui Shiki Ryoho brings mystic experiences and a sense of connection and common purpose with others following this path.

Nine Elements

Oral Tradition The ability to practice Reiki is received only through face to face relationship with a Reiki Master, and involves verbal and non-verbal communication and an energetic transmission.

Spiritual Lineage of Usui Shiki Ryoho is Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata and Phyllis Lei Furumoto. The living lineage bearer embodies the essence of Reiki and carries out a central role for the Reiki community which includes leading, teaching, and inspiring.

History This is shared in Reiki classes as part of the oral tradition. Although it tells the origin and key events in the nurturing of Reiki, it is told not as information but as a lesson containing parable.

Initiation is the ritual passed down from Reiki Master to Master. When performed with a student, this ritual results in the capacity to practise Reiki.

Symbols There are three symbols that are presented to the student in second degree classes as received from Mikao Usui, together with a specific ritual and form of practice. They are energetic keys which access communion with self, others and the mystery of life.

Treatment The basic treatment of self and others is the foundation practice of the Form and is simple and clear, with hands held still for several minutes in a sequence of positions on the head and body.

Form of Teaching This covers both the energetic and physical structure of the classes. First Degree is taught in four 3 hour sessions, one per day over four consecutive days, with an initiation in each session. Students are introduced to the elements and aspects of Reiki and learn how to treat themselves and others. Second degree takes people deeper into the System and requires greater commitment. Practices taught at First degree prepare the student for this next step and it is recommended that there be a minimum of three months between the classes. There is one initiation and the student receives the three symbols and learns how to use them as sacred tools. Mastery is for those who realise they have a calling to accept this far greater, lifelong commitment to the practice and teaching of Usui Shiki Ryoho and are willing to take on the challenges and responsibilities this involves. It is recommended students practice Reiki for over three years before Master initiation and be initiated by a Master with 5+ years experience of teaching Reiki.

Monetary Exchange Each step of the Reiki path has a specific monetary fee: $150 US for first degree, $500 for second degree and $10,000 for Mastery. The fees call out a student's commitment at each level and lead the student into a deeper understanding of the energy of money.

Precepts These are a spiritual teaching and code of ethics for daily living. They are:
Just for today do not worry,
Just for today do not anger.
Honour your parents, teachers and elders,
Earn your living honestly,
Show gratitude to every living thing

THE REIKI ASSOCIATION
GUIDANCE FOR CHOOSING A REIKI PRACTITIONER

Finding a Reiki practitioner who you feel comfortable with is a personal process, so while The Reiki Association can put you in touch with a practitioner it is up to you to decide whether s/he is suitable for you. We offer the following guidance so that you know what to expect and to help you find some-one suitable.

Please remember that membership of The Reiki Association is not an accreditation, so any referral made is informal and not a recommendation.

WHAT TRAINING WILL THE PRACTITIONER HAVE HAD?

At present there is no training for becoming a professional Reiki Practitioner. However the person will have done at least First Degree Reiki. It is hard to quantify what makes a 'good' Reiki practitioner but it is important that the person treating you uses Reiki on a regular basis, including treating themselves. A good Reiki practitioner is not necessarily one with the highest degree or level of training. Reiki becomes stronger the more a person uses it, so a First Degree practitioner who uses Reiki daily may be able to give a more powerful treatment than a Reiki master who does not use Reiki regularly.

HOW DO I CHOOSE A PRACTITIONER?

We suggest you have a chat with the practitioner before you book a session either on the phone or arrange to meet him/her so that you can get a personal impression of him/her. Ask her/him about her/his own journey with Reiki. How long has s/he been doing Reiki? Why was s/he drawn to do Reiki? Who did s/he learn with? You could also talk to others who have had a Reiki session with the practitioner, but ultimately trust your own heart. If you feel happy with the practitioner after speaking on the phone, book a session and then see how you feel at the end of it. If you're not sure then it may be worth trying someone else. Reiki practitioners should do their best to make the Reiki treatment a comfortable experience. Trust your intuition and if you do not feel comfortable with the practitioner, don't be afraid to look further.

WHAT HAPPENS DURING A TREATMENT?

The practitioner will usually give a short explanation of what the treatment involves and ask for some details about you, which may include a short medical history. If no explanation is given don't be afraid to ask what is involved. You will be asked to lie (or sit if this is easier for you) as comfortably as possible. You will not be asked to remove any clothing except for anything which may restrict your breathing or comfort, such as out-door clothing, shoes, spectacles or contact lenses. This is so that you can feel comfortable and relaxed during the treatment. Reiki will go through clothing, blankets or even a plaster cast if necessary!

Treatment is given by the practitioner placing her/his hands gently on your body in a pre-determined sequence of hand positions, which are non-intrusive and cover both the front and back of the body. The hand positions are sometimes varied to give Reiki to areas where it is needed that are not covered by the usual hand positions. If you find any of the hand positions uncomfortable don't be afraid to tell the practitioner so.

The practitioner's touch should be gentle, light and comfortable, although sometimes people experience intense heat from the practitioner's hands. There is no massage or manipulation. You may feel sensations under the practitioners' hands or in other parts of your body. You may feel heat, tingling, coolness, throbbing or other sensations. You may feel very little, although many people experience a sense of well being and relaxation - some even fall asleep! Sometimes a treatment can be energising: there is no right or wrong way to experience Reiki.

The practitioner will spend several minutes holding each position, the whole treatment lasting at least 1 hour.

WILL THE PRACTITIONER DIAGNOSE WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

Reiki practitioners are not trained in diagnosis and will not offer any diagnosis, prognosis or advice. If you are concerned about symptoms you should see your doctor.

HOW WILL I FEEL AFTER THE TREATMENT?

Most people feel very relaxed and at peace after Reiki treatments, although Reiki can also stir up emotions as part of the healing process. You may feel tired, but sometimes full of energy. Some people also experience a healing reaction, such as headaches, cold or flu-like symptoms. These symptoms are normally of short duration. If you are concerned about a reaction to a treatment talk to your practitioner, who should be able to reassure you.

HOW MANY TREATMENTS WILL I NEED?

This varies from person to person. In general most problems will take time to heal - healing with Reiki is a process rather than an event. In general acute problems heal faster than chronic ones. If your problem is of long standing it may require treatments over a longer period of time. Your Reiki practitioner may suggest that you have a number of treatments close together or 4 treatments on 4 consecutive days. However, while a Reiki practitioner may suggest how treatments should be spaced and encourage you to continue, you should feel free to make the decision about what treatment you wish to receive. You are ultimately responsible for your health and well being.

HOW MUCH WILL A TREATMENT COST?

The cost of Reiki treatments is usually comparable to many complementary therapies (such as Massage, Reflexology, Aromatherapy) in your area. Some Reiki practitioners are happy to be flexible about the fee and some may be willing to discuss other forms of energy exchange (or barter). What is important to Reiki practitioners is that something is given in exchange for the treatment.

If you would like a copy of our Treatment Referral List of practitioners in the UK, please send a large stamped self addressed envelope to: Kate Jones, Administrator, The Reiki Association, Cornbrook Bridge House, Clee Hill, LUDLOW, Shropshire SY8 3QQ, UK.

Reiki has a somewhat unique history.  The many books on Reiki give similar histories of Reiki, and these are summarized below.  I do not pretend to be an authority on the History of Reiki.  Instead of spending much effort debating the past and the exact path by which Reiki came to us, I find it more fruitful to use the energy and experience the truth of the larger reality of all that is.  This is not to say that the history is unimportant.  As human beings we tend to (re)act based on the past so it is natural to want to know where things come from.

All of the histories of Reiki come from the verbal stories passed on from Mrs. Takata, with little or no hard evidence of Reiki from before World War II remains in Japan, to the knowledge of the mainstream of Reiki practitioners.  This lack of documented evidence is discussed in "Essential Reiki" by Diane Stein, with another view is given in "Reiki The Healing Touch: First and Second Degree Manual" by William L. Rand of the Center for Reiki Training (http://www.reiki.org).  The lack of hard evidence gives opportunity for skepticism.  For instance admission records at Loyolla University should be available for Dr. Usui if he indeed attended there, yet William Rand claims that such a request proved fruitless.  There is also the recent discoveries by Dave King of Edmonton Alberta who, while traveling in Japan, came upon a lineage of Reiki practitioners who learned from Usui and do not involve Dr Hayashi or Mrs Takata in their lineage.  More interesting things are being learned through that avenue.

With roots in Japan prior to World War II, it is not surprising that some documentation was lost.  Apparently the survivors of Dr. Hayashi lost to the war the resources allowing them to continue the clinic he founded and perhaps stopped practicing Reiki.  If it were not for Mrs. Takata learning Reiki before the war and bringing it to America, this healing technique could well have been lost to the world.  Such a skin of the teeth saving of Reiki perhaps lost some valuable memories, knowledge and continuity had the lineage not been squeezed through one person.  We can only hope that practice, study and intuition will bring back any lost knowledge and practices.

Lost knowledge, particularly the evidence to support the following history, does give rise to possible skepticism.  Still, Reiki speaks for itself on every use.  The energy is real and easily experienced.  Once one has experienced the energy, particularly if one is an attuned Reiki practitioner, it is always there and easily demonstrates its truth.  Whatever the truth and reality of the claims in the history given below, the ability to perform Reiki so easily came from somewhere and is, for me, the ultimate proof that this path of developing my healership is wise.

Reiki is a Japanese word meaning "Universal Life-Force-Energy". The "Ki" part is the same word as Chi or Qi, the Chinese word for the energy which underlies everything. Reiki is a system for channeling that energy to someone for the purpose of healing. It was discovered by Dr. Usui in the late 1800's, a teacher or perhaps dean of a Christian school in Japan.

Dr. Mikao Usui:  Dr. Usui was a Christian minister in Japan , though Japanese.  He was the head of a Christian Boys School in Japan.  One day some of the students asked him if he believed in the miracles which Jesus did (healing, etc). Being a Christian minister he answered "Yes". They asked if he knew how Jesus had done this, "No" he said.  [It is interesting that the story coming through Dave Kings' contacts in Japan is that Usui was Buddhist, not Christian as we are told through Dr Hayashi and Mrs Takata. This gives credence to the claim of some that the 'christian' angle was added during Dr Hayashi's trip to Hawaii to make it more acceptible to the christian audiences in America.]

With this he resolved to find the way in which Jesus had healed. This immediately set him on a journey of many years. Studying first at Christian schools in the US, for where else to learn of Jesus, but with no results.  In the Christian schools the method was not known.

It was suggested he study Buddhist writings since the Buddha had also healed. This took more years studying at a monastary in the Orient. Nowhere could he find the answers. In Japan he toured many temples asking for knowledge of how the Buddha had healed.  At each one the priests said they were more concerned with spiritual than physical well being.  In one small monastary he found some ancient Sanskrit writings from India (or perhaps Tibet).  [Diane Stein's research suggests he found the sutras to invoke the Medicine Buddha, the invoking of this Buddha is a common practice in Tibetan Buddhism]  After a few more years of study, he felt he had come to an understanding and that to go further required in depth meditation.  He declared to the monks of this monastary his intention to fast and meditate for 21 days at a nearby mountain and that if he did not come back they should come and get his body.

He went to the mountain and gathered 21 stones with which to count the days.  Each day he would throw away a stone and in this way count the time.  On the 20th day nothing had come as yet and he threw away the last stone saying "Well, this is it, either I get the answer tonight or I do not".  In the night on the horizon he could see a ball of light coming towards him. The first instinct was to get out of the way, but he realized this might just be what he was waiting for, so allowed it to hit him right in the forehead. As it struck him he was taken on a journey and shown bubbles of all the colors of the rainbow in which were the symbols of Reiki, the very same symbols in the Tibetan writings he was studying but had been unable to understand. Now as he looked at them again, there was total understanding.

After returning from this experience he began back down the mountain and was, from this moment on, able to heal. This first day alone he healed a broken toe-nail, his own starvation, an ailing tooth and the Abbots sickness which was keeping him bedridden.  These are known as the first four miracles.

He wanted to use these abilities to help others, he spent the next seven years in the beggars section of Tokyo healing the poor and sick people there, sending them to a priest to assist finding them employment, and elevating them out of poverty. After the seven years he noticed familiar faces, those of people whom he'd healed long ago who were back again. Asking them, they complained that life outside beggartown was too hard and that it was much simpler to beg for a living.  They had thrown away the gift of health, as if it had no value, to return to the supposed comfort of the life they knew.

This threw Usui into a quandry and he returned to the monastery. From this he realized he hadn't taught gratitude along with the healing.  That he'd focussed on the physical ailments without dealing with the spiritual matters. The people did not understand the value of the gift he gave them.

Dr. Usui returned to the monastary for furth reflection and planning.  After some time in the monastery he developed precepts.  In this new plan he traveled around the countryside from village to village.  In each one he stood in a public place during the day holding aloft a lit torch.  When people told him he didn't need a torch in daylight, he answered was he was looking for the few who are interested in improving themselves.  In this way he traveled around teaching and healing, working both with the spiritual healing as well as physical healing.

Dr. Chujiro Hayashi: During these travels he met Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a Naval Commander in the Naval Reserve.  He came from a well educated and well to do family.  He met Dr. Usui in the marketplace holding a lit torch announcing his lecture at a nearby temple.

Dr. Hayashi was very impressed with the sincerity and conviction of Dr. Usui.  When asked by Usui to accompany him in his travels, Dr. Hayashi agreed.  And they traveled around teaching and healing.  After Dr. Usui passed on, Dr. Hayashi became the leader of Reiki.

Dr. Hayashi opened a clinic in Tokyo near the Imperial Palace.  It consisted of eight beds in a large room, two practitioners per patient.  One would treat the head and the other would be on the tright treating the stomach area, then both would treat the patients back.  The practitioners all worked here doing healings.  They would also go to the homes of sick people for house calls.

To become a Reiki Practitioner in that time one had to be accepted by the masters in the Reiki organization, and second had to promise to use Reiki daily and volunteer some hours to practice Reiki regularly in the clinic.

My first Reiki teacher, Fran Brown (one of Takata's 22 masters) believes that Dr. Hayashi developed the practice of treatment by using specific hand placements over the body.  Being of a military background, and therefore more organized, Dr. Hayashi would have preferred an organized method of treatment.  In addition an organized method of hand placements allows for full coverage of the body and organs.

Dr. Hayashi passed on Tuesday, May 10, 1940.  This was just prior to World War II and it was clear that Japan would enter the war.  Being a Reserve Officer, Dr. Hayashi knew he would be recalled to duty and therefore become responsible for killing many people.  This he did not want to do, and so determined to end his life.  In addition he wished to, and did, pass leadership over to Reiki to Mrs. Takata (perhaps because she would not be in Japan and therefore relatively safe and able to continue the practice).

Mrs. Hawayo Takata:  Mrs. Hawayo Takata was born in Hawaii, on Kauai, on Christmas Eve 1900 of Japanese descent.  In the 1930's she went to Japan to visit her family there, and inform them of the death of her sister.  While there she became very sick and was in the hospital.  The doctors were going to operate, and as she was being prepared she kept hearing a voice saying "Operation not necessary".  Eventually she jumped off the table asking "Is there another way?".  The doctor had a sister who had been cured of dysentery at Dr. Hayashi's clinic and suggested to Mrs. Takata she talk with his sister.  The sister brought Mrs. Takata to the clinic and her treatments there began.

After Mrs. Takata became well she wanted to learn this for herself.  However Dr. Hayashi was not willing to teach her because she was a foreigner.  Through the good graces of her doctor, Mrs. Takata was able to pursuade Dr. Hayashi to train her in Reiki.  This training took a year and brought her to what we would now call Reiki Level II (she could do everything but train other practitioners).

After this year she returned to Hawaii.  In Hawaii she also learned the lesson of having the recipient perceive value in receiving treatments.  She treated a neighbor but did not charge, this neighbor did not value the treatments and did not become well.  She treated another relative and this time charged, and this relative did stay well.  Thus the tradition of charging for Reiki treatment was reinforced.

In November 1936 Dr. Hayashi came to Hawaii for a speaking tour to promote Reiki.  During this time he trained Mrs. Takata to teach Reiki, thus making her what we now would call a Reiki Master.  As he left Hawaii he asked her to come to see him when he summoned her.

After some more time it was nearing when World War II would start, the part in Europe already having begun.  Dr. Hayashi appeared to Mrs. Takata in a dream asking her to come to Japan.  She did this and found Dr. Hayashi having his Naval Uniform out of storage and fretful.  With the coming war he knew it was a matter of time before the Navy would call him out of retirement and he would be asked to perform actions he was not capable of doing due to his spiritual development.  At this time he passed to Mrs. Takata the leadership of Reiki.  He gathered all the Reiki Masters to a gathering, announced Mrs. Takata to be the leader of Reiki, and then announced he would kill his physical body through bursting three blood vessels.  And as he continued speaking and lecturing those blood vessels burst and he died.

Mrs. Takata returned to Hawaii and continued using and teaching Reiki.  Eventually she moved to California, using and teaching Reiki there as well.   She did not teach other masters until 1975, and before her own death in 1980 she trained 22 Reiki Masters.

Mrs. Takata's 22 Masters
George Araki
Dorothy Baba
Ursula Baylow
Rick Bockner
Patricia Bowling
Barbara Brown
Fran Brown
Phyllis Furumoto
Beth Gray
John Gray
Iris Ishikuro
Harry Kuboi
Ethel  Lombardi
Barbara McCullough
Mary McFadyen
Paul Mitchell
Bethel Phaigh
Shinobu Saito
Virginia Samdahl
Wanja Twan
Barbara Weber Ray
Kay Yamashita

Reiki is one of the more widely known forms of energy healing. Energy Healing involves direct application of Chi for the purpose of strengthening the clients energy system (aura).  Chi is the term used by the Chinese mystics and martial artists for the underlying force the Universe is made of.  Mystics in all cultures have talked about the physical universe being made of an underlying form of something, much as modern physics research is now coming to understand the Universe is made of energy which is subject to (or affected by) thought.  Just as modern physics says this energy is affected by thought the mystics also say this underlying form is affected by thought, going so far as to claim we create our own reality from our thinking and the thoughts we share between each of us every day.

Stop and reflect for a moment.  Imagine the implications of the universe around us made from energy which can be shaped and manipulated by thoughts.  This is the implication of both Quantum Physics and ancient Metaphysics.  Might this make some diseases easier to explain, especially those which have no apparent physical cause?  Might this make miraculous cures easier to explain?  For example there was research study done a couple years ago showing that prayer improves the health of those who are prayed for, the focus of intent in prayer sends thoughts out in the form of "I wish such-and-so to happen", so if the world is energy subject to the power of thought then prayers must work (depending on how clearly and carefully you hold and elaborate on the prayers or thoughts).  Remember this while reading here about Reiki.

Reiki is very easily learned, very simple to use, and beneficial for all.  It is one of many forms of healing through the use of the natural forces which were given the name Chi by ancient chinese mystics.  Some forms of healing using Chi energy forces are Chi Gong, Pranic Healing, Chelation (as taught by Brabara Brennan and Rosalyn Bruyere), and Polarity Balancing. All (apparently) use the same energies, with the difference being techniques of application and an energy quality commonly known as vibration.  (This term vibration is widely used in the "New Age" community to refer to the range in experience between the dense or low vibration of the physical world to the high vibration of the highest spiritual expression; while the term is inadequate to truly describe the differences, and while Reality is probably not a simple bipolar scale of experience, the term is descriptive of how the energy feels).  I'm reluctant to definitively say Reiki uses Chi because I am not an expert on what the Chinese mean by this word.  To my eye the force referred to with the name Chi is the same as Prana, Orgone, Odic, they are all names for the same force.

Since the word Reiki means Universal Life Force Energy, it (strictly speaking) refers to the energy and not the specific techniques taught by Reiki Masters. The techniques are more properly called the Usui System of Natural Healing after the founder of the system, Dr. Mikao Usui. However as Reiki is the common name, and a fine name at that, this is the name we will use here.

A Reiki healing is very simply performed.  The practitioner places his or her hands upon the person to be healed with the intent for healing to occur, and then the energy begins flowing. The Reiki energy is smart since the Universe is a very smart place indeed. The energy knows where to go, and what to do once it gets there, or else is being directed by a higher intelligence. The energy manages its own flow to and within the recipient. It draws through the healer exactly that amount of energy which the recipient needs. All this happens without direct conscious intervention by the healer.  The healers job is to get out of the way, to keep the healing space open, and to watch/listen for signs of what to do next.

Reiki's Capabilities

Reiki is capable of healing anything because it works at very fundamental levels of reality.  Even though the capability is there, this is not what always happens.  The limits to Reiki seem to be in the recipients willingness to cast off old habits and patters, to accept change and to accept healing. The level of reality where Reiki operates is the underlying energy structure of matter, as the physical matter we see around us is a solidified form of energy (Remember Einsteins famous equation which says that each unit of mass is equivalent to a certain amount of energy).  At the level where Reiki functions, anything can be changed because all is fluidlike and is very malleable. Or so is the theory and so is the experience of Reiki practitioners.  Emotional difficulties are just as healable as physical ones since emotional issues are even more directly present in the energy structures.

In this context, the word Healing has a somewhat different meaning from the widely accepted meaning.   The widely accepted meaning for healing seems to be curing of symptoms, for that seems to be what medical doctors and the like look to do in their practice.  The other meaning for healing, used in the practice of Reiki as well as other related areas, is the return to greater wholeness.  There is an ideal form each of us has, this ideal form being the highest and clearest expression of who we are.  Pain or disease comes from any deviation between the persons current form in the 3D physical world and this ideal form.  Healing, then, is to bring this physical form into closer alignment with the ideal form.

The way we aquire deviations from our ideal form is to accept limitations into our life.  Most of this comes from early childhood because that is the phase of life where we are the most open and inquisitive about life.  A limitation may be a parent yelling "BE QUIET!!" enough times that the child learns to not speak.  Another limitation may be a limp that continues longer after the physical injury has healed, maybe with phantom pains.  These limitations are behavior patterns, eating patterns, physical limitations, imagined physical limitations, psychological, mental, or emotional ways of being, living, expressing or loving that is not in alignment with our personal highest expression.

In any healing the goal is to find the limitation, recognize the pattern, recognize where it came from, and let it go.  Reiki accomplishes this by providing the recipient enough energy to step above (metaphorically) to see all that and have the courage to let go.  This usually does not happen consciously as a result of Reiki, but sometimes it does happen that Reiki gives the recipient the conscious awareness of the pattern and recognizing where it came from. Our lives are a constant flow of patterns of activity (such as the pattern used to accomplish eating breakfast) and it is our choice to have these patterns remain stuck in limited expression, or to release the old patterns and try on new and shinier ones.

Reiki is also a gateway shining pure love into the universe.  It is this love which allows us to transcend our wounds and help us remember our true nature.

My Vision

My vision is to have everybody in the world know Reiki and have it in their lives.  This is not a utopian vision that instantly creates a world of complete harmony and total peace.  Yet having Reiki allows greater peace and harmony to flow.  Over time the healing of the worlds ills will be accomplished and, with Reiki in the hands of everyone, that day will come much more quickly.

Reiki is a wonderful gift which can be shared between us all.

In this vision each new teacher of Reiki increases the rate at which Reiki spreads.  The growth is exponential as more people teach and spread this gift.  It is like a flame being passed from person to person, lighting a light within each person it touches.  Like lighting a candle, the flame is not diminished by lighting more candles, instead there is more light.

I ask and pray that as Reiki is spread that the truth be given clearly and completely.  It does not do to smudge up Reiki with innappropriate extra contraptions.

Healing is not the popular conception of removal of symptoms. Healing is to recover a greater experience of unity with the divine harmony, and our true selves.  Healing is returning to a state of alignment with your Higher Self or true way of being.

It is western medical science that has made Healing be thought of as the removal of symptoms.

How It's Done

In its simplest form using Reiki is simply the practitioner placing their hands on the recipient with the intent of bringing healing, and willing for Reiki energy to flow.

There is a set of hand positions traditionally taught which give good coverage over the recipients entire body.  It is not necessary to follow those positions, they are merely taught as a starting position from which the practitioner can learn.  If there is a specific area of concern the practitioner can keep his/her hands right there for as long as necessary.

Remote Healings

To the world of spirit there is no such thing as time or space. Reading Barbara Brennan's books (Hands of Light, and Light Emerging) one sees why. The world we see around us is only a small fragment or slice of all which exists. This small fragment is that which our physical bodies can detect and transmit or describe to our consciousness, or which we can construct machines to extend the senses of our physical bodies. There is more in existance than what our bodies can detect in this way (though with some training and practice one can extend the range of what our consciousness can perceive).

Since there is no time and space to limit spirit, Reiki can operate without regard to limitations of space (at least). A level II Reiki practitioner can bring healing to a recipient regardless of distance.

In doing remote healings the recipient is to be objectified somehow, and the symbol drawn in the vicinity of the object representing the recipient. By objectified I mean that it is easier for the conscious mind to deal with objects than abstract things. Therefore when doing a remote healing it is easier on the healer to visualize sending the energy to something than otherwise.

There are many ways of visualizing or objectifying the recipient. For instance the healer might intend that their knee is the same as the intended recipient, which will create the necessary connection. Or they might draw in the air a shape to represent the recipient. Or use a teddy bear, pillow, or some other physical object as a stand in. The only limit is the healers imagination. For the healers intent is primary in bring forth the Reiki energy.

Reiki for non-human recipients

Yes, you can Reiki your car! One trip to Mt. Shasta I swear the only way we made it to the top was sending Reiki through the gearshift and dashbord into the car. Many people use Reiki on their food before eating. And much more.

It can be used on relationships between people. Like with remote healings the healer should come up with a way to objectify the relationship, then apply energy to the object as for a remote healing.

Recall that physicists are realizing that everything around us is made of energy. Recall that Reiki is about channeling energy. Therefore it stands to reason that Reiki can be applied to anything made of energy, i.e. anything in existance.

By David Herron

Once one has decided that Reiki is for him/her, that they want to experiment or to use it extensively, there is the question of how to find The practitioner to work with.  What makes a "good" Reiki practitioner, versus a "bad" one?  How do you tell?  Is there any danger in using Reiki for ones healing path?

First the practical matter of how does one find Reiki practitioners to begin with.  The Yellow Pages doesn't have a section for Reiki so that's no help.  Many Reiki practitioners combine it with other modalities, such as Massage, Chiropractic, Hypnotherapy, Herbology, etc, and the Yellow Pages does have sections for them.  This is an option.

In most areas there is a local publication for the "New Age" community that is a combination newsletter, calendar and directory for the participants in that community.  This lists things like meditation, yoga, tai chi classes, healing workshops, breathwork, etc.  It includes advertisements from various practitioners offering their services in a whole range of modalities, and many offer Reiki.  These publications are usually free of charge and distributed through bookstores, coffee shops, liberal churches, meditation centers, health food stores, and the like.    In the San Francisco Bay Area the publications in question are Heart Dance, Common Ground, The Psychic Reader, and (new) Bay Area Naturally.  In addition some practitioners do not advertise, preferring word of mouth or flyers put up in public places.  Keep on the lookout and network in your local community.

Having found a list of potential practitioners to work with, how to select one?

In some places there are regular get togethers in which Reiki practitioners offer their services, often only partial treatments, to the public free or a small donation.  This might be a weekly, biweekly, or monthly event held at a church, metaphysical bookstore, or other public meeting place.  Sometimes these are private affairs only for the students of a particular Reiki master, but most often they are open to the public.  This is a good opportunity to experience Reiki for little investment and allows you to meet practitioners face to face rather than through advertisements.

What are you attempting to achieve?  What attributes do you wish to see in a practitioner in order to achieve the desired goal?  Whatever recommendations are given here, the choice is yours to make.

Partner: Recall that Healing is a path of becoming more in tune with your true self.  That ultimate responsibility lies with you, not with the practitioner.  That it may be best to seek out a practitioner who understands this and will be a good partner along this path.

Assistance only: A healer is there with you, supports you, but does not interfere with your choices.  Your choices are yours to make and nobody elses.  Your life is yours to live, and nobody elses.  Going to a healer, of whatever modality, is to ask for assistance along the road to your healing.  For the healer to give of assistance means to give encouragement and advice, when asked for, and not to do the work on the clients behalf.  It is the client who is to do the healing, not the healer.

Healed themselves: Many healers, again of whatever modality, enter the healing profession out of a desire to heal themselves.  As if in helping others to heal, they can heal themselves.  While this is somewhat true this can lead to an undesired situation where the healer is themselves triggered by the emotional issues the client is going through.  So then instead of one healer and one patient, you suddenly have two patients and no healers.  No healer or person is completely healed, for if someone were completely healed they wouldn't need a body to continue their lessons.  That they are here and wearing a body indicates they have lessons to finish and issues to heal.

Similar Issues: The flip side of a healer who gets triggered by the patients issues is similarity in issues.  A healer who has been through, and healed, similar trauma to yours is likely to be a good partner for you.  They've been there and can give good advice.

Choosing a Reiki Teacher

By David Herron

Choosing a Reiki Master is somewhat similar to choosing a Practitioner.  The steps are much the same for Reiki Masters offer classes through the same avenues as Practitioners offer healing.  The attributes to be desired in a Reiki Teacher are similar to those desired in a Practitioner.  The goals are perhaps different.

Why do you wish to become a Reiki Practitioner?  Take a look above at the recommendations for finding a Reiki Practitioner.  Do you see yourself as being desirable under the criteria above, or some other criteria?

Do you see yourself entering healing from a desire to be healed?  If  so do not let this stop you from becoming a Reiki Practitioner for having Reiki can be a great help in self healing.  Remember this, however, if or when you choose to give Reiki treatments to others or to offer Reiki to the public.

The Teacher you choose can be a good partner in finding your healership.  Instead of assistance and guidance in your healing, the Teacher can offer assistance and guidance in being a healer.  So does the teacher have a long history of healing others?  Is the teacher healed themselves and understand the healing process?

These are the questions you might ponder while choosing the teacher for you.

By David Herron

Recall that the word Reiki means "Universal Life-Force Energy".  This energy is everywhere all the time and can be channeled by anybody at any time.  So what is it which makes a Reiki Practitioner different from the others?  Should a Reiki Practitioner be thought to be more special than the rest of the world?

Recall that the system being talked about here is properly called "The Usui System of Natural Healing" and that "Reiki" is the common nickname.  Therefore the question really is:

What makes a practitioner of the Usui System of Natural Healing?

This is much simpler.  An Usui System of Natural Healing Practitioner is one who has received the attunements to the Reiki energy.  These attunements are generally only given in a Reiki class.  A Reiki attunement is the ceremony through which a Reiki Master gives to the student the ability to access Reiki. 

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Levels of Reiki Practitionership

By David Herron

There are three levels of attainment in this system, as traditionally taught.  These are:

Levels of Reiki Practitionership
Level	Ability	Description
I	Hands on	Introductory level.  Gives access to the energy and direct hands on healing as shown in the paper on traditional hand positions.  Requires 4 attunements.
II	Level I plus Healing at a distance	This level teaches three of the traditional four symbols used in Reiki.  There is generally an increase in the amount of power.  The practitioner can also do healing at a distance.  Requires 2 attunements.
III (Master)	Level II plus the Master Symbol	Teaches the fourth symbol, the Master Symbol.  There is generally, again, an increase in power.  Requires 4 attunements.
Master Teacher	Level III plus the ability to train Reiki practitioners	Many teachers do not see this as a separate level from III, while some do require further training for Master Teacher.  This level does not require further attunements nor further symbols.  Instead it is posession of the confidence and knowledge to conduct a Reiki class.  This generally comes from apprenticeship with an experienced Reiki teacher to see what it's like on the other side of the table.

Some teachers add other levels, information from other traditions, and so forth.  These other levels are not part of the traditional Usui System of Natural Healing as preserved for the world by Mrs. Takata.  Sometimes these added things are said to be "recovered" bits of Reiki lore or whatever.  So long as the teacher clearly distinguishes the added things from the traditional teachings there is correct honoring of the Usui system.  These other things may be "Reiki" in the broad meaning of the world, but not "Reiki" in the sense commonly used as the nickname of "Usui System of Natural Healing".  For example there is a clear difference between "Calculus" and "Propositional Calculus".  Both are clearly distinguished in their name and who teaches which.  It would be incredibly confusing if both were simply called "Calculus".

By David Herron

A Reiki treatment consists of the practitioner placing his or her hands on the clients body having only the intent for the energy to flow.  There is no complicated rituals to perform.  Only the simple exchange of energy between two or more people.  Only the simple intent to share healing.  Only the desire to ease the burdens of another and the willingness to receive.

The Reiki energy is smart for it knows where to go and what to do.  The Reiki practitioner does not direct the energy nor is it necessary to study arcane theories of the universe in order to use it.  It is simply intent which causes the Reiki energy to flow and intent which directs it.  The best thing for the practitioner to do is nothing, but to get out of the way and allow the energy to do its work.

There is a treatment protocol traditionally taught to Reiki practitioners which involves a series of hand positions.  These positions are well spaced along the clients body and together they provide good coverage of the clients entire body.  While the energy does go where it is most needed, it is frequently observed that it stays near where the practitioner has placed his or her hands.  By covering all parts of the body evenly the patient will, by default, get the best treatment possible.  These hand positions are a good place for a practitioner to begin practicing Reiki.  With experience he or she should feel free to experiment based on the needs of the moment.  The pictures which follow come from the book Essential Reiki (the book gives permission to reproduce the pictures for teaching materials).  In addition to the positions shown for the front of the body, there is a matching set of positions for the back.  Behind the neck, behind the heart, behind the kidneys, and on the sacrum (tailbone).

Any set of hand positions are only a guideline (though I suppose some Reiki Masters insist on using only the hand positions they teach). Most Reiki practitioners use intuition or other methods to say which positions are to be used in each healing, varying from the traditional positions as the situation warrants. One common method is the sweep in which the practitioner sweeps his or her hands through the clients energy field looking for hot spots.  These indicate places needing healing energy.

One note about body privacy. Many times the practitioner must place their hands very near (or on) body parts most consider to be private (genitalia). As a system of treating the entire body one certainly would not want to leave such body parts out of treatment.  At the same time there is matters of privacy to protect.  Would you expect a doctor to not treat those areas simply out of a sense of privacy or embarassment? No!

Each practitioner has their own way to handle this. They might ask permission before placing their hands in sensitive areas.  Their hands can be placed on top of the clients hands, with the energy being beamed through the clients hands. The practitioner may also hold their hands above the area in question so there is no touching and beam the energy from a slight distance. The hands in many places very near the sensitive areas trusting that the energy will flow into the areas not directly treated. The remote healing techniques of Reiki level II can be used also.

Practitioner comfort is quite important while practicing Reiki.  A full treatment can easily last for an hour and if the patient is lying on the floor how can the practitioner remain comfortable hunched over for that long?  Better is for the patient to be seated in a chair that gives the practitioner easy access to their whole body.  Massage tables are very good for Reiki since they can be adjusted, are comfortable, and allows the patient to relax more fully.  Some companies make tables meant specifically for Reiki which allow a rollaround chair to go underneath the table.

There is an interesting correlation with Reflexology.  The theory in Reflexology is that when our bodies first form all parts of the body in one place, and as the body grows an energetic connection is formed such that the soles of the feet, the ears, and the palms of the hands, all contain a map of the rest of the body.  In reflexology the matching places in the feet, ears or hands are massaged to stimulate different parts of the body.  As one becomes more in tune with and aware of the energy pay attention to the energy around the clients feet.  I haven't seen it fail yet that the feet have extra energy at the places matching the major issues in the clients body.

Place your hands over the clients eyes. Be careful to not squeeze the nose.

Hands placed around temples.

Here the hands are cradling the head, with the fingers curled around the occipital ridge (?sp?). Get into this position by gently rocking the head into one hand, slide the other hand under the head, rock the head into that hand, move the other hand under the head, and then rock the head so it's centered on both hands. This is easier demonstrated than described.

Here the hands are held over the throat and thymus. You might find clients uncomfortable with the hands over the top of the throat, as it might remind them of choking, and you might find it better to place the hands under the throat rather than above it.

This is over the heart and heart chakra. The heart chakra is located between the breasts. Obviously you should choose your hand positions well here. Note that while Reiki derives from Qi Gong and therefore the "chakras" should be foreign to Reiki, the "chakras" are clearly part of the human energy system and the Tibetans and Hindu's called them one thing, while the Chinese called them another.

Do this for both legs. You might want to do two positions for each leg. One as shown, the other with one hand on knee and the other on the hip bone. This way the entire energy and nerve system circuitry of the legs have energy run through them.

Here the hands are placed flush with the bottom of the feet.

Self Treatment with Reiki

With Reiki it is quite possible to treat oneself as well as others.  Treating oneself is simply placing your own hands on yourself and intending for the energy to run.  By treating onself you can more quickly know what the experience of receiving Reiki is like.

Comfort is sometimes harder to arrange depending on where the energy is needed.  Being inventive most of the places in ones body can be reached.  For those body parts which cannot be reached one can try the remote healing techniques to do a remote healing to yourself.

By David Herron following his inner spiritual guidance, September 1995.

One of the most important questions one faces in becoming a Reiki practitioner is: What will I do with this gift I've received? Very closely bound up with this question is whether you will earn some, or all, of your living through Reiki.

There are a couple rules floating around which people discuss in regard to the money issue. This is a very valuable discussion which goes to fundamental truths of Western Society. These principles, for they are not Universal Truths but instead the Principles of Man, have to do with the role of money and thereby with how Value is determined in Western Society. Value here in this society is based in money, the more money is paid the more valuable something is. Hence the jokes about charging for air; Something that's so valuable yet cannot be charged for.

Give it away. This teaching comes from many sources, but the primary role model is the lifestyle which Jesus the Christ presented to us. That of a wandering Healer, floating upon the streams of fate, trusting that the Universe will provide for his needs so long as he stays pure in his intent and the performance of the work of Healer.

The theory is that the energy is freely available so how can one charge for it? That the client does the real work, not the healer, so how can one honestly charge for it? That the healers total involvement is that of a channel, and that Reiki works best when the healer is totally out of the way, so how can one honestly charge for it?

Yes the energy is freely available, but does that make any difference?

To become a healer you have spent lots of time learning the art. You have gone through lots of your own shit, crying your eyes out in front of strangers, and maybe felt you were going to die from the pain inside you. You have spent money on books, trainings, and even those random journeys meant to get you away so that Spirit has an easier time talking with you. There were no (physical) guidance counselors guiding you through well known paths. There weren't even paths to follow except those which you (and your spiritual guidance) made for yourself. You're putting your livelihood at the mercy of the universe, trusting these skills of healing to earn your way through life.

The reality of this world is that to live here requires money. Money 24 hours a day 7 days a week. There are bureaucrats in the governments whose job is to figure out how much money each person provides to the "economy". To many people the value you present is in how well dressed you are, whether you drive a Mercedes, in short how much money you have.

Practically speaking, one must have money to eat every day. If you spend your day healing people, then how are you to hold a regular job to bring in the money? Are you to spend your days with this regular job, and the rest of your time healing the Sick and Poor? If so then what of time for yourself, your own healing and your well being?

And where will you perform your Healing practice? Do you rent an office space somewhere? Won't your landlord expect money for that? Or if you devote space in your home, shouldn't you factor some percentage of your rent or mortgage?

If this society did not require money then the answer would be a resounding GIVE IT AWAY. Unfortunately this world demands its daily tithing, which must come from somewhere.

CHARGE IT! Okay, so what can be said now? It's pretty obvious one should charge for Reiki, right? After all how is its worth going to be known unless the client pays for it?

The theory about charging is exactly that. This society puts value on that for which it pays out cold hard currency, and very little else.

What, then, is the worth of a baby's smile? Or a nice warm day lazing in the park watching the clouds float by? The value of True Love (as opposed to that which one finds cheaply dressed on seedier street corners)? Why should a marraige continue past its time just because one or both partners fear for money? That's not love, marraige was only meant to honor Love, not Money. Money is the human constructed value system while Love is Gods value system, and it says a lot about this society that such questions are even asked.

Gods values are those of a newborn baby. What a newborn baby wants is Love and Attention. Soiling diapers is simply one way of getting Love and Attention.

Metaphysical Laws. Somewhere between these two extremes is a middle ground. That of Universal Truth. The Truth active in this discussion is that of the Exchange of Energy. Namely that money is symbolic of Energy and that there's something akin to the "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" which monkeys are often seen doing. The client comes along wanting healing. The exchange of healing energy for money is then nothing more than an exchange of favors. This exchange is very important to do since otherwise one is forking out their energy with nothing coming back, eventually comes burn out and then what?

In fact one of the mistakes people often make is the reason they have for doing something. Frequently work is done because of the money reward at the end. Not for the joy of doing, nor for the beauty of what is being created. But soley because there is this money beckoning them onward. This is an ego trip and is thus not part of Gods plan.

The exchange of energy need not be money if exchanges of money offend you. The exchange can be many things. Services (cleaning house, massage, etc), food (cooking dinner, garden produce, etc), or things (making clothes, books, paying rent, etc). You can charge a sliding scale depending on the ability of the client to pay, or charge subject to your inner selfs leading.

Examine your conscience. When you ponder healing (or any) work what do you think about? Does your mind fly flights of fancy with ogling crowds being wowed by your feats as a Healer? Or do you instead feel satisfaction at the people whose lives are bettered by your loving presence? What difference do you see in what is created by one who is in it for the money versus one who is there for the joy and beauty of what they are creating?

Conclusion

So there you have it, both sides of the money issue. How does one survive on Love alone? How do you put a price on Gods Love?

Deciding how the Reiki practitioner approaches his or her Calling to Heal is an individual choice. The money issue is no more one for which a hard and firm answer can be presented than any other issue which the Reiki practitioner faces. The preceeding is presented to stimulate thought and reflection.

We leave you with one other thought. Your world is in need of more healers. This is why you are being called to Healing. The world does not need sick or burned out healers who can no longer function in Healing. Keeping yourself in working order is best not only for the world, but for your own growth and healing. If you spend this lifetime burning yourself out you'll just spend other lifetimes presented with the same issue until you learn the lesson.

An important feature of Reiki is the symbols. The symbols are used to access the Reiki energy both in performing healings and the attunement process. Reiki is not unique in that it uses symbols, some other systems also have the practitioners draw symbols to access certain abilities. The Reiki symbols bring to the practitioner certain "flavors" of the Reiki energy, tuned to specific uses.

The Symbols themselves

There are three symbols in Level II Reiki and another in Level III or Master. These are as follows, with names obfuscated so you don't see the name but get the idea of each symbol (see below on protecting the symbols).

The Reiki Symbols
Symbol	Symbol name	Purpose	Meaning
Body	Cho-Ku-Rei	Increase Power	"Put the power here" or "God is here"
Mind	Sei-He-Ki	Emotional, purification, protection, clearing	"Key to the universe" or "Man and God becoming one"
Spirit	Hon-Sha-Ze-Sho-Nen	Distant healing, Akashic Records, past-present-future	"The Buddha in me reaches out to the Buddha in you to promote enlightenment and peace"
Master	Dai-Ko-Myo	Passing attunements	Reiki mastership; "man-woman-universe = whole energy"

The system, then, contains the same trinity which appears in all spiritual systems. The Body/Mind/Spirit trinity which can be read many ways (Ego/Subconscious/Superconscious, Self/Family/All, Father/Son/Holy-Ghost, etc). Note, I'm putting this body/mind/spirit interpretation onto the three symbols, and haven't seen that distinction made by other teachers.

The fourth symbol is used to attune someone to the Reiki energy. The attunement process is similar to the Tibetan Buddhist empowerment practices, and is a ceremony by which one is attuned to and may access Reiki.

In healings the practitioner, of level II or above, paints the symbols in the air with his/her hands. Sometimes the practitioner might draw the symbols on paper, with the intent that the symbol is for a specific person or purpose. Generally, the symbols are drawn near the person who is to receive healing.

The drawn symbols are not presented here because they are not truly important to this discussion. If you wish to see them, there are many books which have published the symbols. Also, the symbols can be discussed without revealing their form. The form is relatively unimportant, while it is the function which is greatly important.

Protecting the symbols

Traditionally the Reiki symbols have been kept secret and only shown to those attuned for Reiki Level II and higher. Keeping the symbols secret has been done to prevent misuse (people claiming to know Reiki when in fact they haven't been trained in Reiki). This was also because Mrs. Takata insisted that the symbols were kept secret by the practitioners in Japan.

Consider whether Reiki is only the symbols, the drawn pictures. It's my experience that drawing the symbols creates a flow of energy (Chi) having different characteristics for each symbol, and that it's the flow of energy which is important. Without the flow of energy, the symbols themselves are just pictures, yes? What makes Reiki interesting is the source of energy from which Reiki springs, and the high degree of intelligence, wisdom and divinity behind that energy source.

When teaching Reiki a few times I conducted an experiment with the students. The Chi energy is not unique to Reiki, in fact Chi is in everything and around everything. Think Yoda here, in Star Wars, lecturing young Skywalker on the Force; that lecture was not far from the truth. There are many systems of Energy Healing, of which Reiki is only one, and it is quite easy for people to access and channel Chi without knowing Reiki. The experiment was, before they received any Reiki attunement, to lead them through a simple method of accessing Chi from the earth (earth energy), and then after their first attunement to have them compare the energy which came to the earth energy they had accessed just a few moments before. Every one of them were able to access earth energy with ease. In addition, each of them had dramatically stronger and different energy come, just a few minutes later, after their first Reiki attunement.

This indicates someone could call themselves Reiki Practitioners simply because they've seen the symbols in a book. This is analogous to someone calling themselves a Tarot Reader simply because they've memorized a book of Tarot card meanings. Just as reading tarot is much more than memorizing a set of predetermined meanings (namely, being intuitive about what the cards mean in this reading), there is more to using Reiki than drawing symbols (namely accessing the energy). Even a fully attuned Reiki practitioner can fail to access the energy if s/he gets confused here.

The symbols have been published in many books and web sites. Particularly interesting are a series of books by Frank Arjava Petter, Walter Lubeck and William Rand exploring the true history of Reiki (Reiki Fire, The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui, and The Spirit of Reiki). These three books in particular show that the Japanese practitioners had rather different practices from what Mrs. Takata taught, and in particular that the Reiki symbols (and others) are clearly shown to the public in a temple at Mt. Kurama in Japan. I can only assume that it's no longer necessary to follow the tradition of secrecy.

The Reiki attunement process is how one becomes a Reiki pracitioner.  Being attuned to Reiki gives one the ability to easily access the Reiki (Universal Life Force) energy, for the purpose of healing a person or situation.  Attunements can be given only by a Reiki master and can be given for either the purpose of training one in Reiki, or for simply giving someone a larger experience of Reiki than usually experienced in treatments.

The attunement procedure is a ceremony of spirit.  In this ceremony the Reiki master uses the Reiki symbols and other gestures in a prescribed way.  This ceremony creates an energy pattern around the recipient of the attunement which entrains (or attunes) their energy field to the energies represented by the symbols.  The attunement is permanent, thus making the recipient a Reiki practitioner, only if the master uses the symbol for the "subconscious".  If this symbol is not used the entrainment is temporary only.

In this ceremony the master does the following:

• Grounds and centers themselves.  Instructs the recipient(s) in grounding and centering themselves.  Remind the recipients this is their ceremony and be open to any and all experiences which happen.  Perhaps puts on some mood setting music, lights incense, etc.  The Master starts standing in front of the recipients and it is traditional for him/her to hold their hands up high at shoulder height with palms facing forward.  The recipients should be seated in a row with room around them for the Master to walk around them easily.

• Walk around the recipients one full circle and then behind the row again standing behind the first recipient.

• There are two halves to the ceremony, one part done behind the recipient, the other part done in front.

• Hold the left hand palm up next to the recipients head.  The left hand generally receives energy while the right hand generally gives energy.

• With the right hand draw the symbols over the crown of the recipients head.

• When done with their backsides, walk around to the front.

• At the front take the recipients hands between your own for a moment.

• Draw the symbols over the hand.  Drawing each symbol once, and as you draw silently chanting the name of the symbol three times.

• Visualize the master symbol in violet and lightly blow, twice, from the base chakra to the crown chakra.

• Lightly touch the forehead (third eye).

• Draw the symbols over the forehead (third eye).  Again drawing each symbol once, and chanting the name of the symbol three times.

• Gently separate the hands.

• Visualize the master symbol again and gently blow from base to crown.

• Visualize the master symbol in the palm of your right hand and hold it over the recipients left hand.  Lightly slap the palm of your right hand into the palm of their left hand.

• Visualize the master symbol in the palm of your left hand and old it over the recipients right hand.  Again lightly slap your palm into theirs.

• Visualize the master symbol and gently blow into the area between their hands while bringing their palms together again.

• Give back their hands and gently touch them in the heart area, visualizing that you've given them back to themselves.

• Step back and bow, honoring them for who they are.

• Once all the recipients have been attuned make another circle around them, ending up in front again.

How might giving something like Reiki can make any changes in a persons body or attitudes?  This isn't a very well understood question and, well, the answers tend to reduce to hand waving.  And so it goes that the public at large finds it difficult to accept this technique when the medicine they are familiar with is able to explain itself so well, or so it seems.  While western medicine is able to explain a lot of things and put up a dazzling array of words with precise meaning, in actuality the functioning of the body remains largely a mystery.

There should be some attempt at understanding how Reiki, and other methods of using Life Force Energy, works.  Anybody who has spent much time with Reiki will have seen very interesting occurrences happening and experienced changes in their life.  Perhaps it will have challenged their belief system, for it did mine, or it may have fit nicely with their already existing beliefs. While some say it is merely enough to accept what has happened without looking a gift horse in the mouth, many people (myself included) like to peek under the hood and see what's happening.

I've had information come to me through many avenues.  Some has come through intuition or knowing that comes to me sometimes during healing sessions, or sometimes during meditations.  Other information comes from classes, books, or attending lectures.  No one piece had the whole puzzle, and there's parts that still puzzle me now.  The picture is becoming clear, and striving to understand the mechanism itself is not the avenue to understanding the mechanism.  Instead it seems the most useful path to understanding is that of clearing your connection with non-reality, or that which we see with our physical eyes, and of clearing issues from your life, so that you have less impinging on the connection with non-reality (the 3D world).  As I've cleared these areas of my life greater knowing in all aspects has come to me, and I see now that this is what the spiritual writers talk about.

The first thing to discuss is the model for our experience of the world.

There is an overall energy field that is vast, wide, and encompasses all that is.  This energy field is both vastly more complicated and vastly simpler than the physical world we see with our eyes, taste with our mouths, smell with our noses, hear with our ears, and touch with our skin.  The energy field permeates all the physical things we see, and the physical things we see are sort of a condensation of the energy in this field.  The term condensation is imprecise and incomplete, but is the best term I know.

That which we can sense with physical senses is limited.  The organs have a specific range within which they operate, for instance the eyes operate in the light frequencies between red and violet, the ears between 20 and 20,000 Hz, and so forth.  There is a wide range of possible vibrations of physical matter which our physical senses cannot perceive because it is outside the capability of our physical bodies.  Science and Engineering have done wonders with extending the range of our sensing, but not matter how widely sensing of physical phenomenon is extended no proof of such an energy field is found.  The energy of this energy field that permeates all that is is not physical (in the sense of being 3D, whatever that means) and cannot be directly sensed by any physical 3D instrument, biological or otherwise, given current understandings.  The recent developments in Quantum and SuperString theories may lead to instruments capable of directly sensing the less condensed states of energy and thus directly measure these energy fields.

By condensed energy the picture in mind is something like a stalactite, the thing which hangs from the ceiling in a cave.  The ceiling of the cave, in this analogy, is the highest vibrational level of this energy field, and the tip of this stalactite-shape is an object in the 3D physical reality we see with our eyes.  For every object there is a continuum of energy states between the vibrational level of 3D physical objects and the vibrational level of the whole universe.  The stalactite is this continuum, and at various places along this stalactite one is at different vibrational levels.

I believe this continuum is the same model as discussed by the theosophists (Helen Blavatsky, Alice Bailey, etc, as well as other writings such as Barbara Brennan's books) discussing the different bodies (physical, etheric, auric, mental, soul, etc). These authors claim there are discrete levels to this spread of vibrational states between 3D physical reality and oneness.  What I have seen so far indicates there is a continuum, though I've noted some experiences implying there are discrete levels.  In one of Barbara Brennan's books she describes watching the energy fields of those who were raised without knowledge of discrete energy bodies and, as the theory of discrete energy bodies is explained to them, watching their own energy field form into discrete energy bodies.

The level closest to the physical body is termed the etheric body.  The purpose of the etheric body is to be a template from which the physical body is grown, and the etheric body holds both our personal most perfect form as well as the template for our current form.  If one, for instance, breaks a bone then the break can be felt in the etheric body even after the physical bone has knitted back together, because the etheric body is remembering the break.  It has been observed that the pains often times associated with old breaks in bones are resolved by working with the etheric body and retraining it to mesh more closely with the bones most perfect shape, to help the etheric body forget about the break.  It is the memory of the break which seems to cause these old pains, and by releasing the memory of the break the pains can be no more.

This shows us something about the energy fields and the continuum of energy vibrational levels between the 3D physical world and oneness.  Namely that what shows up in the physical world manifests in some way in the higher vibrational levels as well.  It has been observed that some symptoms begin with processes in the higher vibrational levels eventually manifesting in the physical body as a disease or some other symptom.  Other things, such as broken bones, begin with physical disturbance (the broken bone) which causes disturbance in the higher vibrational levels as well.

So then this way of creating healing, by applying Universal Life Force Energy, is to direct the energy that makes up the universe to the people, places or things where there is difference between the current form and the ideal form.  For instance the ideal form of a bone is to be strong and whole, not broken and weak.  The application of Life Force Energy then would tend to erase the broken and weak pattern replacing it with a strong and whole pattern.  Depending on the depth to which this pattern changing is accepted determines the speed with which the pattern is changed.  If one is only able to accept a little change at a time then healing will require much time, or if one is able to accept lots of change the healing can be instantaneous.

How does Reiki relate to what I've just said?  Reiki is a method of applying Universal Life Force Energy, hence the name.  Reiki is only one such method, there being many other methods of doing this.  The different methods of applying this energy take different forms, some methods taking a lot of input and interaction from the practitioner, while others (such as Reiki) take care of directing themselves and work pretty much automatically.  In essence using Reiki is to simply turn on a fire hose and let some higher wisdom or power direct the flow of the energy to where it is needed.  Otherwise what has been said above applies fully to Reiki.

Grounding is not a topic considered as part of Reiki. However, in my experience as an energy healer who has Reiki training, there are many realities of the Energy which are not covered in Reiki training. The dual concepts of grounding and protection are among these.

Let us back up a little for a quick review of Energy Healing. Generally speaking this field, Energy Healing, involves the practice of channeling an energy form commonly called "Chi" into a recipient, who is the client, and who is receiving the healing. This energy, Chi, is involved with everything in the Universe. The word translates to English as "Universal Life Force", and this is a very apt term for it appears in every thing in some form.

The energy, Chi, is not unique to the practice of Reiki, and there are many systems of energy healing other than Reiki. The energy follows various rules, which in some ways resemble the laws of electrical energy, and these rules are active regardless of which system of energy healing you follow. In fact, it is my belief that the different systems of energy healing are merely different "maps" that try to understand the territory of the activity of Chi. That there are different systems merely reflects that each individual has their own way of seeing the world, and thus each teacher of energy healing finds a different way to teach which results in a different format of practice.

Grounding

To be "grounded" is merely to be present here and now. It is to have your energy field securely present, in your body, in present time, connected clearly to your present identity at this time, and in awareness of what is happening in your vicinity at this time.

It is my experience that, when ungrounded, I am floating loose from all that. I am in some other time frame, unsure of who I am, unaware of what's happening around me, or some other similar effect.

The practice of grounding is actually a lifelong spiritual process of marrying the divine or soul into manifest form. This gets to many questions of the purpose of life, living, why is life "so rough", and whatnot. You, the reader, will have to find discussion of these ideas elsewhere for they are outside the scope of this page. It is my experience that a common life task everybody has is this bringing of the divine into manifest form. It may be real tough to see for many people, but I think it's there in all of us.

In any case, consider the frame of experience you have in giving a healing. You have your hands on their body, energy is running, you've drawn your symbols, and everything is safe, yes? The promise of Reiki is this safety, yes? Well, yes, there are safety checks that I witness in Reiki, and at the same time I witness that the rest of the rules of the universal energetic universe (e.g. Chi) are in force as well.

For example, if your mind wanders from the activity you are involved with, what happens? You still have your hands on the client, right? But if your mind wanders, in other words you become ungrounded and leave your body, what happens to the flow of Reiki? Are you sure that the flow of Reiki continues running? Are you sure that it still remains as Reiki energy and not some other frequency?

Another example, suppose that this client has an issue that triggers a reaction in you. Say you have had many car accidents (this is true for me), and that this client hurt themselves and you are giving healing to their trauma. Does the clients trauma remind you of your own trauma? How do you feel about your trauma? What happens to you if you reexperience your trauma? Often ones reaction to trauma is to run away from it, which involves leaving your body, or ungrounding. Getting back to the client you are giving healing to, are you going to be able to stay with the client in their trauma? If/when your past trauma is triggered by their trauma, can you deal with it, or will you too run away from your own retriggered trauma?

Why is this important? With Reiki it is good form to stay with the Reiki energy. There are many sources and frequencies of energy (Chi) in this universe, but as a Reiki practitioner, and to be practicing Reiki, and to have the safety checks that come with Reiki, you must stay with channeling Reiki. I like to think of this as a meditation where the anchor of the meditation is the staying with the Reiki energy source. If you were to unground and become unpresent with yourself, or otherwise lose focus with the activity of giving healing to your client, how can you gaurantee you will stay in contact with the Reiki energy source? Maybe you would instead begin channeling some other energy frequency than the Reiki energy source?

A grounding exercise

Grounding is taught in different ways by different teachers. In my experience there are two directions to ground to in order to be present with "now" in a full way.

• Grandfather Sky

• Grandmother Earth

I use the native american terms because they resonate with me. One of my teachers calls this "The Hearts of Heaven and Earth" which has a nice poetic ring to it.

Basically one can think of these as: Grandfather Sky is located above you ("the sky") and is the source of divine wisdom as well as the spaciousness of life and the world in which to play. Grandmother Earth is located below you ("the earth") and is the source of nurturance, physical life, practical wisdom, and the vitality with which to play in the world. The two go hand in hand and one is not primary over the other.

It is best to start with grounding to the earth. To ground into the earth, feel your feet, your body, your presence in now-time, and down into the ground how the ground supports and nurtures you. If you like you can reach way down and explore the molten rock far down, all the way to the crystaline core of the earth. This is obviously not to reach with your physical body down into the earth, but to bring your presence of consciousness to the earth, in the present time, and the present place. "Now-time" in other words.

To ground into the sky is somewhat similar. Start with the top of your head, reaching into higher wisdom or knowing, the guiding light if you will. As you reach to divine wisdom stay present with the earth and now-time, you can very well be communing with the divine levels while also very present and physical. Though, I recommend that you practice this at home first before trying to do this while operating heavy machinery such as your car.

If you ground into the earth, you should notice more physical sensation in your body, food should have more taste and flavor, and so forth. But that also means you will feel every ache and pain, and sometimes it is those aches or pains which might cause you to be one that often leaves your body. To be able to ground more deeply into presence with here and now will mean to heal those aches and pains, wherever they came from.

Protection

The best protection is to be grounded, actually. By being grounded the clients ills will tend to stay with them and be transformed by the client. By being grounded you will be more full of energy, and your own essence, which will naturally cause the energy flow to be from you into the client, rather than from the client into you.

As a healer one of the common things that are done is to take the clients ills within oneself. This happened vividly to me once; my client was experiencing some deep old and vivid trauma, my guidance was saying to reach inside her and touch that trauma, I did and all of a sudden there was a swoosh and my client suddenly stopped experiencing the trauma. Instead her trauma went into me. It's just energy, after all, and can go from one place to another very easily.

Many ancient traditional forms of energy healing use this practice. If you remember the Star Trek episode "The Empath", this was a great example of this style of healing. If your past lives include training in this style of healing, then you might employ it yourself in todays healings.

In those traditional empathic forms of healing, the healer is supposed to take that energy and transform it themselves. If you do not do this, because maybe you haven't remembered from those past lives this is the second half to that style of healing, then maybe you will take on the illnesses your clients have. By all means it is not good form for the healer to get sick, and maybe die, from giving healing to their clients. The world needs healers who are well, not healers who are dying.

As of this writing [July 2003], I have been taking training in various healing modalities for 10 years. Along the way I've met many fine people, fellow students or teachers. Common questions I've heard is "when can I have my healing practice" or "where is my healing practice" or "where is the best place for me to live" or "is it better for me to stay in my job, or to be a healer"? To be sure, I'm one of those with these questions, have had them for the 10 years of exploring, and they continue today. I don't have any answers, but have had a few interesting observations and a few ideas.

Let me suggest first, the essence of these questions is "what is my life purpose", or "if I remove the layers of EGO, what do I really want to do with my life". I say this mostly because, for the last 6 months the answers I've gotten from my spiritual guidance is "well, what do you want to do". It's been clear this want the guidance talks of is the deeper down wanting in the divine spark of self-truth within each of us. What passion and life purpose would speak loudly through your flesh and bones in a glorious manifestation of divine will?

The physical "reality" of the world

Let's first talk about some practicalities. Another piece of advice my guidance gave long ago is that they (spirit that is) don't set us up for failure. Instead "they" want only the best for us, "they" want us to succeed, and while the challenges we end up facing from our choices may seem daunting or downright painful, "they" don't set us up for failure and instead the resources to resolve any issue are generally within reach. Generally we set ourselves up for failure, instead.

One thing about this physical world we live in, in its current societal configuration, is that the "market economy" runs everything. Everything that can be done seems to involve exchanges of money. Like it or not, that does apply to you who are spiritual seekers just as much as it applies to the lawyers, politicians, hair dressers, and everybody else. There is a belief many hold that spiritual work must be done for free. And we do have that huge example in the New Testament of the Bible in the form of Jesus the Christ and his healing practice. That was then, and this is now, and in this day and age how are you going to pay the rent? How are you going to eat? And is it in your life path to live on the street? Because without money you will be on the street pretty quickly.

To me this implies operating my life in financial soundness. If I choose to make healing my full time work, then I will do that as well in financial soundness. This doesn't have to be as dull and boring as it sounds. All it means is knowing what lifestyle you wish to be living, knowing how much that will cost you to maintain, knowing that in the future you're likely to have greater medical expenses and less ability to earn income, and keeping your current income enough to cover current expenses and future possible ones. In other words, it's a form of maintaining balance. The math is pretty simple, and the spiritual path of walking personal finance in balance can be the learning of a lifetime.

And for those who hold that spiritual work must be done for free, consider the likes of Ron Roth. I've heard him say that he doesn't charge for healings, because his Teacher (Jesus) didn't charge for healings. What he charges for is his time as a teacher. If you see a client for healing, are you charging for the healing, or for the time in your day that you spend giving the healing?

Ones life task

Okay, now what are you "supposed" to do with your life? How do you choose? What makes one choice "right" and another "wrong"? Who decides "supposed" versus what you want to do?

If you go to psychics asking for them to read your akashic records to discover your life contract, have you made your own choice, or have you turned your power of choice over to the psychic? How can you be sure there is a "life contract" anyway? Yes there are lots of books talking about this concept of "life contract", but how can you be sure they exist?

There's two writers I've found to offer some excellent advice along these lines. They both boil down to the "what do you want" question my guides have been asking me.

Barbara Ann Brennan: Is a gifted clairvoyant and healer, and formerly a NASA scientist in astrophysics. She operates one of the premiere schools of energy healing The Barbara Brennan School of Healing (I graduated 2001), and a big question of the latter years of BBSH training is to delve into uncovering your own life task.

The paradigm she presents is that your "wound" leads you to your life task, and that there are two levels of life task. The "wound" in this case is the core & deepest schism in the depths of your being. It is that schism which you most desparately wish to heal, and for which you have come to live in this life, in this world, at this time, with the challenges you have in your life.

Everybody is a healer, whether they recognize it or not, because everybody has come to live life in order to heal something.

There are two levels of life task she discusses. The "personal task" is the form which this wounding, and the healing of it, takes in your personal life. What you're going to do for yourself, and how you are going to heal you. The "world task" is, given the healing you find in your personal task, how do you bring that to the world? What form of action does it take in the world? What lesson have you learned that you want to shout from the rooftops and tell everybody?

The way of finding these tasks is to notice what issues are hot button issues for you. The world task isn't going to specifically be that issue, but instead is something about that issue. There's going to be a series of hot button issues, each different in concrete form, and each has something in common. That's what you're looking for, the commonality.

Don't worry if you don't know what your Ultimate "personal" or "life" task's are. It's a process of learning and exploring that can, and likely will, take a lifetime to unfold. And even then it's likely you will miss something and "they" will send you back to get it.

Hands of Light (amazon.com)

Light Emerging (amazon.com)

Rick Jarow: Rick is a college professor and practicing "career consultant". He offers "anti-career workshops" to teach people to look for work that isn't a "career" but their lifes work. I have only listened to the "Your Life's Work" audio tape set, and feel that it's excellent material.

In the tape set he takes you through an exploration of the underlying, spiritual, formation of who people are. How this shows up in the Chakras, the process of abundance and manifestation, alignment of will versus divine, the creative impluse, and more. Along the way he gives excellent and abundant examples from his own life.

The material matches well with what I described above of BBSH's teaching.

Your Life's Work (amazon.com)

Creating the work you love (amazon.com)

Marketing yourself

Once you've decided to launch a "career" as a spiritual practitioner of some kind, you're again faced with some material world realities. How do you let your future clientele know you exist, that you have a business, that you offer some services, and so forth? In other words, how do you do marketing? That's what marketing is, announcing your existance in a way which entices people to your services.

Of course you can pray and other forms of manifestation. But many teachers of manifestation techniques say you must also take action in the material world. If nothing else, to aid the prayer in becoming real. Ultimately for prayer to have effect in the material world, action must happen somewhere by some agency in the physical world, yes?

You may have thought that by launching a "spiritual" service such as a healing practice, that you would escape the world of business. Please, if this is what you believe, reconsider that thought. To perform service to the world, accepting money for that service, renting office space, paying taxes, advertising for clients, that sounds like a business to me.

Here's a book that's right up our alley. How to Market Your Holistic Health Care or New Age Business Like a Pro... The author has decades of advertising and marketing expertise which he places at our disposal. He offers to teach us how to do marketing, and along the way gives plenty of "new age marketing" stories to illustrate the points he has to make.

What's the answer?

I certainly don't have your answer, your answer is up to you and your guidance..

Let me close with a book I just found that looks very promising

Not Just a Living: The Complete Guide to Creating a Business That Gives You a Life (amazon.com)

The premise is one I realize I've been searching for. Namely, this isn't just about me finding a job, albeit one involving working with angels on a regular basis. No, this is about choosing my life and work from a deeper place, that satisfies one more completely. This is about having the life that works for me really well. And, yes, this applies to you, the one reading this, if you like.

The book starts with the author, Mark Henricks, having just written a nice and formal letter of resignation to his boss. His intent, stated in the letter, was to launch a life in freelance writing. Instead of handing the letter to his boss bright and early the next day, it stayed on his desk for the next six months. Eventually he launched that bright life in freelance writing happened for him, but that honesty strikes close to home, doesn't it?

How much longer are we going to wait? How many more times are we going to say "hmm, maybe I'll wait a couple months"?

By David Herron

You have learned Reiki, and can call yourself a spiritual healer. Consider, how many people around you are also spiritual healers of any stripe? How much of the population have this or similar training?

There is a subculture in the U.S. in which spiritual practices and healing training is commonly known, and "everybody knows one everybody else" (in that subculture). But in truth this subculture is a very small proportion of the population. Most people don't know what we're about, what we're doing, or how to understand the work we do or the experience we have of the world.

The point is, your experience, because you have learned Reiki, is very rare. Not only rare, but is very worthy of being shared with the world. The more that Reiki, and the other forms of spiritual healing, are seen by the public, understood by the public to be normal and natural, the more these practices will be accepted by the public. Ultimately having energy healing in all its forms seen as "normal" will in turn make it easier for you and the other energy healers to work as spiritual healers.

I call on all energy healing practitioners to speak up. There is a conversation happening around the world over the acceptability of energy healing. Some conversations are happening in medical and legal institutions of all kinds, and may affect energy healers ability to practice. By speaking up energy healers become part of the conversation and may affect how it goes.

The task of promoting the acceptance of energy healing (including Reiki), is multifaceted, multidimensional, and is happening every day.

The world is crying out for healing, and it's so obvious with every day's events. Each of us has a role to play in the healing of the world. We who are spiritual healers have a rare viewpoint we have of the nature of the world. Share it with everybody you meet!

Internet Marketing and Promotion

One of the best things you can do is to create a web site. A web site can hold all the information in all the flyers you've ever written, and more. With a web site you can reach a global audience. You can write articles to put on your web site, sell products, or more. The possibilities are vast and broad of what you can do with your web site.

On a sister web site, web-building.7gen.com, I have written a complete course about building and promoting web sites. Here's a few high points:

• Building a web site is relatively simple, requiring more knowledge than using a word processor, but not a lot more.

• Owning a web site does incur some costs, primarily for renting the space on which you store your web site.

• You can earn an income through your web site in various ways.

• It's essential to get your site listed in the relavent search engines, because the traffic to your site will come from people searching for sites like yours.

• It is important to have a clearly understood purpose for your web site.

A very useful site on which to list your web site is the Healer Pages section of byregion.net. Being listed in such directories also aids visibility of your own web site.

If your web site lends itself to having t-shirts and the like with a message, consider operating an online store via Cafe Press.

David Herron

Practitioners, do you wish to get in some long distance Reiki practice? Do you wish to give to the world? Do you wish exposure to potential clients? Well, here's your chance.

The Reiki Page is sponsoring the Free Reiki Project, offering free long distance healing to all who request. By joining the project you will receive any and all healing requests entered on the above web page. It is up to you how you handle these requests, whether you give an individual healing to each requestee, whether you give healing to all requestees at one time, or whatever works for you. We simply request that you treat this with integrity, and participate with the assembled group of practitioners and give healings. Your choice of how you participate is up to you and your level of self-care requirements.

To join, simply fill out the following form. Joining the project requires being a member of the "remote-healing-requests" group at Yahoo Groups, in order to receive the requests

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