Originally Posted by jada
hi giles, i want to practice it, learn more, from what i read on the net a master has to 'activete' you, of course there are some fees one has to pay, but that s ok, i read about self healing, and helping others. i would like to know, if you practice it what benefits do you see. i want to know everything.
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Ok, some of the basics for you...
Firstly there are many different 'forms' of Reiki out there, some going by names that don't even mention the word Reiki and some that do use the name Reiki in them. Reiki in itself is a Japanese word, and is made of two Japanese kanji (characters) Rei and Ki. Japanese kanji usually cannot be directly translated to any particular word in English, but in a general sense "Rei" can be translated to mean "Unseen", "Ghostly", or as some people have translated it... "Spiritual". "Ki" is the same as the Chinese "Chi" or sanskrit/Indian "Prana" and roughly translates to "life force" or "life energy", which is the energy that is in everything in the universe. If you search the web you'll find different translations and the most common mistake is where people translate "Rei" to mean "universal", thus giving a meaning of "Universal life energy" for Reiki. That is wrong. "ki" by it's very nature is universal, but when Reiki first came to the West from the East, the translation of Rei was actually left out because people didn't approve or like things that were considered "ghostly" or "spiritual", especially in the Christian dominated society at that time, so the translation for Reiki was given just based on the meaning of "ki" as "universal life energy" and people mistakenly took the "universal" part to relate to "Rei" because they knew no better.
So, a better translation of Reiki is "Unseen Life Energy", unless you're a very spiritual type person and want to call it "Spiritual Life Energy" or a religious person and want to call it "God given Life Energy" etc.
A bit of history now... Energy healing of sorts has been going on for millenia and in Japan they already practiced a form of energy healing, but this involved performing exercises to build up the Ki energy (a bit like doing Tai Chi or QiGong (Qi is another spelling of Ki, Chi etc.)) and then using that energy to heal the self or others. Just doing the exercises was enough to help keep the self healed, but the one thing that was apparent was that the energy that was built up in the self through exercises would be expended and further exercise would be needed to re-build the levels again. Around the start of the 1900's a man called Mikao Usui who was a follower of Tendai Buddhism and an experienced practitioner of a form of Qigong (I can't recall it's exact name at this moment), was interested to find out if it was possible to tap into the energy of the universe such that it could be used without the self becoming depleted and constantly having to be renewed. He allegedly travelled to many countries and studied a great deal of spiritual and religious texts in his search to find the answers. In the end he went to stay at a monestary on Mt. Kurama in Japan where he fasted and meditated for 21 days, at which point he became 'englightened' and at that point knew the answer to what he seeked. I won't go too much into the history after that, there are various "stories", and a lot of them are unfounded or misinterpretations of what are now know to be facts, so if you have any specific questions about anything you read, feel free to ask and I'll see if I can clarify. Needless to say, he went on to practice what he had come to realise, and set up a school to teach others. Reiki primarily was (and still is, though you may find it hard to believe) a system of self development, and whilst it can be used for others, that was never intended to be it's primary purpose. In the West we see many who see it just as something else to offer clients in their holistic therapy treatment rooms, yet not all those practice self healing or follow the Reiki principles themselves, sadly.
Usui sensei was a great follower of the Emperors Meiji's poems at that time and developed his Reiki principles from what he had learnt from his research/teachings and from the poems. You will find several translations of the principles, some of which have some innacuracies. Essentially the princples are:
Just for today: (Kyo daka wa)
Be free of anger (Ikuru na)
Be free of worry (Shinpai su na)
Honour your teachers (Kansha sh'te)
Work hard (Gyo o hage me)
Be kind to others (Hito ni shinsetsu ni)
The key misinterpretations are usually around "Honour your teachers", which when you look at it in buddhist terms everyone and everything is our teacher, so we should honour everything as our teacher, and "Work hard" which is often mistranslated as "Earn your living honestly". This one is not in fact about earning a living, but is referring to working hard in everything you do, including your spiritual practice, meditation etc., unfortunately misinterpreted by the Western obsession with everything being about earning money. LOL!
As part of my practice I start each day, after meditation, by reciting the Reiki principles in Japanese three times.
So, if you're going to learn Reiki, you ideally want to learn it as close to the Japanese form as possible. Unfortunately in the West there are a lot of 'masters' who have added things on or incorporated their own spiritual or religious beliefs with it. Reiki is not a religion and doesn't require any religious or spiritual beliefs. Jikiden Reiki (
Jikiden Reiki | What is Jikiden Reiki | Reiki home) is probably one of the closest forms to the original Japanese that has come to the West and there are a few teachers around the UK as well as other countries, but not as many as other forms (I've learnt the first level of Jikiden Reiki and would definitely recommend it, but it will require dedication to progress through the different levels). Alternatively you want to find a Reiki master and ask them details about the form they teach, how close to the original teachings it is and whether they incorporate other techniques or beliefs. Also ask about their practice and experience of using and teaching Reiki to make sure you are happy with them. For example, I know quite a few Reiki Masters around the UK and I could recommend some, such as Dawn and Andy (
Reiki Healing and Reiki Courses in Central London and Watford) who teach as close to the original teachings as possible and leave out any additional rubbish. They also have a good book
The Essence of Reiki: The Definitive Guide to Usui Reiki: Amazon.co.uk: Dawn Mellowship, Andy Chrysostomou: Books which gives a lot of valuable and verified information. There are others teachers and good books also (Bronwen and Frans Stiene have some very good books), but I don't want to go filling this post full of links.
Reiki is typically taught in the West as 3 levels:
Reiki I
Reiki II
Reiki III or "Master" (although I think the title of Master is a bit egotistical myself)
Reiki I is usually taught to introduce Reiki and is generally seen as being for personal use or on friends/family. It typically involves a 2 day course and involves 4 "attunements" to Reiki (a process to bring you into tune with the energy). Usually it's taught in groups so that you can practice on each other get feedback.
Some Reiki teachers will do this in 1 day or do 1 on 1 teaching, but I feel that's too quick and leaves out vital practice and feedback. Also, some don't do 4 attunements and may do 2 or even 1. After learning Reiki I you will be asked to practice by doing "self healing" as you may find Reiki has an effect of clearing out your system (body, mind, emotions etc. it can be quite powerful). There is a misunderstanding that you should do this for 21 days (which comes from Usui meditating for 21 days), but in truth, a good Reiki practitioner will perform self healing every day of their life.
Reiki II usually provides further Reiki techniques and the Reiki "symbols" (increased energy (aka the "power symbol"), a symbol for emoitional healing and a symbol for sending reiki over a distance). Each symbol has a "kotodama" which is a word or words that are said silently when using the symbols. Reiki II is generally required by insurance companies before you practice on the general public, if you intend to do it as a therapy for others.
Reiki III is usually taught to show how to attune others and to give you the 4th symbol, which is used to perform attunements. Some Reiki Masters seem to have split this into 2 seperate levels and call it Reiki 3a and Reiki 3b or Reiki Master and Reiki Teacher, where the first gives you an attunement to Master level and the second actually teaches you to do attunements and gives you the symbol. My personal opinion is that this has been done by some to allow them to charge more money for learning it; in fairness some are just doing what their master taught them. There is no reason why Master/Teacher can't be taught all as one.
A lot of Masters will teach Reiki I and then require 3 or 6 months before you learn Reiki II, whilst some others will teach Reiki I and II together. There's contention in the "community" about which is the right way, and it's believed that Usui sensei and those he taught to be Masters used to do the equivalent of I and II together over a period of 1 or 2 weeks. I would certainly steer clear of anyone offering to teach you Reiki I and II (and maybe even III) in just 1 or 2 days. Nobody could honestly learn and practice enough from such a short period of teaching.
Hopefully that's enough to get you started. If you have any specific Master or website in mind or any specific questions, just ask away...
Hugs
Giles
reiki
hi giles, i want to practice it, learn more, from what i read on the net a master has to 'activete' you, of course there are some fees one has to pay, but that s ok, i read about self healing, and helping others. i would like to know, if you practice it what benefits do you see. i want to know everything.
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