REIKI HEALING

Reiki is a Japanese word which translates as 'universal life energy' and refers to a form of healing energy.

My dictionary defines 'energy' as:-

1. Force of expression.
2. Potential forces; capacity for action.
3. Effective power.

Collins Concise English Dictionary, 1978.

I had to smile when I first read that, as all those definitions could apply to reiki.

Force of Expression

Reiki is an expression of healing energy, in fact many people describe reiki as an expression of pure love (not in the romantic sense, but love as pure positive regard.)

Potential Forces

Reiki is a potential for many things and includes a capacity for action. When you give reiki you become a channel through which energy flows but whether or not a person receives and accepts reiki will depend on them. How much energy a person accepts through reiki will vary according to their own particular need at the time and, sometimes, depending on their own self esteem. Some people block reiki energy and find it difficult to accept. If someone chooses not to receive healing (and this is usually an unconscious decision) there is nothing that you, as a healer, can do, except to respect their wishes.
By the way, reiki will 'work' with people who do not 'believe' in it.

Effective Power

Reiki is a very effective energy for healing and can only be used to the receiver's highest good. It is a powerful energy, but do remember that the power of reiki belongs to the Earth herself, not to any individual. Once you have become attuned to reiki energy you can accept it for yourself and share it with others, you can utilise reiki for the benefit of people, animals, places, plants and planet Earth herself.
I urge everyone who has received an attunement to use reiki as much as they can, for the benefit of anyone who wishes to accept healing.

REIKI IN THE PAST

No-one really knows for certain, but it is generally accepted that reiki is an ancient form of healing which was lost to humanity until it was rediscovered by Mikao Usui at the end of the nineteenth century and was taken from Japan to America by Hawayo Takata in the 1940s.
Mrs Takata always charged for giving reiki attunements and set the cost of the third degree attunements very high (in the 1940s the cost was set at ten thousand dollars, which was then enough to buy a house!). The justification for this was said to be that reiki has to have a value and the value that the twentieth century tends to give to things is stated in terms of money. The practice of charging large sums of money for reiki attunements meant that for many years it was beyond the reach of many people.

REIKI IN THE PRESENT

In recent years reiki has spread throughout the world and the cost of attunements has come down, making reiki accessible to more and more people.
By its very simplicity, reiki provides an ideal antidote to the stresses of our increasingly complex Western lifestyle.

REIKI IN THE FUTURE

Now that you've made the decision to become a reiki healer yourself, you can become part of the future of reiki. It's a wonderful gift to accept, so use it, spread it around, tell people about it, give reiki healing to your friends and family.
Don't just keep it to yourself.

REIKI AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Reiki is usually taught in three stages, referred to as degrees. This doesn't mean that reiki has a hierarchy as anyone who has accepted a reiki attunement is a reiki healer.
The degrees of reiki refer to the degree to which a person has been attuned to reiki energy. The major difference between reiki one and reiki two is that at second degree reiki you learn how to give healing over a distance. Another way of looking at it is that reiki one tends to relate to healing the physical body while reiki two tends to relate to healing at an emotional level.
Reiki three is sometimes taught in two stages, in which case stage one is known as 'advanced reiki' and it is only at the second stage that a person is taught how to pass attunements.
The biggest step of all is to accept the attunements for reiki one as this is the step which will make reiki part of you for the rest of your life.
Once you have accepted reiki, all you have to do to give healing energy to yourself, someone else, a pet animal, a plant or a room, is to place your hands and make an affirmation: 'I dedicate this healing to this person's (or plant's or room's) highest good.'
The level to which you decide to become attuned to reiki is for you to choose. All I would advise anyone is to take their time. If you feel inspired to take further attunements after reiki one, then that's fine, but there's no need to rush. You'll know when the time is right.

GIVING YOURSELF REIKI

This is absolutely vital.
Take time for yourself. You're worth it. Apart from anything else, if you don't give yourself time and healing energy you're not going to be able to give reiki to anyone else. As a healer you need to keep yourself healthy and that doesn't just mean your physical health, it means your mind, emotions and spirit too.
Make yourself comfortable, which will usually mean lying on a bed or a sofa or maybe in the bath if you prefer, make sure no-one's going to disturb you so turn off the ringer on the phone and tell anyone else in the house that you want some peace and quiet or wait till everyone else is out or they've gone to bed.
Many books give suggested hand positions for reiki. This is useful but not as important as being relaxed and comfortable. In fact, if you're worrying about remembering where you need to be placing you hands next you probably won't be properly relaxed.
Take a deep breath in and as you do so imagine that the air you're breathing in is white light. As you breathe out be aware of your diaphragm descending and imagine white light flowing from your lungs through your diaphragm down your abdomen, legs and feet. Sink into the bed and let it take your weight.
Take time over this, placing your hands where they feel comfortable, on your forehead, back of your head, throat, chest, ribs, belly, thighs. You may find it helpful to visualise any areas you cannot reach like your back, calves and feet.
Don't worry if you can't feel energy flowing from your hands, it will be there even if you can't feel it. With time and practice you will become more aware of reiki flowing from your hands as a warm, tingly glow.

GIVING REIKI TO OTHERS

Basically, all the same things apply, just relax and enjoy. Giving reiki is a pleasure in itself as the healing energy will flow through you.
Make sure that your partner is comfortable and warm enough and make sure that you are too. You can give reiki to someone lying on the floor, provided that this doesn't strain your back. It can be useful to use a bed, in which case you need to have your partner lying with their feet towards the headboard.
I usually start with my hands on my partner's shoulders as this is comfortable and a non threatening place to touch someone. Some books suggest placing your palms over your partner's eyes, but personally I tend to vary hand positions according to how well I know my partner as some people find it threatening to have someone, particularly a person they don't know very well, touching their face. If you feel comfortable doing so, you can place your hands on your partner's forehead then gently lift their head and place your hands on the back of their head, then return to placing your hands on your partner's shoulders, then move round and gradually work your way down the chest, belly, legs and feet. Some people like to ask their partner to turn over half way through a treatment so that they can give reiki to the back. This is a perfectly valid way of working, but you may find that your partner is nearly asleep by the time you reach their feet and it does seem a shame to disturb them.
With practice you will become more aware of the sensation of reiki flowing from your hands and will become more aware of which areas are taking more energy.
Always make sure that you have enough time to give a full treatment (never less than half an hour and preferably an hour at least) and that you finish with the feet so that you leave your partner's energy grounded.
The main thing is to be relaxed yourself so that your partner can relax and just enjoy giving reiki. It's fun to give and fun to receive.
It's nice to leave your partner for a few minutes to refocus, which gives you time to wash your hands under a running tap. This will 'switch off' the flow of reiki and helps you to 'wash away' any negative energy you've picked up.
Some people like to have some quiet, soothing music in the background and maybe light a candle or have some lavender oil in an essential oil burner or a lamp ring. It's really up to you.
Do bear in mind that while giving reiki you may pick up negative energy from your partner. To guard against this, take a few seconds before you begin to visualise a protective bubble of pink light around yourself and make sure that you drink half a pint or so of water after you have finished, to clear away any toxins. It's a good idea to offer your partner a glass of water too for the same reason.
However you choose to give reiki, the important thing is to feel happy about what you're doing and to dedicate your healing to your partner's highest good. Never ask for a particular outcome, just let the reiki flow.

AFTER ACCEPTING REIKI ONE

There is a 'clearing period' after reiki one (and reiki two) lasting twenty one days, during which time you may feel irritable or as though you have flu. Be kind to yourself. Eat well, drink plenty of water, give yourself lots of reiki and, if at all possible, receive some reiki from someone else.
Don't worry about this, it's just your body's way of clearing out and adjusting to the changes that you've made.
You now have healing energy. Use it as much as you possibly can.

USEFUL ADDRESSES

Reiki Association: Mel Jones, 2 Manor Cottages, Stockley Hill, Peterchurch, Hereford, HR2 OSS.
Tel: 01981 550 829
Provides a means of networking with the reiki community.
Can arrange insurance for people wishing to practice professionally.

Natural Medicines Society: 13a Market Place, Heanor, Derbyshire, DE75 7AA
Campaigns to protect natural medicine from proposed EEC legislation and to promote the use of natural medicine.

Dr Healer Network: 27 Monefiore Court, Stamford Hill, London, N16 5TY/
Tel/fax: 0181 800 3569
The network exists to promote the use of healing in modern clinical practice, independent of any particular philosophy or tradition.
Members are doctors who are interested in healing, or practise healing, or refer patients to a healer; healers who work with doctors; and researchers, nurses, psychotherapists and other health professionals who can help to bring about its wider use in private and public medicine.

British Holistic Medical Association: 59 Lansdown Place, Hove, East Sussex.
Tel/fax: 01273 725951
An organization of professionals and members of the public who care about the future of healthcare and want to adopt a more holistic approach in their own life and work.

Reiki Outreach International: 17 Brincliffe Crescent, Sheffield, S11 9AW. Tel: 0114 2552 927
The vision of ROI is to direct the healing energy of Reiki in the form of a specific healing transmission from thousands of practitioners every day towards famine, drought, plagues, mass illness, wars, political turmoil and suffering of all kinds� ROI is founded upon the ideal of selfless service.

Reiki Federation: PO box 261 Wembley, HA0 4FP, enquiry@reikifed.co.uk website: http://www.reikifed.co.uk
We are an independent federation of individuals who have been attuned to Reiki, with the objective of forming the national umbrella organisation for education, training and guidance in the public practice of Reiki.