A way of Life!

Studying Reiki in the lineage I have chosen is not just a case of reading a book or learning symbols and hand positions, it is about making it into a way of life! My teacher, Irene, doesn’t just show us how to do things then leave us to get on with it, she offers us ongoing encouragement and support as we continue to develop ourselves and our practice.

One of the first things we learned about was Reiki energy, what it is, how to experience it, and how to channel it. The energy is also known by other names – chi, prana, ki – but it is more easily understood in the west when it is referred to as ‘Life Energy’ or ‘Universal Energy’. It is that magical substance which animates all living things.

Since I began my Reiki studies I have learned the importance of making time in my life for daily meditations and energy exercises. Each successive course has necessitated changes to my routines as I have learned to deepen my connection to the Reiki energy firstly through the use of symbols and subsequently through additional symbols and sounds.

It may sound like a lot of hard work, but the benefits are enormous.

Yesterday…

This Sunday’s quotation comes from Mother Teresa.

How many times have you said “I’ll just leave it till tomorrow? I know I say it far too often! Fretting over the past and worrying about the future are both distractions from life itself. We only get one stab at life – right now.

Let’s take note of Mother Teresa’s words:

“Let us begin!”

Change of Voice

When I started out with this blog at the end of August I wasn’t really sure where I was ultimately going with it, I just knew I wanted to impart some fundamental information so that anyone visiting the site could gain a basic understanding of Reiki.

Since I wrote the last post about Study, I have been accepted to study Level lll – Shinpiden. I thought it might be interesting to document my progress.

The course of study I am following comes complete with a 200+ page manual which I have to read and study before I attend the ‘in person’ part of the training. I have symbols and sacred sounds to learn, energy exercises to practise, and meditations to incorporate into my daily routine. I have Western attunement procedures to learn as well as Eastern empowerment practices to master. It’s going to be a very busy month!

Reiki Study

Reiki study is normally divided up into at least three levels:

Level l – Shoden
Level ll – Okuden
Level lll – Shinpiden

Level l – Shoden forms an introduction to Reiki giving the student a grounding in the history of Reiki. It teaches about the Reiki energy, provides attunements/empowerments which align the student to the energy, teaches treatment of others, self-treatment and on some courses, the use of distant healing.

Level ll – Okuden builds on Level l deepening the student’s connection to Reiki. It teaching three symbols – Cho Ku Rei, Sei He Ki and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen – how to draw them, pronounce their names and use them. The course includes further attunements/empowerments and focuses particularly on distant healing.

Level lll – Shinpiden otherwise known as the Master/Teacher course summarises all that has gone before. It teaches the master symbol and possibly other symbols and mantras and includes further attunements/empowerments. Most importantly it teaches the student how to teach all that they have learned and how to pass on the attunements/empowerments.

There are many different traditions and styles of Reiki to chose from. You should research carefully before deciding on a specific course.

You can’t teach…

Galileo penned this Sunday’s wise words.

Each of us have deep wells of knowledge buried within us. In addition we all have access to the infinite resource of universal knowledge. But knowledge without understanding has no value. This is why teachers are sent, to guide us in our quest for mental, physical, spiritual and emotional growth.

Meditation

Meditation, the process of creating a quiet mind and connecting to higher consciousness, is a recognised tool in the process of relaxation. It is also used extensively by people wishing to enhance their spiritual awareness and development. For a Reiki practitioner, it is an essential part of their daily routine.

Reiki meditations focus on awareness of breathing patterns, energy visualisations and simple mind focusing techniques. An example of mind focusing techniques is the Gassho meditation.

The Gassho meditation requires the practitioner to place their two hands together in the prayer position, close their eyes, and focus their attention on the point where the two middle fingers touch. Should the mind wander, as it usually does, the response is to gently press the two middle fingers together which effectively refocusses the mind. Why not give it a try?

Self-Treatment

When Mikao Usui originally taught Reiki, it was as a self-treatment and personal enlightenment system. Reiki practitioners are taught the importance of meditation, daily energy exercises, and self-healing practices during their first level course and this forms the basis on which they build their practice. The reason for this is that practitioners are simply channels for the Reiki energy and as such they need to maintain those channels in order for the energy to flow freely through them.

Anyone can learn to channel the Reiki energy. The training is available to everyone regardless of whether or not they wish to become a practitioner. Many people study Reiki levels 1 and 2 simply so that they can learn to treat themselves and their families.

Every Morning…

The quotation this Sunday is from the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh.

Every morning when we wake up we make a choice. To be happy, or to be miserable: to smile or to frown: to look upon life as a gift or a burden. Which one did you choose today?

For Animals

Reiki energy is helpful to every living thing, and animals can receive great benefits from Reiki Treatments. Any qualified Reiki practitioner is able to treat animals but some practitioners specialise in animal treatments.

Animal treatments tend to vary in length of time relative to the size of the animal. Taggart King (Reiki-Evolution) suggests a few minutes for a gerbil, 10 minutes for a cat, and 20 minutes for a dog as examples of this relationship. There really are no hard and fast rules regarding optimal times, but animals normally make it quite clear when they have had enough.

It is just as effective for animals to receive either in person treatments or distant treatments, and in some cases it may be preferable for the animal to be given a distant treatment if it is of a particularly nervous or highly strung disposition.

Distant…

Distant treatments enable a practitioner to send Reiki energy to clients anywhere in the world without having to be physically present.

Practitioners will normally offer two levels of distant treatment: individual treatments where the practitioner focuses solely on sending Reiki energy to one client, and block treatments where the practitioner has a book or other way of collecting names of clients and focuses on sending Reiki energy to everyone in the book or list at the same time.

Distant treatments usually last for no more than ten to fifteen minutes. It is not essential for the client to be ‘tuned in’ while the practitioner sends the Reiki energy for it to be effective, it is purely a matter of preference between the practitioner and client.