What is Reiki

The act of laying hands on the human, or animal body, to comfort and relieve pain is as old as instinct.  When experiencing pain, the first thing most people do is to put their hands on it.  When a child falls and scrapes their knee, they want their mother to touch (or kiss) it and make it better.  A mother’s instinct when a child is feverish or ill, directs her to place her hands on the child’s forehead.  Human touch conveys caring and love.  When an animal is in pain, a dog or cat’s instinct is to lick the pain area, an animal mother will also lick her young when they are in distress.  This simple act is the basis for all touch healing techniques.

The living body radiates warmth and energy.  This energy is the life force itself and has as many names as there are human civilisations.  Mary Coddington, in her book ‘In Search of the Healing Energy’  (1978), fills an entire volume discussing the history of this energy in various cultures.  The Polynesian Hunas call this healing force Mana, and the Native American Iroquis people call it Orenda.  It is known as Prana in India, Ruach in Hebrew, Barraka in Islamic countries and Ch’i in China.  Some individual healers have terms it Orgone Energy (Wilhelm Reich), Animal Magnetism (F.A. Mesmer) and Archaeus (Paracelsus). 

In Japan, the energy is terms Ki and it is from this word that Reiki is named.  Ch’i Kung instructor Mantak Chia defines Ch’i as “energy, air, breath, wind, vital breath, vital essence … the activating energy of the universe.”  Ch’i Kung is an ancient Asian healing discipline.  It works to enhance and conserve Ch’i by directing energy movement within the body.  Ki is an electrical type of energy that creates the body and determines its state of health, when Ki departs the living organism, life itself has departed.  Ki is also the essential life force of Earth, the planets, the stars and the heavens and these sources of energy affect the living body’s Ki.  Everything alive contains, and radiates Ki, it is the bio magnetic energy of the aura.

Reiki is not a religion or affiliated with any religion.  It is not a spiritual path, but a very powerful tool to help heal oneself and others.  Ki energy is the source of life itself and far older in concept, and fact, than any religious philosophy.  While everything that has life has Ki, a Reiki attunement connects the person in an increased way to its limitless source.  Upon receiving the first attunement in Reiki One, the receiver has their body’s energy channels opened and cleared of obstructions by the attunement, they then become connected to the source of all universal Ki and become a channel for this universal healing energy. From the time of the attunement, and through the rest of their life, all they need to do to connect with healing Ki is to place their hands upon themselves, or someone else, and it will flow through them automatically. 

The Reiki attunement, by placing the person in direct contact with the source of Ki (which can be described in any way the person chooses to name it), also increases the life force energy of the person who has received it.  They experience an energy that first heals them and then also heals others without depleting them.  In the few short minutes of the attunement process, the receiver of Reiki energy is given a gift that forever changes their life in every positive way.

The process of attunement, or initiation, is what sets Reiki apart from every other forms of ‘laying on of hands’ or touch healing.  The attunement is not a healing session, it creates the healing ability.  In Reiki One the student receives four attunements, two in Reiki Two and four more in Reiki Three.  Each degree’s attunements increase the positive power of the person’s ability to channel Ki.  It is the attunements themselves that are Reiki.  Without this process, which must be passed directly from Teacher/Master to student, the healing system is not Reiki but something else.

Attunements are given one-to-one and can be included in a beautiful ritual, or done quickly and without ceremony.  Either way, receiving an attunement is a magical gift.  The person who has received the attunement is a Reiki practitioner, with abilities opened in them that they did not know where there.  The attunement does not give the receiver anything new, it opens and aligns what was already a part of them.  The process is much like plugging in a lamp in a house already wired for electricity.  When the person puts their hands down with the intent to heal, they have turned on the light.  Some traditional teachers say that if you receive Reiki in this lifetime, it is because you have had it before in other incarnations, they say that Reiki is a remembering. However, it goes further than that, we have all had the ability to channel Reiki in past lifetimes, it is part of all of us, a part of our genetic heritage.

Reiki is divided into three degrees.  In Reiki One, the attunements themselves heal physical level dis-ease in the person who receives it.  Their physical health often changes for the better in the months following the initiation.  Reiki One healing sessions are primarily for self-healing.  The person attuned to Reiki One can also offer healing for someone else who is physically present.  This is known as direct healing – the healer must directly place their hands upon themselves, or the other person.

It takes three to four weeks to adjust to living with the Reiki attunements. During that time, the Reiki energy may turn on at odd non-healing moments.  The person will feel well, but may notice they are spacey or tingly.  They might have intense dreams, which may include dreams of past lives.  They may also experience detoxification symptoms, which can include diarrhoea, running nose or increased urination.  What is happening is that the energy is adjusting and increasing the new healer’s capacity to channel it.  More Ki energy is entering the aura than they have experienced before, therefore the aura and chakras are becoming clearer.  If the process becomes uncomfortable, doing a treatment on yourself, or someone else, rebalances the energy and decreases the sensations.  After receiving the Reiki One attunements, it is best to do as many healing sessions as possible for at least the first month, including a daily self-healing.  One thing we like the student to do during that month, is to return some of the energy, by coming along to a Reiki share or making an appointment to give a Reiki treatment to one of the Reiki Masters.

The Reiki Two attunement increases the amount of healing energy the person is able to channel.  The attunement focuses upon emotional, mental and Karmic healing in the person who receives it.  After the attunement, old emotions, unhealed former situations, past lives and negative mental patterns resurface to be healed at last.  This can take as long as six to twelve months to complete and though not always comfortable, the process is positive and necessary.  Students may be drawn to other therapies during this process. Breathwork (Rebirthing), SRT and Time Line Therapy often help to move you through the process with more speed and less trauma.  The therapists will also give encouragement and support to continue.  Do whatever feels right for you.

Reiki Two attunements add considerable power to direct healing sessions.  They also include the method and tools for doing healing with someone not physically present – distance healing.  In Reiki Two, three of the Reiki symbols are introduced and used consciously for the first time.  Since Reiki One, the symbols are already in the person’s aura and emerge unconsciously through their hands when they heal.  After Reiki Two you can begin to direct these energies.  It also offers preliminary information on channelling the energy required to pass on attunements as a Reiki Master.

Reiki Three is the Master/Teacher’s degree.  A Master is simply a teacher – one who has mastered a discipline.  No ego or ownership is otherwise involved in the term.  The Reiki Three attunements involve spiritual level energy and achieve spiritual healing in the person receiving them.  This energy is pure joy, oneness with all life and a connection with the Source.  After the hard work that follows the Reiki Two attunement, Reiki Three is a joyous gift.  In doing healing sessions, the Reiki Three practitioner experiences a further increase in their ability to channel healing energy and their healing ability also reaches a higher level.  Reiki Three includes two more symbol keys, more esoteric information on the symbols and the method of passing on attunements.  This degree is recommended for the serious healer and especially for those who wish to teach Reiki and make it a major part of their lives.

“One of my dedications in this life time, is to teach healing techniques to as many people as can benefit from it, so they can use them in their daily lives.  I investigate every healing method I can access, looking for effective techniques that I can pass on to others who need them.  Part of this process is to bring these techniques into mainstream medicine, so that they will be more easily accessible to the general public. 

Reiki gives me something no other system can.  In the space of a weekend, people who have no concept of healing or energy can learn and experience what they need to become competent Reiki practitioners.  Any other healing discipline requires years of study to gain competence.  Reiki can never do harm, and no-one can make mistakes.  This is perhaps the most important reason, of many, that I hold Reiki in such high regard.” 

Pennie Quaile-Pearce, Reiki Master