What Is Reiki
What Is Reiki
Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words – Rei which means “God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power” and Ki which is “life force energy”. So Reiki is actually “spiritually guided life force energy.”
A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. It treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.
Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.
An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an “attunement” given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of “life force energy” to improve one’s health and enhance the quality of life.
Its use is not dependent on one’s intellectual capacity or spiritual development and therefore is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.
While it is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use Reiki. In fact, Reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not. Because Reiki comes from God, many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion rather than having only an intellectual concept of it.
While it is not a religion, it is still important to live and act in a way that promotes harmony with others. Mikao Usui, the founder of the Reiki system of natural healing, recommended that one practice certain simple ethical ideals to promote peace and harmony, which are nearly universal across all cultures.
During a meditation several years after developing Reiki, Mikao Usui decided to add the Reiki Ideals to the practice of Reiki. The Ideals came in part from the five principles of the Meiji emperor of Japan whom Mikao Usui admired. The Ideals were developed to add spiritual balance to Usui Reiki. Their purpose is to help people realize that healing the spirit by consciously deciding to improve oneself is a necessary part of the Reiki healing experience. In order for the Reiki healing energies to have lasting results, the client must accept responsibility for her or his healing and take an active part in it. Therefore, the Usui system of Reiki is more than the use of the Reiki energy. It must also include an active commitment to improve oneself in order for it to be a complete system. The ideals are both guidelines for living a gracious life and virtues worthy of practice for their inherent value.
Western Reiki
Reiki was introduced to the West by Mrs. Takata when she returned from her visit to Japan in 1938 and became a Shinpiden. Her teacher, Chujiro Hayashi Sensei was the last Shinpiden student certified by Usui Sensei. Hayashi was also a medical doctor and had also been an officer in the Navy. Usui Sensei gave Hayashi the assignment of further developing the Usui system from the view point of a medical doctor. Hayashi remained a member of the Gakkai(1) at this time, but opened a Reiki clinic and school called Hayashi Reiki Kenkyu Kai which was separate from the Gakkai. In his clinic he carried out the assignment given to him by Usui Sensei and this resulted in the development of a new style of Reiki Ryoho. The new style contained the same energy lineage going back to Usui Sensei and many of the same techniques, but also contained new methods developed by Hayashi. These included a new system of attunements, a standard method of hand placements along with specific hand placements for various illnesses and conditions and the development of a Reiki handbook. Also, in the original Usui method, the client would sit in a chair to receive a treatment from one practitioner, but Hayashi changed that to giving treatments by several practitioners while the client is laying on a treatment table. After Usui Sensei’s transition, Dr. Hayashi left the Gakkai and became independent. So, from this we can see that the origin of the Western style of Reiki came from the style of Reiki Ryoho developed by Dr. Hayashi.
How Reiki Works
The system of Reiki is made up of five elements – precepts (guidelines), techniques, hands-on healing, symbols and mantras, and a blessing called reiju. Reiki practitioners work with these elements to clear the energy in their bodies to return to the true nature. That is, the pure being that they really are, without all the garbage that gets thrown on top. These five elements are the tools that we work with.
What sort of garbage do you have covering up your true pure being? There could be feelings of unworthiness, depression, insecurity, jealousy, anger, grief, etc. There could be physical issues that are irritating or totally debilitating. All of us carry garbage around. And all of us shine that pure, bright light beneath it.
The body is not just a physical being or just a thinking being or spiritual being. The body is you – the total being. And the system of Reiki works on this complete interconnected being. Although the system is ostensibly energetic it affects every aspect of your life.
A simple understanding of how it works is this:
Working with the five elements of the system of Reiki stimulates energy (Reiki) to move in the body. You already have energy in the body but often it is not flowing with ease; that garbage we were talking about is clogging you up, obstructing its flow. When our energy flows without interruption that is when we shine unhindered with that beautiful pure light of our true being. This state is often called enlightenment.
Therefore working with the system of Reiki shifts the energy. When this happens it is possible that you might feel it. When garbage is on the way out it might play up a bit. You might feel that headache a bit more, or you find yourself with an upset stomach, or you feel emotionally in turmoil. We call this a cleansing process. It is a normal, natural way for the body to respond as it finds its way back to its pure self. The best advice is to keep on working through it. Support your body in every way that you can to help you move through the changes that are occurring. Always stop if it gets too intense, and if you are worried you can always contact your Reiki practitioner or teacher.
One of the most wonderful things about the system of it is that we do not direct the energy or manipulate it in anyway. It is about being open and letting go, allowing your body to draw on the energy that is offered and take what it needs.
When we take away the rational mind, judging what is right or wrong for us, we open ourselves to the power of nature and its natural healing flow. You may not know what is best for you, but your body does.
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