REIKI FAQ

Reiki healing is hands-on healing. The word, Reiki comes from a combination of two Japanese characters meaning Universal Life Force Energy. This is the energy that is in every living thing and makes us alive. This energy connects us to one another and to the All (God, or Source).

What does the name mean?

Rei, the first character, or symbol, means "universal", or "all-inclusive". Ki means "vital life force". This is the force which permeates our very being. It is variously referred to as , in Chinese, prana, in Sanskrit, ruach in Hebrew, barraka in Arabic, orenda in Iriquois, and mana, in Polynesian. There are many terms for this Universal Life Force Energy what we call it is not important. It simply is.

Where does Reiki energy come from?

It comes from the Universal Source, or Universal Energy. You can call it Source, God, Buddha, the Supreme Being, Father, Allah, Mother, or whatever suits your truth.

Who can use Reiki energy?

Reiki energy is available to any and all.

What is the purpose of learning Reiki?

Reiki gives you a solid base for healing, a complete system. It is an ancient system, which some suggest dates back to Atlantean times.

How does Reiki work?

Reiki healing is hands-on healing. When the practitioner calls upon the Reiki energy, it fills the practitioner and flows out through her or his hands into the healee's body, giving the appropriate energy and balance to every cell, to heal, harmonize and balance throughout the being right down to the DNA level. The powerful Reiki energy frequency heals at the body level first, then moves on to the emotional and mental levels, and finally to the spirit. This is smart energy, which will go where it is needed, do what is needed, and not do anything harmful. It is not possible, with Reiki, to do anything wrong, nor to hurt a healee.

What are the limits of Reiki

Reiki is not limited, since it treats the whole person and works at the root of the actual dis-ease, rather than simply treating the symptom(s) presented. In this, Reiki differs fundamentally from allopathic, or Western, medicine.

In Reiki, the practitioner is simply a tool or conduit through which the energy is transmitted, or channeled. The healee must choose to, and agree to be healed.

The only thing Reiki cannot be used for is negative, harmful, or hurtful purposes. Reiki cannot be used to do harm. Since it is intelligent energy from God it will not do anything not in the best interest of all concerned.

What are Reiki attunements?

You don't need to study Reiki, nor do you need to learn Reiki. You only need be attuned to the energy.

The Reiki attunement is a process whereby the person asks for the attunement, and the person giving the attunement calls upon God (or Source, Spirit, etc.) and asks that the attunee be opened to receive and channel the Reiki energy. This is usually done in a traditional ceremony.

In Reiki, there are three attunements (some teachers break down the last level into two, for a total of four attunements).Each attunement opens the person being attuned to a greater degree of ability to channel the energy. It empowers you more: with each initiation in Reiki, your energy channeling ability is at least squared.

Reiki is normally taught in three, or four levels: First Degree, Second Degree, and Third, or Master Degree (some teachers break down the Master Degree, or level, into two: Advanced Reiki Techniques, or Personal Mastery, and Master Teacher).

Each successive degree, or level, of Reiki brings with it new techniques for the learner, more training in how to do healing, and more practice time, under the tutelage of an experienced teacher, in addition to the successive attunements.

Some say that originally there was only one Reiki attunement, and that levels were developed later. Be that as it may, most people who come to Reiki training need and want to be taught how to channel Reiki in the most effective way. Thus, the (by now) traditional methods of Reiki are taught in comprehensible chunks of information, with practice sessions, to help learners integrate theory with practical experience and develop confidence in their healing abilities.

Because Reiki healing is new to most people who seek to learn it, the amount of information and techniques to be learned might seem overwhelming if all presented in one fell swoop, and the learner might become discouraged. The degrees allow learners to acknowledge their achievement, evaluate what they have learned, integrate the new knowledge, and continue on to further degrees at their own pace, or at the pace agreed upon with their teachers.

Why are Reiki teachers, and other people who have completed the full course of Reiki attunements, called Reiki Masters?
The traditional term Reiki Master indicates a certain level of study and achievement, i.e., mastery of a certain level of skill and knowledge. It refers only to this, much as would the term, master bricklayer. In the most traditional way of training available to us in the Western Hemisphere, Reiki training to the Master level might take as long as two years, with a required apprenticeship to the master teacher; in this way it mirrors the apprenticeship program still used, in many places in the world, as the accepted way of learning a skill or trade.

Can I lose Reiki, if I don't practice it?

Once you have received Reiki attunement, this energy is always available to you. It is not something that you can forget. You are always able to do it.

Can a Reiki attunement be undone?

Reiki cannot be taken away from you. Once you have been attuned to Reiki, you are opened to channel the healing energy in a special way, and this opening will last for all your life. This cannot be removed from you. It is a beneficial thing, so there is no reason to want to have it undone. If you later choosenot to channel Reiki energy, it will simply not come through you.

There has been at least one person who has advertised Reiki attunement removals, but this was a fraud. The people who went to this person may have come away believing that they no longer had the attunements, however that attunement remained, and the only thing that was taken way was their fear of their attunements... once they believed that the attunements were no longer there, they were no longer worried about them.

How long does it take to learn Reiki?

You don't need to study Reiki, nor do you need to learn Reiki. You only need be attuned to the energy. That said, most people do feel more comfortable receiving training in which they are shown effective techniques for using the Reiki energy. Training periods can vary in length, depending on the teacher, from one-weekend workshops for all three attunements, to a year or more. see article: The Right Length of Study for Reiki

What is the basic difference between Independent Reiki Masters and Reiki Alliance members?

This question harks back to the history of Reiki, and the traditional path of Reiki.

The American Reiki Alliance was originally made up of the only Reiki masters. The Alliance has traditionally held that sacred and secret are synonymous. The Alliance has exerted great effort to safeguard the Reiki information. In keeping with Mrs. Takata's belief that Westerners would not value Reiki training unless they had made great monetary sacrifice to obtain it, the Reiki Alliance commonly charges $150-$200 for the first degree, $250-$750 for the second degree, and $10,000 for the master's degree. Furthermore, the Reiki Alliance requires an apprenticeship before a master/teacher can begin teaching her/his own classes.

Today, there abound Reiki teachers. Originally, when the first Reiki masters were initiated, they all followed one master, and when they initiated masters, students followed one master through all the initiations. This made sense, and makes sense, if we consider that traditionally, in Asia, where Reiki has come to us from, students followed one master and one teaching, and denied, or rejected, all others (much as with religion), and that there were only a few masters to follow.

Today, Reiki has come to America, and to the world, in a big way. There are many masters who have rejected Hawayo Takata's and Phyllis Furumoto's pricing concepts. A lot of this has probably come from the concept of free enterprise. There are all kinds of pricing structures, and all of them are good, right and correct. The person who receives attunement to Reiki mastership for $$1000 is right in paying that much, and the person who pays $500 is right in paying that much. Nevertheless, what each receives is still the same. (Karmic need is involved).

Some Reiki Master teachers say that other teachers' attunements are not true, or not as good as theirs, or that if you have their attunements they will not work along with the attunements of other traditions. Some even say that if you use another system, you will lose their attunements and have to be re-attuned.

A teacher who claims that other master teachers are not giving the true attunements, or that the attunements which she/he passes will not work along with the attunements of other traditions, is misleading her/his students. A Reiki attunement is a Reiki attunement, regardless of who passes it. One level of Reiki attunements works with the next level, regardless of whether the aspirant has changed teachers. A student from one tradition can continue to use his/her previous initiations or attunements alongside those of the new tradition, thus enriching the healing ability and experience. (Of course, if, in one tradition, additional attunements are given, it is necessary, as in any school, to complete the prerequisites before one can expect results similar to those promised.) This does not mean that teachers cannot require aspirants to have taken previous attunements with them anyone has the right to require their own choice of prerequisites it simply means that, regardless of what someone says, you cannot lose an attunement once you have it, regardless of how, or whether, you use it, or combine it with other attunements.

With so many Reiki masters teaching, how can I know which one is the best?

Although the Reiki attunements are the same, regardless of the master/teacher, the way in which the Reiki training is imparted will differ from teacher to teacher. This is no different than with any other subject of study. Numerous Reiki master/teachers advertise their courses, and the prudent seeker conducts some manner of research before choosing a teacher. Word of mouth is often the best way to find a teacher, although not all of us know anyone who has learned Reiki. In the end, one must often simply choose the one who seems to resonate best with one's own inner self in some way. You will know when it is right to take on Reiki, and the time and teacher will be right at that moment." >Choosing the Right Teacher

Back to:

REIKI PAGE

HOME

email
manifestnow@yahoo.com