The nature of Reiki
“…the human being has a natural gift to resonate with the universe if he writes it down in his mind.”
Usui, founder of Reiki
Reiki is an enigma. It is one of the most popular energy healing modalities out there, and yet most practitioners, even highly experienced practitioners, have a hard time trying to define it. Ask any practitioner to explain it to you and you will see what I mean. Usually the practitioner gives up trying to describe it adequately and ends with ‘you’ll have to try it sometime to get a real idea’. Despite the difficulty in explaining what exactly it is, practitioners continue to flock to it. Reiki caters to our intuitive right-brain side, but for most people it is terribly difficult to understand through the left-brain world of logic and reason.
Reiki is a tradition based on intuition. Students commonly feel called to receive their attunement. It whispers to our soul without using words, inviting us to surrender and feel the power of awakening within its gentle teachings and secret symbols. Reiki appeals to our inner mystical nature. It feels good and fits very comfortably into most other healing practices. Herein lies the enigma/blessing of this modality; it glides so easily with other techniques and modalities that it becomes indistinguishable from everything else. To make up for our lack of ‘understanding’ around you, we learn other energetic techniques that are easier to explain to ourselves and others.
So let’s start at the beginning.
The true nature of Reiki can be explained by understanding its origin. Mikao Usui, the founder, searched for most of his life to find a way to experience happiness and peace of mind. The search for him eventually led him to take an extended solitary meditation retreat that enlightened him with the power of the universe. Following this enlightenment, he developed this personal healing system called Reiki. He immediately began teaching his understanding to others, attuning 2000 people to Reiki before his death 4 years later. Of these 2000 students only 16 received initiations from him Shinpi-den (Master-master). Usui’s own example seems to indicate that he believed that Reiki belongs in the hands of the people. Clearly his actions show that everyone can be attuned to the self-healing part of the teachings (1st Degree). He developed meditations and hand positions for the average person to use simply and easily for his own benefit. By his own written hand, Usui indicated that Reiki was intended to “…heal the heart and soul first, then the body second.” Furthermore, he wrote that it could be used to “…create good human relations” and “…promote the happiness of all people.”
Reiki blends easily with all other healing systems because it is universal by definition and by nature. There is literally no place where Reiki is not. It is the dynamic life force energy that permeates all expressions of creation in our universe. The word Reiki means ‘universal life force energy’ and it is exactly that. It is universal in its application, suitable for all situations and circumstances. In fact, it is only limited by the imagination, fears and restrictions that the practitioner places on it. Its main function is to balance any energy system that is out of balance with its surroundings and restore order. Your practice will create a balance as expansive as one can imagine their world and universe to be. Practicing daily and establishing order in your world creates a very specific benefit. Students will surely experience:
i) improved intuition and increased sensory perception
ii) improvement of general health and well-being
iii) better levels of tolerance, patience and compassion
iv) improved sense of strength, emotional balance, mental clarity and optimism
Although I can attest to these results from participating in this energy therapy for the past 15 years and have full faith that Reiki ultimately expresses itself as harmony, its initial effect can seem very jarring to our 5 senses. People are generally resistant to change and often prefer to persist in the habits of their dysfunction rather than move from discomfort to health and joy.
The daily practice of Reiki will ensure that the nature of Reiki will preside over your life, specifically its aspects of creating balance, harmony, well-being and happiness. The path to change can be difficult, as Usui himself understood. By surrendering to the mystical call and practicing self-treatment, we allow ourselves to enter into a harmonious relationship with the Universe for our true highest good.
