Reiki I Class Manual By DhamiBoo DhamiBoo 2003 Phone: 484.832.8822 Email: [email protected] Website: http://dhamiboo.com/ Introduction Reiki is a Japanese energywork modality that promotes relaxation and healing. Einstein’s discovery that matter is energy forms the basis of energywork. As well as being physical patterns, our bodies and beings are also patterns of energy. Our pattern of energy corresponds to our physical, emotional, and spiritual state in the moment. Our energy pattern reflects the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual state of our being. If we have an ache or pain, emotional trauma, habitual pattern, etc., our pattern of energy is different than if we are pain free, joyful, or living with different habits. Energywork modalities help shift the energy patterns and thereby shift the physical, emotional, and spiritual patterns. There are many energywork modalities including psychic surgery, acupressure, acupuncture, qi qong, chakra balancing, light work, etc. In fact, using energy work as a meta-paradigm, I would say that the energy of the medicines and physician’s consciousness are what help a patient of western medicine heal. Reiki falls into a category of energywork healing called “laying-of-hands”, meaning that the practitioner lays their hands on the body of the recipient to promote healing. The hands conduct healing energy just through touch both on and off the body. The healing is based on energy manipulation rather than physical manipulation. In contrast, methods such as massage and reflexology work under the premise of physical manipulation to change energy patterns. Other “laying-of-hands” modalities include Therapeutic Touch, Polarity Therapy, Quantum Touch, Hands of Light, some sects of Christianity, and techniques of many traditional indigenous cultures. Laying-of-hands is a natural, instinctive approach to healing. When we bump our knee, we often hold it. When a child gets hurt, their mother naturally goes to hold the child. In many ways, Reiki is our birthright. And yet, one thing that sets Reiki apart from many other “laying-of-hands” modalities is that Reiki requires an “attunement” of your body to realign your energy field to conduct Reiki energies. In theory, no one can practice Reiki without having received an attunement from a Reiki Master/Teacher. In practice, I find that often the Reiki attunement is a ritual that is part of an awakening process for an individual. Sometimes the individual already has a sense of energy flow through their hands. Regardless, the Reiki attunement most always strengthens the flow, and plays out as a ritual of great personal transformation. Definition And Basic Principles The Japanese word Reiki (pronounced ray-key) comes from two roots: rei, which means universal, and ki which means life force energy just like the Chinese word, chi. So Reiki means Universal Life Force Energy and denotes that energy or vital life force that is in everything: plants, animals, insects, people. I believe inanimate objects, including rocks, walls, soil particles, also emanate this energy. I like to think of it as Unconditional Love and see all things as a channel of that force. A person who practices Reiki channels the Reiki energy from the Universe through their hands. The recipient draws the energy where they need it for their highest good. The Reiki energy is divine and knows where to go. I like to think of it as the person receiving the Reiki takes the energy where they need it; their higher self directs where the energy needs to go. The Reiki works whether or not the recipient knows about or believes in Reiki because their higher self knows what is best for them. The Reiki 2/11/10 - 1 - practitioner is merely the channel of the energy and therefore gives nothing except their time and presence. The Reiki energy is everywhere. And the practitioner therefore takes on no ill effects, nor negative energy, and usually feels better having channeled the Reiki. History A Japanese man, Mikao Usui, coined the term Reiki in the late 1800s. The story says that he set out to discover the healing secrets of ancient cultures and gurus, like Buddha and Jesus Christ, who used laying of hands. He set out upon a vision quest and fasted for 21 days. On the 21st day, a ball of light struck him, imparting him with the format and methods of Reiki. Like many stories, Usui’s story has become a bit of a myth handed down from Reiki Master to Reiki Master. Countless books tell stories about Usui. Some claim he was Christian and studied at the University of Chicago. My feeling is that the books by Frank Arjava Petter are probably the most accurate. Petter found Usui’s gravestone and manuscripts and published them in The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui. My interest is in the use of the Reiki energy in the here and now. So I will not dwell upon historical details very much; there are countless books with different versions of the history. I would recommend Petter’s. Usui’s Teachings There are several key components to Usui’s legacy that do seem important. And you will find these components repeated across many texts. I think of these stories as parables and expect that many of them have a life of their own like any oral tradition. Reiki Must Be Asked For Allegedly, Usui laid down the law that the Reiki energy must be asked for. And the idea behind that is based on the tale of Usui healing beggars in the streets of Kyoto. Now apparently these beggars did not ask for the healing. Yet Usui worked on them. And they transformed their lives and got off of the streets and were “healed”. Several months later they ended up on the streets again. When Usui found them, he inquired what happened. And they replied that they really preferred living on the streets. And so Usui implemented the idea that Reiki must be asked for, such that the recipient sets some intention for their healing. A better way to state this principle might be that Reiki must not be forced upon someone. Since, by definition, the Reiki energy goes where it needs to go according to the recipient’s higher self, I find that I feel the Reiki energy flowing of it’s own accord at various times when I am with other people. It may be useful to say, “I feel that you might enjoy some Reiki. Would you like to receive some Reiki?”, but I don’t feel this is dogma. You can let the energy run if it is running. I would mainly be aware of personal boundaries on the physical level. For instance, grabbing someone’s crotch because you feel they need Reiki would most likely be inappropriate. Also remember to be unattached to results. Whether someone chooses to live on the streets or in a house may have little to do with their “healing”. Conscious Exchange of Reiki for Payment Another fundamental principle allegedly laid down by Usui is the idea that there must be a conscious exchange between the Reiki practitioner and the recipient as far as “payment” for the session. I feel that there are two key issues here: that the recipient honors their own healing with intent and respect; and that the Reiki practitioner honors themselves and works out of conscious will and joy. And the idea is that the Reiki is free, but that the Reiki practitioner’s time needs to be honored and “paid” for, whether in-kind, by barter, or monetarily. You might also think of it as a gift to honor Spirit with your intent. Some of you will choose to offer Reiki for friends and family and never set up a professional Reiki practice. Others will only use Reiki on themselves; and I believe that is the best place to start and perhaps the most important way to use Reiki. And, some of you will start a professional Reiki practice. 2/11/10 - 2 - The important thing is to use Reiki. The format doesn’t matter so much. This discussion on payment is primarily for those who wish to practice professionally, and, yet, I feel it is important if you use Reiki on anyone besides yourself. I feel that our American culture often dishonor’s itself with demands of free food and healthcare. Next to our individual spirit, our bodies are the most sacred and divine thing we “own”. In that light, the idea of treating our bodies with cheap food and healthcare shows how little we value ourselves. What is it worth for a pain to go away, an injury to heal, a body that is comfortable, mobile, and strong? I feel that on a certain level the “payment” a Reiki recipient makes to their practitioner should represent their intent and faith in their own healing. If healing is cheap, one is more likely to continue to abuse their body and get a cheap fix, rather than to nurture their body and Spirit. Personally, my goal as a Reiki practitioner is to empower people in their own healing, rather than providing a weekly fix up session. But that is just my own interest and goal. Hence, I prefer to see a few clients each week rather than many, and my rate reflects this. And this carries into the flip side of the idea of exchange for Reiki. And that is that the Reiki practitioner honors themselves by consciously and joyously choosing to provide a session. A common belief system among healers is the martyr complex: that just because they have gifts to help others heal, the healer must heal whoever needs healing at any time.