REIKI—THE POWER HIDDEN WITHIN
Reiki is a Japanese word. The word Reiki means universal life energy. The term has two parts: Rei describes this energy’s universal, boundless aspect, and ki is the vital life force energy that flows through all living beings. We call it Prana, and in China, it is called Chi. In Islamic countries, it is known as Baraka. Russian researchers called it Bioplasmic energy.
Since ancient shealing methods based on the transfer of this universal, all-pervading life energy have existed. The power which brings forth all life in the universe and nourishes it has been used for healing for centuries. Thousands of years ago, the Tibetans knew the nature of spirit, energy and matter and used it to heal their bodies and harmonise their souls. Many great maestros were aware of this knowledge in India, Japan and China. Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ, and many other spiritual masters used to heal others who were ailing by their touch.
This knowledge was kept secret and was available only to very few people, usually priests who passed it on to their disciples by word of mouth.
All of us may have experienced this energy in some way.
Every time we got hurt, we automatically kept our hand on that part of the body and felt some relief, or when our mother kept her hand on our forehead when we were ill, and we felt better because of her soothing touch.
Dr Mikao Usui, a Japanese scholar, rediscovered this knowledge of healing by touch. He is responsible for making it available to all of us again.
Let us find out what is this universal life energy. It is the invisible energy that is pure infinite, and limitless. It is odourless and tasteless. With every breath, we absorb it yet are unaware of it.
This energy is all around us and affects our body, mind and emotions. This energy lives in all things and flows through our hands when we treat someone.
Researchers in the USA found that Reiki energy enters the healer through the top of the head (Crown chakra) and goes out from the hands. When the hands are placed on the part requiring healing, energy is drawn to that part, which amplifies the body’s self-healing mechanism. This energy increases when the treatment is given.
The Usui system of Reiki is a simple and natural healing method and the most effective way of transferring this universal life energy for healing. Once a person’s energy channels are opened up and cleared of obstructions during the Reiki attunement, they become a “Channel” for Reiki. Reiki attunement connects the track to this limitless source of energy. Thus, the healer receives an increase in this energy for his healing and can channel others by their touch and heal them. Reiki healing is holistic. It brings healing to all levels of our existence—physical, emotional, and spiritual.
The healer is only a channel for this energy; it is not his own. This energy passes through him when he lays his hands on a person and leaves him strengthened and harmonized afterwards. Reiki also makes its way to the area of the body which requires treatment. Reiki knows where and how, and how much a patient needs.
Reiki healing dissolves our limiting thoughts and moves us towards acceptance of all aspects of ourselves. This is a transformational state in which we live in balance and harmony with the environment and ourselves. In this transformed state, we stop complaining; we experience more vitality, self-acceptance, creativity, intuition and clarity. Reiki has nothing to do with spiritualism or the occult. It has nothing to do with the calling up of ghosts or demons and is not hypnosis or a psychological technique.
A Reiki practitioner requires no particular kind of faith or belief. It is used by people of many faiths and religions. There are two ways, as mentioned below, in which an individual can benefit from Reiki.
BY GOING TO A REIKI HEALER
A Reiki healer can be anyone on a Reiki channel which has completed either the first or both the first and second degrees of Reiki. In a Reiki healing session, the patient is asked to lie comfortably with eyes closed in a quiet healing room. There may be soothing music being played. The healer will then gently place their hands on the affected region of the patient. The session may take half an hour to one and a half hours, depending upon the number of body points to be covered. During this session, the patient will feel excellent relaxation and may even fall asleep. They will feel a soothing warm sensation from the healer’s hands. Sometimes the hands will become hot. At the end of the session, the healer will feel very calm and experience a lot of relief. He may take as many sessions as he wants, but an entire healing course takes 21 days. In some conditions, more sessions may be required.
BY LEARNING REIKI
For this, an individual must go to a Reiki master and attend a Reiki course. Reiki I is an introductory course for beginners. Depending on the group size, this course is conducted over one or two days; no special qualifications are required to attend this course. Anyone above the age of 10 years can attend.
In this course, the students receive the Ist degree attunement and are also taught the positions where Reiki is to be given. Some meditation and visualization exercises are also done during the course. From this point, the student can channel energy like a Reiki practitioner. Reiki sessions are primarily for self-healing, but a Reiki I healer can also heal someone else if that person is physically present. Self-treatment is very effective for profound realization and relief from stress. It creates a balance in our physical, emotional and spiritual selves. It also helps to release suppressed emotions and blocks.
In Reiki II, an advanced course, another attunement is done, which substantially multiplies the power to channel this energy. This course should be done at least 21 days after the first-degree period. This attunement causes emotional healing in the person receiving it. Reiki II allows the healer to heal those not physically present and send this energy over a distance.
Reiki III (a) is the master healer’s course in which another attunement is done, further multiplying the power.
Reiki III (b) is the course that qualifies you to be a teacher. Reiki is recommended only for those who wish to take up healing seriously and want to make Reiki a significant part of their lives.
As we said earlier, Reiki heals on all levels—physical, emotional and spiritual. We are not just physical entities. We have dense or gross physical bodies that we generally perceive by sight and touch. We also have an invisible bioplasmic body or energy body that directs the state of our physical body and our emotional self. Medicine treats only our physical body while Reiki heals us completely, i.e., our physical body, our bioplasmic and emotional self. Thus Reiki heals the whole person. For example, when a person has a headache and comes to a Reiki healer, the healer will place his hands on the head points to give relief. The headache may have its course in the digestive system, and if this is so, the energy goes to this area and the head and heals the problem at its source. If the pain is caused by stress, it recovers its inception. If the person has some other disease or situation that he is unaware of and has not told the healer, Reiki can heal that also.
In the case of serious diseases that have their roots in emotional trauma, spiritual despair or negative mental patterns or because of deep resistance to someone or something, Reiki is beneficial.
Reiki raises awareness, makes people more present in life, and frees them from delusion, stress and disease. When Reiki energy is channelled, it harmonizes the body’s power. When the source of the problem is removed, this creates a situation where the body’s capacity to heal itself is regenerated, and then the body heals itself. So clearly, the healer is only a channel, and the recipient heals himself with the aid of the Reiki energy that he draws through the healer. Each patient draws in just the right amount of life force energy needed to release/transform and activate the physical/bioplasmic body to heal.
A healer cannot promise a specific result and can only say that the recipient will benefit somehow. Reiki relieves pain, speeds healing, stops bleeding, relaxes the receiver, and balances the person. The blood pressure drops, respiration slows down, and the person becomes more energetic, peaceful, and calm. At the end of a session, a recipient feels the same as after a deep meditation session.
Reiki helps heal almost all conditions. For a person with no physical or emotional problem, it prevents stress and disease; for those with anxiety and stress, it removes the cause and leads to peace and relaxation. For those who tire easily, Reiki gives them the capacity to work more without getting tired. Some aches and pains are relieved immediately, and chronic problems may take longer to heal. People who get very angry soon find that their anger has subsided. Sad people become cheerful, and in cases of shock and trauma due to grief, people come out of it much faster. People with insomnia get almost immediate relief.
Reiki is a very positive energy and can never cause any harm to anyone. It can be given to animals also. Even when someone is dying, it eases the process. In cases of congenital disabilities or a permanent disability, Reiki may not heal, but it will make it easier for the person to live with it. If a body part is lost, Reiki cannot replace it but will help the person to adjust to the loss.
Reiki is now being accepted as part of a trend emerging in Western medicine, whereas a new paradigm includes mind/body awareness and prevention techniques. Many healthcare professionals are encouraged to attend Reiki classes to augment their medical skills by leading hospitals in the USA.
Learning Reiki is a significant event in a person’s life; once they are attuned, their life is changed forever. Lots of positive things start to happen after the Reiki attunement. Abundance starts to flow in life. Thus, it is invaluable for health maintenance, self-renewal and personal growth.