Reiki
(pronounced Ray-Key) is a Japanese word in which the first
syllable, Rei, means spirit, aura, or subtle energy. The
second syllable, Ki, means energy, or power. Different cultures
and spiritual paths have other names for this energy; in China it
is called Qi or Chi, and in India, shakti or
prana. In English we use terms such as life force, cosmic
consciousness, or divine energy.
The
practice of Reiki is a hands-on healing system for channeling this
life force. A Reiki healer channels this energy to the client, adjusting
imbalances and bringing harmony to the physical, emotional, spiritual
and mental. In any healing, the goal is to find the limitation, recognize
the pattern, recognize where it came from, and let it go. As Reiki
cleanses on all levels of the conscious and unconscious, the power
of Reiki healing helps to alleviate the thought patterns, physical
manifestations and emotional ways of being, that no longer serve us
on our journey to our personal highest expression.
What
people experience during treatments varies according to what each
person needs. Some people enter a relaxed meditative state as stress
is released and replaced by a sense of increased vitality. Others
have intense emotional cleansings during sessions, and leave feeling
elated or very peaceful, freed from unresolved issues and memories.
Reiki acts as a gateway to the shining, pure love of the universe.
It is this love that allows us to transcend our wounds and help us
remember our true nature.
In
order to administer Reiki as a practitioner, the student must be initiated
into the Reiki system of energetic healing. An initiation is a willed
& permanent change in energy and consciousness, guided and started
through a ritual. This is one of the qualities that make Reiki different
from other types of energy work: the student must go through an initiation
(or, attunement) in order to become a Reiki practitioner.
Through
the attunement process, the student's energetic pathways and chakras
are realigned and adjusted. This clears out blockages, and allows
the individual to become a channel for the spiritual and healing energy
of the Universe. Initiations speed up your personal growth, alter
thought and emotional patterns, and open up your perception of the
world around you. Many students find their intuitive abilities have
improved after a Reiki attunement.
There
are dozens of energy healing methods, all wonderfully effective in
their own right. However, Reiki tends to stand out above the rest
due to certain safeguards that are inherently built into the system.
For example, upon being attuned to Reiki, the energy becomes a constant
part of you, forming a natural shield to block you from 'picking up'
another person's energy. When treating yourself and others with Reiki,
you are never using your own energy - you are the vessel, channeling
energy from the Earth, the Universe, and the Divine. The practice
of Reiki doesn’t leave you physically and emotionally drained
as in other healing techniques.
Once
you have been attuned to Reiki, you will always be attuned. The more
you use the energy to heal yourself and others, the stronger the flow
is within you. The stronger the flow, the more you evolve spirituality,
mentally, and intuitively.
