Reiki can be described as a system of energy based healing which helps to raise your energetic vibration closer to love, light & peace. As a result of these energetic changes, people who receive Reiki on a regular basis will often experience relief from a range of different ailments, whether they be physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. One of the most beautiful things about learning Reiki for yourself is that you become able to ‘tap into’ this universal source of life force energy so that you can clear away blockages and help yourself move towards long lasting health & happiness.
The Advanced Usui Reiki Healing System has been received by Love inspiration, directly from ‘Higher Consciousness’. It has been developed, blessed and endorsed by both Dr Mikao Usui & Hawayo Takata and offers a genuine extension to the Usui Reiki Healing System. The Usui Reiki Gold levels have now been added as an extension and expansion on the Advanced Usui Reiki levels and are therefore only available to those who have done a significant amount of ascension based healing work, through the Ascension Pathway teachings.
What is Reiki?
Reiki has roots in ancient Japanese healing practices and is considered a form of energy healing. It stems from the Japanese words “rei,” meaning universal, and “ki,” meaning vital life force energy.
The theory is that a Reiki master (a practitioner trained in Reiki) can channel the “universal life force energy” to you. They say they do this by either lightly placing their hands on you or by hovering them just above you, using a series of hand positions. Some people will call these techniques:
- Centering.
- Clearing.
- Beaming.
- Smoothing the aura.
Reiki masters say they don’t create energy or give their energy to you. Rather, they say they act as a “conduit” for the universal life force energy that exists around us.
Now, let’s back up this train a moment. Because the idea of a universal life force energy isn’t a concept we’re all familiar with. And it’s not something that scientists agree even exists.
Universal life force energy
The practice of Reiki relies on the existence of universal life force energy. But believing in that concept can take a leap of faith.
Reiki master Vickie Bodner, LMT, shares that in her view, we all have examples of how energy flows through us.
“Think about sitting in a room alone,” she illustrates. “Your partner walks into the room without you knowing it. They don’t make a sound, but you can feel they’re there. That’s their energy.”
Or in my case, maybe energy is what makes me jump to attention when my kindergartener is having a restless night. Maybe it’s her energy that alerts me to her presence — waking me to find those big, brown eyes staring me down in my sleep.
Cultures around the world have similar philosophies dating back centuries. Traditional Chinese medicine has the concept of qi, a vital life force energy that flows through living things. Indian philosophy offers the concept of prana, a life-giving energy force that flows through your chakras.
But scientifically speaking, there’s no hard data to suggest that any form of healing energy exists.
“Proponents of Reiki describe that the mechanism by which it works is the transmission of a ‘universal life force energy.’ I don’t know what ‘universal life force energy’ is. Nor is there any evidence of such being involved in Reiki,” shares wellness and preventive medicine specialist Robert Saper, MD, MPH.
It could be that modern scientific understanding doesn’t yet have the tools or methods to identify something like universal life force energy. Maybe it’s something like dark matter. We think it’s out there. We have reason to believe in it. We just haven’t yet found a way to prove it.
Or maybe it doesn’t exist. And that would mean that the entire foundation on which Reiki is built would be shaky at best.
The importance and deeper meaning of the elements and aspects and the whole system is mainly beyond words and gradually unfolds through personal experience. The following is a brief outline.
Four Aspects
Healing Practice – Usui Shiki Ryoho has as its basis self treatment and a form of treatment to be used as a way to treat others. This is achieved through a series of laying-on-of-hands treatment positions.
Personal Development – Through the practice of this system, the student is presented in everyday life with choices. These choices address underlying principles and beliefs that the student has acquired over the years of life. These principles and beliefs are often challenged as they may not be beneficial for the student’s path toward authenticity.
Spiritual Discipline – inherent in the regular practice of the Form is the connection to spirit within each of us as a human being. This connection to spirit can result in students considering this practice as a spiritual path.
Mystic Order – practice of Usui Shiki Ryoho brings mystic experiences and a sense of connection and common purpose with others following this path.
Nine Elements
Oral Tradition – The form and essence of this system is passed on only through a person to person relationship with a Reiki Master involving verbal and non-verbal communication and energetic transmissions.
Spiritual Lineage – Mikao Usui, Chujiro Hayashi, Hawayo Takata and Phyllis Lei Furumoto are recognized as the spiritual lineage of this system. The living lineage bearer embodies the essence of this system. The teachings are passed down through this line of masters, developing through the experiences of these masters, the cultural norms of the time frames, and the development of global society.
History – The story that is told from master to student is passed through the oral tradition in the First Degree class. This is the story of Reiki and this particular form of practice. This is not a story that is about people but the way in which Reiki has passed through each of the lineage bearers and become a manifest form.
Initiation – This secret and sacred ritual is passed down from the Lineage to the masters of the system. The masters, in turn, use this ritual to connect each student to the energy of Reiki and to bring life to the form of the practice that accompanies the initiations.
Symbols – The three symbols taught in the Second Degree classes are accompanied by a specific form of practice. These symbols seem to act as energetic keys that access the non physical world. This part of the practice prepares the student for a greater choice in life and a wider understanding of the world in general.
Treatment – The treatment form consists of hand positions held for a few minutes in a specific order. This is the formal treatment practice. The informal treatment is any hand position that is practiced with the consent of the person being treated for as long as is necessary. Treatment of the First Degree is done on the physical body with hands on the body. The Second Degree treatment is also practiced on the physical body and also at a distance through use of the symbols.
Form of Teaching –The Form is the container for the teaching of First and Second Degree classes.
Monetary Exchange – Each initiatory step of the path has a specific monetary commitment from the student to the master.
Precepts – The Five Precepts are intended to awaken questions within a student and therefore involves the mind as well as the body and spirit in the process of becoming whole in body and spirit.
Reiki precepts
Mikao Usui introduced the five reiki precepts, or principles, when he shared the healing practice with his students in 1922 to offer a framework for approaching real life.
During my ritual, I enjoy reciting the precepts several times in Japanese and in English as a way to practice mental and emotional hygiene. My spiritual evolution, health journey, relationships, and pursuits as an entrepreneur are often guided by these precepts:
- Kyo dake wa: Today only
- Ikaru na: Do not anger
- Shinpai suna: Do not worry
- Kansha shite: Be grateful
- Gyo o hageme: Practice diligently
- Hito ni shinsetsu ni: Show compassion to yourself and others
Potential health benefits of Reiki
People turn to Reiki and other energy-healing practices for all kinds of reasons. The idea driving Reiki is that channeling the universal life force energy and encouraging its movement through your body can help to create a healthier environment within your body and mind.
That’s supposed to lead to a range of health benefits. Because the theory goes, “stuck energy” can lead to pain and illness.
Essentially, people use Reiki to get their energy juices flowing. And fans of the practice say it can help with things like:
- Better sleep.
- Reduced anxiety.
- Boosted mood.
- Reduced pain.
- Increased energy.
- Improved blood circulation.
Research vs. personal experience
But is Reiki real? Do people really get big health benefits from it?
That’s up for debate. Because the benefits of Reiki haven’t been proven by rigorous scientific research.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t be effective for some people. It also doesn’t mean that Reiki is necessarily appropriate as a medical treatment for everyone.
Sure, Reiki has been studied. But the research that has been done on Reiki isn’t of the kind of quality that makes it accepted in mainstream medical circles.
For example, researchers in one study suggest that Reiki can improve symptoms of depression and anxiety and improve quality of life in people in palliative care (that is, end-of-life care).
Promising? Yes. But can we use that as evidence to claim people who aren’t nearing the end of life will have similar experiences? Not reliably.
A review of research suggests Reiki can relieve pain. But the studies reviewed totaled a small sampling — just 212 people. And the researchers relied on people describing their perception of their pain before and after Reiki. (How does it feel on a scale of 1 to 10?) Such a subjective measure can be easily influenced. If you think Reiki is going to improve your pain, you’re more likely to report that it did. That’s just human nature — a placebo effect.
One other study, described as a “large-scale effectiveness trial of Reiki” asked 99 Reiki practitioners across the United States to invite their clients to take a survey of how they felt before and after a treatment. The results? Improvements in mood, less nausea, better breathing and improved all-around well-being.
But let’s break that down a bit. The practitioners asked their clients to provide their feedback. Their clients. People who are already on board with Reiki. People who have an established relationship with a Reiki practitioner. People who most likely have continued to have Reiki sessions because they’ve found it to be beneficial. As far as scientific measurements go, that’s far from an impartial sample.
That said, scientific results aren’t everything. There’s the personal experience side to consider, too. Because even if research doesn’t prove the benefits of Reiki to be empirically valid, personal experience still does count for something.
“There are only so many things you can study in randomized, controlled studies in order to understand the totality of what is likely to happen,” Dr. Saper explains. “I think it’s critical that we as healthcare professionals listen to our patients and validate their experiences, even if their experiences may run counter to one’s own experience and training.”
In other words, science may not prove that Reiki harnesses a universal life force energy. We may not have statistical proof that Reiki will improve your chronic pain, reduce your anxiety or help you get the sleep you need. But if you try it and you feel better, sleep better and live a better life … that’s still worth paying attention to. Regardless of what science says (or doesn’t say).
What Happens During a Reiki Energy Healing Session?
First Step: Receiving Energy
To begin any Reiki practice, you must activate the energy within yourself. Close your eyes and take a few rounds of deep breaths. Imagine the crown of your head opening and a stream of healing white light flowing from the top of your head, into your heart, and out through your arms and hands. Ask to be filled up where you need healing most. This way, if you’re going to offer Reiki to a loved one, you won’t be giving to them from an empty cup.
As you feel the flow of energy, continue to breathe, and if you find your mind gets busy or starts to question whether this is working, come back to your breath. Envision yourself as a vessel for healing. Then set an intention or prayer to receive healing of the highest good.
This intention of healing set by the practitioner and recipient guides the flow of energy and focuses on the recipient’s specific needs, whether they be physical healing, emotional release, or spiritual growth.
Comfortable Environment:
The recipient lies down fully clothed in a comfortable and quiet environment. The practitioner may use techniques like dim lighting or soft music and speech to create a serene atmosphere conducive to relaxation.
Call upon your guides
While this step is optional, I welcome the guidance of spirit. With my hands in prayer position, I typically repeat a simple invocation similar to, “I welcome the presence of my Reiki masters, teachers, healers, and guides. I welcome your energetic blessings and messages for the highest good of all. Thank you for gracing us with your love and light.” Allow their presence to be intuitively seen, felt or heard, however subtle or dramatic that may be.
Hand Positions:
The practitioner gently places their hands on or near specific energy centers, known as chakras, on the recipient’s body. These hand positions correspond to different aspects of the recipient’s well-being.
Energy Flow:
The practitioner then channels Reiki energy through their hands, allowing it to flow into the recipient. The energy works to clear blockages, release tension, and restore balance within the recipient’s energy system.
Sensations:
Recipients often report various sensations during a Reiki session, such as warmth, tingling, or a deep sense of relaxation. These sensations are considered signs of the energy doing its work.
Release and Healing:
As the energy flows, it can stimulate the release of emotional or physical tension stored in the body which encourages healing on multiple levels. The gentle touch and energy transfer in Reiki can dissolve blockages and foster profound emotional and physical relief.
Last Step: Sealing Off Energy
It’s important to offer gratitude, cleanse yourself, and close the energy once you’ve completed a healing session. It can be as simple as stepping back, wiping your hands of any excess energy, and placing them in prayer to thank yourself, the energy, and the recipient for the exchange. You can also draw a large circle, crossing the arms in front of the body to signify the close of your two energies, and ending with hands in prayer.
How Can Reiki Energy Healing Help?
Stress Reduction:
Reiki promotes deep relaxation, helping to alleviate stress and tension. This relaxation response can contribute to improved mental clarity and emotional well-being.
Pain Management:
Many individuals turn to Reiki for pain relief. The energy flow is believed to stimulate the body’s natural healing processes, potentially reducing pain and discomfort.
Emotional Healing:
Reiki is known for its ability to address emotional imbalances. It can assist in releasing past traumas, promoting self-love, and fostering a positive mindset.
Improved Sleep:
Regular Reiki sessions have been associated with better sleep quality. The relaxation induced by Reiki can contribute to improved sleep patterns and overall sleep health.
Enhanced Spiritual Connection:
For those seeking spiritual growth, Reiki can be a valuable tool. It is often viewed as a means of connecting with one’s higher self and exploring the spiritual dimensions of existence.
Boosted Immune System:
By promoting balance and reducing stress, Reiki may contribute to a strengthened immune system. A healthy energy flow is thought to support the body’s natural ability to defend against illness.
Does Reiki open your chakras?
Base of the Spine (Muladhara) Chakra
Sacral (Svadhisthana) Chakra
Solar plexus ( Manipura) Chakra
Heart (Anahata) Chakra
Throat (Vishuddha) Chakra
Third Eye (Anja) Chakra
Crown (Sahasrara) Chakra
Implementing a Daily Protection Plan
As you start your day, take a few minutes to ground, cleanse and protect yourself. This is especially important if you are a “sensitive” who attracts, like a sponge, surrounding energies and vibrations. The following are examples that you can use, but feel free to use any methods that you feel comfortable with.
Ground
The “tree root” is an easy and popular method. There are many others to choose from, so use whichever method you find easiest or which resonates with you.
Tree Root Method
1. Sit comfortably on a chair or you can also do this standing
2. Close your eyes, take 3-deep belly breaths and relax
3. Your intention and focus is to visualize tree roots spreading from your root chakra (the base of your spine or buttocks) down to the soles of your feet and continuing to the centre of the earth
4. See the tree roots spreading out in all directions, attaching themselves to the earth’s centre
5. Feel and know that you are grounded firmly to earth energies
Cleanse
The “waterfall/shower” and “dry brush” are two popular methods to employ. Cleansing can be done during the day, as needed – monitor your feelings and thoughts for negative changes to your overall well-being. There are a variety of other methods to choose from, so use whichever method you find easiest or which resonates with you.
Waterfall/Shower Method
1. Sit comfortably on a chair or you can also do this standing
2. Close your eyes, take 3-deep belly breaths and relax
3. Visualize standing under a waterfall or shower (this can be clear, a specific colour or a rainbow)
4. Your intention and focus is to feel and know that the water is washing and cleansing away all energy blockages, all lower vibrating energy, plus all toxins from your body. Know that these will flow to the centre of the earth to be transformed into higher, finer vibrating energy (also called positive energy) that will be re-used by the universe at the appropriate time
5. You can cleanse several times per day if you feel that you have absorbed outside energies (E.g. you may start to feel a headache, or your energy may feel drained or you may become irritable, headachy or uneasy, etc.)
Dry Brush Method
1. From a standing position, use the palms of both hands and gently brush or “dust” yourself off from the top of your head to your feet
2. Your intention and focus is to feel and know that you are cleansed of all debris, toxins, energy blockages or lower vibrating energies
3. Feel and know that the all debris, toxins, energy blockages or negative energy will flow to the centre of the earth to be transformed into higher, finer vibrating energy that will be re-used by the universe at the appropriate time
Protect
The “bubble” and “deflecting mirror” are two easy methods to employ. There are many other methods to choose from, so use whichever method you find easiest or which resonates with you.
Bubble of Colour
1. Close your eyes, take 3-deep belly breaths (instructions follow) and relax
2. Visualize surrounding yourself in a bubble of colour – any colour that you are attracted to use; don’t be concerned about the significance of the colour’s meaning
3. Visualize surrounding the other person in a different bubble of colour
4. This separates your energy from the other person
5. Know and feel that you are always protected from outside lower vibrating energies (also called negative energies)
Deflecting Mirrors
1. If you want further protection, then after you surround yourself in a bubble of colour, visualize an armour of mirrors, facing outwards , surrounding you
2. Your intention and focus is to feel and know that any lower vibrating energy directed at you will be deflected up towards the universe to be transformed into positive energy that will be re-used by the universe at the appropriate time
Meditate
Do this at a convenient time, but try to practice consistently for 10 to 30 minutes daily to help calm and balance your energy. This process takes you from beta state to alpha state where you gain access to higher states of awareness.
Simple 1-2-3-4 Counting Meditation
1. Turn off your phone and sit upright in a comfortable chair
2. Dim the lights and play soft music if you desire
3. Put a light covering on (your body temperature will drop)
4. Close your eyes, take 3-deep belly breaths (explained as follows) and relax
5. Inhale deeply through your nose to the count of four seconds 1…2….3….4, while expanding your stomach, then draw your breath up into your diaphragm and pull it up into your rib cage
6. Hold for the count of four seconds 1….2….3….4
7. Exhale through your nose to the count of four seconds 1…2…3…4, as you push the air down into your stomach and then suck your stomach in towards your spine
8. Hold for the count of four seconds 1…2….3….4
9. Each time a thought comes in, acknowledge it and allow it to go – don’t dwell on it or build upon it with another separate thought
10. Continue breathing in this fashion for 10 to 30 minutes
11. Don’t worry about intruding thoughts, acknowledge them and then let them go; eventually they will stop. Avoid building upon the intruding thought
12. If you lose count, start again at number one
13. If you fall asleep, don’t worry, your body needed additional rest
How to Deep Belly Breathe
1. Inhale and exhale through your nose (you can use your mouth if it’s easier)
2. As you inhale through your nose, expand your stomach like an inflating balloon
3. Continue to draw your breath up into your diaphragm and then pull it further up into your rib cage
4. As you exhale through your nose, push the air down into your stomach and then suck your stomach inward toward your spine
5. This is one full deep belly breath
6. Continue inhaling and exhaling like this for the duration of your meditation
Affirmations
When saying affirmations keep the first two words in the present tense – “I AM”. Your subconscious mind initiates your request that it’s happening NOW. Using a mirror, look deeply into your eyes and always repeat in the present tense (E.g. “I AM ……..).” Below are some examples, but feel free to make affirmations designed to your specific needs.
Note: It is important to become consciously aware of how you think and talk to yourself. I THINK – expresses a thought that’s a possibility for the future and is not fully believable yet. I WILL – expresses a thought that is about to be realized, but it’s not quite ready. I AM – expresses a thought that is happening right now, in the present time. Remember……you are what you “think.”
Affirmation Examples:
1. Everyday, in every way, I AM getting better and better and better. I feel this, I know this and it is so
2. I AM healthy, safe and secure at all times
3. I AM accepting full responsibility for my own healing process on all levels (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual), to improve my daily well-being and my quality of life
4. I AM protected and free from other people’s lower vibrating energies and I AM always protected from negative cords or hooks attaching to my body
5. I AM acknowledging and releasing all toxins, lower vibrating energies and blockages from my body. These flow freely through my foot chakras to the centre of the earth to be transformed into higher, finer vibrating energy that will be re-used by the universe at the appropriate time
6. I AM the master of my own destiny. I AM empowered with self-esteem, self-confidence and self-love and I AM creating a fulfilling life blessed with abundance
What Is Reiki Training Like
Usui Reiki is taught in three levels of certification:
- Level I – sensing the energy,
- Level II – calling in the energy, and
- Level III (Master Reiki Practitioner/Instructor) – being the energy.
Each level builds on the learning and experience of the previous level. Practitioners typically have taken Levels I and II. Level III is the Master level. Masters can also teach Reiki with some additional training.
Relax With Reiki
Reiki stands out as a gentle yet profound modality in the realm of holistic healing. Its ability to tap into the universal life force energy offers a unique path to balance and well-being. Whether you seek physical relief, emotional healing, or spiritual connection, Reiki has the potential to become a transformative force on your journey to holistic health. We can help you embrace the magic of Reiki, and allow its healing energies to guide you toward a more harmonious and fulfilled life.
