The word “Reiki” is composed of two Japanese kanji:
Rei (meaning spiritual, sacred)
and
Ki (meaning energy, life force)
Together these kanjis mean “spiritual energy.” Everything alive has Reiki. For me, this concept is equivalent to the theory in quantum physics that all the energy and matter that was released during the Big Bang created our universe. We all come from the same source.
The Reiki system was designed to connect consciously with this spiritual energy. It is nonreligious and promotes balance, healing and well-being. It’s a nurturing, relaxing practice that, over time, helps you let go of anger and worry and makes you feel interconnected, joyful and grounded in your everyday life.
The ultimate goal of Reiki practice is to rediscover your true essence (i.e., oneness, coming from the same universal source).
benefits
Embodying your true essence may take a long time, but many benefits of practicing Reiki can be felt within a short time. Reiki—
• Relaxes and helps shift your nervous system from sympathetic mode (fight or flight) to parasympathetic mode (rest and digest).
• Accelerates the healing process and boosts the immune system.
• Improves wellness (e.g., better sleep, improved digestion, less pain).
• Supports your system during chronic conditions, medical treatments.
• Makes you feel more balanced, grounded and centered.
• Reduces anxiety, anger and drama.
• Gives you more clarity, joy and confidence.
• Encourages a heightened feeling of connection, and a more meaningful life.
HOW CAN YOU EXPERIENCE REIKI
You can experience the benefits of Reiki through:
Reiki sessions (in person or remote)
Self-practice (training required)
BRIEF HISTORY
The Reiki system of healing was founded by Mikao Usui in Japan in the 1920s. Usui was born to a wealthy Buddhist family on August 15, 1865, and it is believed that he started training at monasteries and martial arts dojos in his youth. As an adult, Usui was able to travel to Europe, America, and China as a result of the Meiji Restoration, which opened Japan’s borders to other nations for the first time in 200 years. He is also said to have achieved the title of a lay monk in Tendai Buddhism (a type of Buddhism that includes esoteric practices) and learned elements from Shinto and Shugendō (Japanese religions with shamanic elements).
In April 1922, after years of training in meditation and esoteric practices, Usui went to the sacred Mount Kurama in Japan to sit in a 21-day meditation without food or water. It is assumed that he reached Anshin Ritsumei (enlightenment) during this meditation and that the capacity for healing came as a consequence.Once he discovered his newfound ability, Usui set out to create a system that would allow every human being to heal themselves and advance toward enlightenment. In addition to his own techniques, he took many elements that were part of traditional Japanese spiritual practices for centuries and simplified them to make them more approachable. This system would become the base for every Reiki lineage currently in practice around the world.
Early years
In April 1922, Usui moved to Tokyo to start a society called Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (The Society for Usui’s Method for Healing Using Spiritual Energy). He opened a clinic where he gave classes and provided training. It was here that he developed the system thoroughly. Usui included meditations, scanning, and attunements (Reiju in Japanese) to facilitate the training of practitioners with no previous spiritual background.
In time, Usui developed the Reiki symbols to boost the connection to specific types of energy (heaven and earth) or determined state of mind (oneness and non-duality). He gave many attunements to his students—a practice still popular within the Japanese lineages—to increase their energy and wisdom. Usui also devised the three levels of teachings, which he called Shoden (the beginnings or Level 1), Okuden (hidden teachings or Level 2), and Shinpiden (mystery teachings or Level 3/master). He had sublevels in each, which have been subsequently eliminated from most lineages.
With Reiki growing in popularity, he opened a larger clinic in 1925 and started traveling to spread his teachings. He died from a stroke in 1926 during one of these trips. Usui had trained approximately 2000 students and initiated some 20 masters. Many Reiki practitioners travel to visit his grave and memorial stone at the Saiho-Ji Temple graveyard, in Suginami, Tokyo. After his death, many of Usui’s Level 3 students opened their own clinics. Among them was Chujiro Hayashi, a naval officer who was very interested in the health benefits of Reiki. Hayashi started recording which hand positions worked best with each ailment and created a setof guidelines for treatment. At the time, these were only meant for practitioners who could not do energetic scanning. He also made the person receiving the treatment lay down. He developed his own style of teaching, which he then passed on to a Japanese-American woman from Hawaii named Hawayo Takata in the late 1930s. Takata brought Reiki practice to the U.S., and from there, it spread to the whole world.
Beyond borders
Takata, who was initiated as a Reiki Master in 1938, opened clinics in Hawaii and traveled to the mainland U.S. to give classes. Her teachings were vastly simplified because she felt some of the original Japanese methods were too complicated or foreign for the American culture. She eliminated many of the meditations and techniques, focusing almost exclusively on the hands-on healing side of the practice. The system shifted from a spiritual practice to rediscover one’s own true nature (non-duality) toward a focus on physical and mental health, as well as emotional wellbeing.
Takata trained 22 Reiki masters. These masters, among them her granddaughter Phyllis Furumoto, started traveling around the U.S. and the world teaching new generations of practitioners and infusing new elements into the practice, like the chakra system, the aura, and crystal grids. After Takata’s death in 1980, the Reiki community grew but also splintered into many diverse schools. Today, it is believed that there are millions of Reiki practitioners and thousands of Reiki masters around the world. Reiki, which had been latent in Japan, had a resurgence. This has prompted an exciting exchange of information between lineages and spurred even more growth.
levels of reiki training
Traditionally, Reiki training comprises three levels (although some Reiki teachers divide Shinpiden into two, for a total of four levels).
Reiki I (Shoden)
The beginning of the journey. Focuses on healing the self and on the basics of healing others.
Reiki II (Okuden)
Students learn three mantras and symbols that aid in focusing energy. They learn to work with Earth, Heaven and Heart ki, as well aslearning the basics of developing a professional treatment practice.
Reiki III (Shinpiden)
Students learn the fourth mantra and symbol and how to perform attunements. They move deeper into their practice, exploring how they relate to themselves and to the universe. Eventually they may develop a professional teaching practice.