The Nature of Reiki

“…the human being has a natural gift to resonate with universe if he aims it in his mind.”
Usui, founder of Reiki

Reiki is an enigma. It is one of the most popular energy healing modalities out there and yet most practitioners – even well experienced practitioners have a really tough time trying to define it. Ask any Reiki practitioner to explain it and you'll see what I mean. Usually the practitioner gives up trying to adequately describe it and ends up with 'you'll have to try it sometime to get a real feel for it'. Despite the difficulty explaining what it is exactly, practitioners continue to flock to it. Reiki suits our right brain intuitive side but for most people is terribly challenging to understand through the left brain world of logic and reason.

Reiki is a tradition grounded in intuition. Students commonly feel called to Reiki. It whispers to our soul without using words, inviting us to surrender to it and feel the awakening power within its’ gentle teachings and secret symbols. Reiki appeals to our innate mystical nature. It feels right and it fits very comfortably into most other healing practices. Herein lies the conundrum/blessing of Reiki; it slips in so easily with other techniques and modalities that it becomes indiscernible from everything else. To compensate for our lack of ‘understanding’ around Reiki we learn other energy techniques that are easier to explain to our selves and others.

So let’s start at the beginning.

The true nature of Reiki can be explained by understanding its’ origin. Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki, quested for most of his life to find a way to experience happiness and peace of mind. His quest eventually led him to take an extended solitary meditation retreat that resulted in him being enlightened to the power of the universe. Upon this enlightenment he developed this system of personal healing named Reiki. He began to teach his understanding immediately to others – attuning 2000 people to Reiki before his death 4 years later. Of these 2000 students only 16 received their Shinpi-den initiations (Master-teacher). Usui’s own example seems to indicate that he believed that Reiki belongs in the hands of the people. Clearly his actions show that everybody could be attuned for the self-healing part of the teachings (1st Degree). He developed meditations and hand positions for the average person to use simply and easily for their own benefit. By his own written hand Usui indicated that Reiki was intended “…to heal heart and soul first, then body second”. Further he wrote that Reiki could be used to “…to create good human relationship” and “…to promote happiness for all people”.

Reiki merges easily with all other systems of healing because it is universal by definition and by nature. There is literally nowhere that Reiki is not. It is the dynamic life force energy that permeates all expressions of creation in our universe. The word Reiki means 'universal life force energy' and it is exactly that. It is universal in its' application, suitable for all situations and circumstances. It is in fact only limited by the imagination, fears and restrictions the practitioner puts on it. It’s primary function is to bring balance to any system of energy that is out of balance with its’ environment and restore order. The practice of Reiki will create balance as expansively as one can imagine his world and universe to be. Practicing Reiki and establishing order in your world creates very specific benefit.

Students of Reiki most certainly will experience:

i) improved intuition and heightened sensory perception
ii) improved health and overall well-being
iii) improved levels of tolerance, patience and compassion
iv) improved sense of strength, emotional balance, mental clarity and optimism

Although I can attest to these outcomes from engaging with Reiki for the past 15 years and I have complete faith that ultimately Reiki expresses as harmony, its’ initial effect can seem very disharmonious to our 5 senses. People generally resist change and will often prefer to persist in the habits of their dysfunction rather than shift through discomfort towards health and joy.

The daily practice of Reiki will ensure that the nature of it will preside over your life, specifically its’ aspects of creating balance, harmony, wellbeing and happiness. The path toward change can be difficult, as Usui himself understood. By surrendering to the mystical call of Reiki and practicing self treatments we allow ourselves to step into a harmonious relationship with Universe for our truest highest good.