What is Reiki?

In the 1920s a Japanese Buddhist priest, Dr Mikao Usui,

rediscovered an ancient way of channelling healing energy, creating the Usui System of Energy Healing, or Usui Shiki Reiki Ryoho, which has become better known simply as "Reiki". In this context, Reiki is a safe, non-intrusive hands-on healing technique for physical ailments, but it is much more than a physical therapy. It is a holistic system for balancing, healing and harmonising all aspects of the person - body, mind, emotions and spirit - and it can also be used to encourage personal and spiritual awareness and growth.

Reiki As A Word

Reiki (pronounced RAY KEE) is a Japanese word which is most often translated as “universal life-force energy”, although this could just refer to the second part of the word, KI, so perhaps a more precise translation is “spiritual energy”. You will often see the word Reiki represented in the calligraphy of the Japanese kanji (see left) and the top shape is the word “REI” and the bottom shape is the word “KI”. Japanese is quite a complex language, so words often have many different meanings. For instance, REI can be translated as soul, spirit, wisdom, divine, essence, sacred or mysterious power, whilst KI usually refers to life-force energy but is sometimes translated as cosmic or universal energy.Reiki As An Energy

Healing, Harmony and Balance for Body, Mind and Spirit

Reiki is “spiritual energy”, as referred to above, but what does this mean? The second part of the word, “Ki”, refers to life-force energy, and you may have heard of other versions of this word from other languages, such as “Chi” or “Qi” in Chinese (as in Tai Chi or Qi Gong), or “Prana” from India, where it is a central concept in Yoga and Ayurveda. These words all signify a vital, life sustaining energy which is believed to flow throughout the human body (and through all living things) through a network of fine subtle channels called meridians, as well as flowing outside the physical body as an energy field called an aura. This “Ki” is an energy which operates at high vibrations and fast frequencies which makes it difficult to see, but it can be detected by various forms of electro-magnetic equipment, and identifying blockages in its flow has been used for centuries in Acupuncture. Indeed, most complementary and alternative therapies work at this energetic level, because actually the physical body is also energy, but
vibrating at a slower frequency which means it is denser, and therefore visible matter.

Reiki, as a spiritual energy, operates at an even higher and faster vibration, so it can move through all parts of the human energy field to break through energetic blockages and promote healing. The source of this high spiritual energy can be described in various ways, depending upon what you are happy to accept – God, the Source, the All-that-is, the Universe – or you can think of it as part of your Soul or Spirit or Higher Self that you can access to help you.

Reiki As A Holistic Healing System

What we call Reiki in the West refers to a holistic healing system originally devised by a Japanese Buddhist scholar, Dr Mikao Usui in the early part of the twentieth century. Reiki is a healing process that anyone can benefit from in the normal course of their life and that may also bring help and comfort to people suffering from a range of conditions. However, it should not be regarded as a cure for such conditions—healing and curing are not always the same—and neither is it a religion nor a belief system.

As a natural form of healing Reiki can support and enhance other forms of treatment, including conventional medical treatments as well as alternative or complementary therapies. The most common way of experiencing Reiki for most people is by receiving a Reiki treatment from a Reiki practitioner, where the recipient remains fully clothed and lies on a therapy couch or sits on a chair and relaxes. The practitioner gently places their hands non-intrusively on or near the body, in a sequence of positions. There is no pressure, massage or manipulation and the whole person is treated rather than specific symptoms - Reiki is “holistic” because it affects the whole person – body, mind and spirit – encouraging deep relaxation and a sense of well-being, and assisting the physical body’s own healing ability to operate more effectively and efficiently.

The Effects Of Reiki

Reiki balances and heals on the four levels described below, and as it flows through it adjusts to the recipient so that each person receives exactly what they need at that time.

Physical - The physical body and any pain or illness:
Reiki supports and accelerates your body's own natural ability to heal itself, usually alleviating pain and relieving other symptoms, whilst helping the body to rid itself of poisons and toxins. It balances and harmonises the whole energy field, promoting a sense of wholeness, a state of positive wellness and an overall feeling of well-being, and also helps you develop greater awareness of your body's real needs, such as better nutrition or more exercise.

Emotional - What you are feeling and experiencing:
Reiki inspires you to examine your emotional responses, encouraging you to let go of negative emotions such as anger or resentment, and promoting the qualities of loving, caring, sharing, trusting, and good will. It can also help you to channel emotional energy into creativity.

Mental - Your thoughts and attitudes:
Reiki leads to a state of deep relaxation, with the consequent release of stress and tension. It
allows you to let go of negative thoughts, concepts and attitudes, replacing them with positivity, peace and serenity. It can also enhance your intuitive abilities and encourages you to pursue
your personal potential through greater insight and self awareness.

Spiritual - Your capacity to love yourself and others unconditionally:
Reiki helps you to accept and love your whole self, and fosters a non-judgemental approach to humankind, allowing you to accept every person as a beautiful and pure soul energy as well as a human being. It promotes the qualities of love, compassion, understanding and acceptance, and encourages you on your individual path towards personal growth and spiritual development.

Training in Reiki

Reiki is probably the simplest and easiest holistic healing method available to us, so anyone can learn to use Reiki, whatever their age or gender, religion or origin. No specific knowledge or experience is required - only a desire to learn, a willingness to let this healing energy flow through you, and a little time to attend a course. Reiki is taught by qualified Reiki Masters (Teachers) like Penelope Quest, and there are three main levels which in the West are called:

1. Reiki First Degree (Reiki 1) which opens up your inner healing channel so that you can then use Reiki for self-healing and healing others for the rest of your life.

2. Reiki Second Degree (Reiki 2) where three symbols (sacred shapes and mantras) are taught, (Power Symbol, Harmony Symbol, Distant Symbol) as well as some special techniques that intensify the Reiki and enable people to carry out effective distant (absent) healing, as well as other methods that promote deep healing of physical, mental and emotional problems.

3. Reiki Third Degree (Reiki 3) is the level of a Reiki Master—someone who has committed his or her life to learning the mastery of Reiki, and who is qualified to teach others this
amazing and powerful healing system. Reiki Master training is often divided into two parts - Reiki Master/Practitioner where someone is taught the Master Symbol and some additional techniques to use in treatments, and Reiki Master/Teacher, where someone is taught how to attune others to Reiki.

The ability to channel Reiki can only be acquired by being transferred to the student by a qualified Reiki Master during a special attunement process (a form of spiritual empowerment based on Buddhist techniques) during a Reiki course. This process makes Reiki unique and is the reason why the ability to heal can be developed so quickly, yet so permanently. It activates a Reiki channel through which the Reiki healing energy can flow, and once you have been attuned you will always be able to use Reiki—it doesn’t wear off or wear out!

For details of Reiki courses with Brandy Nielson, please see visit the Classes + Workshops page or contact us to request a course to be taught.