Usui Reiki
Everything You Need to Know About Usui Reiki: Unlocking the Power of Reiki Healing
By Dennis Bluthardt, Namaste Studios
Usui Reiki: The energy healing technique founded by Mikao Usui in Japan centers on a life force or energy flowing through us all. It contends that this universe-given, nature-bound life force energy is constantly coursing through all living creatures. Any time its flow becomes stagnant or depleted, symptomatic problems arise.
Usui Reiki practitioners lightly place their hands upon their clients’ bodies (also using a hands-off method for areas where touch might not be desired or appropriate) and use their bodies as a channel for this energy to flow through and restore healed balance to their clients. Its place in holistic healing is heavily regarded because it aims to assist with treating the absolute entirety of medical problems; hardly any health problems are entirely physical. Reiki has recently become more notable for helping with patients’ holistic treatment plans for everyday stressors and mild inconveniences they can hardly live with; they can hardly go on living in this awful way: their migraines have come back; they aren’t sleeping well; they don’t take as much pleasure from anything anymore; they can’t forget; they can’t forgive; they can’t stop thinking; they see lights; they see into other dimensions; they always feel obligated to double; they never feel perfect.
Reiki masters are in popular demand for hiring within their local wellness practices. People in the Western Hemisphere still learn about natural, oriental medicine and the heights their bodies could reach under this intuitive new perspective. Note that increasing discussions for modern approaches to therapy are not replacing the need for traditional doctors nationwide; they are only answering patients’ questions that most traditional therapists continue to find unknowable, immeasurable, and of no consequence to the matter. Plus, your Reiki master as a person can only lend you more of the results you’re aiming for (at last!) in your future sessions.
What is Usui Reiki?
Usui Reiki is a type of holistic healing developed in Japan at the beginning of the 20th century. This healing modality’s name can be broken down into two parts: ‘Rei,’ meaning universal, and ‘Ki,’ or energy; Reiki is often translated to mean universal life force energy. Reiki healing is performed by channeling this energy with a focus on specific areas of the receiver’s body to help recover and balance the physical, emotional, and spiritual parts of themselves.
Mikao Usui is credited with first using “Reiki” to describe this type of spiritual healing. Usui was a Buddhist monk who lived in Japan in the 1920s. He spent three weeks on a retreat on Mount Kurama, meditating and connecting to the spiritual energies present. During these 21 days, he had an enlightening experience that helped him develop the healing system and methodologies that makeup Reiki.
Mikao Usui introduced Reiki’s principles and set spiritual affirmations that have laid the groundwork for the growth of Reiki practitioners. These principles direct the practitioner’s spiritual growth and development; the Reiki practitioner must be an effective healer. This principle of personal growth motivates readers to think of Reiki as a self-improvement path.
The Principles of Reiki
The Reiki principles, sometimes known as the Reiki precepts, align perfectly with what you hope to accomplish through a Reiki session. Five tenets can help you be more present and aware:
Today, I will not be angry. Today, I will not worry.
As with all practices, these are certainly goals you can apply to your daily life, not just Reiki, and you can do your best to act according to their constructs. The Reiki principles, or precepts, are a set of five tenets that can help you be more present and aware in your daily life. They are not necessarily qualities a beginner should expect, but by practicing Reiki, you can form a path to reach these ideals. These five constructs are deeply woven with things you can improve in life, such as managing anger and worry, being grateful, being honest, and being kind to yourself and others.
The Role of a Reiki Master
A Reiki master has reached a high level of expertise in this type of energy healing that leads one to relaxation and balance. However, the Reiki Master level is about personal healing, teaching Reiki, and showing Reiki practices in front of people. The Reiki Master is a facilitator of attunements and a preserver of the Reiki Principles. More than that, the Reiki Master is a guide, providing a safe, supportive environment that can lead to clients’ independence, making the audience feel supported and guided.
A list, or program, of learning for a Reiki Master is often seen in workshops at (hopefully more than) three levels: Reiki I, Reiki II, and Reiki Master, or perhaps at four levels, including Reiki III in between. At each level of Reiki workshops, practitioners receive attunements. The student is further exposed to higher Reiki energy frequencies in these ceremonial rituals. These energy frequencies are graded by strength, so the learning is a measured experience. But, with specific packaged frequency during these attunements, the route to the Reiki Master experience is accelerated. The new practitioner is better able, quicker, to affect the absorption, reflection, and outward transmission of Universal Rei, or God-conscious-an absolutes, energy personally because of combining with the attunements’ energy frequency. The compassionate experience is compelling, and responsibility for the changed self is undeniable. The Reiki Master training process is a comprehensive and intensive program that equips practitioners with the knowledge, skills, and experience they need to become effective healers and teachers.
A further list (at least three elements) of essentials for the Reiki Master trainee includes mentoring. A Reiki Teacher is, more importantly, a Reiki Mentor. The Reiki Master trainee and the Reiki practitioner will benefit more from the contribution made by the broadest possible range of Reiki practitioners they have previously met, not only those to meet following Reiki attunement. This mentoring initiative would separate practitioners with difficulties needing help AND indicate a list of topics to be covered in pre-agreed tutorials or signal to colleagues the “need’s” arrival in the community! The Executive coaching (mentoring, problem-solving) function is much the same for Reiki Masters as for anyone else in the chief executive role of “teacher.” And that is precisely what can be done for the trainee Reiki Master.
Understanding Reiki Energy
Reiki is a form of alternative therapy created in Japan by Mikao Usui in the early 20th century. It is centered around a universal life energy within every living being. A practitioner passes this spiritual life force energy to a client, usually via a technique like the “laying on of hands.” However, some practitioners will work with their hands around a client’s body without physically touching them.
Reiki practitioners act like conduits or lightning rods for healing energy. They claim to attune, train, and develop to become more capable vessels or superconductors for healing energy. This energy comes from what some may refer to as “the universe,” it is said to heal a client by removing blockages or imbalances in their spirit or vital life force.
Reiki healing may relieve many problems, including headaches, stomach upsets, colds, flu, bee stings, and minor burns. Many find it helps them manage symptoms associated with more serious conditions and recover from surgery more quickly. It is sometimes used as a first-aid treatment for injuries in hospital emergency rooms. Additionally, Reiki may help the body remove toxins.
Reiki Symbols and Their Meanings
Developed by Mikao Usui in the early 20th century, Usui Reiki is a holistic healing practice that utilizes a set of sacred symbols that make energy healing, the overarching process that Reiki is a part of, even more effective. Like symbols used in some other (but not all) forms of energy healing, these symbols are like the Reiki Master’s tools; they have a particular specific vibrational signature or “energy” that works for a unique purpose, helping the practitioner focus their intentions on a sure way to achieve or work with that energy.
Here are some of these symbols to give you an idea of what I mean:
Cho Ku Rei: This is often called the “power” symbol of Reiki. It’s the practitioner’s “power on” button for increasing the “high-vibrational” energy in their space. It’s the primary tool used to help improve energy flow, and it’s usually the first one a practitioner meditates on or visualizes in their ritual before they start up their Reiki energy for the day. Most systems of energy work entail visualizing a “white light,” a practice that brings in the same energy as the power symbol, as that is how most other forms of Reiki-like work focus on receiving universal life force energy. So, just like with Sei He Ki, students of Reiki at levels one and above again will know of and probably use an image that relates to this very symbol at the foundation of their practice.
Sei He Ki is the primary symbol of emotional healing or balance. If someone is emotionally imbalanced or wants to work on issues related to emotional blockages, someone practicing Reiki could visualize this symbol while giving Reiki. It might help you do a lot of good work if you need a quick way to help you release emotions in a safe setting!
The third symbol you learn could vary, but in most Reiki traditions, it is Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen. This is the primary symbol used for “distance” healing. You could use it to send high-vibrational Reiki energy over a long distance, connecting two people over space and time (transcending the dimensions of space, specifically). It’s the symbol you would most often use when looking to do long-distance work with a new (and nearly just as equally effective) virtual modality of Reiki.
Reiki Meditation Techniques
Reiki meditation practices can take many forms: guided visualization, breath awareness techniques, chanting and using sounds, and more. The diversity runs the gamut and is much more than Dr. Usui might have imagined. Some practices incorporate Reiki symbols, and most are intended to deepen the practitioner’s connection with themselves and the juicy, life-giving energy of the universe that we call by many names.
If you’re new to energy work or haven’t thought of using meditation before a Reiki session, consider the logic of that decision. You are the only thing standing between you and a deeper, perhaps instant, connection with the field of quantum possibility. A 15-minute investment in discursive thought suspension might radically change everything you have come to accept about the world you live in and the reality you’ve constructed for yourself. Isn’t that the purpose of most energy work: to release someone from whatever prison of thought, emotion, or physical matter holding them back? Give it a try, and let us know about your experience.
All you need to bring to this journey is an imagined backpack. Unload your karma. Your ego is not invited. Partition your mind from your ego to have the most expansive experience. Once empty, meditate on the ground (or in a comfortable chair). Sit and clear your minds of any thoughts.
The instructions are so simple for those of you who have meditated before. For the rest of you, find a quiet place, sit comfortably in a chair with your eyes closed, and breathe. Within a few moments, you’ll direct your thoughts away from whatever is in your mind and at your breath, from a projection outwards or reflections of your past, and to your in-breath or out-breath. This is not easy for most people to do. Thoughts arise, and one quickly learns that forcing your mind to be quiet is impossible. You must follow your breath and return your mind’s attention to that anchoring breath, which will help slow your mind.
Becoming a Reiki Practitioner
Traveling the Reiki path of the practitioner means:
Understanding the principles of Reiki. Reiki was founded on becoming a channel for Universal Life Force Energy to facilitate relaxation and healing.
Reiki training and certification are essential; you must get certified from the right place. Think about it:
The teachers connected to the training program matter; it makes a difference when people with experience train you.
You only want to go somewhere that offers the chance to attract high-level clients.
Finding a class where you want to get certified can be tricky. To see where to get training, burst through the crystal box, pick yourself off the jade egg, and find where you want to go to start your new endeavors.
Check out a local holistic health center, a holistic living retreat, or a certified online training program.
Check testimonials and reviews. These women’s reviews can benefit you because they give you a good idea of what you’re getting yourself into right from the start.
Again, the women’s testimonial benefits you differently. Reading someone’s testimonial with teaching materials can help you understand whether you will enjoy the book.
Usui Reiki energy is nothing short of life changing. It’s a beautiful method of holistic healing that will help you confront your personal and spiritual development head-on!
This Japanese technique channels spiritual (life force) energy to promote great benefits, like stress reduction and emotional healing! This not-so-subtle art of wholeness and positive vibes works wonders on your stress levels, decreasing the emotional traumas you’ve buried and increasing your intuition and overall levels of “well.”
For some of us, this life will be the first in which we open ourselves to receiving guidance from our hearts. This will be the first life we feel propelled to (are obsessed with), developing a connection to ourselves and figuring out what we’re doing here.
People following this involuntary introspection (a sometimes painful experience) should get some Reiki. See for yourself whether its benefits can propel your spiritual growth forward. You’re using energy to mop the floor with your life and promote your evolving goals.
To learn more, visit Reiki at Namaste Studios to book a Reiki session. Additionally, you can find more of our Reiki Blogs here.
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