A Guide to the Healing Touch of Reiki

The Reiki symbols have traditionally been kept secret. While secrecy is a way of honoring their sacredness, there are also metaphysical reasons for this. There is power in secrecy and this is also a way of maintaining a sacred connection with the symbols.

Since the symbols have no real power without the attunement, it is better that they be kept secret until the class. In addition, if a person is shown a Reiki symbol without the benefit of the attunement that empowers it, they may incorrectly believe they have Reiki and not bother to take a class, thus missing the real experience of Reiki and losing the benefit of its healing power. While it is true that the symbols have been printed in some books, this does not effect the value that comes from an individual not showing the symbols they have received from their Reiki teacher to others.

The value of sacredness will remain for anyone who continues to not show them to those who do not have the level of Reiki where those symbols are taught.

Reiki symbols are an important part of Reiki practice. They allow one to focus the energy of Reiki for specific purposes. There are a total of four symbols in the Usui system of Reiki. Three are given in Reiki II and one in Reiki III. There are other symbols that people are using and while they have value, they are not a part of the Usui system.

The Reiki symbols are transcendental in their functioning. Whereas most symbols have an effect on the subconscious mind of the user, causing a change in one's internal state, the Reiki symbols access the source of Reiki directly and signal a change in how the Reiki energy functions, independent of one's internal state. While some teach that the symbols can only be activated in specific ways, the truth is that they can be activated in many ways. They can be activated by drawing them with the hand, by visualizing them, or by saying the name either out loud our to oneself.

Intention is the main ingredient in activation and it is possible with awareness to activate them by intending to use them. In addition, others have been able to simply go internally upward and think of the energy of the symbol they want to use and gain access to it in this way without using the symbol.

The power and effectiveness of the symbols comes from the Reiki attunement that is given during a Reiki class. Before the attunement, the student is shown the symbols and given time to memorize them. During the attunement, the energies of each symbol come down and enter the student's mind/body, linking themselves to the appropriate symbol in the student's mind. Afterward, whenever the student uses the symbol, the same energies that they were linked to during the attunement are activated and begin flowing.

©Copyright 1990-1997
The International Center for Reiki Training

The basic idea of reiki is that the body has an energy field that is central to it health and proper functioning, this energy travels in certain pathways that often become blocked and weakened. This idea of energy flow in the body is also a central concept in Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture.

Reiki practitioners believe that everyone has the potential to access the universal life energy, but that over time everyone's systems become blocked and the energy becomes weakened in them.

A reiki practitioner is trained to be able to detect these blockages, and practitioners will use their hands, thoughts, and own energy fields to improve the energy flow in a patient. Reiki is one of the more esoteric alternative medical practices, because no one is sure exactly how it works on the physiological level.

Practitioners claim that it works on very subtle energy levels, possibly working on the chakra system. The chakras are the system of seven energy centers along the middle of the body connected with the nervous and endocrine systems, as defined by yoga and Ayurvedic medicine. Reiki masters claim that healing energy can even be sent to a person far away, noting that reiki works on the same principles that enables praying to work for some patients, to do this a practitioner needs advanced training to be able to send energy from afar.

According to the original principles of Usui, patients must have a proper attitude for reiki to work most effectively. Patients must take responsibility for their own health, and must want to be healed. Furthermore, when energy is received from a reiki healer, patients must be willing to give back energy to others, and to compensate the healer in some way. Finally, Usui claimed that a healing attitude was free from worry, fear, and filled with gratitude for life and for others, placing emphasis on each person finding honest and meaningful work in their lives-all this, in order to complete the picture of overall health.

A session with a reiki master
Reiki sessions can be done anywhere where it is quite with no destractions, a session will most commonly resemble a message appointment, the receiver remains clothed and lays on his or her back. A flat surface is necessary, most people like to use a massage table, simply because it brings the receiver up off the ground and takes pressure off the givers back. A bed can be used if that is convenent, the floor or ground can also be used.

A session generally lasts from an hour to an hour and a half. Reiki is a simple, pleasant procedure, consisting of calm and concentrated touching, with the practitioner focusing on healing and giving energy to specific areas on the receiver's body. Practitioners place their hands over positions on the body where the organs and endocrine glands reside, these areas correspond to the chakra centers.

Practitioners use mental visualization and special symbols to send healing energy to the areas of the receiver's body that need it. In special cases or with injuries, a no-touch technique can be used. In this case the practitioner's hands are held just above the body without touching it. Advanced practitioners rely on intuition and experience to determine which areas of a body need the most energy healing.

The practitioner's hands are held flat against the receiver's body, with the fingertips touching. There are over 20 positions on both sides of the body where the hands are placed. The positions begin at the crown of the head and move towards the feet. The receiver will turn over once during the session. The practitioner's hands are held in each position up to five minutes, allowing the transfer of energy and healing to take place. In each position, the hands are kept stationary, unlike typical massage where the hands move, both the giver and receiver are to maintain an attitude of awareness, openness, and caring.

Reiki practitioners recommend that those receiving reiki for the first time go through a series of three or four initial treatments over the course of about a week, this allows for cleansing and an initial readjustment of energy.

Reiki sessions can cost from $30-100 per session. Insurance coverage is rare, and consumers should consult their individual policies as to whether or not such therapies are included.

Treating yourself with reiki
Most reiki practitioners believe that formal training is necessary to learn the proper methods of energy channeling and healing. An individual can use some of the basic positions to relieve stress and stimulate healing on themselves. The positions can be performed anywhere for however long they are needed. Positions generally move from the top of the body down, but positions can be used wherever there is pain or stress.

Mental attitude is important during reiki; it is recomended to meditate before you start to clear the mind of all stressful thoughts. When performing reiki you should concentrate on thoughts of compassion, love, and peace with light energy surrounding, entering, and healing the body.

The following positions are illustrated in Reiki: Energy Medicine:
* Position one: Hands are placed on the top of the head, with the wrists near the ears and the fingertips touching on the crown of the head. Eyes should be closed. Hold for five minutes or more, until the mind feels clear and calm.
* Position two: Cup the hands slightly and place the palms over the closed eyes, with the fingers resting on the forehead.
* Position three: Place the hands on the sides of the head, with the thumbs behind the ear and the palms over the lower jaws, with the fingers covering the temples.
* Position four: Place one hand on the back of the neck, at the base of the skull, and put the other hand on the head just above it, parallel to it.
* Position five: Wrap the hands around the front of the throat, and rest them there gently with the heels of the hands touching in front.
* Position six: Place each hand on top of a shoulder, close to the side of neck, on top of the trapezius muscle.
* Position seven: Form a T-shape with the hands over the chest, with the left hand covering the heart and the right hand above it, covering the upper part of the chest.
* Position eight: The hands are placed flat against the front of the body with fingertips touching. Hold for five minutes or so, and repeat four or five times, moving down a hand-width each time until the pelvic region is reached, which is covered with a v-shape of the hands. Then, for the final position, repeat this technique on the back, beginning as close to the shoulders as the hands can reach, and ending by forming a T-shape with the hands at the base of the spine.

- Douglas Dupler

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1. Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

3. Follow the three R's:
Respect for self,
Respect for others and
Responsibility for all your actions.

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.

6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great relationship.

7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

8. Spend some time alone every day.

9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.

14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

15. Be gentle with the earth.

16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.

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In East Asia, the two complementary forces or principles that make up all aspects and phenomena of life.

Yin is earth, female, dark, passive, and absorbing; it is present in even numbers and in valleys and streams and is represented by the tiger, the colour orange, and a broken line.

Yang is heaven, male, light, active, and penetrating; it is present in odd numbers and mountains and is represented by the dragon, the colour azure, and an unbroken line.

Together they express the interdependence of opposites. Yin and Yang, in ancient chinese, are the underlying and controlling elements of all nature. The aim of Chinese medicine is to produce a proper balance between them.

In the Western world to express any dualistic, reciprocal control system in which one influence tends to promote things that the opposing influence tends to inhibit.