What is Reiki?

Reiki is a specific form of channeled energy healing which was re-introduced by Makao Usui. Usui was born in Japan in 1865 and was trained as child at a Tendai Buddhist monastery. His education included the classical studies, but also included meditation, martial arts and also a healing technique called kiko, which is similar to qigong. This system of health and healing is based on the development and use of life energy.

In the later part of his life he was led to return to the Tendai Buddhist monastery of his childhood where he entered into a 21 day program of fasting, deep meditation and prayer. It was during this training that he reported that a great spiritual energy came down into the top of his head and he became enlightened. The energy also brought with it Reiki Ryoho, which is the ability to heal. In this way he was initiated into the use of the Reiki healing power. He tried the healing energy on himself and on his family and through these experiences learned how to use it and began to develop the system of Reiki. After this he was inspired to offer it to the public and share it with as many people as he could.

In 1922 Dr. Usui established a healing society in Tokyo and started teaching and giving treatments. He created three degrees for his Reiki training which he called Shoden (First Teaching), Okuden (Inner Teaching) and Shinpiden (Mystery Teaching). Eventually his school building became too small and he moved to Nakano, Japan in February, 1925 and expanded his healing center. This school was even more popular and he was invited to travel to other areas to teach and treat others. It was during his travels in Fukuyama that he became ill and passed through transition on March 26, 1926 at the age of sixty-two.

Many ancient healing philosophies have viewed the body as an energetic form and have focused their healing approach on restoring energy balance in the body. For thousands of years Oriental medical modalities sought to heal through restoring balance to the body through effecting change in the meridian flows in the body through the use of acupuncture, acupressure, herbal remedies, etc. Reiki has this core underlying understanding of energy movement in and around the body. But it is how it is conveyed to the student that makes it stand out from other forms of energy healing. Reiki is transferred to the student through an attunement process which is given from teacher to initiate. This lineage of transferring Reiki energy is unbroken from Makao Usui to the present day. The attunement process opens the energy field and connects the energy directly from Source consciousness to the student which then can be channeled to use in healing self and others.

An accurate description of how this channeling process occurs is that the source-consciousness called Rei that guides the life force called Ki in the practice we call Reiki. Therefore, Reiki can be defined as spiritually guided life force energy. This is a meaningful interpretation of the word Reiki. It more closely describes the experience most people have of it; Reiki guiding itself with its own wisdom without the direction of the practitioner. All healers use life force or Ki, but not all use Reiki. Reiki is a special kind of life force that can be channeled by someone that has been attuned to it.

Reiki is both powerful and gentle. In its long history of use it has aided in healing virtually every known illness and injury. It can be used for virtually any presenting ailment. It is also a beneficial adjunct treatment for all other medical treatments that the client may be taking / using.