Does Reiki Lineage Matter?

When I was initially trained in Reiki, I was given a sheet of paper along with other information which listed the instructors full Reiki lineage. That sheet sat in my Reiki notebook for over a decade, unneeded.

In fact, I had hardly even looked at it until I went to join The Reiki Association and needed to produce that lineage in order to join. Later, I went to a gathering of Reiki practitioners and the one question every person asked me was "What's your lineage?" I had no idea - I'd not memorised the list!

Since ultimately all Reiki can trace itself back to Mikao Usui, does it matter what path the lineage takes between him and me? Or him and you?

I've seen too many Reiki practitioners and proponents of various Reiki traditions with an attitude of "Our lineage is better than their lineage". "Our teachings are more authentic than their teachings."

Some UK Reiki groups don't accept full membership unless a practitioner has been trained in Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki, it is seen as being the only authentic Reiki tradition. One particular group won't accept membership from people who have trained in another specific lineage.

I think it's disgusting myself.

Reiki is a form of energy healing, one among many which has developed around the world, and amongst several which have come out of Japan and China, including Qi Gung, Tai Chi, Hado, and other meditative arts.

While they might have different origins, their source is the same. The universal energy, chi, qui, prana, mana, ruach, orgone, barraka. The Practitioner is merely a vessel through which this energy moves.

If this is true, then does it matter whether one became attuned to Reiki energy via person A or person B? Does it matter if he trained in Usui Shiki Ryoho or Karuna Reiki?

I say it doesn't, but what do you think?

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Breaking All the Rules

You have to know the rules...

When it comes to Reiki, practitioners are faced by all sorts of rules depending on what Reiki method they learned, who their teacher was, and when they first learned Reiki. Each has its own ideas on where you should hold your hands, how long you should hold each position, the order in which each hand position should be held.

Some establish rules about what the practitioner should be thinking about while sending Reiki. The lists are endless.

Some of the rules I have come across over the years.

• Hand positions in a specific order on the body, for a specified length of time. 
• Reiki cannot be given during pregnancy, for a broken bone, during an acute illness, with diabetes...
• Specific rituals must be followed before or after sending Reiki
• You have to use/have Ascended Masters/Guides to use Reiki
• Permission must be obtained directly from the recipient before sending Reiki (This is a big one and can cause a great deal of contention in some circles)
• Reiki symbols are secret/sacred and can never be written down or shared with anyone who has not been attuned to the correct level. 
• X amount of money must be charged to teach a Reiki Master 

and others....

Can you think of some "Rules" you have learned in Reiki not mentioned here?

Then you can break them

Over the past however many years I have managed to break, or flat out ignored every single one of those about rules. Reiki still works.

Let's take these rules one by one.

Specific hand positions for specific lengths of time.

When you are first starting out, and especially today when Reiki is learned in a classroom setting and not as an apprenticeship, learning specific positions can give guidance to a student who is perhaps lacking in confidence. The time will come though when a thought comes into your head to use a different hand position, or hold it for a longer or shorter length of time. Don't fight that thought, listen and heed it. What you are experiencing is your intuition, and the guidance from Reiki energy, showing you where the energy needs to be directed.

Reiki can't be given when...

Yes, it can. Listen to your intuition though, and let your subconscious thoughts guide you.

It probably is important not to place your hands directly on an open wound, but this is because it would be most uncomfortable for the recipient. Reiki itself will go to where it is needed, meaning it doesn't matter if you hold your hands over a broken arm, or over the recipient's head. Reiki will still go to the arm.

For every person who has been taught that Reiki cannot be given under certain circumstances, there is at least one other who has given it. With good results.

Specific rituals must be followed

This can be as a form of prayer, or chant, or stance, anything that you have been told absolutely must be done or else the Reiki will not flow.

If you find that following these rituals helps you to get into the right mindset for opening yourself up to send Reiki, use them. But don't let yourself be limited over time if circumstances are such that you cannot do that ritual.

Intention is key. If you intend the Reiki to flow, it will flow.

You have to use Ascended Masters/ Spirit Guides 

This particular rule can put off people of many different belief systems. I work most of the time without calling upon Ascended Reiki Masters (a fancy way of saying Reiki Masters who have died) or Spirit Guides. In fact, until 2011, I didn't use them at all. If you are not comfortable in calling upon these entities, or if doing so would be an affront to your spiritual or religious beliefs, then don't. You may find that you are more comfortable asking for guidance from Jesus, or the Virgin Mary, or one of the Saints. You may prefer to ask for guidance from no one, listening only the intuitive voice within your mind. You might send an appeal to Allah, or God, or The Universe, or nothing. It's entirely your decision.

You must obtain direct permission

Okay, so this is somewhat important and permission at some level is important. Sending Reiki when it is not wanted can be a huge violation of a person's privacy and free will. There are, however, ways of obtaining permission when the recipient cannot speak or is not conscious.

Intense debate raged on one particular Reiki forum I frequent when I and others suggested giving Reiki to those who could not verbally give permission.

I worked for many years in a hospital critical care setting where patients were unconscious. They could not give permission directly.

At those times, I sent an appeal to the person's Higher Self. You may perhaps call this a Spirit Guide, God, the Soul. The argument against was that this wasn't actually getting permission.

However, experience has also taught that if you try to send Reiki when their Higher Self has said no it does not matter how much you try to force the flow, it will not go to the person. You will find that it hits a barrier harder than steel and flows around or bounces away from the recipient.

Is it good to seek permission if possible - absolutely. Is it vital to get permission - no. Because if the Reiki is not what the recipient needs or if there is a strong objection to receiving it, the Reiki just won't get to him.

The Symbols should be secret 


As part of the Reiki tradition the Symbols which are taught at level 2 and above emphasized as being secret signs which should be hidden away from the non-initiated. When Diane Stein first published Essential Reiki: A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art which contained the Reiki symbols for all to see, you'd have thought from the reaction of many in the Reiki crowd that she had farted in church.

Of course, these days you can find the symbols everywhere on the internet. Funny thing though. They have not lost their "power". What people are discovering however, is that they don't really need the symbols.

Those who don't understand the meaning behind the symbol will gain nothing from looking at it. 
It doesn't matter how many times I look at  y(x) − λ y(t) dt = f(x), it will continue to be meaningless mumbo-jumbo. One who has been initiated, in this case someone familiar with Volterra Integral Equations, can look and know almost immediately what it means. The rest of us will only see a confusing selection of letters and markings.

X amount must be paid for Reiki training

I have seen charges as high has several thousand dollars for a Reiki Master level. One traditional tale even states that because  Mrs Takata sold her house in Hawaii for $10,000 and gave it to Dr Hayashi in exchange for training that students today should be charged the same amount. 


Utter nonsense of course. If you see someone charging that amount, run the other direction. 


Should you pay something? Yes. The teacher is giving of their time and energy to teach you, and they do need to eat. That amount is not set in stone according to any traditions though. If the amount being charged seems excessive for your budget and the teacher is unwilling to work with you, then look elsewhere for a teacher.






These are just a few of the many rules of Reiki which I have come across over the years. Some were taught as part of the classes I took nearly 20 years ago, others are rules I have come across while talking to other practitioners and through participation in various online Reiki forums. Each of these 'rules' though through experience has proven to be false though. 


Can you think of any rules you were taught as a Reiki practitioner which you no longer follow or have found to be unnecessary?

Change

Othin House

Just for the record. I don't like change. I go out of my way to avoid it, sometimes to my detriment.

Which just goes to explain why it is I am now making plans with my husband to sell our home of the past 14 years and move. That's right, we're moving. And soon if all goes to plan.

You see, he and I have been talking for years about moving to a small town and opening a little shop. You've probably had the same sort of talks yourself if you have a significant other. And you both know that it's never going to be more than talk.

Except, when it isn't. Which is where we have now found ourselves. We've decided to stop talking about it, and actually do it. We've been searching since before Christmas and have found a place which we will be putting an offer on, once we get this house lined up to be sold.

The new place is going to be something special though and I am so excited. And scared. Not about moving to a new place, but about leaving an old place behind. The fear was getting to be so much for me that I did some shamanic journey work on it. Seems it's a past life issue. Knowing that this was beyond my abilities to deal with alone, I contacted my friend Magin Rose who does shamanic healing and past life regression work here in SE London.

What we discovered in our work was that in one previous life I had been sent by my parents to receive training as a healer, an exchange they had made when the healers in the place saved my brother's life. When I had reached near the completion of my training, raiders came and burned the healing place and my home to the ground, killing all of the others. I was left horribly scarred and homeless.

Two things I touched on here - twice in a lifetime I had my home lost to me forever. Once from my home of birth, and once as an adult. And, in yet another lifetime my training as a healer was interrupted by circumstances outside of my control.

This work helped me to recognise why it is that 1) I don't feel safe when strangers are in my house and 2) why I don't like drastic changes in my life. I've spent quite a bit of time since then talking to this past "me". Talking of how life is different now. Talking of how I have succeeded as a healer and in my training this time round - I did graduate with my degree in nursing and practised for 10 years, and have received training as a Reiki Master-Teacher. Two great accomplishments.

The third realisation came several days later and has to do with my relationship towards food, and why I am overweight this lifetime. But again, that's a story for another time.

In a few very short months, if all goes to plan, we will be the owners of a business in the Highlands of Scotland. Within our business we will have a coffee and tea shop and a small gift shop. We will also have room to set up a Reiki practise.

Kolnza Mobile Reiki will be no more, and will be renamed as a new healing place. I've yet to think of a name so watch this space. ______________

Reiki and Shamanism

Intuitive Reiki and the Shamanic Healer

Over the past year I have had opportunity to delve more into an interest I have held for many years. Shamanism. Always before life conspired to get in the way, the time was never quite right for pursuing this interest.

In 2011 though, the time was right. I received a shamanic healing myself from the delightful Kay Gillard, and then went on to take the Way of the Weaver shamanic practitioner course she was offering. This has served to not only help me to begin my journey as a shamanic healer, it has also served to expand my intuitive Reiki practice. Many techniques I was using instinctively as an intuitive Reiki healer I have been able to focus in on more clearly using shamanism.

In the coming year I will be working to develop this even further through meditation, shamanic journeying, and practice.

Changes are Afoot

One of the first realisations training in shamanic healing has been that I need to focus more of my life on being a healer. This is what I was born knowing I had to do. I have received a calling and I must answer it.

The second realisation is knowing that I am not in the right place physically to do this work. Fully supportive, and knowing he is ready for a life change as well, my husband and I are in the process of looking for a place in Scotland where we can open a Healing Space.

In our thoughts though this will not just be a place to receive energy healing. We are looking to open a small tea/coffee shop with the healing practice as part of it. Stay tuned here for all the details.

Imagine a place where all people in the community could gather for a bit of socialising over a pot of tea or a cup of coffee. Or after a healing session, you could relax on your own for a bit of reflection over a cup of herbal tea. That is the type of place we are envisioning.

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