Self Assessment Questions for the Reiki Community

Article by Haripriya Suraj, Reiki Master

Are you among those for whom Reiki has supposedly not fetched any ‘result’? Or do you know someone who feels this way?

I often come across practitioners from other circles who express that Reiki practice has not fetched them tangible results. They have never gotten to experience the positive aspects of Reiki. Some have been attuned for years but have no clue about which symbol to use when. Some have never felt the energy. Some do not know anything about the true essence of healing. And the saddest part is that even people who have been attuned to the Master Degree are often not familiar with the basics of Reiki healing. And scores of them have stopped practising because they held unrealistic expectations of Reiki and it obviously did not work that way.

And almost all of them say- “What should I do now?” or “Please advise.”

The more I listen to this worried bunch of people, the more I can’t help but wonder about why this is happening. Is it due to a poor quality of teaching? Were these people not taught in depth and mentored well? Or is it because they themselves do not make the effort to follow up, do more research and keep up with practice. Or does the truth lie somewhere in between?

For Beginners/Disheartened Practitioners

Reiki learning is not a one way street. The responsibility does not rest solely on the teacher. But laying a strong foundation most certainly does. Once the foundation has been laid, the responsibility shifts and the learner must take it forward from there. Whenever necessary, the teacher must undoubtedly be there to guide and offer support.

Learning Reiki is not the same as getting attuned to Reiki. The attunement is just one aspect of the whole learning process. But it is often mistakenly assumed that receiving an attunement completes one’s Reiki training. The real training starts only post the attunement. And what does this training comprise of? It comprises of the answers to the following questions. Be very honest with yourself as you answer these questions.

1. Do you practise Reiki everyday or hardly ever?
2. Do you know what to expect in the post attunement period and are you well equipped to handle it? Or do you allow yourself to be tossed around by every healing crisis that knocks at your door?
3. Are you aware of the progress you’ve been making ever since Reiki became part of your life? Or have you lost track?
4. Are you aware of the tangible blessings and the many blessings in disguise that Reiki has brought into your life?
5. Did you notice the subtle miracles that unfolded along the way? Or do you feel disappointed that you did not get to witness dramatic miracles?
6. Are you aware that you are a co-creator with Reiki? Or have you placed all the responsibility on Reiki, waiting for it to turn your life around while you sit back and relax?
7. Have you given yourself sufficient time to integrate the learning that happens after each level? Or have you gotten yourself attuned to higher levels before you were ready and ended up more confused than before?

Tough questions! But they must be answered if any progress is to happen. If you mostly relate to the latter part of each question, you really need to pause and take stock of what’s been happening on your Reiki path. Once attuned, you become responsible for your Reiki journey. You will need to practise regularly, keep track of your progress, do research, learn new techniques, experiment and work on healing yourself independently. If you are not satisfied with the training you received, do not hesitate to get trained again by a different teacher. Thereafter, you must begin to train yourself. A lot of Reiki learning is self directed.

For Reiki Teachers

Teaching is an art. We may be able to teach the basics of Reiki in just a day’s class. But that does not mean that we do a wishy-washy job of the same. A teacher’s role is not to be taken lightly. If you teach, do take care to see that you do justice to what you teach. Take the time to explain the concepts of Reiki clearly, especially in Level 1. This level is indeed the foundation and it must be really strong for the learner to handle the things that come next. If the foundation is weak, there is no way he or she would be able to sustain that which comes next.

And some tough questions must also be answered by those among us who teach Reiki. If you are a Reiki teacher, be honest with yourself as you answer the following questions.

1. Do you practise Reiki everyday and work on healing yourself? Unless you heal yourself on an ongoing basis, there is no way you will be able to mentor others.
2. Do you stay updated with happenings in the Reiki world? Do you research and experiment with new healing techniques? Are you a learner?
3. Do you put in time and effort to mentor everyone who comes to you? Or do you just try to get things done as fast as possible?
4. Do you strive to improve the quality of your services? Or have you been doing the same thing for years?
5. Do you encourage your clients to keep up with practice and not give up midway?
6. Do you encourage them to take up higher levels when they are ready for the same?
7. Do you see the potential in every blossoming lightworker who comes to learn from you? Can you recognise the light in their eyes (even if they aren’t able to see it yet) and connect with them on a soul level?

Reiki is learning for life. We need more and more people to offer high quality Reiki teaching. It will not suffice to just talk about the history of Reiki, attune people and send them away. We need more Reiki Masters to be mentors. We need teachers who are passionate about what they do and who can do justice to their role. We need Reiki teachers who will go on to make more Reiki teachers in the world!

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Haripriya Suraj is a Reiki Master, Angel Healer and Starseed Lightworker. Reiki is her constant companion from which she derives peace and contentment. She is deeply connected with the Stars and Angels and they form an integral part of her Reiki practice. Her core mission is to help bridge the worlds of Spirit and Science and to help people connect with their unique soul missions. Haripriya offers Reiki healing sessions and training programs in Bangalore, India. Reach Haripriya at lightworkersonearth.com, whenspiritmeetsscience.com on email at [email protected] and on Facebook at Angel Light.