Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, Simplified

Long before I became a Reiki Master I was doing A LOT of healing meditations. In one of these meditations I had an interesting experience. I was so deep in the meditation, nothing else existed. All of this energy washed over me and through me, like the Yosemite waterfalls on the sponge of my soul. It was intense, but good.

As the waterfall of energy gently receded, I saw a symbol in my closed eyelids, bright as day. The symbol felt like it was being burned into my forehead. Then, unexpectedly, I heard a voice say, “You are now attuned to Reiki.”

What? Reiki? How? How is that possible? I don’t know anything about Reiki other than it’s some energy healing modality that exists.

Also, what is that symbol? Wow, lemme see if I can find it online. Nope. Crickets. I couldn’t find the symbol anywhere. I spent many hours of many days trying to find it with no luck. My guides didn’t explain the symbol, at all, and when I would ask, I got nothing but a vague sense of be patient. That felt annoying, but, I also trusted my guides.

Additionally, I tried to join a Reiki FB group. When they asked who taught me, I shared my experience and, of course, they said NOPE, you aren’t really attuned, you gotta be attuned by a Master, that’s not really Reiki, etc. In order to be accepted into the general Reiki community, I had to find an affordable way to learn Reiki from a Reiki Master.

Praise be! I found that Reiki Master! During Reiki II training, I actually nearly fell off my chair, completely stunned with a lightning bolt of knowledge as my Reiki Master described Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen. THAT’s the meaning of the symbol I saw. That’s what it meant! I felt my forehead burn again, right at the third eye, in the shape of that symbol I saw all over again.

However, it did not look the exact same. The symbol in my vision was simplified. Here is the symbol that I saw, and how to draw it:

Many students have a hard time with distance Reiki. What I discovered is that this simplified symbol, that looks like a ball of energy moving across time and space, has a way for this concept to be made visually clearer to my students. Like so:

When I teach Master level Reiki, I also include Dai Ko Myo. I use the Tibetan version of DKM since I vibe with it more and feel that it matches up more to the energy of today. I feel the same way about the HSZSN symbol that was revealed to me, a broken nobody, with very little worldly influence. I am often still shocked that it had been me, before I even got formal training. Here is what it looks like with DKM added:

I still practiced drawing the traditional HSZSN and, of course, I still teach the traditional HSZSN to my students. After all, it’s simply using a different symbol to transmit the same meaning, and there’s variation even within traditional HSZSN, kinda like how the words “apple” and “manzana” are both talking about the same fruit. I teach both traditional and simplified HSZSN, and let my students choose what vibes the most with them. Now you get to choose too.

Article by Ruth Renate “Lady of Radiant Joy” Davidson

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Ruth Renate “Lady of Radiant Joy” Davidson is a Reiki Master/Teacher who combines Reiki with other body-work, earth-based energy healing practices, and meditation. She loves working with her Divine Team and helping people connect with their Divine Team, including spirit animal guides. She teaches Tarot Energy Healing.
You can also connect with her on Instagram @ladyofradiantjoy and on her website www.ladyofradiantjoy.org. Ruth’s soul vow is: “I Accept All Things for the Preservation, Healing, and Growing, of LOVE.”