Reading the Body’s Energy and the Three Pillars of Reiki

Article by Kriss Erickson

Reiki is sentient Source energy that is available to all beings. Reiki is one of the vibrations of universal life-force energy that helps to remind the cells and etheric, energetic and emotional aspects of the body/mind/spirit how to create and maintain balance, as well as function at optimal levels.

As a Reiki Master Teacher, I channel Reiki in sessions, holding space for the communication between the body and the Universe to occur. Though Reiki helps me to read the body energies of Reiki recipients, that does not mean that I am responsible for “fixing” or shifting the energies of any recipient.

The calm presence of a Reiki practitioner is part of the support system that encourages the recipient to relax deeply and trust the universal energetic support. The human connection is a helpful support, but not the source of any benefits derived from the Reiki session.

Reiki Practitioners are Like Hollow Reeds

Reiki Practitioners don’t send their own energy and don’t attempt to “fix” any perceived challenges, or create the balance needed by the recipient. We channel energy directly from Source and trust that the connections made between the recipient and the Life-force energy will create space for any changes needed.

While Reiki practitioners do provide a helpful human connection, our main purpose is to hold space for the energetic interaction and support to occur. In a similar way that therapists endeavor to create a safe space in which their clients have the opportunity of examining difficult aspects of their lives, so Reiki practitioners open and hold an energetic space.

Many sources, including Zenergygal-Alternative Holistic Health, compare Reiki practitioners to bamboo reeds, strong, steady, stable, flexible, yet hollow on the inside, allowing the universal energy to flow unimpeded by any human reasoning or expectations.

The Three Sacred Pillars of Reiki

In a way, Reiki Practitioners are guides. This is one reason that Jim Pathfinder Ewing, author of Reiki Shamanism, says that Reiki has its roots in Shamanism (page 2). The Three Pillars of Reiki help Reiki practitioners learn to read body energies, as well as create a respectful pattern of Shamanic communication.

The Three Pillars of Reiki may sound simple, but they are deeply sacred and as such, set the tone for the Reiki session.

The First Pillar of Reiki teaches us a respectful way to knock on the doors of the recipient and the universe. I use this Pillar in three main ways:

1. To ask that a Reiki Channel be opened. I do this by sending my awareness to the Source and asking for a supportive energy channel to be opened between the Source, myself and the Reiki recipient. I also ask that any Spirit Guides or beneficial energies join the session.
2. I ask the recipient’s energy field for permission to work with it. I also silently name the person and situation in question.
3. I wait for the sense that the channel is open and that the recipient’s energy is ready to interact with Source energy.

The Second Pillar of Reiki is taking a moment to acknowledge that the Source has answered the request to open the energy channel and create the energy connections. This Second Pillar offers the opportunity to send thoughts and prayers of thanks for the energy channel that has been opened.

The Third Pillar of Reiki is the treatment itself.

Once the first two Pillars have been established, the Reiki practitioner remains open and clear to discern the body’s messages and messages from Source. Sometimes I share Reiki in silence, but I also ask if my recipient would like to hear the communications from the body and from Source and Spirit Guides.

This is another Shamanic thread, which gives the recipient the opportunity to understand the process that is taking place, to learn to communicate more clearly and directly with his body and to understand how deeply and immediately the Source and Spirit Guide energy comes to his aid.

Holding Space

As the Reiki session commences, the Reiki Practitioner simply holds space. She is led by Source and other supportive energies where to place her hands.

Allowing the hands to be directed by the body’s energy and by Source energy is called Byosen Scanning. Sensei Mikao Usui used Byosen Scanning to detect disturbances in the body’s energy.

“Byosen” means “disease line” in Japanese and is an indication of where the body needs attention. The attention needed can be because of an energetic block in the etheric or emotional field, or a block that has created a dis-ease in the body.

By holding space, Reiki practitioners have the opportunity to speak to the body, including the organs, muscles, systems, energy fields and other aspects of each unique being.

By sharing what I am reading in the scanning aspect of the session, I have the opportunity to teach the Reiki recipient to speak to his own body/mind/spirit on deeper and deeper levels.

For example, if someone comes in with shoulder pain, as Reiki is flowing into the person’s being and as the sacred communication with Source is occurring, I communicate in words and tones to the affected area. I might ask the shoulder if there has been too much responsibility in life, for example. Perhaps there has been too much structure, resulting in a feeling of being restricted or hampered. Perhaps there hasn’t been enough support.

As each aspect is explored, the body continues to send its Byoki or body energy, up into the auric field to be read and responded to.

When energy seems “stuck” or otherwise unwilling to move, I add vocal tones (a Karuna® Reiki technique) a bell, gongs, or tuning forks to the session to help convey the clearest possible messages of calm, order, relaxation and homeostasis.

Ultimately, the body itself decides how and when it will heal. As a Reiki practitioner, I have the honor and privilege of facilitating the process, of guiding and reminding my clients how to communicate with the wondrous being called the self.

Namaste!

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Kriss Ericksonn is an Usui/Tibetan, Atlantean. Crystal, Karuna®, Ra-Sheeba and Lightarian Reiki Master Teacher, a certified Acutonics Practitioner and the founder of the Elemental Frequencies Dragon Reiki system. She teaches and shares Reiki from her home in Everett, WA. Kriss also creates energetic art that she sells at art fairs, composes original music and is a published author. Reach Kriss at www.risingspiralsreiki.com/ and at slverkriss@aol.com.