The role of the Reiki Master is sometimes relegated to a secondary position as some people argue that, due to the fact that we (as spiritual beings) are already connected, the Reiki Master does not empower, with the attunement, the Initiate. I respect this position/opinion but I do not agree with it.
It’s true that we all are connected to the energy surrounding us but not necessarily to the Reiki Healing Energy. Sometimes I use the comparison with a radio. In a radio we need to tune it (by selecting a radio station which has a given emission frequency) in order to listen to the music as we will only receive static if we do not connect to a specific range of frequencies. The radio is connected to the electromagnetic waves but not necessarily to a broadcasting station. With Reiki it’s the same situation.
I can accept the opinion of those that state that the Healing Energy has always been available to us (a reminiscence of this fact can be seen when someone gets hurt, he immediately puts the hand on the local to ease the pain, even without knowing what he is doing) but the use of it was lost in the course of centuries and was given back to Mikao Usui, during his Satori, thus becoming available, again, to all of us.
In my personal experience with Reiki, I deal with several friends that are sentient and it was quite interesting to see what the Reiki attunement made to them.
- One of my friends started to work with me (as a volunteer in the Red Cross Daily Center where I work) when he had only the level l in Reiki and his interventions were mainly based on his innate capacities as a sentient practitioner. I attuned him to level II and, later on, to level III-A (Reiki Master but not teacher) and was able to see the difference of his capacities prior and after the attunements and I also received his positive feedbacks. His sentient capacity was enhanced and sharpened.
He needed less time to treat others and had no side effects (as expected) as the level of protection he reached using the techniques I taught, was higher than the one he achieved, by himself, prior to the attunement.
- Another one (now a Reiki Master/Teacher, Level III-B) although being a Yoga teacher and meditation practitioner, saw her capacities enhanced and the quality of her work improved.
- A third one (Level III-A), a Tarot reader, saw his capacities enhanced and sharpened and, as a result, became a better professional and achieves greater accuracy in her readings.
- Mikao Usui – This is probably the best example of someone connected in quest for “special” healing capacities. He was a Shinto Monk and a practitioner of Qi Gong (an healing technique that relies on the vital energy of the healer) therefore he should be able to treat others without limitations due to his connection enhanced by the fact that we also was a monk but, there is always a but, he felt depleted after treatments (as expected) and pursued a quest to find a technique that would allow him to treat others without exhaustion.
Everybody knows that when he was attuned to the Reiki Energy (during his Satori) he finally found what he always wanted, a technique to treat others without depleting the vital energy of the healer. Afterward, he developed a system to “handle” the Energy and make it available to everybody in a simple and easy way.
According to the examples given, I think that the Attunement in Reiki is (very) important, at several levels, and that the Reiki Master really does something as, if not, a Coach would suffice for the purpose of “showing/teaching/explaining” us that we are already empowered and that we “are ready to go”.
Of course we have to bear in mind that the Reiki Master is a channel, a facilitator as some people call them, and that he is the tool used by the Masters and Guides in this earthly plan but his role goes beyond the attunement and he has the obligation to guide the initiate in his path with Reiki helping him to understand/accept his divine nature.
At this point, I have to say that lots of people use the argument of our connection to provide distant attunements and “do it yourself” packages. Personally, I am against distant attunements although recognizing that in very specific occasions they are needed but they always should be followed by an in-person attunement. Concerning the “do it yourself” package, it’s too bad to comment.
The Attunement Ceremony is or should be considered as a Sacred Ceremony as Reiki is a Sacred Energy. During the Attunement the Reiki Master, using the Energy and guide by the Guides and Masters (who really perform the Attunement), performs a Ritual with which he cleans and restores/opens/ enlarges the channels through which the Reiki Healing Energy will flow. The Initiate is attuned and the Reiki Master is blessed.
The example of the Reiki Master as a person, his qualities, his teaching and leading capacities, his background, his spiritual evolution and his connection to the Energy, are important to help the Initiate becomes aware of his new capacities and responsibilities as the handling of someone’s energy body involves great responsibility and has to be done in full conscience, although our own healing being of utmost importance as we cannot heal others without healing ourselves.
Hand positions, cleaning and protection techniques, sequences for a treatment are to be considered as tools, used in our practice, that help us to focus when treating someone but, when connected to the Energy, you can also help by just placing your hands in a given place on the patient’s body and express your intention.
According to my experience, we really channel Reiki to others (you can feel that in your hands) but the quality of our channeling capacities is linked to our quality as Reiki practitioners. The more Reiki we are, the better we use the Reiki Energy and that’s one of the reasons why the daily self-treatment is so important, moreover, it also keeps our vibration high.
Reiki is Life; Reiki is a bridge; Reiki is a path; Reiki is as natural as breading or drinking water.
Article by João Antão Marques
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João Antão Marques, a retired chemical engineer, is an Usui Tibetan Reiki Master/teacher living in Lisbon, Portugal, with training in Jikiden Reiki, Karuna® Reiki and Seichim, Lotus Light Jewel, Tibetan Bowls Massage and Therapy of Past Lives. Works as a volunteer with elder people in a Daily Center of the Portuguese Red Cross and has also worked with drugs and alcohol addicted. In the meantime, has published a book for non-Reiki people “Hello I am the Reiki”. João can be reached by mail at joaoantaomarques@gmail.com.
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