REIKI IS MUCH MORE THAN JUST A THERAPY.
Reiki is sometimes represented and offered solely as a complementary therapy. But the whole foundation of Reiki is to practise Reiki regularly on ourselves as a regular spiritual practice. So Reiki belongs as much on a list of spiritual practices like meditation and yoga as it does in the world of healing techniques.
We make this point right at the beginning so that you are aware that you are choosing a mentor on a spiritual path as well as a teacher of a therapy. This means that you are looking for a different range of qualities in a Reiki Master than you would in a therapy teacher.
GENERAL ADVICE ON
SELECTING YOUR MASTER.
Whether
you are choosing a Master as a beginner or finding a Master to help you become
a Master yourself, there are some general tips and guidelines that we have
learned from experience and hindsight that we would like to offer you.
This
advice represents what might be an ideal way to choose a Master. We fully
recognise that not all these steps may be possible, but we would like to share
them all with you, and recommend you to follow them.
HAVE A REIKI
TREATMENT BEFORE LEARNING
The first
recommendation we would make is that
you have at least one full hands-on Reiki treatment before learning Reiki.
Direct experience of Reiki is far more likely to tell you whether Reiki is
really for you than anything and everything else, such as books, websites and
verbal information.
HAVE PERSONAL
CONTACT WITH ANY MASTERS THAT YOU CHOOSE
Next to direct
Reiki experience, personal contact with your prospective Master and Reiki
friends is a far better guide than
written or promotional material alone. Make sure by face to face or at
least phone contact that you feel sure that this is the right Master for you,
and wait if you have any reservations.
We recommend that
you contact several Masters and not just one. Make sure that you have asked the
Masters everything that you want to ask, and don’t be afraid to pursue all your
questions and issues until you are as clear as possible. Ideally have a Reiki
treatment from the Master in person, or from a student of the Master..
TAKE GREAT CARE
IN YOUR CHOICE
The selection of a Reiki master is an important
personal process. We would recommend that you take great care in making your
choice to ensure as best you can that both the person and the style or system
of Reiki that you choose is suitable for you. In the current spiritual and
therapeutic environment, with so much bewildering variety on offer, discrimination
and discernment are hugely important.
CHOOSING A REIKI MASTER IS NOT LIKE SHOPPING AROUND
Choosing a Reiki master is not like choosing a
product or a brand in a supermarket. The adages and mantras of “normal”
shopping around are best avoided., and so is anyone who tries to “sell” or
“market” or persuade you to do Reiki with them.
The pull towards learning Reiki is strong and deep
and needs to progress towards Reiki experience in a natural way at its own true
speed and with its own timing. No-one should try to speed up or manipulate
your entry into Reiki using selling techniques or any other “come hither”
methods. It is natural that Masters and students love and believe in the form
of Reiki that they teach and practise. But when this becomes disrespectful of
other forms or Masters, with “more thans” or “them and us” we would counsel
caution.
Nor is the nearest, quickest, slowest, cheapest,
dearest or most convenient master necessarily the best person. You are entering into what is a very important
relationship here. Your Reiki Master needs to be your mentor and guide after
your class. You are joining the Reiki family that the Master is part of. These
kind of choices require a much deeper search than selecting any commodity,
brand or product.
PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME AND DON’T RUSH
Timing is extremely important in Reiki. if in any
doubt, it is far better to wait than to learn Reiki on impulse before your
time. Little harm is done in Reiki by waiting a bit longer than necessary, or
being made to wait by your Master when you are impatient. Much damage can be
done by doing, or being persuaded to do too much too soon, even for the best of
reasons and motives.
If time is a great healer, then healing usually
takes time. Short cuts and promises of instant healing may well be illusory.
Reiki Masters should not make exaggerated claims or promises or guarantee
specific results or outcomes. Natural healing, like life, often has its ups and
downs and anyone promising you only easy or positive results is being unrealistic..
MAKE A LIST OF QUESTIONS AND ISSUES TO EXPLORE.
When you are ready to contact a Master, read the
information provided in the Directory List or from whatever source. This will
give references to the relevant sections of this guide about the Master’s
background; the form of Reiki and the Reiki family that the Master comes from.
You may well not understand all this information
and so it would be appropriate to ask your prospective Master to explain it all
to you.
Here are a few suggestions about the sort of
questions that you might ask.
·
Will the master
be available to you after the class to answer your questions and support you on
your journey with Reiki? To what extent will the Master be available to you?
·
Does the master
have a support or sharing group, or other students near you with whom you can
practise regularly? Are there any activities and projects which the Master is
part of that you can join? Can the Master put you in touch with other Reiki
people that share your interests?
·
Will the Master
still be there to guide you in years to come?
Find out how long the class is; ask for an outline
of what you will be taught, what the class will teach and entitle you to do,
and the cost.
SHARE YOUR REIKI ASPIRATIONS WITH EACH MASTER.
Tell the Master what brings you to Reiki and what
you hope that Reiki will do for you.
You could share any life stories that seem important and relevant in
making you want to learn Reiki. See how the Master responds to you and whether
you feel empathy for and empathy from the Master.
Feel in yourself if the Master is open to you and
sympathetic. Is the Master a good listener?
Do you trust this person ? Do you feel you can be yourself around this
Master? Does the Master convey a sense
of authority, enthusiasm and dedication to Reiki? Can you easily understand
what is being said to you ? Can the Master speak to your condition?
Is this connection likely to be strong enough not
only during but after the class? Do you feel that the Master will be there for
you later on?
REFLECT AND ASK ALL YOUR “SIXTH SENSES”
Healing, self healing and spiritual practice all
are designed to reach and awaken our deepest faculties. Intuitive forms of
knowing are therefore likely to be very valuable, and we advise you to switch
on all your senses and antennae and take note of what they are telling you..
For some, the recognition of your Reiki Master is
strong and immediate. They may have come into your life in such a significant
way that it is clearly “meant to be”. However, we would still suggest that you
check this out carefully within you to make sure, because it is easy to delude
oneself as to what is the real voice of Reiki and what is just rationalisation.
For others
deep reflection is needed.
There may be issues and obstacles which you need to
sort out before you are ready to make your decision. Dealing with these hesitations and possible impediments is a
vital and honourable part of your Reiki journey.
Please take the time you need
before all of being gives says “Let’s do it”
SPECIFIC ADVICE FOR DIFFERENT STAGES IN REIKI
Now we are going to be more specific and deal with the sort of issues
which arise for each stage of Reiki.
CHOOSING A REIKI MASTER AS A BEGINNER.
YOUR FIRST STEPS.
You
will have heard of Reiki, possibly in a way that seems highly significant to
you. This may have been very recently or some time ago.
You
may have received a treatment from a friend or family member, or met someone
who is very enthusiastic about Reiki and you can see that Reiki has helped
them. Or you may have a loved one in dire distress and see learning Reiki as a
way to help them.
You
may have come across Reiki at an exhibition, clinic or health centre or just in
a flyer or advert.
However
Reiki entered your awareness, you may feel drawn or attracted in some way, and
would like to learn more about it, but are not certain where you can go. This
is one such place which is designed to assist you in this vital choice.
SOURCES
OF POSSIBLE CONFUSUION FOR THE NEWCOMER
Finding that first
Master can be a confusing process. Although Reiki is in practice simple, there
is a whole lot more to Reiki than you may think at first.. There is also much
unavoidable Reiki jargon which can be
hard to understand, especially for the newcomer. We have done our best to explain
each term as it is introduced.
Another inevitable source of confusion is the number of different
“Systems” forms schools and styles of Reiki, and big variations in their
teachings and content. We have explained the principal features and origins of
the main forms of Reiki to help you.
Many Masters mix Reiki with other healing and spiritual modalities and
it may be hard to know which belongs to which. So we have asked each Master to
tell you all the ingredients of any mixture that they teach in classes, or
practise in Reiki treatments. You may need to clarify how this is done before
the class and why this particular mixture has been chosen.
WHAT YOU SHOULD RECEIVE IN A BEGINNERS CLASS
In a First Degree, Level 1, or beginners Reiki
class you should be:
·
Initiated or attuned, (this is explained later)
·
Taught, and given time to practise in the class, a sequence of hand
positions for treating yourself and other people,
·
Shown Reiki methods and techniques for treating animals and plants, and
bringing Reiki into your everyday life..
·
Told the history and principles of Reiki
·
Have opportunities to ask questions.
The emphasis given to these elements of a beginners class will vary from Master to Master, as
will the teaching language. But all these key features should be present in
your first class.
You may feel a
strong desire to pursue your journey with Reiki and go deeper.
If you have done
your Reiki in an isolated way, and would like more contact with other Reiki
people, there are groups and communities that you can join, and many fellow
students to meet up with.
You will understand
some of the information presented here but are probably not aware of the
varieties and complexities in the wider
Reiki community. Many second degree students stay with their first Master but
for some that is not the right choice.
Whether or not you
wish to do Second Degree with the same Master or system, we hope and trust that
you will find this guide helpful to you.
Taking Reiki second
degree will take you deeper into yourself and your journey with Reiki and is an
important step. In a Second level class
you are likely to be taught:
The amount of class
contact time at the second stage of most Reiki forms is not usually more than
for First Level Reiki, but the cost requested is usually higher. Those that
charge more will say that more depth involves greater commitment, but not all
Masters see it this way
IF
YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A MASTER TO TRAIN YOU AS A MASTER
When choosing a
Master to initiate you as a Master, far more care needs to be taken and there
is a vast difference between the different systems and styles as to what being
a Master means, or what is expected of Masters in their training, and how much
support you will receive after your initiation.
Until recently,
being a Reiki Master meant being a
teacher and initiator. Today, however
the often used phrase of “Doing your Masters” may not mean being a Teacher but
a more advanced practitioner or healer, or a next step on the journey of Reiki
and personal development. Others may divide the Master level into two or more
stages, and teacher training is usually the last stage. So it is very important
to be clear about what is being offered to you by way of Master Training, and
whether your intent is to become a teacher..
In some Reiki
schools and systems, the decision to become a Master or to train a Master
requires a lifelong commitment for both Master and apprentice Master akin to
that between parent and child., The length of apprenticeship before initiation
as a Master can be one or more years, at the sole discretion of the Initiating
Master. Such a rigorous training usually requires a much larger monetary and
life commitment..
In other systems and
styles, Master training is much shorter and the degree of support you will
receive may vary. It is good to be clear before you start your training how much support the Master is offering you
after your initiation.
It is absolutely
essential at Master level that if you are changing Masters that you meet and
have quality time with your prospective Master and if possible contact other
Masters and students that the Master has trained.
Many Masters are not aware of the true origins of what they teach and
have been taught. You may not be familiar with the stories of the Masters in
your Lineage or Reiki family or the stories of other Systems that you may not
have met, or might even have judgements about.
We encourage you to explore your Reiki family tree as a route to fuller
enjoyment of its fruits and awareness of its many other branches..
Your colleagues in the Reiki community listed here are a great re-source
in this quest for our Reiki roots, and we hope you will take the opportunity to
contact some of them in your branch or related lineage families, and other
branches that you wish to know more about...
Do please contact us if you have any information which would be helpful
to us or need more information from us. We will help you if we can.
You really need to feel that the person you choose
at whatever stage really is your Master and that you are her / his student. If
you are in any doubt or have unresolved issues or questions, please wait until
they have been dealt with to your complete satisfaction.
If, despite all your best endeavours, you feel that you have made the wrong choice
of Master, it is much better to accept the responsibility yourself than to
blame the Master. This will help you learn all the lessons involved, in order
to make a better choice next time.
We wish you the very best in your life and journey
with Reiki.