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Why should you attend Reiki Clinic?

Reiki Master Phyllis FurumotoIf you’re a Reiki practitioner or master you may wonder: Why should I attend a Reiki Clinic? This was the topic of a recent conversation with a friend of mine. He pointed out to me the other day that many Reiki practitioners probably don’t want to participate in a Reiki Clinic because they are giving away their services for free with little benefit to themselves. This may be a very practical explanation, however, I hope that you are receiving many other benefits from attending Clinic.  I hope that you know (on all levels) that the practice of Reiki occurs through self-practice, practice on others, and living the precepts.  Clinic provides an opportunity to practice on others and often to receive a short treatment yourself. Do you need an additional benefit?

By practicing, you have the opportunity to learn from Reiki. To receive the insight and healing that you seek and that your body, mind, and spirit are innately capable of. As Takata said, “Let Reiki teach you.”

For instance, if you take a tennis class, study meditation, or take a piano lesson, and if you expect to advance, improve, and learn more about the game, about your mind, or about music, you will practice. For example, you will find a tennis partner and go to the court and hit the ball back and forth. You will probably do this at least once a week in addition to your lessons — if you expect to integrate what you have learned. Learning Reiki is like learning to play tennis. Take the class and then practice.

If you need more motivation to attend Clinic, or need to be re-inspired to practice, I highly recommend listening to this talk by Phyllis Furumoto. There are many heart-warming stories that she recounts about the teachings from her grandmother, Hawayo Takata. I especially loved this quote from Takata that I had not heard before: “If you can count to four you can practice Reiki.”

Perhaps that’s one of the issues with Reiki for those of us in the United States. As a group of people, we may want something more complicated.  (“What? I only need to count to four?! How effective can that possibly be? If I count to 4,000, then maybe it’s worth practicing.”) However, Phyllis repeatedly reminds us of the simplicity of Reiki and the way that Reiki works by tapping into our innate healing abilities. It will teach you when you practice it.

Hope to see you at an upcoming Reiki Clinic. And remember, as Takata said, “Reiki, Reiki, Reiki. . . . Do Reiki and Notice.”

 

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Reiki Symbols: Sacred and Secret

Reiki
Reiki

In Reiki level 2 classes, students learn three sacred symbols.  The symbols are:

  1. Empowerment
  2. Mental/Emotional
  3. Distance (Absent) Reiki

In the Usui/Hayashi/Takata lineage, these symbols are sacred and secret.  What does sacred and secret mean in this the age of the Internet and social media?  For me, it means that I do not publish these symbols on my website or in any printed publication other than training manuals that are used in my Reiki 2 classes.  It also means that I do not draw them, even in the air, so that those who do not know the symbols could copy them.  It means that I do not show them to those who are not initiated at the Reiki 2 level or above.

Does this mean that they are truly kept secret by all?  Definitely not.  If you Google, “Reiki symbols,” but please do NOT do this, you will find them all over the Internet.  However, I cannot control what other people do.  I can only control my own behavior and my own teachings, so I follow the teachings of my teacher, which is of the highest importance to me and I keep the symbols sacred and secret.  Is it difficult to keep them a secret?  Like any new secret, when it is first learned there is that gnawing desire to tell someone else about it.  Over time, that desire fades. One is always able to talk freely about the symbols with one’s teacher and fellow students and colleagues.

Some people may ask, “Does it matter?”  I believe it does.  The secretive nature of the symbols adds to the focus and power around them.  They must be memorized which takes on a different and deeper level of cognitive attention.  Though the mind does not control Reiki, it is a powerful partner.  Also, like a meditative mantra, the Reiki symbols provide the mind with something to do, something to focus on, while offering Reiki.  This energized focus takes a person’s Reiki practice to a profound level where the energy of the universe is drawn upon with greater ease and increased intensity.

If you haven’t done so already, I hope that someday you’ll take a Reiki 2 class and experience the power of these three sacred and secret symbols.

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Phyllis Lei Furumato discusses Reiki Research

I didn’t expect this, but so far this year I have been really deeply immersing myself in my Reiki practice.  My devotion and practice have always been there but something is happening this year which is more deep and profound than what I have experienced before — outside of my initial attunement experiences.

I’ve noticed that I’m bridging on obsession with Reiki.  I think about it almost constantly and I’m asking more of it . . . and it is providing for my needs in very powerful ways.  Part of this Reiki immersion is additional research, reading and talking about Reiki.  The doing of Reiki has always been primary for me, but now I feel as if I want to connect my intellect more closely with my intuition and experience.

As I journey in this way, I have found some amazing resources, including Phyllis Lei Furumato’s Reiki Talk Show.  (Phyllis is Hawayo Takata’s granddaughter.)  This is an amazing collection of interviews with Reiki Masters from around the world who recount their Reiki stories and then dive into their area of specialization.  Recently, there has been a series of interviews with Masters who are involved in Reiki Research.

Phyllis has described an evolution of Reiki Research in two stages.  The first stage has focused on proving that Reiki exists.  While the second stage of research has focused on the effect of Reiki on the physical, emotional and spiritual realms.

I highly recommend listening to the interview with Martin Ouwerkerk.  Martin is a chemist and Reiki Master, who has used a bio-photon measuring device to detect the Reiki energy from his hands.  As he describes in the interview, when he added the Reiki symbols to his offering, the machine detected a change in the photons being emitted.  He uses the word “perfection” to describe this, but we might also call it “harmony” because the lack of the flow of photons is an experience of oneness:  “you’re everything”.  There is no barrier between your physical/material existence and the universe.  You are connected with everything through Reiki.

There is also a lively discussion about the sensations in our hands that Reiki practitioners experience or don’t.  Martin describes is as a method of tuning between the practitioner and the recipient.  We are always taught to accept the sensations as they are and not to draw a conclusion.  However, we are each unique and so is our experience as Reiki practitioners.

Phyllis concludes the interview by talking about miracles and what might qualify as a Reiki miracle.  She encourages us to have a childlike attitude about miracles and see them in our everyday experiences.  I completely agree with Phyllis’ conclusion that scientific research creates a pathway to see miracles in everyday life.  Science is one of the universe’s gifts and not an enemy of Reiki.

I hope you’ll find the time to listen to Phyllis and Martin.  Please share your thoughts about the interview and how the journey of life is showing up for you in unexpected ways.

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