REIKI
WHAT IS REIKI?
Reiki is a technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes mental and physical healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low or unbalanced, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high or balanced, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "Universe” and Ki which is "life force energy" also commonly known as “Chi” or “Qi”. Reiki as a statement is actually "spiritual or universal guided life force energy."
A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.
Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.
An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life.
Its use is not dependent on one's intellectual capacity or spiritual development and therefore is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught and used in thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.
While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe in, in order to learn and use Reiki. In fact, Reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not. Because Reiki comes from the universe, many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience rather than having only an intellectual concept of it.
While Reiki is not a religion, it is still important to live and act in a way that promotes harmony with others. Mikao Usui, the founder of the Reiki system of natural healing, recommended that one practice certain simple ethical ideals to promote peace, love and harmony, which are nearly universal across all cultures.
During a meditation several years after developing Reiki, Mikao Usui decided to add the Reiki Ideals to the practice of Reiki. The Ideals came in part from the five principles of the Meiji emperor of Japan whom Mikao Usui admired. The Ideals were developed to add spiritual balance to Usui Reiki. Their purpose is to help people realize that healing the spirit by consciously deciding to improve oneself is a necessary part of the Reiki healing experience. In order for the Reiki healing energies to have lasting results, the client must accept responsibility for her or his healing and take an active part in it. Therefore, the Usui system of Reiki is more than the use of the Reiki energy. It must also include an active commitment to improve oneself in order for it to be a complete system. The ideals are both guidelines for living a gracious life and virtues worthy of practice for their inherent value.
WHAT IS DISTANCE REIKI?
Distance Reiki is a technique within the system of Reiki that enables practitioners to give a Reiki session beyond the limitations of time and space. It expands the practitioner’s ability to transmit spiritual energy beyond physical touch.
In other words, it is a way to offer Reiki without the recipient being in the same room with you.
I prefer calling it Absentee Healing?
From a traditional Japanese Reiki perspective, the Reiki Absentee Healing Technique focuses on offering Reiki from a state of Oneness, or connection to everything. In this way, you aren’t “sending” Reiki, instead you’re feeling one with another person and sharing Reiki this way.
The word distance implies separation (the opposite of being in a state of Oneness) so I prefer using the word absentee instead.
Absentee Reiki works according to an ancient principle called the Hermetic Law of Similarity, which holds that we are all connected, as we are all made of energy and part of a larger whole. (Which has now been scientifically proven) Invoking this law during a distance Reiki session allows the practitioner to link up to the energy field of the recipient.
For me, this is further supported by the use of the Reiki symbol and mantra HSZSN (often referred to as the Distance Reiki symbol) in conjunction with the Absentee Healing technique. HSZSN is all about helping us be in a state of Oneness.
How Absentee/distance Reiki Works
The Absentee Reiki Technique is usually 45 minutes to an hour, plus chat prior and after, but can continue longer if you like and approximately an half an hour for the consultation prior and following.
The practitioner schedules a time and date with the recipient (or client) for the Absentee Reiki session. By setting up a specific time the recipient can be in a receptive state (such as lying down or meditating during the treatment).
In advance of the session, the recipient can also email a photo of themselves to the practitioner, along with their name, age, location and any intention they have of what they want the session to support (e.g. a physical or health issue, goal, or challenge, although this is not necessary).
Having these details will help the practitioner connect to the client or recipient if they haven’t met before.
How can I maximize the effectiveness of the Absentee Reiki technique?
There are several things you can do to maximize the effectiveness of Distance Reiki Healing:
Create sacred space: Use candles, lights, music, incense, etc: whatever helps you get in the right state of mind to be in a state of oneness to offer Reiki. There is a great example below about what helps her get into the right state of mind.
Get in a meditative mindset: Recite the Reiki precepts, sit in meditation while doing the Reiki Purifying Breath technique, etc.
Work with the Reiki symbols and mantras: Chant, draw, or say the Reiki mantra or Distance Reiki symbol for HSZSN to help you access the oneness state of mind as you hold the client’s request in your mind.
Visualize: Imagine the client as if they were right in front of you—what do they look like, sound like, smell like.
What to expect from Distance Reiki as a client?
Clients will sometimes notice physical sensations during the Distance Reiki session, just as they might during an in-person session—warmth, tingling, or a sense of relaxation or peacefulness, for example. You might also notice the mind calming down or the alleviation of physical symptoms.
WORDS FROM PRACTITIONER STUDENTS
About their absentee/distance reiki sessions
SK is an actor, teacher, and coach, as well as a Reiki III graduate:
Giving Absentee Reiki was a fascinating experience. I truly doubted my ability to give this kind of Reiki before being challenged by the certification process to give it a try.
I feel like I learned on a deep level that distance is an illusion. I had a profound experience giving Reiki to my sister, where I had a vision of “spirits” giving her Reiki. After it was over, she told me that she felt like she had been given a “virtual massage.” I thought that was such a great description of what Absentee Reiki can be.
Other recipients had very visual experiences. Again, it was interesting to see how everyone’s experience of Reiki can be different, and yet equally profound.
Working with the Distance Reiki symbol and mantra HSZSN as part of the Absentee Reiki technique was enormously powerful. I feel like I can genuinely feel the illusion of distance fading away when I work with this symbol. It immediately gives me a profound sense of inner peace and calm, almost as if the world drops completely away.
CG is a yoga teacher, mum of three, and a Reiki III graduate. Here is her experience using the Absentee Reiki technique:
I learned that just because I’m not physically with the person receiving Reiki, it doesn’t make the distance Reiki treatment any less powerful.
In addition, the absence of the physical body forces me as the practitioner to move inward and connect to my intuition even more than an in-person session. I’ve found that the most profound and powerful treatments I’ve given have been distance Reiki sessions.
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