Reiki is a form of healing and/or energy transmission, whereby someone who has been attuned can channel energy to themselves or another. Usui Reiki was discovered or created in Japan around 1920 by Dr Mikao Usui.

Everyone has energy – we would be dead otherwise. There are many ways of getting this energy; the most obvious being breathing, food and drink. However, the environment we live in can affect us in many ways, such that it is possible to be low on energy even when you do have clean air, plenty to eat and drink, and an adequate supply of vitamins and minerals.  However, even when all of these physical necessities are taken care of, it is still possible to be low on energy. This is often the case if you have a stressful job (or none at all), are having trouble with relatives, and so on. Medical science has now shown that many diseases and physical injuries are caused partly or even completely by emotional issues which are conveniently labelled ‘stress’.

There are many methods, generally labelled as alternative therapies, that can allow a person to receive energy to help deal with the issues, or to remove ‘energy blocks’ that are stopping them from using energy efficiently. Massage is now accepted as one of these methods, as is acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, meditation, certain forms of martial arts, etc. Then there are other methods such as aromatherapy, music therapy, naturopathy, etc. Reiki is another one of these methods, and has the advantage of being one of the simplest to learn and practice.

The basic philosophy of Reiki is that there is a ‘pool’ of energy that everyone can draw upon, but most people are not able to do so at will. It is like having your radio not quite tuned to a station – you can kind of work out what is happening, but not as well as if you tune it properly. The Reiki attunement process ‘tunes’ you so that you are able to channel energy from the pool. When you have been correctly attuned with basic Reiki (also called Reiki I or hands-on Reiki), you are able to draw upon this energy simply by placing your hands on (or close to) yourself, another person, an animal, a plant, etc. Both you and whomever/whatever you are channelling Reiki to receive energy – neither is drained. It is as simple as that – you can be reading a book one-handed, watching television, waiting in a queue – just put your hands on yourself (or another) and the energy will flow.  Those who have been attuned with the second level of Reiki (Reiki II) are taught a process whereby they can send energy to another being that they are not in direct contact with, by channelling energy into an inanimate object that is used as a proxy.

The third level of Reiki (Reiki III) is occasionally divided into two segments. The first gives you access to some new Reiki techniques and is often called Advanced Reiki Training or Reiki 3A. The second segment is the Master level and provides you with  the ability to teach and attune others. People attuned to this level are often called Reiki Masters or Reiki Teachers.

Note that Reiki channels (or practitioners) do not consider Reiki to be the only means of transferring or accessing energy in this fashion – we believe that there are many other methodologies that are effective. Prayer, for example, is considered by many people as a method of sending energy to someone at a distance, and several scientific studies have even shown that prayer does seem to have a positive effect. Also, there is no requirement to take all three levels of Reiki – once you have been correctly attuned with Reiki I you are attuned for life. Some people only ever take Reiki I, whereas others take all three levels within a year or two. Still others learn Reiki II decades after being attuned with Reiki I.

Reiki is not a religion – it is accessible to anyone of any background or philosophy. Many people who have come into Reiki from a scientific background of scepticism have found Reiki works and have even gone on to become Reiki Teachers themselves.

Dr Mikao Usui taught many people in Japan the methods of Reiki, including Dr Chujiro Hayashii. Just before the outbreak of World War II Dr Hayashii taught Mrs Hawayo Takata, who came from Hawaii. After learning Reiki she returned to Hawaii and taught several people including Beth Grey, Bethal Phaigh and Phyllis Lei Furomoto. These people then spread Reiki to the western world. Nearly everyone who has learned Reiki can thus trace their teaching lineage back to Mrs Takata, although it has been discovered in the last few years that students of Dr Hayashii and his peers continued to teach Reiki in Japan during and after World War II, whereas it was thought for some time that the teaching of Reiki stopped in Japan with the passing of Dr Hayashii at the beginning of the war.

Real World Reiki

You are invited to share your Reiki experiences with the world

I came into Reiki as skeptic, being a scientist who had been taught for decades to disbelieve what I couldn’t measure.
On the night of my Reiki I attunement I was walking around bare-footed when I ‘accidentally’ kicked a chair, nearly tearing off my left big toe-nail. I immediately decided to test Reiki by sitting down and placing my hands around my foot, a somewhat uncomfortable position. I was quite surprised to feel an immediate burning sensation, almost as if my foot was on fire! I kept at it it, however, for another 15 minutes or so until the heat died down, and then released my hands. I was amazed to see that the nail had re-attached – the only sign of the accident being a faint line down and across the nail where the tear had been. I tugged, pushed and prodded but it was solid!
I’d been told during the class that the biggest skeptics are often subjected to experiences to confirm that Reiki really does exist – this was obviously my wake-up call!
-by Peter K. Campbell