Call it anything but, Reiki

I had an interesting exchange in a chat room during my radio show last week. There was and has been an influx of newly minted Reiki masters online. The attitude that an attunement online meant they had completed all the requirements that are necessary to call themselves Reiki Master. They had no practice, no mastery. They were simply ordained by source to go out and perform what I consider a very sacred healing modality.

I became a Reiki Master Teacher in 1994. I am from the Usui Shiki Ryoho School of Natural Healing. My lineage is in direct line to the granddaughter of Hawayo Takata. I learned from Master Teacher Kay Russell and her teacher is Dr. Karyn Mitchell who is author of several books on Reiki. “Torch in Daylight” the title of her book which is used as the textbook in my class. Dr. Karyn Mitchell’s dissertation on Reiki became the book. Her understanding, study and practice of Reiki is a lifelong process and she still teaches today.

What has come to my attention is the surge in online attunements and now, you can get your Reiki certification without having to put in the appropriate effort and time. I feel that anyone who really values the ancient system of Reiki will undergo the necessary requirements to attain the right to be called Reiki. Avoiding the actual learning aspects seems disrespectful to the roots of this sacred system. Citing that “Source taught me” is concerning. I wouldn’t want to have a broken bone set by a doctor who said they were trained by “Source.” Nor would I hand the keys to the car and tell my son to let “Source” teach him. That line of reasoning seems absurd.

Yes, it all comes from Source. Yes, intuition can guide you to remembering this ancient healing modality. However, it can also get you into trouble if you don’t have actual structure and understanding. People who are “attuning” others online, in my opinion are doing a great disservice to their students by depriving them of the beauty of physical presence and the energy of learning with others. They are also depriving themselves of the gifts of taking the time to work with group energy.

I have been a Reiki Master Teacher since 1994. I have seen Reiki evolve. The people truly chosen to do this work devote their lives to making the practice and art of Reiki legitimate. They work to make it recognized in major hospitals. The people who are saying they got attuned to reiki online without appropriate instruction may want to consider calling it universal life energy, chi, prana or energy work.

Calling it Reiki would mean they put the appropriate time and effort as well as energy exchange to learn the traditional system as purely as it was given to Dr. Usui, Dr. Hayashi and Master Takata. Anyone wishing to honor the tradition of Reiki, would benefit from studying with teachers who are keepers of the traditional lineage of Reiki and who took the time and effort to truly become Masters. I offer anyone interested in Reiki to come and learn this wonderful ancient modality in the way it was presented to me.

One of the Reiki principles is honor your parents, teachers and elders.  I honor the teachers of Reiki by teaching in the way intended by Dr. Usui. Otherwise, I’d call it something else, because it is something else, not necessarily Reiki.