Attunements are a technique common to most forms of Reiki in the western world. They are a process of linking the Reiki energy to the energy body of the recipient. Attunements empower people to use Reiki on themselves and others. During an attunement you will be asked to sit with a straight spine, to invoke meditation or contemplation, and to be ready to receive energy.

Would you like to know a little Reiki secret about attunements?

While an attunement can be a wonderful, deeply-moving spiritual experience, it will not give you anything that you don’t already have. All an attunement can do is to clear energy channels to help you remember what you already know on a deep level; to connect with the energy that is already freely and easily available for your use, if only you could remember how to connect to your source.

Mikao Usui attuned himself to Reiki energy after a lifetime of study and of actively seeking his spiritual truth.  Theoretically, if you are living a pure life actively seeking your truth, free from daily stressors and full of Buddha and birdsong, you should be able to attune yourself - but how many of us living in the Western world are so spiritually advanced? While some Masters will offer attunements to the Reiki energy without any guidance or even hands-on Reiki practice, I don't think this is an optimum use of a Reiki attunement in the real world.

While it’s true that you can be truly attuned to the Reiki energy in a matter of hours and that you can actually feel it, then what do you do with it? It’s like giving someone the keys to a bright, shiny brand new racing car and saying “Go for it”. You own the car, you know its power, you can feel it and touch it and by using your intelligence you can even work out how to turn the engine on – but you just don’t have a clue how to put in petrol, change gears, or even reverse safely out of the driveway to get where you want to go!

Sooner or later you lose all your pleasure in your great new acquisition because you just don’t have enough knowledge to actually use the gift you’ve received. The biggest shame in the Reiki world is those people who have been attuned to Reiki, but who for one reason or another don't practice their unique and wonderful gift. I reckon our world and our society needs every active Reiki practitioner that it is possible to train and attune.

In Japan, the empowerment process is known as Reiju and is different to the Western attunement, in that Reiju incorporates many regular Buddhist practices. Through many Reiju, one reaches Satori (your personal Moment of Being).

Reiki in Japan also follows a different teaching tradition to Reiki in the West. Today there are some Reiki Masters who claim that unless you have trained in Japan, you cannot practice “real” Reiki. One Reiki Master has even referred to Western Reiki as a declawed cat even though Western Reiki has proved itself over many years to be what Mikao Usui called “the “Spiritual Medicine of Many Illnesses” and the “Secret Method of Inviting Blessings”.

But then, every Reiki practitioner believes absolutely that their method of Reiki is The Best and some are even prepared to argue forever about techniques, or teachings, or even what is the real history, whether Mikao Usui was a Christian schoolteacher or a Buddhist monk, and even whether Usui followed Zen or Tendai buddhism.

Would you like to know another little Reiki secret?

Reiki’s true history, techniques or even Usui’s religion doesn’t really matter because Reiki is whatever is right for you.

In the West, Reiki is traditionally taught in three levels.

Reiki I - Includes knowledge of the principles, hand positions, history, and traditional schools offer four attunements. In other schools the four attunements may be combined into one.

Reiki II - includes training in three Reiki symbols and their use, distant healing, possibly scanning and beaming techniques and one further attunement.

Reiki III (Master/Teacher Level) – includes a final attunement and training in the attunement process, knowledge of a Master symbol and its use and how to teach others.

Some Schools have added another level called Advanced Reiki Training between Reiki II and the Master/Teacher Level, where the student is technically a Master but may not teach others without further training. One USA School has developed seven levels of training.

Even the time taken to train a student is hotly debated in Reiki circles. One belief is that every student should serve a set time with their Master, like an apprentice system, before being allowed to travel further in their Reiki journey, i.e. at least 12 months between 1st Degree and 2nd Degree. Some Masters have taken this to the extreme and refuse to train or attune any of their students to Master level without years of study, while other Masters are equally happy to attune a Reiki novice to Master level in a matter of hours. Some Masters don’t even need to meet you, but are willing to offer attunements over the internet.

Once again, whether you choose to study for years or choose to attune via the internet is up to you, and what you want from your Reiki.

Ideally, Reiki training and attunements should only be determined by the capability of the individual student. For some students the Reiki journey is longer than it is for others. I journeyed ten years between 1st and 3rd Degrees, because that was right for me.  It was entirely my decision to study energetic healing for seven years before progressing to Second Degree, and then to study a further three years before accepting a Masters Degree.

Just remember, whatever School you choose to follow, there will always be someone you meet who trained in a different School, and who believes that their School is The Best. Your Challenge - should you choose to accept it - is to find the Reiki School who can offer you Reiki attunements and/or training that will best fit your belief system, your abilities, and your needs.

And the final Reiki secret for today…

Your search will be well worth your effort, because the only Absolute in Reiki is that Living Reiki is a great way to Be.

Just ask any happy Reiki practitioner …..

If you would like to continue, the next topic is working with animals, or you can talk direct to us at Ideas Unlimited, Ravenshoe, Australia, 07 4097 7298