Nina L. Paul - Reiki For Dummies

The sixth chakra is in the forehead, between and above the eyebrows.

The seventh chakra is just above the top of the head.

Each chakra manages a flow of energy between the physical, etheric, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies. When your body is healthy, energy flows along the meridians and chakras. But when there’s an energy block, the nearby meridians and chakras don’t experience the energy flow. If this energy block isn’t cleared, disease of nearby organs can occur.

The good news is that Reiki healing can open blocked chakras. When you perform a Reiki session, you can sense the energy of the chakra on both the front and the back of the body (except for the crown chakra).

Ultimately, the source of energy flow comes from outside the body and extends upward to the heavens for higher spiritual energy and below the body for earth energy. The chakras serve to bring in energy from outside the body. When the chakras are open and flowing, your energy is in balance and harmony.

The association of any chakra with a particular organ, system, or gland is not a hard-and-fast rule. For example, the lungs could be associated with the throat chakra or the heart chakra. Use your intuition to determine which chakra is affected if you’re working on a particular problem.

You may be wondering how it’s possible to sense your subtle energy system if conventional equipment can’t see or measure it.

Whether you’re the provider or recipient of Reiki energy, you’ll probably sense the Reiki energy during the session. The recipient should relax and not worry about trying to sense anything during the treatment — just let it happen (see Chapter 5). If you’re giving Reiki, you can train yourself to detect this energy by using the following:

Your hands: During a Reiki session, the practitioner’s hands not only transmit spiritual energy but also receive certain information from the recipient. This information may be tingles, heat, visualizations, or other signs that give the practitioner feedback on where to treat and when to stop (see the technique Byosen Reikhan Ho in Chapter 11). The more you use your hands in treating others, the more sensitive you’ll be to this information.

Your intuition: Even without touching someone, you can sense the person’s energy.You can gaze gently and see the person’s aura, which may provide information on the person’s energy systems.The connection made during distant Reiki (see Chapter 15) may enable you to pick up on certain energy information.Meditation and visualization can also indicate where any energy disruptions are occurring.

A pendulum: Some Western Reiki practices use a pendulum as a diagnostic tool to see whether a chakra is open, closed, or somewhere in between. When a chakra’s energy is flowing, the pendulum is open; when energy is blocked, the pendulum is closed. You can find pendulums in stores that sell crystals (see Chapter 12). I suggest that you find out about pendulum use from your Reiki teacher. You predetermine the signs for “yes” (or open) and “no” (or closed) by “asking” the pendulum what a yes looks like and then what a no looks like. With practice, you can obtain repeatable results.

If an area of the body seems closed or the energy feels blocked, do some Reiki in that area and then check it again.

When you’re working with someone’s energy system, take a respectful approach. You have the responsibility to treat the work and any information you obtain with the highest degree of integrity and compassion for that person. See Chapter 13for a discussion of the ethics of doing healing work with Reiki.

Developing the ability to sense energy is one of the gifts of Reiki practice. Many people intuitively understand this spiritual energy and have sensed it in their own lives. More people recognize and value their sensitivity, intuition, and empathic abilities.

Chapter 3

IN THIS CHAPTER

Meeting the founder of Reiki

Getting to know other important contributors to Reiki

Understanding the origin of Japanese and Western Reiki

Taking a look at different branches and selecting one for yourself

Accepting the branches’ differences

Looking at the future of Reiki

We have Mikao Usui to thank for discovering the Reiki system of healing (Usui Reiki Ryoho) in 1922 in Japan. After Usui, various Japanese and Western Reiki practitioners interpreted and modified the system. As happens with the growth of any healthy tree, Reiki has developed many branches. This chapter gives an overview of how Usui Reiki Ryoho began in Japan and how it evolved into the current branches of Reiki.

What unites the branches of Reiki is that the main trunk is from Mikao Usui. After that, all Reiki branches diverge from the original to a greater or lesser extent.

Knowing the history and branches of Reiki helps you appreciate Reiki’s possibilities. This chapter can assist you in determining which branches are best for you.

The essence of Reiki is the same, no matter who teaches it. Reiki is a system of healing that’s easy to learn. The availability of different branches provides many with the opportunity to study and experience Reiki.

The history of Reiki (see Table 3-1) begins with Mikao Usui, who was born in 1865 in Japan. During his lifetime, he practiced Tendai Buddhism and studied Japanese martial arts. He is also known to have read widely on topics of history, psychology, medicine, and religion from other cultures. He visited Western countries and China.

TABLE 3-1A Timeline of Reiki’s Early Years

What makes Usui’s story extraordinary is that his drive to pursue his spiritual truth led him to discover Reiki, which has healed so many around the world.