Four Kinds of Reiki

William Lee Rand

Reiki comes from a source with unlimited potential. Because of this Reiki is unlimited in the quantity of healing energy it can provide and is also unlimited in the quality of this energy. This is a potential possibility and the value of this understanding is that the Reiki energy we have access to can always develop and improve. As your Reiki energy improves, fewer sessions will be required to produce previous results and issues can be healed which Reiki did not seem to previously help. There are a number of proven ways this can be done. However, the most important is by developing a strong working relationship with a fully illumined spiritual guide. To learn how to do this I suggest reading a previous online article I wrote titled: Making Your Reiki Energy More Effective.

Different Kinds of Reiki
Because of its unlimited potential, Reiki can express itself in different ways and help us with various activities and situations. Having an understanding of some of the various kinds of Reiki will allow us to make better use of the potential Reiki has to help us. The following are four ways Reiki can provide help in our lives:

Session Reiki
This use of Reiki is the one most are familiar with. This is when we use Reiki to give ourselves or someone else a Reiki session. This Reiki is the kind that works to bring about healing relaxation and to release byoki (negative ki) and replace it with genki (healthy ki) and to bring about a healing response. Reiki sessions are best given when we set our own ego and intentions to the side and ask that only pure Reiki energy flow through. Setting our ego aside is important for a number of reasons. First it’s important because if we have a personal intention for the person to heal, it will lower the vibration of the healing experience. Reiki comes from a level of consciousness beyond our own and if we mix our own intention with that of Reiki, the overall experience will be less effective than if we allow only pure Reiki energy to flow through us. Another reason it is not a good idea to add your personal intention for another to heal during a Reiki session is that in doing so you create a bridge between your personal energy and the other person’s issues. This it makes it possible for some of the person’s byoki to flow back to you and adversely affect you. When giving Reiki sessions it’s important to surrender to the Reiki energy and allow it to make the decisions about what and how to heal so that only Reiki’s higher vibrational healing energy takes part in the healing process. This can be done by saying a pray prior to beginning a Reiki session. I suggest a prayer such as this: “I surrender to pure Reiki energy and ask that my ego and personal energy be set to the side so that only pure Reiki energy flows through me. I am grateful for all the healing that my client is about to receive.”

Attunement Reiki
This is the special high frequency Reiki energy that flows when a Reiki master gives a student a Reiki attunement. The Reiki attunement is a sacred experience in which the student is linked to the unlimited potential of Reiki energy. This is perhaps one of the most miraculous ways in which Reiki works! In many healing systems, a student must practice for months or years before her or his healing energy starts flowing. However with the Reiki attunement, the student immediately gains the ability to channel Reiki healing energy simply by being willing to receive the attunement and without any training or period of development.

The attunement energy doesn’t come from the Reiki master but flows through the master to the student in a similar way as session Reiki does. Because of this it’s important that the master say a similar prayer as indicated above, setting ones ego and personal energies to the side prior to giving attunements.

In addition, the attunement energy is often facilitated by spirit guides. Because of the nature of Reiki energy and the importance of the experience the best attunements come when working with a fully illuminated spirit guide. Please see the above mentioned online article for further instruction on this topic.

Teaching Reiki
This is a lesser understood form of Reiki but can be very helpful when teaching Reiki classes. And in fact it usually flows to some extent when you are teaching whether you know about it or not. This kind of Reiki will create many important experiences that help the class work better. As an example, it will often help create group rapport in which the members of your Reiki class get to know each other more easily and feel comfortable in each other’s presence. The acceptance of the students by each other allows each individual student to learn more easily. This takes place through subtle body language and emotional expressions in which the members of the class encourage each other and facilitate the learning process among themselves. Teaching Reiki energy also helps you be a better class facilitator, raising your vibration and helping you lead the class energetically into higher vibrational states. This can include feelings of love, helpfulness and kindness within yourself in which there is an expectation that all will learn the material and that the class will work for everyone. It can also help you answer questions by improving your listening ability. It can do this by helping you focus on the student asking the question so you gain an understanding of the specific question being asked so you can provide a specific answer that matches the question. It can also help you be in touch with the specific needs of the class so you provide the right blend of lecture, discussion, demonstration and practice. And of course your teaching Reiki can help facilitate healing experiences your students have when practicing the various healing exercises that take place in class. This can happen without your personal interaction with them and often seems miraculous. When you allow your teaching Reiki to flow the class will flow along with little effort, guided by Reiki energy and often seem like it’s teaching itself. Rather than feeling drained at the end of class, you'll feel alive and energized!

Your teaching Reiki energy can be developed by saying prayers about your class asking that each student be deeply blessed, deeply healed and become great healers and teachers and also by sending Reiki to your class every day before it takes place. It is best to begin this process as soon as a class date and location is set up but can also be started before this. Then during class intend that your Reiki energy flow to your class while you are teaching.

Reiki Guidance
This kind of Reiki can be used to receive guidance for many situations. It can help when giving Reiki sessions by showing you where to place your hands for a specific condition or issue needing Reiki. This type of guidance is important as the best place to treat a specific condition is not always over the area where the symptoms exist. Your Reiki guidance can also show you which symbols or Reiki healing techniques to use.

Your Reiki guidance can also help you with any question you need an answer for. Here are a few examples: Knowing which vitamin supplement is right for you, choosing crystals for your Reiki grid or for any use, deciding which Reiki teacher is right for your next class, knowing the best time to take a vacation and the best place to go, choosing a new employer, finding your way when you are lost. In other words, your Reiki guidance can help you with any everyday question you might have.

Reiji ho
A method to contact your Reiki guidance was developed by Usui Sensei called reiji ho. This is a prayer technique that works best when you pray directly to the Source or to a fully illumined being. It can be done before or during a Reiki session or at any time guidance is needed. Place your hands in the Gassho or prayer position in front of your heart chakra and with the thumbs touching the center of your chest. Then say a prayer of gratitude for all the blessings and healing and guidance you are about to receive. Then move your prayer clasped hands up to the third eye position so the thumbs touch the third eye. Then pray for guidance for the specific situation you have in mind. Keep your mind open and be aware of the guidance you receive. Then make use of your guidance.

Guiding Your Life
Your Reiki guidance can also help you find your way through life and help you find your spiritual path. Often when you use this type of guidance you are not shown your ultimate goal or life purpose, but only the next step on your spiritual path. By accomplishing the next step you will move forward on your path, but this will also be a test to show that you are ready for the next step after that which will eventually be shown to you. As you move forward in this way you will often be asked to move out of your comfort zone and work through fears, overcome blocks to wholeness as well as develop new skills. In this way your spiritual path will often be a path of personal healing and growth which develops into a way to help others. I suggest saying a prayer like this: "Guide me and heal me so that I may be of greater service to others." You could also pray that the greatest plan that God, Source, the Universe etc. can conceive of for your life will be fully manifest now. By praying in this way you will be turning the guidance and direction of your life over to the ultimate source of wisdom, love and healing power. By following a path such as this, you will live a life that is meaningful and filled with miraculous experiences; a life far better than you could plan or carry out on your own.