The Distant Symbol and Hands-On Healing

by William Lee Rand

In Reiki Level II classes the student is taught the Distant Symbol (HSZSN), including how to draw it, what it symbolizes, and how to use it to send Reiki to others at a distance. This is a valuable symbol. It allows sessions to be given to others anywhere and anytime and as often as you'd like. HSZSN also allows many people to send Reiki to one person at a time. This feature is often utilized by Internet Reiki groups who send out requests for Reiki, which are then responded to by everyone on the list. HSZSN also allows the practitioner to send Reiki to larger groups of people. As an example, Reiki can be sent to all the victims of an earthquake or a tsunami, to the victims of war, to world leaders, to a peace conference, or to all living things on the planet. HSZSN greatly increases the ability for Reiki practitioners to help others.

The HSZSN symbol is comprised of Japanese kanji (the characters of the Japanese language) and is actually a Japanese religious or philosophical saying. There have been various translations of this saying into the English language, resulting in some confusion about what it means. Whenever a translation is made, the accuracy is dependent upon the knowledge the translator has of the original language and of the language that the words are being translated into. Some English speaking Reiki practitioners have tried translating HSZSN by using an Japanese/English dictionary, but this process is not likely to produce anything meaningful, as the meaning of each character is affected by the characters preceding and following it. Since this is an idiomatic saying, it has its own special meaning beyond the literal meaning suggested by the individual kanji.

I had the fortunate opportunity to discuss the meaning of this symbol with two Japanese Reiki masters: Hiroshi Doi who speaks only Japanese and Hyakuten Inamoto who speaks Japanese and English and who acted as translator for Hiroshi Doi. This took place in September 2002 in Toronto, Canada while I was taking Reiki classes with each of them. Discussing this back and forth we came up with the following translation, which they agreed upon as having a satisfying degree of accuracy. “The origin of all is pure consciousness.”

Think about the profundity of this statement. Everything comes out of pure consciousness. This means all plants, animals, rocks, water, all human beings and all of their attributes, as well as all planets, stars, galaxies, space, time, energy and so forth. And since the most meaningful part of each of us is our consciousness, by focusing our attention into ourselves, it's possible to return to the origin of all. This in fact is the primary meditation method used by Eastern traditions to reach Enlightenment—meditation on one's own consciousness.

When giving Reiki sessions to others, the value of the sessions often is not related to the quantity of Reiki energy given, but to the quality of the energy. One theory of how Reiki works is that while it supplies the subtle energy the body needs to function, a more developed aspect of Reiki energy gives instructions to the energy field, the cells, and organs of the body about how they need to function in order to heal and to remain healthy.

Illness results when some part of the body is given unhealthy instructions on how to operate. These unhealthy instructions come from thoughts and feelings the individual is exposed to, accepts, and repeats to himself/herself either consciously or subconsciously. Unhealthy thoughts and feelings are rampant in our society; some persons are more susceptible to them than others, but all of us are bombarded with them. Experiencing a traumatic event can cause one to become more vulnerable to unhealthy thoughts and feelings, which may then become lodged deep in the psyche and have a more powerfully detrimental affect. These unhealthy thoughts and feelings direct the life force or ki, telling it what to do. In Reiki, this unhealthy ki is called byoki.

One way Reiki heals is to give the ki that is already present new healthy instructions, which in turn instruct the cells and organs on how to operate. This concept is validated by scientific studies demonstrating that, rather than chemistry being the main governing factor in health, it is the electrical and electromagnetic fields that surround the cells and organs that determine how they function. And it's not the strength of the fields, which are very small, but the information they convey that causes the healing. When miraculous healings take place, it is likely they are caused by a very highly refined and subtle field of energy containing a specific combination of frequencies. These frequencies reach into the deepest levels of consciousness, telling the energy field and the cells and organs what to do to create healing. This could include specific types of wisdom, forgiveness, and insight that affect the energy field itself and instruct the tissues to function on extraordinary levels to create the miraculous.

From this we can see that it is not so much the energy that heals, as the type of consciousness the energy contains. With this in mind the definition of HSZSN takes on greater significance. HSZSN is working from the wisdom of pure consciousness. It is therefore capable of manifesting the necessary level and specific types of consciousness necessary to heal the unique conditions of the individual.

This is why HSZSN can be of great value when working hands-on. It can act like a homing device, directing Reiki to go to the original cause which could be in this life or a past life to go to higher dimensions if necessary or anywhere it's needed. It can also more effectively create the necessary energy including the right levels and types of consciousness to provide the unique instructions needed by our bodies, minds, emotions and energy fields to deeply heal. Here is a technique you can use on yourself and others.

  1. Think of an issue you want to heal, or that the person you're working with wants to have healed.
  2. Use Reiji ho, saying a prayer and asking to be guided to the best area to place your hands to heal this issue. Follow your guidance and go there, knowing that wherever you place your hands will be right.
  3. Draw the HSZSN on each hand and place your hands on the area you're guided to. Be willing to change hand positions during the process when you feel compelled to do so.
  4. Repeat this affirmation/prayer. HSZSN, HSZSN, HSZSN I now ask Reiki energy to go to the original cause of (name issue) and instruct the energy field and the cells and organs of the body to heal completely on all levels of existence.
  5. Add any additional symbols you feel guided to use.
  6. Continue with the session until you’re guided to close.
  7. Close the session with a power symbol intending that the session is sealed and that if additional healing is necessary, it will take place at exactly the right time.
  8. Follow your guidance concerning the healing of the issue and repeat the session once or more each day.

Reiki is an amazing practice that allows us to contact higher levels of consciousness to heal and balance our bodies and our lives. Let us give thanks for the amazing benefits that continue to flow to us through this wonderful gift.

Reference: David Feinstien, PhD and Donna Eden. "Six Pillars of Energy Medicine: Clinical Strengths of a Complementary Paradigm," Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Jan/Feb 2008, Vol. 14, No. 1.