Reiki: A Transformation Process
By Guruatma S. Khalsa

     Reiki is a Japanese word which describes a system of hands-on healing said to be used by both Christ and the Buddha.  This system was rediscovered in the late 19th century by a Japanese monk named Dr. Mikao Usui, after 27 years of search, research and Soul search.  To understand the word Reiki, one needs to consider its two parts: rei and ki.  Rei means universal and ki is the life force energy.  To experience this specific kind of universal life force energy, one may receive a session from a Reiki practitioner, or become a practitioner oneself, doing self treatments and/or treating others.

    In receiving a Reiki treatment, the receiver lies on a massage table fully clothed, while the Reiki practitioner tunes in, asks for higher guidance from the Universal energy, and proceeds by placing his/her hands on the designated positions, usually for several minutes, allowing the energy to flow first through his/her being, and then into the being of the receiver.  Those receiving the Reiki treatment may feel heat, warmth, energy, and a number of possible sensations.  The length of a usual treatment is about an hour, with treatment to both the front and back of the body.

     In embarking on the process of becoming a Reiki practitioner and/or Master, one goes through a series of attunements.  There are three basic levels involved in the Reiki attunements: level 1 attunes the body, level 2 attunes the mind and emotions, and level 3 (master level) awakens the spirit.  To receive the benefits of an attunement, it is not necessary to understand the nature and mechanics of the process, just as it is unnecessary to understand radio waves and electricity in order to enjoy radio music.  To listen to music and change the station, one needs to turn on the system and have knowledge of the tuning mechanism to tune into the channel of one's choice.  Reiki attunements give you the ability to tune into specific frequencies (channels) which align your energy centers, balance your entire being and discover the deeper purposes of self.

     Imagine for a moment, that you had no concept of a radio.  You had no idea that one even existed, let alone that there were stations, which broadcasted different types of music.  You had heard music played directly, but never without live musicians.  Wouldn't you be astonished to hear sounds coming from a box which pulled the music magically from the sky?

    Let's stay with the idea of music and a radio as a metaphor for the three Reiki attunements.  First, you go to your friends home to listen to something called a radio.  Then you are shown this little box which has a plug and a device called an antenna for picking up these mysterious waves.  The box is about to be turned on, and you are going to hear sound coming from it.  You are told of the process of the waves coming from the atmosphere through this antenna, as you await the experience of sound to enter your ears.  Secondly, the dial of the tuner is adjusted, and you hear the sound come out of two speakers, which is very thrilling!  You hear the balanced sound from the two speakers and feel its power.  Thirdly, your friend shows you how to tune the radio yourself, allowing you to change the channel, and to evaluate the kind of sounds you are listening to.  He says that you can teach others about radio so they can find stations themselves, listen to music, and teach others about the beauty of sound.

    In Reiki attunements, level 1 brings the universal energy from the ethers into the physical body; spirit into matter.  For this to happen, a number of choices are made, most importantly, the choice to open oneself to Reiki, and the belief and hope in a transformation process.  The desire to transform one's life is oftentimes a necessary part of the Reiki process.  And, it is just that desire to transform, that allows it to happen.  Level 1 represents this beginning, this step into the process, plugging in to know that you have an antenna which allows you to pick up the universal energy.  Level 2 aligns that energy so that the hemispheres of the brain and the emotions are balanced.  Balanced hemispheres mean logic and intuition working together with emotions.  Emotions are the energy (E) of feelings in motion.  When emotions are in balance, they are neither blocked, nor out of control.  They provide the mind with the proper flow of energy to be linear and creative, logical and intuitive, flexible and solid, all at the same time.  Level 3 aligns the attuned body with the balanced mind to experience deeper sense of purpose.  Each of us has a deeper purpose for our existence.  Deeper than the performance of day to day activities.  As the levels of deeper purpose are revealed, the daily activities take on a different meaning.  One can perform those activities with more consciousness, and/or change the activities to be more in line with one's deeper purpose.

    To me, Reiki is the chance to bring some of the ancient knowledge of healing and manifestation into people's lives.  The word healing, in my opinion, means living more in line with one's core identity:  one is healthy, happy and whole.  In becoming healthy, happy, and complete, the Reiki student experiences a release of old outdated patterns which had previously blocked his/her energy.  A student of mine now turned Reiki Master, recently describer her process in Reiki as giving her a feeling of being mentally, emotionally and spiritually cleaned out, as well as the ability to see things much more clearly.  She now relates that her ability to meditate has also greatly deepened.

    Manifestation, as in manifestation of desires, wishes and intentions, is often just the ability to clarify what those wishes are and to remove blocks and fears preventing us from taking the necessary steps to complete those intentions.

    When I became involved with Reiki, I was having some intense personal challenges.  Directly following the Reiki attunements, those challenges seemed to magnificently smooth themselves out.  It was as if the pot-holed road of my regular routine had just received a pave job and someone had given me a Mercedes.  A number of personal problems seemed to find solutions.  The Reiki process not only identified certain previously undefined goals, but also cleared away fears and blocks which had been stopping me from discovering resolutions.

    I have been witness to the transformative process during Reiki intensives, and every one of them has been something very special.  For some intensive students, it is a return to a younger time in their imagination and lives, where all things were possible and miracles could and did occur.  For others, it is a maturing process, a growing into an expanded self.  Their process is like that of a kernel of corn being exposed to heat and turning into a piece of white expanded popped corn.  The kernel changed its form to something that was always part of its potential, but it needed the application of heat to transform it. That's what Reiki is, the generating process which transforms us to our greater potential.

    Reiki is a part of our nature as humans, something each one of us can use and experience, it simply needs to be awakened.  Once awakened, the practitioner focuses on the flow of the universal life force energy moving within himself/herself, and then learns to direct that energy.  As this system is learned, one can use Reiki on oneself, give treatments to friends and family, practice professionally, and develop as a teacher.  As a Reiki Master teacher, I teach this system because it gives me great joy to be a facilitator in the transformation process each participant experiences.  That transformation may be monumental or subtle, but it always benefits each person in a significant way.

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Guruatma S. Khalsa M.Ed. is a Reiki Master Teacher from the Unlimited Reiki System, and a Karuna Reiki Master from William Rand's System who is certified in Neurolinguistic Programming, Hypnotherapy and Kundalini Yoga. He maintains a private practice in Reiki, intuitive counseling and psychotherapy and has taught yoga for the past 25 years. For more information call 1-800-361-9034, or visit his website: http://www.reiki-yoga.com/

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