Reiki is a form of laying on of hands energy healing developed by Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan in the early 20th century. Today, more than 300,000 Reiki practitioners live in the United States alone. The numbers are increasing in great numbers.
The following is an interview with Reiki Master from Atlanta, Brad Dixon.
> Q: Brad, how many years have you been involved with Reiki? What are your “credentials”?
> I first learned Reiki in 1996 to improve my personal health. I continued my training after moving to Atlanta in 1999 through the Usui Master and Karuna Master levels. I started my practice, Wellspring Reiki, in 2002, offering both sessions and classes. I recently became a certified facilitator for La-Ho-Chi, another powerful form of energy work.
> Q: What kinds of problems do people come to you with? And how does Reiki affect these clients?
> Reiki works on all levels – mind, body and spirit – depending on the needs of the clients. Some people come to me for specific health concerns, while many simply want to explore new ways to manage stress. Many people come to experience Reiki simply to broaden their horizons.
During a session, they learn about the importance of healthy energy flow through the body’s main energy centers, called chakras, which are located at the top of the crown, the third eye (just above the forehead area between the eyes), the throat, the heart (center of the chest), solar plexus (just above the naval), sacrum (just below the naval) and root (in the coccyx). A typical Reiki session involves the placement of the hands that focus a very high vibratory energy on the chakras to restore them to their optimal function.
Stress, negative thoughts, and unhealthy lifestyle choices can cause our chakras to become unbalanced or even shut down. Keeping these important energy gateways working properly is vitally important to our health, because disruptions in energy flow often lead to illness. So Reiki is great preventative care. It is also useful for health problems that have already manifested themselves. Any problem involving the mind, body, or spirit can benefit from this healing technique. However, all I can promise is that it is good for stress reduction and relaxation.
What people experience during a Reiki session varies. Most people feel energy as comforting warmth or a pleasant tingle, and some feel completely enveloped in radiant warmth. As energy breaks down negative feelings like tension and fear, people sometimes slip in and out of sleep or feel like they are floating. Many of my clients have reported profound experiences.
> Q: Is it difficult to learn Reiki? What Makes a Good Reiki Healer?
> The beauty of Reiki is that practically anyone can easily learn it. It does not require prior experience with meditation or other healing arts. It is widely accepted in the Reiki community that this healing art is a gift from a Higher Power (however you choose to define it) who wanted humanity to raise their consciousness. But Reiki is not a religion, so even if you reject that idea, you can still learn this healing art and it will work for you.
In Western Reiki classes based on the traditional Reiki system developed by Mikao Usui in Japan, there are four levels of attunement (I, II, Advanced, III), each of which confers an increasing ability to use this energy. . I divide the training into two one-day classes (I / II, Advanced / III), so the basics can be learned very quickly. A lot of important learning, of course, involves regular practice. Many people just want to learn it to use on themselves and their friends / family.
For those who feel led to work with others in a professional way, I think it is important to approach work with good intentions and get your ego out of the way. Don’t let the title of “Reiki Master” go to your head. Anyone can easily get Level III / Master training (in fact, I encourage it).
Reiki energy, by nature, is spiritually guided to do what it needs to do on whatever level (mind, body, spirit) is most needed at that moment. So if practitioners only focus their intention on being a clear and open channel for energy to pass through, remarkable things can happen. With time, practice, and dedication, Reiki practitioners can develop a greater intuitive ability to read or perceive energy fields, but seeing auras and obtaining psychic impressions is not necessary to be a perfectly effective Reiki healer.
> P: Reiki seems to be growing within mass consciousness. Why do you think it is?
> I believe that the explosive growth of yoga, with terminology that includes chakras, has done much to deepen our curiosity and understanding of our energy. In many of my students’ personal paths, Reiki is the next stop after yoga. Many people in the Western world have also embraced the concept of feng shui in recent years, recognizing that the proper flow of energy, or “chi,” through the environment is vital to maintaining a happy home. You are also beginning to realize that this energy also flows through your physical bodies. The awareness of the importance of maintaining high levels of vital energy is increasing even in medical circles (several doctors have visited me for both sessions and classes).
Another factor driving interest in Reiki is the growth of spirituality. People everywhere seem to be having spiritual awakenings, pursuing enlightenment in many different ways. The best thing about Reiki is that people of all religions can practice it. Even a Southern Baptist minister took my class and loved it.
Reiki awareness accelerated much faster in the 1980s after Hawayo Takaka’s death. It is highly respected for bringing Reiki to the West from Japan in the 1930s, but it introduced some restrictions that were not part of the traditional system. For example, she required that Reiki only be taught orally; nothing could be written. He also charged an extremely high price for the Master’s training, $ 10,000, so there weren’t that many teachers to share the gift. In the years after his death, teachers began charging much more reasonable fees, as well as writing books to spread the word.
I think the wealth of information on the internet is doing more than anything these days to raise awareness of Reiki. Many people are exploring alternative means online to improve their health. Like me in the 1990s, they are growing weary of a medical system that focuses on treating symptoms rather than finding root causes. I hope that the trend towards implanting some oriental practices in western medicine will continue. The growing acceptance of acupuncture by the medical establishment in this country shows that this fusion has already begun.
> Q: What has been your most profound experience (s) with Reiki?
> For me, the most miraculous thing about Reiki is the attunement process, and I feel blessed to be able to facilitate it on a regular basis. No one is quite sure why this fairly simple ritual works. It requires a student to simply sit peacefully in a chair while I touch their hands and shoulders in some specific ways while focusing my intention visually and energetically. In 10 minutes or less, they connect to this universal life force that has a much higher vibration than the energy they could previously access. Even students who have already practiced other types of energy work are amazed at the difference.
Tunings are always successful, they only require the intention of the student to receive them and the teacher to transmit them. Many people believe that angels and spirit guides are involved in energy field adjustment. Others speculate that it is a latent ability in all of us that simply needs to be activated. All I know is that I feel deeply wonderful from the intense energy that goes through me during attunements, whatever its source. To my knowledge, no one has been able to discredit its success.
Brad Dixon regularly schedules Reiki classes in the Atlanta area at affordable prices. Click here to visit Brad’s website.
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