HEAL
WITH YOUR HANDS
Beginning Energy Work Techniques to Help Yourself &
Others
By Barbara Clearbridge
Table of Contents & Excerpts
Table
of Contents
About Energy Work
Willpower vs. Intention
The Energy System
Chakra Balancing Meditation
Healing Responses
Expanded Senses
Guides and Guidance
Lifestyles for Energy Work -- Personal Practices
Fraud and Incompetence in Energy Work, Other Complementary Therapies, and the Counseling Professions
About Grounding
Grounding Exercise
About Earth Energies
Meditation for Drawing Up Earth Energy
About Reiki
History
Reiki Lineage
Kanji Hand Positions
Using Your Hui Yin
Preparing For, Beginning and Ending A Session
Helpful Hints for Doing Reiki
Proper Body Mechanics
Hand Positions for Treating Yourself
Hand Positions for Treating Others
40 Breaths Meditation For Energizing
Meditation to Open Palm Chakras
Appendix:
Energy Therapy: Gateway To Change
Energy Therapy: A Personal View, by Steve Wedell
Energy Work for Sexual Abuse Recovery
Energy Work for Attention Deficit Disorder
Survey of Energy Work Techniques
Summaries of Research Results for Therapeutic Touch, Laying-On-Of-Hands Healing, and Reiki
Index
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Excerpts Reiki (pronounced “ray-key”) is a prevalent part of the growing family
of energy therapies. It is natural, eminently practical, simple, and fun.
It is not part of any religion. Reiki energy is defined as “universal life
energy.” Rei-ki. The ki is the same as Aikido, the
same as the ch’i in T’ai Ch’i. This is the energy of creation
itself. The common definition of the word Reiki is “free passage of universal
life force.” (Since Reiki was rediscovered by the Japanese, its language
is now Japanese, in the same way that the language of ballet is French
and the language of allopathic medicine is Latin. The concepts to which
the Japanese terms refer are universally true.)
“Reiki” refers to two things: a particular tradition and technique of
using one’s hands to heal, and a particular energy wave—part of the
spectrum of energy which constitutes ki. So we speak of the Reiki technique,
and of Reiki energy.
Reiki energy is intelligent. It works with the body’s own intelligence
to provide what is needed where it is needed. Because of this, it is not
possible for Reiki to do harm.
When a Reiki practitioner puts her hands on someone, or concentrates
in a particular way for a “distant” session, she turns herself into a conduit
for Reiki energy. The energy flows into her from the general atmosphere,
and the client draws from her the amount of Reiki needed. Besides benefitting
the client, the Reiki energy benefits the practitioner as it passes through
her. The same energy is transmitted whether or not the practitioner actually
touches the client.
There are two types of Reiki sessions: in person, and distant. During
most in-person sessions, the practitioner gently lays her hands on various
areas of the client’s head, torso, back, and feet, remaining in each position
for a few minutes. Sometimes, however, she might stay at a particular place
for most or all of the time, or hold her hands in the energy field around
the client’s body. There are no hard rules; intuition is respected as
being more important than technique.
When you give Reiki to someone you do not become depleted. Because you
are a channel, it is not your energy that you are giving. In fact,
you receive Reiki whenever you give it. And the more you give, the more
open to Reiki your energy body will become, and the more Reiki you will
be able to channel. For the same reasons, you do not need to be in perfect
health to channel Reiki to others. A cold, headache or other minor problem
will not affect your ability. You may even feel better yourself after the
treatment. However, if you are very ill or tired, do not try to treat others,
for you will absorb all the Reiki coming into you, and will not be able
to pass it on.
Besides people, Reiki can benefit plants, food, water, animals, atmosphere,
and more.
The heart of Reiki is something that I have found in no other energy
work: an actual empowerment of the student to channel Reiki energy. The
Reiki Master does this in a process called “attunement,” in which certain
energy centers are “tuned” to receive Reiki. Also, healing symbols are
implanted in the student’s energy body for her use. Students often can
feel an increase in power and ability with each attunement. Sometimes they
also experience personal healing through this process. Note: There
are several other energy work modalities also called “attunement,” which
have nothing to do with Reiki.
Therefore, though you may learn Reiki hand positions and principles
from this manual, it will not enable you to do Reiki. A class is necessary
with a Reiki Master certified to do attunements.
A long period of training is not needed in order to help yourself and
others with Reiki. Hawayo Takata, a Hawaiian who brought Reiki from Japan
to North America, was often called on to give Reiki for acute conditions.
Once the immediate situation was under control, she would often teach the
patient’s family members to provide Reiki. She could then leave, and the
family would continue giving Reiki until the patient was completely healed.
Today we teach First Degree (first level) Reiki in one weekend. The
class includes the basic technique, the history of Reiki, and simple energy
work skills. Most students wait at least three months before advancing
to Second Degree Reiki. This gives them time to practice the technique
and to fully assimilate the attunements. Second Degree amplifies the student’s
power to channel Reiki and teaches techniques for emotional and mental
healing. Three symbols to facilitate healing are taught. Third Degree (Master
level) is for people who feel a lifetime commitment to Reiki. Training
is usually at least a year after Second Degree training. Core curriculum
includes another increase in power, learning to teach Reiki, learning to
empower others through attunements, and personal and professional practice
issues.
My hope is that eventually every family will have someone trained in
Reiki, so that it is a simple, normal part of daily life.
History
What we call Reiki is a Tibetan art and science thousands of years old.
It was rediscovered by a Japanese theologian in the 1870s, so it now has
a Japanese flavor and mien. Here is a brief version of the story. Because
it has been passed down by oral tradition, you will find variations from
version to version.
Dr. Mikao Usui (pronounced oo-soo-ie) was a teacher and head of a school
in Japan. One day, a student asked him, “How does laying-on-of-hands healing
work?” (Some versions of the story say it was a Christian school, and the
question referred to Christ’s ability to heal.) Dr. Usui did not know the
answer, and did not feel he could teach something which he did not understand.
He left the school to search for the answer. He went to many countries
and learned a number of languages in order to study sacred texts. He finally
learned Sanskrit in order to study some Buddhist sutras which he thought
held the answer. He did find what he was looking for—the theory behind
Reiki—but he did not know how to apply it. He was not empowered to heal.
He decided to find out or die trying. He went to the top of a mountain
outside Kyoto, Japan, to fast and meditate for 21 days, asking to know
how to heal.
On the last day, as he meditated, he saw bright bubbles of light rushing
towards him. He waited, and they struck him in the forehead. In each bubble
was a Sanskrit symbol, and with them came the understanding of how to use
them. Out of this experience came the Usui System of Natural Healing, also
called Reiki.
As Dr. Usui made his way down the mountain he performed three miracles
of healing, which proved to him that he had the knowledge he had been seeking.
Dr. Usui practiced Reiki for many years. Before he died (in the 1920s
or early 1930s) he named his associate, Dr. Chijiro Hayashi, the Grand
Master of Reiki.
In 1936, Hawayo Takata, a Hawaiian woman of Japanese descent, found
Reiki while looking for an alternative to surgery for a life-threatening
illness. She was so impressed with her healing that she stayed in Japan
for a year to study with Dr. Hayashi. She then returned to Hawaii and began
treating people.
In 1940, Takata became the Grand Master of Reiki, and she began teaching on mainland America soon after. She trained only 22 people to the level
of Third Degree (Master Level). Takata was concerned that Americans would
not value Reiki training sufficiently. She felt they would not apprentice
themselves for a lengthy period of time in order to fully master it. So
Takata charged a fee of $10,000 for Third Degree training. She believed
that this would help people realize its value and be willing to make a
proper commitment to training.
Takata died in 1980, and there was a schism in Reiki. There was disagreement
about who was Grand Master, and this resulted in two branches.
The first branch proclaimed Takata’s grand-daughter, Phyllis Lee Furumoto,
as Grand Master, and it is represented today by the Reiki Alliance. This
organization is open to Reiki Masters only, and only to those who practice
strict traditional Reiki, including charging a $10,000 fee for Third Degree
training. The second branch recognized Dr. Barbara Ray as Grand Master,
and it is represented now by the AIRA: American International Reiki Association.
This group is open to all Reiki practitioners. It allows a westernized,
personalized approach to Reiki.
Since then other groups have split off from Reiki, including one which
calls its method the Radiance Technique. Some forms of Reiki divide the
traditional three degrees of training into as many as seven, and some separate
“teachers” from “therapists” in their training. Some people have invented
their own technique and call it Reiki. (For more information on the varieties
of Reiki, and about fraudulent teachers and practitioners, click here.) As you can see from the lineage diagram on the next page, I am lucky
to be only three “generations” away from someone personally trained by
Hawayo Takata.
A set of Five Spiritual Precepts became part of Dr. Usui’s teaching.
I include them reluctantly, for I feel the second one needs some elaboration,
and the third needs a definition of “honor” in order to be useful rather
than harmful to contemporary North Americans. I include the precepts as
part of the history of Reiki. There are many versions of these precepts.
Here is the one I like the best.
Just for today, do not worry.
Just for today, do not get angry.
Honor your parents, your teachers, your neighbors, your friends.
Earn your living honestly.
Show gratitude to everything.
About Reiki
Some people combine massage or other
healing arts with Reiki. In a distant session, Reiki is sent to someone
in a location far from the practitioner. This is possible because energy
is directed by the mind, through intent. Time and space do not inhibit
intent. The process for distant sessions is taught in Second Degree Reiki.
Classes are valuable
also in that you get feedback and confirmation of your perceptions and
abilities from other class members and the Reiki Master. Without taking
a class, you can immediately channel Earth Energy and other kinds of healing
energies through the Reiki hand positions. Feel free to experiment.
People who practice traditional, classical Reiki call it “Usui Reiki” to
differentiate it from the new versions. To my knowledge, most North American
practitioners have discarded the hierarchical system with its Grand Master
role. Be aware that sometimes even people calling themselves Usui Reiki teachers are shortening and changing the training. Traditional-style training will require a full two days of training for each level of Reiki. Students are not certified unless their Reiki Master has observed them giving Reiki successfully and knowledgeably.
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