Reiki...what is it?

I had heard of Reiki many years ago but never really knew what exactly is was or how it worked.  I was always curious about it and wanted to learn more.  So I  did a bit of  research on the internet.   I learned that it was a healing energy, a laying on of hands, so to speak and that it started in Japan.  I was able to learn the history of Reiki beginning with Mikao Usui and how it was brought to America by Mrs. Takata in the 1930s.  This was all interesting, but I still was not able to experience this amazing healing energy over the internet! Living in a relatively small community, I wasn't aware of anybody who knew how to do Reiki, let alone anybody who had ever heard about it!

Well, the Universe has a way of responding to these things.  And, several months after my curiousity had been piqued by Reiki, our local paper had an ad offering Level I Reiki.  Here was my opportunity!

Traditional Reiki consists of three levels: 
Level I, Level II and Level III. 
Level III is also known as the Master Level or for some, the Master/Teacher Level.  

I felt a profound connection with Reiki and it truly did change my life and my way of thinking.  In June 2010, I received my Master/Teacher level of Reiki.

By the way, you do not need to have any of these levels to experience a Reiki healing treatment.

So, what is Reiki, exactly?  Where does this healing energy come from?

At all times we are surrounded by countless differenty forms of energy. Some of these energy types we are aware of, like heat energy, light energy or electricity. There are also other energy forms that are not quite part of our awareness like xrays and  radiation, for example.


Picture a giant harp, the size of the entire universe. Every string on that harp vibrates at at different frequency when plucked. Picture again every one of these strings being representative of a different form of energy, all vibrating at different rates and frequencies.  Picture light and color having their little section of strings, sound being another section.  Some sounds can be heard as low and some high.  Some the pitch too high for human ears.  Further along these strings are emotions.  Love, joy, happiness, fear, anger and hate all resonating their own frequency.  Did you ever walk into a room and you could feel the love?  Feel you could cut the tension with a knife?  Hope has its own frequency and perhap even prayer does, too.

Reiki is its own form of energy.  It is percieved as a very loving, gentle flowing energy that is believed to be intuitive and goes where it is needed for healing.  It is always surrounding us and available to us.  Once attuned to Reiki, you are more able to tap into this energy.  It flows through your crown and out through your palms where it can be directed to different areas of the body.  It is believed that Reiki goes where it is needed. 

When giving a Reiki treatment, you can feel the energy as it is moving into the body.  Sometimes it is felt as a tingling sensation or heat and sometimes even cold thought not as often.  Sometimes I might even feel an ache in my hands if I am working over a painful area.  This sensation is called byosen.  The sensation will usually peak and then dissipate.  When it disspipates I move my hands to another area for healing.
I will be posting more about Reiki in the next several posts.  I am also in the process of creating Reiki art with watecolor and mixed media.  If you are interested in learning more, follow my blog.  I would love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment and let me know what you think! 

Thank you for stopping by!
Jo-Ann
http://www.jdmstudios.com/