Reiki

THE FIRST DEGREE REIKI CLASS

Ideally, First Degree Reiki is taught over a period of four days, and four separate empowerments are given. However, a class comprised of 2 full days can also suffice, provided the four empowerments are conveyed and there is plenty of opportunity for questions and answers, and most important: practice. A 1-day First Degree class will not suffice because there needs to be at least a 24 hour period between the second and third empowerments. Likewise, a First Degree class, in which less than four separate empowerments are given is also incomplete.

Another equally important aspect of the class is the teaching and sharing. The Reiki history is explained in detail, as well as the basic premises of energy healing. Then, the hand positions are demonstrated, and ample time is reserved for sample treatments. The new practitioners get a chance to test and experience Reiki so that they learn to trust the process, and their own newly found capabilities. Several extensive question and answer sessions serve to clarify pertinent points, as well as give the participants a chance to address more personal matters.

A Reiki First Degree class is a joyous and liberating experience. It provides a wonderful opportunity to learn to nurture oneself and others, and to reconnect with the energy that is the basic support of all life on Earth, as well as of all Creation.

THE SECOND DEGREE REIKI CLASS (Back To Top)

Although Mrs. Takata often taught Second Degree in only 1/2 a day, I find it beneficial to convey it in 1 1/2 to 2 full days, depending on the size of the group. It is conveyed to Reiki practitioners who have worked with First Degree for a minimum of three to six months. The experiences of cleansing, healing and balancing, which occur with First Degree, provide the practitioner an opportunity to raise their life force energy and experience many internal shifts. Second degree can further accelerate this process of growth and transformation if a real commitment to continue self-treatment is there.

In the course of Second Degree class, three symbols are taught that enable the practitioner to provide healing beyond the limits of time and space. In other words, with the help of the Second Degree symbols you can perform absentee healing on yourself (for example in the past ) and on others. You can also lend healing energy to events that have taken place in the past, or energize events in the future by creating a bridge which allows them to draw Universal Life Force Energy. In Second Degree only one empowerment is given.

As in a First Degree class, participants are given enough time to experiment, ask questions, raise issues or process some of their emotional withholding. Although many come to Second Degree to be able to do distant treatments on others, its real benefit is to enable you to heal your own past. It helps remove the emotional charge that old traumas may still be holding over you.

THE THIRD DEGREE MASTER TRAINING (Back To Top)

First and Second Degree give us the basic techniques which are needed to calm the mind and raise the Life Force Energy and enable healing to occur. If you continue to apply the simple tools at your disposal, you will go far and deep in your practice. Third Degree is only called for, if you feel a strong desire to teach Reiki to others. If you don't wish to teach, it is not relevant to consider taking Third Degree.

It is important to understand that unlike 1st and 2nd Degree, Third Degree is not about raising your energy quotient or power. If anything, it is about dropping your "power trip"; i.e. the ego's incessant illusory grasping for power outside of itself. In fact, if you receive the Third Degree empowerment before you are ready (i.e before you have practiced Reiki for a number of years), it will simply amplify all of your "ego trips". It is important to to release the effect of old samskaras or vasanas (conditioned patterns) before considering the Third Degree.

Furthermore, Third Degree is taught in a one-on-one apprenticeship. "Quickie" Master classes seem to produce half-baked masters, as they don't allow for enough time for a person to be really tested. It is vital for a master and his/ her student to form a profound bond, which can only develop over a period of time. Thus at least a years friendship and association is needed between master and student and a minimum of a three year Reiki practice is also needed for a new master to be able to correctly transmit the Reiki lineage. Part of Reiki mastership is for safeguarding the purity and continuation of the teachings for future generations. It is a responsibilty that many present day masters have failed to shoulder.

If you feel drawn to study Third Degree with me, I will ask you to fulfill certain requirements:

You have practiced First and Second Degree Reiki for at least 3 full years, at the time when the master empowerment is given.
We have known each other for at least one full year, before I start with the formal apprenticeship.
You have attended one Core Empowerment Training with Narayan and myself before starting the master training; and two more before the training is complete. In other words, you will go through three Core Empowerment intensives, before you become a Reiki master.
You are willing to follow instructions, yet not blindly, as you also need to be willing to test me and challenge me as much as you can, before we start the Master training.
You understand that your relationship with your Mastership guide has long term karmic implications for both you and your teacher.
You feel inspired to uphold the Reiki lineage with integrity so that it has a chance to survive many centuries.

These conditions are not set in order to make it difficult for people to become Reiki masters. In my view, they need to be implemented in order to keep the Reiki energy a strong presence on the planet so that many more people will be able to benefit from it later. Plainly and simply: Mastership is a serious issue and needs to be approached with respect and the correct attitude. I learned this from 16 years of teaching Reiki.