When I first heard of Reiki from a friend, I thought that it was very cool. The practitioner just needs to place their hands on your body and then healing energy would flow into you? Woa!
Then my friend said “Alex, you should learn Reiki!”, immediately I said “NOOOOO”. I thought no way I could learn this since I didn’t have any spiritual practice nor psychic ability.
Funny that along the following several months, a few people I know took Reiki left and right. It’s pretty wild. Then one day, I was hanging out with that same friend, and she suggested learning Reiki again. This time I thought welp maybe this had been the Universe persistently giving the message, on a plate, multiple times. I asked her how long it’d take to finish the training, and she said “Two days”!
That's it? 2 days to unlock new achievement? I was curious and excited at the same time, and I signed up for the training. From then on, this energy called Reiki has been supporting me along my healing and learning journey, helping me ground, helping me grow. And the rest is history. Now I humbly walk the path as a Holistic healing practitioner. Whenever I look back, I’d think about how the Universe has been so patient with us as we figure out our existence and life purposes, and I feel deeply grateful.
I’d like to elaborate on the training. There are generally 4 levels of Reiki training and the number of levels may vary across different traditions/lineages of Reiki. When Mikao Usui (the developer of this healing art) offered his teaching, Shoden (Level I) had 4 levels and Okuden (Level II) had 2 levels. It would take a few years for practitioners to complete the first 2 levels so I imagined their expertise would be quite proper and firm. In the modern world, we seem to have less time on our hands and want “quick fixes”, fast accomplishments, so Reiki training also adapts: on average each level needs just 2 days of training to complete and within 1 year you can finish both Shoden and Okuden. Although, before practitioners can learn the next level, there’s a required period of time for practitioners to deepen their practice and understanding.
Why does it only take a short amount of time for us to be able to connect with Reiki? The essence of each level is the initiation and attunement that are offered from the teacher to the students. Through these sacred ceremonies, one can connect with Reiki and practice energy healing right away.
So technically, Reiki is easy to learn. In fact, everyone can learn Reiki. We naturally all have the ability to heal. When a finger is cut or when we feel ill, we just need 2-3 days of good rest to heal and recover. Reiki is just one of the many techniques that can help us reconnect and enhance this ability.
However, the difference across practitioners is the inner work. This is shown through their daily communication, behavior, etiquette. This is also shown through their interactions with clients. They need to know how to hold space, how to listen deeply without judgment, how to nurture the relationship, etc.
Inner work is crucial for any practitioner of any field, but it is especially important for those who offer healing. How can a practitioner effectively support their clients if they potentially have more issues than the clients?
Vice versa, as a client, one should take time to figure out their healing intentions. The clearer this can be, the better they can connect with a practitioner who can work well together. Healing is delicate and it is a life-time practice. I hope we all can connect with people who can walk this journey with us and hold space for us with love and compassion.
One time I came across an ad on Reiki training that said “Become an energy healer in two days”.
Let me articulate my feeling in one emoji: 😑. Then triple that.