There are two ways of working with Reiki, in an active way, as practised by the founder of Reiki, Mikao Usui (or Usui-sensei as he was known by his students) or in a passive way, as generally practised in the UK and other western countries today. Before I talk about active Reiki in depth, I feel I should first explain what I mean by passive Reiki.
Many Reiki practitioners see themselves as passive channels for the Reiki energy, they simply connect to the energy and put their hands in either a set series of hand positions or around areas that they feel need treating. They deliberately try to avoid having any input into the healing or control of the energy they are channelling. Their belief is that the energy is ‘intelligent’ and will know what to treat and how to treat it, without any participation by the practitioner. The other belief that comes with passive Reiki is that the energy is so intelligent it will go wherever it needs to within the client’s body, irrespective of where the practitioner places the energy via their hand positions. An extension of this way of working is the concept of Reiki as a relaxation therapy that ‘allows the body to heal itself’ rather than a healing system that works directly on any condition. Needless to say this is very different to the approach taken by Usui-sensei and his students.
With active Reiki the emphasis is on the practitioner to effectively treat whatever ailments their clients present them with. Through a consultation with the client, the practitioner determines the presenting symptoms and any underlying causes. The practitioner then treats each condition directly by channelling energy at the frequency needed to initiate and accelerate the healing process. The practitioner applies the energy at the area(s) that is/are damaged in the case of physical injury or illness or the areas where emotional trauma(s) is/are located. The frequency of the energy is dictated by the shirushi (symbol) and its corresponding kotodama (mantra) and jumon (name). The practitioner chooses the relevant shirushi for the condition being treated.
There are two shirushi used for accessing energy for healing purposes in Reiki. The other two shirushi are different in nature and are not used to channel healing energy as such. Each shirushi has a corresponding jumon and kotodama, which need to be used whenever the shirushi is used. The healing shirushi both allow the practitioner to channel a range of frequencies, one range for the physical body and one for the emotional body. By adding colour to the shirushi it is possible to narrow the frequency range of the energy to make it more precisely match the energy required by the condition being treated. This is usually an intuitive process on the part of the practitioner, although there is a more mechanical method that can be used when necessary. In this way, the practitioner connects to the required frequency of energy needed for the condition they are working on.
By staying focused and concentrating on the shirushi and jumon/kotodama the practitioner can ensure they are channelling the energy externally to themselves (i.e. they are not using their own ki) and are channelling the energy in a more directed and powerful way. In addition to working with the correct frequency of energy, the practitioner can add the use of intention and visualisation to enhance the healing effects of the energy. In studies it has been shown that using an effective visualisation and intention can increase the effectiveness of the energy in stimulating a repair process. One particular study used a healer, Leonard Laskow, to try a number of different intentions and visualisations while working on cancer cells in petri dishes. It was found that combing the most effective intention and visualisation gave a 39 per cent inhibition of cancer cell growth.1
Working with Reiki in an active way helps to maximise the effectiveness of the Reiki treatment, so we can do the best we can for our clients, which is really why we become Reiki practitioners in the first place.
References:
1. Rein G., Ph.D. October 1996 Effect of conscious intention on human DNA. Proceeds of the International Forum on New Science, Denver, CO.
