Reiki explains in five pillars

What is Reiki?

Reiki is a Japanese method of natural healing. In the application, the hands are placed on the body and an energy called Reiki that stimulates self-healing is transmitted.

The founder Mikao Usui (1865-1926) describes Reiki something like this: Reiki is a secret method to invite happiness in order to cultivate physical well-being, mental calm and inner peace in an innumerable variety. Best used daily to achieve continuous improvement for body, mind and spirit.

9 highlights how Reiki can enrich your life

• Reiki can help you
  • To relax
  • Recharge your batteries
  • To vitalize you
  • To regulate your feelings and thoughts
  • Letting go of the past and coming to terms with it
  • To activate your inner healing powers
  • Get rid of bad habits
  • To develop yourself spiritually and personally
  • To train your spiritual abilities
• With Reiki you can do so much for yourself and others that this list can never be complete.

What known methods is Reiki related to?

As you can see above, you can do a lot of good with Reiki. Are you now wondering how this is supposed to work? So that you can get a rough idea, here are some related methods that are used in combination within the Reiki method:

• Silent meditation with the laying on of hands, so that you can relax and regenerate deeply
• Contemplation of Usui’s rules of life to wish all beings all the best
• Spiritual healing to resolve the spiritual causes of your personal issues
• Mental training to increase your self-worth and enthusiasm
• Spiritual healing , with which you train your inner powers
• Discuss to bring positive forces and ideas into your life
• Qigong to get yourself flowing and to dissolve energy blockages

What is the Reiki power?

The special thing about the Reiki healing method is that the above methods complement each other and the Reiki power enables the effectiveness to be increased. Are you now asking yourself that it is actually the Reiki power?

Reiki is a spiritual life energy that comes from the great Sun Buddha. In his sutra of the great sun it is said that he dwells in the center of the universe and that his light illuminates the whole infinitely great universe. Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a Buddhist to use Reiki.

Does that sound a bit abstract? Yes, I agree. It is certainly no coincidence that most Reiki practitioners find the explanation of Reiki difficult. And to get a little closer to that, I came across the “Five Pillars of Reiki”. With it you can easily get an idea of ​​Reiki.

Is Reiki scientifically proven?

The existence of Reiki energy has not yet been scientifically proven.

However, Reiki has a scientific relevance, since the effect of the Reiki power can be measured and shown in the application of the method on people, animals, plants and even water. Many of the effects of Reiki are replicable. This has been proven in several thousand studies.

In my book “Reiki in therapeutic practice” you will find an illustrated list of different studies with Reiki. By the way, this book is the first Reiki practice book that was published by a specialist medical publisher. If Reiki had no scientific relevance, it would not be published by such a publisher.

In my Reiki seminars we occasionally do scientific experiments with a thermal imaging camera and feedback. I am particularly enthusiastic about the results with the thermal imaging camera with clearly visible colors between beginners and advanced users. A Reiki master trained by me had reached 43 degrees outside hand temperature. Normally and without Reiki, the skin of the palm is 25-26 degrees.

Is Reiki always Reiki?

In the course of the spread of Reiki in the West, a lot of the Reiki healing method was kept secret, so that it was hardly apparent to beginners what real Reiki actually was. Among other things, this led to the development of a number of Reiki styles in many countries, the content of which does not always belong to the original.

Sometimes it is difficult to understand what real Reiki is and what is not. For this there should be commonalities between all Reiki styles, by which one can approximately recognize their authenticity. These are “the five pillars of Reiki”. They are the cornerstone of the Usui Reiki healing method.

My own style: Shingon Reiki

I founded my own Reiki style in 2005: Shingon Reiki The basics are of course the five pillars of Reiki. My focus in this style are the sources from which Usui himself drew his knowledge. Let’s look at the history of Reiki. Usui only taught Reiki for four years until the end of his life. Did he really teach everything he wanted and could during this time? I think and see that there is more. There is this “more” in Shingon Reiki. So I teach more techniques and go deeper into the spiritual background than the mainstream.

A very brief overview of the content of Shingon Reiki:

• traditional Usui Reiki
• the five pillars of Reiki
• the sources and spiritual background of Mikao Usui in theory and practice
• Meditations and Buddhist Spiritual Healing
• Secret Reiki Techniques
• Qigong for developing special skills
• Further development of numerous Reiki applications
• Self-care with Reiki
• Advice and coaching with Reiki

The sources and spiritual background of Mikao Usui

The Japanese Mikao Usui developed the Reiki healing method on the basis of the secret teachings of Buddhism, shamanism and the mountain ascetics of Shugendo. It seems to have been of particular concern to him to find himself through spiritual development and spiritual exercises. So Usui was able to create a path of self-discovery and self-healing with the Reiki method. The basics are the five pillars of Reiki.

The five pillars of Reiki

Pillar 1: Reiki and the laying on of hands

Reiki is a force and the spiritual life energy that is mainly transmitted through the palms of the hands (tenohira 掌) for healing with the laying on of hands (teate 手 当). Giving Reiki by laying hands on the body or holding and moving the hands in the aura is the basis for the application of the Reiki healing method.

Pillar 2: Reiki and initiations

In order to get the Reiki power to flow in people, attunements or initiations by an experienced Reiki master are required. With Mikao Usui there was an attunement that had to be repeated from time to time so that the Reiki power was retained. He called this Reiju 靈 授. Literally, Reiju means “spiritual receiving”.

One of Usui’s students, the doctor and officer Chujiro Hayashi then introduced the system of four initiations. These are given in the 1st degree seminar. These four traditional initiations, as they are also from Ms. Takata have been taught to spread Reiki in the West, receive the Reiki power for a lifetime.

In the 2nd degree Reiki there is a further initiation into the three Reiki symbols and for the Reiki master the initiation into the master symbol.

Pillar 3: Reiki symbols and mantras

To expand the possibilities there are Reiki symbols and mantras. These are named differently depending on the historical source. If a symbol has a Buddhist origin, one speaks of Siddham (symbol) and mantra (spoken tool to complete the heart / mind). These mostly go back to the esoteric or tantric Buddhism of the Shingon School and Tendai School. Mantra and Siddham means (shingon 真言) in Japanese. If the origin is more likely to be found in Shinto and Shugendo, one speaks of signs (shirushi し る し) and spells (jumon 呪 文).

Pillar 4: Reiki meditations and spiritual exercises

As a Buddhist monk, Usui placed particular emphasis on meditations and spiritual exercises such as breathing techniques in order to train the supernatural abilities of natural talent.

Pillar 5: Reiki and the rules of life

The Reiki rules of life (gokai 五戒) are the philosophical foundation of the Reiki healing method. In particular, it is about five simple sentences that can lead to a happy life. They are described as a secret method of inviting happiness and as a spiritual medicinal herb or as spiritual medicine for 10,000 or countless diseases in body, soul and spirit.

Just this day

don’t annoy yourself or others

don’t worry

be grateful

take care of your karma

be kind to all living beings

This is followed by the instructions for morning and evening:

1. Put your hands together in front of your heart in the morning and in the evening.
2. Direct your attention to your spiritual heart.
3. Recite the rules of life out loud with your mouth.

Learn Reiki

Anyone can learn Reiki. You don’t need any previous knowledge or talent. For the first two courses you need a little openness and a weekend for the seminar. There you will also come into contact with the five pillars of Reiki.

Reiki 1st degree

In the 1st degree you will learn the basics of the Reiki healing method. You can do a lot with it. In particular, you can help yourself and others with Reiki in many situations to relax and stimulate self-healing.

The content includes at least:

• an introduction to Reiki
• the history of the Reiki healing method
• four traditional initiations into the Reiki power
• Reiki applications with laying on of hands for you and others
• the meditation with the rules of life of Mikao Usui

Are you wondering where the Reiki symbols and mantras are? They are used for you in the Reiki initiations. They are part of the initiation rituals. From the 2nd Reiki degree you will learn the first three Reiki symbols.

Reiki 2nd degree

In the 2nd degree you get extended possibilities with Reiki. A special focus is on:

• the power amplification
• of mental healing
• of distant healing

You will also learn three Reiki symbols and their mantras. In order to be able to use the symbols and mantras with Reiki, you will receive the Reiki initiation of the 2nd degree.

The content includes at least:

• an introduction to the Reiki symbols and their mantras
• the training of the Reiki symbols and mantras
• an initiation to the three symbols and mantras
• Methods of strengthening strength in Reiki applications for you and others
• Reiki mental healing and discussion with affirmations
• Distant treatment with Reiki in combination with all Reiki applications

The five pillars of Reiki in the 1st and 2nd degree

As you can see, you are learning to use the five pillars of Reiki in their entirety within the 1st and 2nd degree for yourself and others. These two seminars form the basis of the Reiki healing method. With it you can do something really good for yourself and your loved ones.

With a little training, it is even possible to use the content professionally. I wrote an entire book for this: “Reiki in therapeutic practice. Haug, 2016.”

And what comes next – the Reiki mastery?

It all depends on which Reiki style you are learning and what your goals are with Reiki. After the 2nd degree you can immediately add the 3rd degree. This is the so-called master’s degree. In many cases this is also a weekend seminar. From the certificate and the feeling you are first of all a Reiki master.

In my experience, championship cannot be achieved in a weekend. Mastery means a lot of training. And since this is a spiritual method, the technical training in the application of Reiki is now accompanied by spiritual development and, if necessary, self-healing.

To be very clear: You can learn Reiki as a method in two weekends. That is the basis. You will gain mastery in Reiki with a continuous improvement process for body, mind and soul over a period of at least two intensive occupations with it.

It makes sense for this development to take place in a spiritual teacher-student relationship. The Reiki teacher accompanies the budding master aspirants on their way. I myself make this possible within the framework of training with a series of seminars, individual sessions and group sessions. I have had very good experience with this over the past 20 years.

Reiki trainings

If you are really enthusiastic about Reiki, you may also have the motivation to learn more with and about Reiki than on three weekends. In this case, a Reiki training with a series of seminars, private and group sessions is the best option.

Is your enthusiasm for Reiki strong? Then you are also ready to invest some time and training. In this way you meet the optimal requirements for achieving true mastery.

I distinguish three levels of Reiki mastery and also offer three master training courses:

Master level 1: The Shingon Reiki master practitioner

In this training you will learn how to master Reiki for yourself and others. Shingon Reiki offers you a number of extensions beyond the 1st and 2nd degree. You will learn these in seminars such as Eye Reiki and Spinal Reiki.

The training concludes with the Reiju master training Shinpiden 3a. Reiju is the original ritual with which Usui transferred the Reiki power to his students. In addition, you will learn the initiation meditation of Mikao Usui from the secret teachings of the Japanese Shingon school.

Master level 2: The Shingon Reiki Master Teacher

After you have mastered the practice of Reiki, you can begin teacher training. Remember: You can only teach meaningfully what you have truly internalized with practical experience. To become a Shingon Reiki Master Teacher, you will learn to teach five Reiki seminars. This of course includes the 1st and 2nd degree with the five pillars and also some advanced training for Reiki practitioners.

The training concludes with the initiation training Shinpiden 3b. There you will learn the traditional Reiki initiations and the Buddhist initiations of the Shingon Reiki extensions to teach the seminars.

Master level 3: The Shingon Reiki master instructor

In the training to become a Shingon Reiki master instructor, you will learn to lead your students to the level of a Reiki master. If you are fascinated by teaching Reiki and you like to accompany your students in their spiritual development and you enjoy their growth, they will feel it. Then it won’t be too long until one day they approach you with a request for training as a Reiki master.

The training concludes with the master initiation training Shinpiden 3c. Then you can initiate and train Reiki masters.

What to do if you are already a Reiki master?

If you have learned Reiki to Master’s degree in three days or three weekends, you may feel the need to want to learn more. it comes especially when Reiki inspires you and you notice that something is missing.

No problem: every Shingon Reiki seminar is an advanced training for Reiki masters without many years of training. I promise you that you will learn a lot in the 1st degree Shingon Reiki. The same applies to the 2nd degree Shingon Reiki. In the subsequent advanced training seminars up to the Shinpiden seminars, everything will be new territory for you. Usui Reiki is already much more comprehensive than it could be taught in three seminars.

But since you are already a Reiki master, you do not necessarily need to start with Shingon Reiki 1st degree. You can also come to any other seminar up to and including Shinpiden 3a.

Most of the time, Reiki masters come to the advanced seminars with me. There they ask a lot of questions about the 2nd degree Reiki. Due to time constraints, I cannot always answer all of these. Because we do the advanced content. Then these masters come afterwards to the 2nd degree Shingon Reiki. There they then ask questions about the 1st degree, which I cannot always answer all due to time constraints. And what happens then? Yes, then they come to the degree and are amazed at what else there is. So I recommend starting at 1.