Reiki: The Usui Natural Healing System
“Waves of compassion washing over the sands of suffering.”
The phrase above and the image it evokes came to me during my Reiki Master attunement process. It beautifully describes how I feel about Reiki and its power.
Reiki (pronounced Ray-Key) is a Japanese Healing Art.
Reiki empowers you to help yourself and others at any time with healing energy. Reiki can help you reduce stress, relieve pain, gain energy, grow spiritually, reclaim your power, and heal on all levels of being.
Reiki creates the space for improved health and enhanced quality of life. Reiki’s use in hospitals, hospice and medical centers continues to grow. Reiki hands-on healing is an integrative adjunct to conventional medical practice.
Reiki is translated as “Universal Life Force Energy” or “Soul Power.” When activated, it addresses body, mind, and spirit, accelerating the ability to heal oneself. The body is gently reminded of its innate ability to heal physical ailments, the mind open to the causes of disease, and the spirit to the opportunity of taking responsibility for one’s life and the joys of balanced wellness.
Reiki works on the assumption that each of us knows more than anyone else about what is necessary for our healing.
Reiki is experienced through the gentle placement of the practitioner’s hands on the body as a relaxing and powerful yet unobtrusive flow of healing energy. The client usually experiences the warmth (sometimes coolness) of the energy emanating from the practitioner’s hands, in varying degrees.
Most people experience a sense of calmness and a decrease in their stress level as a result of a Reiki session. It is common for clients to fall asleep during their session and when they awaken, they often feel calm and serene. Reiki is undoubtedly the best way to understand this natural flow of healing energy.
A Reiki treatment is gentle and non-invasive. The flow of energy is directed by the recipient, not the practitioner. Reiki treatments usually take an hour, but shorter treatments are also effective.
Reiki is spiritual in nature, and therefore cannot be directed or manipulated in any way. Reiki bypasses the symptoms and goes to the cause of the problem to allow healing.
Reiki can:
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Be beneficial to those people experiencing grief or loss.
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Speed healing and reduce pain.
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Accelerate recovery time when Reiki is received pre- and post-surgery.
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Reduce stress.
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Provide natural deep sleep.
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Be beneficial in controlling pain associated with illness, accident and/or as a result of surgery.
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Be beneficial when dealing with end-of-life issues.
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Be used to enhance or complement medical treatment.
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Creates the space for improved health and enhanced quality of life.
Reiki is totally complementary to any form of healing treatment or medication being utilized.
I trained in Usui Reiki Ryoho I and II in April 2005 with John Crundall at the Usui Reiki Center in Santa Barbara and began volunteering at Hospice of San Luis Obispo, thereafter, providing Reiki to clients, caregivers, volunteers, and staff. I volunteered over several years for the Usui Reiki Center’s trainings, providing hands-on Reiki for the students during the classes. Called to do more with Reiki, I trained with Reiki Master Teacher Donna Shaffer in 2014, teaching as a Reiki Master Teacher between 2014 and 2020.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, I upgraded my skills and expanded my practice to meet the needs of the community while maintaining safety and integrity. I had heard about Holy Fire® Reiki from friends who had practiced within other lineages and highly recommended Holy Fire®. In August of 2020 I took the Holy Fire® III Karuna Reiki Master class offered in Sedona, AZ—a class offered for Reiki masters from any lineage. Based on the phenomenal shift I experienced during that class I took Holy Fire® III Reiki I & II and Usui /Holy Fire® III Reiki Master classes online in October of 2020 with the intention of teaching Reiki online as well as offering regular Reiki shares and practice.
I have taught online since January of 2021 and resumed in-person training in spring of 2022. I have found everyone with whom I have come into contact from the ICRT (International Center for Reiki Training) personable, professional, and profoundly dedicated to sharing the light of Reiki. I feel supported in a deep way by the Reiki community.