WHY BOTHER WITH A REIKI TEACHER - WHY NOT JUST SELF-ATTUNE?
Copyright © 2006 James Deacon

 

Reiki ability is something, to quote John Gray (one of Takata-sensei's master level students), that is passed:

"Hand to hand"

i.e.:

from one living person (in whom the ability is already awakened - and developed)

to another (who wishes to awaken and develop the ability)

IMO, it is not something you can self-attune to - unless perhaps, you are willing to go down the whole "21-days of starvation, prayer and meditation" route as Usui-sensei did - and maybe not even then.

Numerous others have attempted this - both before and after Usui-sensei - without achieving anything close to the same results...

 

There is more to becoming a Reiki practitioner than receiving attunement

Also, I feel, it is important to remember that originally (and even in Takata-sensei's day,) attunement - be it to master or any other Reiki level - was only one part of Reiki Training; only one element of the process of awakening and developing the Reiki ability.

But somewhere down the line, folk began fixating on this one part, in some cases, to the almost total exclusion of the rest of the training - forgetting that in relation to Reiki, the concept of 'initiation' - in the fullest sense of the word - while it includes the energetic 'attunement', also includes the teachings accompanying it [and by teachings, I refer to more than 'information'].

Often, much of our real 'learning' comes from simply spending time in the physical company of an experienced Reiki Teacher.

We are not merely gaining 'information' [which we could read in a book/manual], but are also gaining insights, awarenesses, understandings - in part, via the conscious process of 'observing and practising' - but perhaps more importantly, subliminally, as we interact on a subconscious level with the body-language of one experienced in the Reiki art.

The initiation ritual (i.e. the 'attunement' itself), may constitute the formal aspect of, as it were: 'fine-tuning the student to the Reiki frequencies'.

However, beyond the 10 minutes or so over which the actual ritual occurs -in fact right throughout the entire time we spend with the teacher during the course of training - we are still participating (albeit subconsciously) in a profound 'energetic' interaction that follows on from, and IMO 'rounds out' the effects of, the attunement itself.