(IN)FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
[Click on question to read response]

Currently the questions are grouped together under several separate headings:

New Q&A's will always be added at the top of the relevant category section
[Lastest addition: March, 2009]

 

Initiation/Attunement:
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Q: My teacher said that there is no such thing as a 'right' or 'wrong' Reiki attunement process?

Q: Should there be a gap between level 1 and 2 attunements? Some people are saying that both Usui and Hayashi taught Reiki 1 and 2 together - that this was the original approach?

Q: So, if I am not properly attuned to Reiki, I would be using my own ki for doing the treatment? Then, what happens when I do self healing; am I just channeling my own ki out from the hands and back into my body? Wouldn't feeling energised and replenised after healing self or others be a sign I am properly attuned, and so not using my own ki?

Q: People say if you try doing Reiki but you have not ever been attuned or initiated with Reiki, then you are really using up some of your own personal ki. How can this be? Wouldn't you have to learn ho to do this?

Q: OK, so Mikao Usui discovered Reiki meditating on Mt Kurama, but how did he learn how to do the attunements on people? Was he shown the instructions in his vision also? I have not seen this mentioned anywhere, does anyone actually know?

Q: What part or action of the initiation process actually attunes / initiates the student - at what point in the ritual do they go from not being able to do Reiki to being able to do it?

Q: If something actually attunes you to Reiki, then it actually will attune you to each level...As each level IS Reiki?

Q: They said I must wait at least two or three months before getting my level two attunement? Why? I heard some Reiki Masters will give you level two Reiki straight away after level one, even on the same day?

Q: Some people do four attunements at level 1, others do only one attunement; does this affect the outcome, does it make a real difference or is it all down to the intent of the person giving the attunement?

Q: I was told you couldn't do Reiki without first having a "Reiki attunement", but surely we're all connected to the ULE [Universal Lifeforce Energy], anyone can channel it?

Q: I was shown an attunement where the Reiki Master drew symbols on the student's middle fingers. Is this a standard practice?

Q: I have been reading about reiki and the whole process of attunement and there is something I just do not understand: this founder of reiki, how was he "attuned"? nobody attuned him, so can you "attune" yourself, in that case?

Q: Can you explain to me what exactly is this reiju. My teacher has never mentioned it, but I heard someone mention it on a Reiki list.

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The Symbols
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Q: Is it best to learn Reiki with a Japanese master, or at least a Westerner who is a master of Japanese Reiki? I want to learn Reiki like Usui and Hayashi taught it, not with all the add-ons, changes and confusion I'm told exists in western Reiki.

Q: What can you tell me about the symbol “tamarasha”? I heard it is a fifth symbol of reiki used for grounding someone?

Q: Is it true that Mrs Takata taught different versions of the symbols to different students?

Q: Since I received my attunements, my Reiki master has begun to use a new symbol in place of one of the symbols I was attuned with, and has requested that we all use the new symbol when attuning students of our own. Do I need to get re-attuned with the new symbol in order to be able to use it?

Q: I have been taught that each Reiki symbol has its own colour and should be visualised in that colour?

Q: Should we use all three second-degree symbols together when doing treatments, or just use certain ones?

Q: Is it true some Japanese warriors used the Reiki DKM as a sign of protection when entering unfamiliar buildings, and some modernday Japanese businessmen still do this when going to important business deals?

Q: In Diane Stein's book Essential Reiki she teaches something called the nontraditional dai ko mio symbol. Where does this come from?

Q: Why should we have to learn to say the symbol names or mantras in Japanese? Why not just use the English translation? Same question about the actual distant and master symbols - aren't they just the names drawn in Japanese writing? So why not just write the English words instead. It would be much easier.

Q: I was taught [Ishikuro/Robertson lineage]that if you use the master symbol on a client during treatment this 'implies you accept full responsibility for their healing'?'' Why is this?

Q: Do the symbols have to be imprinted in the chakras for the practitioner to be able to use them to intensify the healing produced by the Reiki energy?

Q: I am looking to make Buddhist connection to Reiki. In your opinion do the Reiki symbols link to these Buddhas: CKR for Dei Seichi Bosatsu, SHK for Monju Bosatsu, HSZSN for Ashuku Nyorai, DKM for Amida Nyorai ?

Q: My Reiki master taught me that the CKR power symbol should be drawn clockwise to focus the energy, but now I have been told by another teacher that this is a mirror image of the original CKR symbol - and also that one version is for putting energy in and the other for drawing energy out?

Q: How many Reiki symbols are there? Some people seem to have only a few, but I have heard that there are lots of different ones.

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Reiki Practice:
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Q: Is it better to do a Reiki treatment 'hands on' or 'hands off' and is there any difference between the two ways? Is hands off better because you are working in the aura? Which do you prefer?.

Q: We were taught that to end a treatment session we should sweep the healee's aura five times from head to toe, shaking our hands out towards the earth after each sweep so as to get rid of the toxins and other 'stuff' we had removed. But now I've been told this aura sweeping isn't really a reiki technique.

Q: How do we go about sending healing to a past trauma, is there a special technique? What combination of symbols is required?

Q: In describing what Reiki Ryoho is to others, should we present it as an alternative to traditional mainstream western medical practice?

Q: I have heard you and others mention: Holding The Healing Space in connection with a Reiki treatment. What does this involve, are you referring to the atmosphere you create: space clearing, toning, smudging, drawing the symbols in the air around your treatment area, and such things?

Q: I have been reading on several different Reiki forums about the 'three diamonds' or 'three haras' that make up the hara system...?

Q: Is there any way to do the Nerve Stroke (Ketsueki Kohan Ho) technique on yourself?

Q: Instead of placing both hands on the healee, can you only use one? And does the total amount of energy that would have flowed from both hands now flow from the one? And what about placing one hand on top of the other to increase flow - I read we were not really meant to do this?

Q: Can we send distant treatment to several people at the same time?

Q: I haven't used Reiki for a little while and when I started again, it feels weaker. How can I make it strong again and if I don't use it for long periods of time, could it disappear completely?

Q: Is there a proper title for the person receiving a Reiki treatment? Should we call them the patient, healee, recipient, client or what?

Q: We were taught that we should only lightly place our hands on the healee without any pressure. Also that we must not slide the hands between the positions, we must lift our hand clear of the healee's body then place it in the next position. Why is this?

Q: I was told that when doing Reiki we should be careful not to pick up on the other person's stuff: their physical aches and pains or emotions?

Q: I would like to know, of the Japanese Reiki Techniques, which one should I practice to increase my Reiki energy the most as well as produce the greatest amount of heat in my hands?

Q: I have heard that if you are unwell or even not focussing on what you are doing during the Reiki session you might end up giving some of your own energy instead of Reiki energy to the patient.

Q: While reading up on Reiki, I notice there doesn't seem to be anything about removing stale, blocked or negative energy from the person you are treating - like there is in some other types of healing. How come?

Q: I have heard that you can control Reiki. But surely it flows where it will without any help from us other than being a channel for it?

Q: Did Mikao Usui work with the energies of the five elements? I have learnt that each of the fingers & thumbs are connected to a different elemental energy, so by using a specific finger you can choose which element to apply?

Q: I was shown a relaxation technique where you lie down with your arms and legs positioned so you form a five-pointed star shape and simply feel your energy moving round your body. Is this a Japanese Reiki Technique?

Q: I have recently done my first degree in Reiki and I have now heard several people say that I should remove my watch, rings and other jewelry when doing Reiki - why is this?

Q: I am a Reiki master, but have never given an attunement- I am curious as to how to empower images/objects so that they give reiki to others. Any suggestions?

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Takata-sensei:
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Q: How do you pronounce Mrs Takata's first name?

Q: Is it known if Mrs Takata ever taught Reiki in Japan?

Q: Why is it that Mrs Takata didn't allow her students to make notes about what she taught them?

Q: I am having certificates printed and was wondering if you can tell me what wording Takata used on her certificates?

Q: Just where in Hawaii did Hawayo Takata have her Reiki Clinic?

Q: Was it Mrs Takata who came up with the idea of the 'energy exchange' - the requirement that payment must always be made for treatment/training: that they are not allowed to be given for free? And why is this; are free treatments believed to be less effective - didn't Usui treat victims of the Kanto earthquake for free?

Q: I read somewhere that Mrs Takata only attuned 22 students in all her years of of Reiki practice. How come?

Q: I know Mikao Usui is buried in Tokyo, Japan, but do you know where is Mrs Takata buried?

Q: Did any of the people Mrs Takata made Reiki Masters make any Masters of their own while she was still alive?

Q: Is it true that Hawayo Takata used to run a health spa ?

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General:
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Q: On a web site I read about a Reiki Master who was meant to be trained by one of Mikao Usui's students still alive today who is known as the Soke Dai . It said Soke dai is a Buddhist title for the current lineage bearer, tho someone else said it had to do with martial arts? The Reiki Master gives his lineage as Usui Mikao, Soke Dai, and then himself.

Q: I have read the account given by Mrs Takata of Usui's experience that led to him (re)discovering Reiki. Where can I find Usui's own first-hand description of the experience?

Q: Was Chujiro Hayashi a Christian, I thought it was outlawed in Japan?

Q: I contacted a Reiki Teacher about doing my level three, but this person wants to do an assessment of my knowledge and practical abilities before he will consider attuning me to level three. Why is this?

Q: Can you tell me what REIKI NI REI means, you sign your posts with it on some Reiki group forums?

Q: In your Reiki Timeline you say "Cognisant of the likely entry of Japan into what we now designate W.W.II, and of the moral and ethical conflict between resuming military duty and his Reiki values, Hayashi Sensei … committed seppuku (suicide)". But surely as a doctor his job would have been to save lives - to heal the wounded?

Q: I am thinking about doing a Reiki course, but I've read that new students go through this 21 day period of automatic detox, and that it can be unpleasant depending how out of balance your system is. This worries me.

Q: How do you pronounce the founder of Reiki's name: Mikao Usui?

Q: Is Reiki really derived from Japanese Esoteric Buddhism?

Q: I read somewhere that Master Usui had a brother and sister, and also children of his own?

Q: Is the expression "Usui Shiki Ryoho" a proper one? If 'Shiki' means method or system and 'Ryoho' healing method or therapy, why use both these words together: Usui Method Healing Method - why say it twice?

Q: In Frank A Petter's book the Reiki Fire he mentions that Chujiro Hayashi died in 1941?

Q: Is it true that there's an asteroid named Reiki?

Q: Some people say Reiki was created by Dr Usui, but other people say it was an ancient system of channeled healing?

Q: My teacher told me that Reiki comes from a form of shamanism combined with Shinto magic and that the symbols and their jumon all come specifically from Tantric Buddhism, is this true?

Q: What is the difference between being a Reiki Master and a Reiki Grand Master, and how do you become a Grand Master?

Q: Isn't Reiki just another name for Chi or Ki, I mean, they are all spiritual energy, right?

Q: At the beginning of the Reiki Principles, when it says 'The Secret Method To Invite Happiness'; what does the 'Secret' part mean?

Q: Is it true that Dr Usui found Reiki while he was doing something called Lotus Repentance meditation?

Q: I have heard that Mikao Usui's '5 Principles' were endorsed by the Emperor Meiji, is there any actual evidence of this?

Q: On a website about Raku Kei Reiki they showed something called Kanji Hand Positions. I thought kanji was the name for the characters used to write Japanese, so why are the Hand Positions called Kanji?

Q: Is Reiki Jutsu a particular style of Reiki or just a term for Reiki in general - in my Japanese dictionary it says jutsu means art - so Reiki Jutsu is Reiki Art or Art of Reiki, am I right?