Dear Friends
I was attuned to the traditional Usui form of Reiki, nearly 7 years ago. About 18 months ago my wife and I starting using Christian symbols at times, principally the Cross.
A year ago at a Reiki day I put posters on the wall of Christian symbols, opposite the traditional Japanese symbols, and we alternated between the symbols using what felt intuitively good. After that I considered re-writing my manual from a Christian perspective. However there was always a nagging doubt in me about the attunement – how could I teach Christian symbols and say it's Christian Reiki if the attunement used Japanese symbols.
I gave a Reiki 2 class last August to two very interesting students. There was a lot of discussion about and around the symbols, and then one of the students dared me to use the Christian symbols in the attunement. And I thought this through – Jesus is the Master; the symbols about his life and around his being are ultimate symbols: their meanings are clear and not ambivalent – why was I holding back? It suddenly felt very right to do a Christian attunement.
I used the Cross, the fish, the cup, the pax or chiro and the empty cross with the shroud draped around it as my master symbol. It's funny, but whenever I gave a traditional attunement I always had a slight uneasiness and I put it to not being completely familiar with the ritual of attunement even though I've done more than 50 attunements. Yet when I did the Christian attunement I felt completely at peace: the prayer I said over both the students flowed out of me and the invocation I made with each symbol was completely spontaneous. The nun whom I attuned said it felt like an ordination – ordained to the healing ministry. Gail was in the kitchen during the attunement and although it was a windless day she heard the wind chimes outside the kitchen and felt this rush of wind go past her and into the room where the attunement was taking place. All in all it was a remarkable manifestation of the Spirit and a very powerful confirmation that this was indeed the right route for me,
I've since re-written my Reiki 1 manual and am in the process of re-writing Reiki 2. The past 6 months has been a wonderful journey of experience and the Reiki I do just flows out of me. Distance Reiki has become a matter of intention and invocation of Jesus' name. The Cross is my most frequently used symbol – and the use of it is to strengthen intention, open myself more to being a channel of divine healing, and an opportunity to beam out love, light and compassion. The empty cross, the very symbol of New Man, new life is a very powerful and beautiful symbol of God's complete and utterly indescribable love for us – the crown of his creation. I am beginning to feel more and more strongly that the Reiki we give with open and loving hearts helps to reveal the beauty hidden in each one of us and which God, our father sees so clearly.
I am happy to make the manual available to whoever needs it, in the interests of promoting Reiki in the Christian community. Just e-mail me privately and I will send it as an attachment.
I don't use the Christian symbols in the same way as the Japanese symbols, although the invocation of Jesus' name in a very reverential way is my normal way of starting. Often I visualise crosses flowing from my heart or brow. These two rituals help set the intention (and are my usual way of sending Reiki, too), although often just the thought of Reiki starts the energy flowing. (I've realised that Reiki flows whether there is a conscious intention or whether the inner heart is stirred by compassion). The Cross is a very easy symbol to visualise and the name of Jesus just carries so much power in itslf. The name of Jesus repeated often through the healing session brings about a vital presence - one becomes very aware of Jesus Himself; this act of opening up is exactly what God needs and desires in us human beings - to be channels of His peace, love and compassion. So these two are very important for me.
If I find the energy is somehow sluggish, that there is some resistance by the receiver or that there are dark shadows around the receiver that are clinging then I tend to use the other symbols as well - visualising them or drawing them over the person. I always try and allow myself to get into a state of being that is very receptive and intuitive so that the use of these symbols seem to help strengthen the light that glows from the Reiki energy.
The pax or Chiro is my distance symbol. There are some lovely variations. In the Franciscan Friary near us the pax is shown with anchors on the bottom beams of the St Andrews cross. This symbol is very meaningful to me and conveys a special power.
The empty cross (visualised as a plain cross with a cloth draped around the cross beam) is my master symbol. I also use it for distant healing. In the attunement process I breathe it on to the attunee with a spontaneous invocation and it is very powerful. It seems to call the Risen Christ, his Holy Spirit very strongly into a particular situation.
Reiki for me is more than healing. Often during a healing session I go into a sort of transcendent state where I am very aware of Jesus and his angels. The Indwelling Spirit, which animates my inner self and becomes "active" in this state of being, seems to resonate with the spirit of the receiver. It seems during that state of being and raised consciousness, much healing and inner work is done by Jesus. Nothing is impossible to Jesus but it seems we can really assist in the healing work when we are in tune with our own spark of divinity and the receiver's too. It's at those moments that time often seems to stand still and I sometimes hear the chorus of praise being sung to God...
