Reiki Level Two

Part One: Living the Reiki Principles as a Christian

Part Two: Introduction

Part Three: Ethics and Reiki

Part Four: The Reiki Symbols

Part Five: Distant Healing

Part Six: Group Distant Healing

Part Seven: Scanning and Beaming

Part Eight: Healing the Past and Healing Bad Habits

Part Nine: Reiki, Angels and Spiritual Beings

Part Ten: Reiki and other Tools

Part Eleven: Reiki Meditations

1. The Reiki Principles

"The secret method of inviting blessings, the spiritual medicine of many illnesses

Usui Spiritual Healing Method (Usui Reiki Ryoho)
The founder, Mikao Usui "

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If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love,

I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,

And if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love,

I am nothing.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, it is not pompous,

It is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests,

It is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,

It does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.

It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

In the end three things remain: faith, hope and love.

But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7,13

Love is the essential guiding principle. The second most important principle is Intention and Consent. Consent is my ‘yes’ to the divine action. I allow myself to become a channel of love, healing, compassion and mercy. I align my will with the Divine Will. I set my intention to be open to love and to allow to happen what ought to happen.

This was the kenosis, the self-emptying of Christ. Surrender means the complete emptying of myself and meeting any and all of life situations by the complete, free giving of myself. The spiritual practices from Reiki One dispose us more to this attitude of surrender.

"In the centre of one’s nothingness, one meets the infinitely real. This total act of surrender is not merely a fantastic intellectual and mystical gamble; it is something much more serious. It is an act of love for this unseen person, we surrender ourselves to this reality, which makes this presence known to us."

Thomas Merton

2. INTRODUCTION

However, progressing to level two is far more than just learning a few extra skills and being given a few symbols to work with. It involves being connected in a deeper and more spiritual way with your own self and with the world around you.

Although we yield completely to Jesus’ Spirit in Reiki healing it is good to know how this healing is directed. Some people see Reiki as merely a natural healing system, others see greater spiritual significance in Reiki. However you view Reiki and whatever experiences you have giving Reiki, it remains an effective and powerful yet gentle, non-invasive way of healing. My experience has shown that a spiritual inclination towards Reiki and the application of various spiritual disciplines can bring about some amazing healings, whether at the physical, emotional, mental or spiritual level. Level two seems to reach deeper into the various levels of our being, even releasing past memories and helping to heal unforgiveness, resentment and guilt.

Often the retention of these emotions can eventually lead to disease and malaise. Reiki helps heal deep-seated problems although this can take a few sessions (no true healing happens instantaneously).

By reaching into deeper healing in this manner you will be stretched, but you will grow. See this new phase of your inner growth as a sacred trust and a great privilege to be able to participate in these healings.

In Level One most people go through some sort of physical detoxification, and with Level Two you will most likely go through an emotional purification that can last a few weeks or some months. This might cause some chaotic feelings and even some deep soul-searching, but accept it as part of the process of becoming lighter and purer. At the end of the purification you will most likely feel a lot lighter and less pre-occupied with self. I found that I often felt inner pain and painful emotions very intensely, but I also knew that these were being released and deep healing was taking place.

The major teaching of Level Two is distance or absentee healing. There as many ways to do distance healing as there are healers, and absentee healing is not something invented by Reiki. What makes Reiki’s use of distance healing unique is the symbols used as well as some specifically Reiki techniques. If you think of praying for someone lying in a hospital bed – you are asking for help, as well as sending positive energy. With Reiki distance healing you can actually feel the energy being directed to and used by the recipient. It somehow takes the nagging worry out of whether my prayers are being answered, am I praying hard enough, am I praying for too many people? Prayer with Reiki is a very powerful tool in healing people not physically present.

Some years back my wife and I sent distance Reiki to my sister prior to a delicate operation near the facial nerve. My mother was with her and phoned us that my sister lost her anxiety attack and went into theatre quite peacefully. We continued sending Reiki and the healing was quick and very effective. We send Reiki to people before an important interview; before a crucial court hearing; during marital tension in a household; a nervous person about to fly; in numerous cases to people in need. The more Reiki is sent the easier it just begins to flow out of the compassionate heart. Jesus heard the cries of the marginalised, and those in need – he never ignored them, so too ought your Reiki practice stir in you the ears to hear the cries of the sick, the poor and the desperate.

Mother Theresa

It is different when we invite a person to receive a full Reiki session from us. Here we ask permission, and the person can reject the offer, maybe wishing to cling to illness, or because they ideologically disagree with the principles of Reiki. And we accept that refusal. But in all other cases, when Reiki is called for it pours out of the heart unbidden.

In our prayer group during sharing after a Bible reading, someone related a terrible story. I could feel Reiki going out from my heart area as she spoke. Afterwards, a clairvoyant person in our group said he saw love and compassion coming out of the hearts of the people present, in a white colour. The several Reiki practitioners in the group, interestingly enough, had strong purple-coloured rays coming from their hearts. I don’t believe we can stop the flow of Reiki when it is needed. When I pray over someone and my hands are on their shoulders or extended out towards them, I feel the energy of the Reiki pouring out of my hands. It would be as foolish to ask permission to do that as to ask if they seriously wanted to be prayed over!

There was a time that I was sending Reiki to a person, but I sensed it being blocked and stopped immediately. There is no sense in forcing healing. Our desire to help must come from compassion rather than the ego-based need to feel wanted or to try and "cure" someone. In our Reiki practice we constantly try to purify our motives, learning from Jesus.

In Reiki healing we are dealing with energy, and we are involved in the mysterious process of healing. Symbols can help us understand this process and help us to participate more fully. The use of the symbols can aid our focus and draw our attention away from self to the other in need of healing (such an attitude actually also brings about healing in ourselves).

Dr Usui did not emphasise the use of the symbols except as training wheels for the newly initiated.

Sacred and Secret:

Traditionally, the Japanese Reiki symbols were kept as both secret and sacred. Because teaching was reserved for the few, and was particularly directed by religious beliefs, the word "secret" and "sacred" held much the same meaning, Nowadays, they can be understood as very different. The traditional teaching of Reiki, by Mrs Takata, required that the student never wrote the symbols down, and had to learn them during the class. No written symbols were permitted to be removed from the place of learning, and at the end of the course any written material showing the symbols had to be burnt. Their usage was more as a stimulus-response tool. The act of drawing or visualising the symbols (stimulus) led to connecting with the energy (response).

Our understanding and use of Christian symbols is primarily to invoke the power of God, remind us of God and arouse in us an awareness of the Indwelling Presence. Therefore, I venture to say that the use of the Christian symbols is primarily the recognition of God’s infinite mercy and the willingness to participate in this unconditional act of love for all humanity.

How to draw the symbols:

Draw them with your index finger above the receiver either horizontally or vertically, or on the palm of the other hand. Or imagine a pencil protruding from the middle of your palm, as you draw them in the air. Visualise them in your mind either in black, gold or violet.

Use it whenever feel drawn to do so, perhaps when changing hand positions or sensing a great amount of energy being drawn into a particular part of the body. Do not forget self-healing – sign the cross over yourself before you begin Reiki.

Imagine crosses beaming from your heart or brow to a person in need, into a tense situation, or simply into the walls and ceilings of your house or office. You can also extend the hands and beam the cross from your palms, or throw them into a room, or even at people with whom you come into contact. Throw the cross at a nervous or fussy animal as this can have a calming and soothing effect. Sign it over food and drink for a cleansing and clearing effect, and do so with gratitude. The cross can be drawn in a simple way, or it can be adorned.

The frequent use of Jesus’ name throughout 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 love, peace and compassion.

The Chalice

The Chalice holds the Precious Blood, the saving blood of Christ. Draw or visualise the chalice whilst saying the words: "Precious Blood", or "Blood of Jesus", or "Cup of Salvation".

Use this symbol when you sense that the receiver is holding onto deep issues such as resentment, bitterness, hatred, unforgiveness, shame or guilt. This can help release these deep feelings and bring about a feeling of freedom. However, these feelings can be deeply lodged in the body and the memory and the release might bring about a flood of tears or some other similar outburst. Be present to the person at such a time, but avoid counselling unless you are trained in that field. A sympathetic presence in a safe environment is most often a powerful aid to the healing of such darkness in a person.

Just what does the Ichthus mean? Ichthus (ikh-thoos) or ichthys is the Greek word simply meaning "fish". The Greek spelling for ichthus is -- Iota, Chi, Theta, Upsilon, and Sigma.  The English translation is IXOYE.  The five Greek letters stand for the words meaning, "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour."

Draw this symbol at each change of hand position. Say: "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour." Saying this phrase over and over during the Reiki session has the effect of allowing us to surrender more fully to God’s healing grace. Here are some versions:

Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour

One can use other meaningful symbols such as signs of the Holy Trinity (Variations of the triangle, trefoil, etc); The Lamb of God; alpha and omega; the IHS or IHC symbol; or other symbols.

Chi-Rho (Christ, Christos)

There are several methods of distant healing, using either visualisation or a proxy. It can help in either instance to have a pen and paper handy to write down any feelings or images that come to you. It also helps to be comfortable, in a quiet place, although after a bit of practice that is not so important. It is very important to make yourself empty – don’t think about any outcome, just be open.

The Photo Technique

The simplest technique for absentee healing is to use a photo of them. Draw all the symbols or just the Chi-Rho. Intend that the person be filled with Reiki. Then place the photo between your hands, and then send the Reiki.

The Reiki Box

Get a shoe box and decorate the outside with colourful paper. Inside the lid draw the four symbols. As you get requests from people to send Reiki, write down their name and the nature of the complaint on a piece of paper and place in the box. Add other requests. Each morning and night hold the box in your hands, intending Reiki be sent to each of the people whose names are in the box. As people get better you can remove their names from the pile. In a mysterious and most wonderful way each person represented in the box gets Reiki.

The Proxy Methods: Knee Method, Pillow Method, Teddy Bear Method

Proxy methodsare using one thing to represent another. People use these methods to help gain an energetic rapport with the person. Anything can be used as a proxy. Technically the photo and box techniques are also a proxy method in that they represent people.

The basis of the proxy method is that we intend that the object represents the person. If you are using a pillow, you would intend that the top part represent the crown, the middle the waist and the bottom the feet. A teddy bear is easy: the head represents the head, etc. in the knee method, use the right knee and thigh to represent the back, and the left knee and thigh to represent the front of the person being treated. The knee corresponds to the head, the thigh to the torso and the hip to the legs and feet.

Whichever method you use, begin by drawing all four symbols on the object used to represent the person, then treat the proxy as if you were treating the person. Simply intend to heal the person and send it, Reiki will do the rest!

Finger Method

The finger method is another method of using a representation of the person to send distant Reiki. It is useful if you only have one hand free or in a place where you want to send distant Reiki but do not want to draw attention to yourself. Basically, the procedure uses the finger of one hand to represent a person or situation that you want to send distant healing to. Wrap your fingers of one hand around the finger you are using as proxy. Intend that you are sending distant Reiki to that person or situation. As you do Reiki on your finger, you are doing Reiki on the person.

Visualisation Technique

Another method is to imagine that you are there with the person receiving the healing, and do the healing as if you were there. This requires some concentration as you need to keep a visual image of the person being treated. A visualisation aid is to imagine crosses or Chi-Rho’s coming from the hands, heart or brow and wrapping the person. Another example is to imagine a cross over the back area, especially if the person is studying and the shoulders and neck are taut and sore. Or visualise the symbols entering a sick area of the body and feel the connection with the person. You can also do Reiki on yourself and imagine it being done to another person. In effect you are the proxy in such a situation. One’s strength and power is never sufficient – don’t forget to invoke the power of the Spirit during these times of healing.

Over time, you will discover that you need to use the distant symbol less, and that the structured methods are also less needed. This is as it should be. As you develop increasing familiarity with the energy you will naturally find that the symbols, like all tools, can be put aside when no longer needed. However, it should be cautioned not to be hasty in initiating this. Take your time and let the connection to the energy strengthen and grow.

To summarise, add the symbols to whatever way you wish to do distant healing, and the healing session itself takes a few moments. The process of distant healing becomes easy with practice and grows strong with frequent use. Never underestimate the good it can do.

In the first method, Reiki practitioners sit in a circle. Each person faces the back of the person in front of them. Have everyone draw the symbols and connect to the Reiki energy and the healing power of the Spirit. The name and other information about the person to be treated is stated and then everyone sends Reiki to the person in front of them, the last person sends the energy of all the healers to the person being treated.

In the second method, the practitioners sit in a circle facing each other. Have everyone draw the symbols and connect to the Reiki energy. The name and other information about the person to be treated is stated and then everybody sends Reiki to the person who is visualised/imagined to be in the centre of the circle. Alternatively, the person requesting the Reiki sits in the middle of the circle with everyone sending to that person as a proxy.

GROUP HEALING

The healers at Hayashi’s Reiki centre in Japan worked in teams. By working with a group of healers, several hand positions can be done at once and the session takes far less time. The person receiving the energy experiences a very strong burst of it and gets all the advantages of a full Reiki healing very quickly. A healing team that has learned to work well together can achieve many more healings than they could by working alone, and as a team they do the healing almost without effort. The companionship of other Reiki practitioners with whom to do healing is a great joy. Each person on the team is needed and seems to find their own unique work in each session.

To start group healing, one person stands or sits at the head of the receiver. That person does all three head positions – the space is too small for more hands – and also is the director of the sessions. There can be as many more healers as there are other Reiki positions, one pair of hands on each position. With fewer healers divide up the work. With two healers, one does the positions from the head to the solar plexus, moving down, and the other starts at the sacral and goes to the feet. As many healers as can fit around the table can participate in the session. Working the back, the hands can move up or down the spine in sequence and if necessary the muscles alongside the spine.

Everyone starts by holding their hands in the prayer position, then opens hands to the ceiling to receive the gift of Reiki, and all place hands together on their positions, on the receiver. As the energy wanes, the leader can nod and all can lift hands together and place on the next position. Some might have to stay in one position throughout the healing session. A group that becomes familiar with each other would develop an intuitive awareness when to move hand positions, and this need not be in sync with the others.

This method of sensing where the body needs Reiki is also a good tool to know where to place the hands. The hands can then be placed on the body where the sensation is strongest, or held together some centimeters above the body. As awareness increases, the hands can be placed at different levels above the body until the strong sensations wane. This is a way of not just healing in the physical body but also in the energy field surrounding the body.

This is a particularly useful method to use on the back as it can detect areas of knotted muscles, or even pinpoint where nerves are pinched. The Reiki is excellent in reducing inflammation and generally sending healing warmth into strained and knotted muscles. As the area is worked, generally you will notice the inflamed or painful area becoming smaller and often ending in the origin of the pain. At this juncture, put two fingers on the spot and this sends concentrated energy into a small area.

The ability to scan will vary greatly from person to person. Some students will readily feel this in their hands and others will take time to develop this ability. As you interact with the receiver’s energy field, the two of you will become connected. You may become aware of the cause of the distortion and the problems attached to it. Often a knot around the shoulder blades is caused by a breakdown in relationship with another. Thighs that take a lot of energy can be an indication of repressed anger. Heat on the forehead may mean that the person is thinking too much – too much thinking is an escape from facing emotional problems. You may also get an insight into how the problems started and what the receiver can do to facilitate the healing. Share this information only if you are guided by your intuition to do so. And then only with loving kindness and without judgement. Always treat the client and the process with great respect.

With practice, your sensitivity can develop to the point where it is possible to scan with the eyes and sense where the problems are, and you could actually begin to see the negative energy around the distressed area.

Scan your own body to find distortions in your energy field and ask what happened to create it and what you need to do to heal it. Remember, be kind to yourself – self-flagellation is self-defeating. Accept whatever is shown to you without judgement or blame. Allow yourself to feel your feelings. Be ready to forgive and let love in. This can be an intimate process, making you aware of deeper needs, increasing your sensitivity and facilitating personal growth.

There are two different beaming techniques. They are beaming distantly and in person beaming to someone in your location (in other words you can see them).

To do distant beaming, draw the Cross and the Chi-Rho (or all the symbols) in the air. State the name of the person you wish to heal, and any other details about them that you need to feel connected. Intend that the person will receive Reiki as you send. Hold one or both hands at chest height palms facing outwards from you. Focus on the energy and when distracted by thoughts, gently brush them aside. This sort of focus in distant beaming can allow the Reiki energy to flow very strongly. Allow the Reiki to pour out of the hands, the heart, the brow and the eyes.

In-person beaming is distant Reiki but done when you are with the person. It is something you can do when you want to send Reiki to someone in the line of sight. This is useful for people with touch issues, or for people who it would be inappropriate to touch like burn victims or those with infectious diseases. To beam or send Reiki to someone across from you in the room can also work on the whole energy field all at once. This is a completely different sensation and experience. To do beaming extend the palms towards the person and use the symbols. The difference between this and distant healing is that you can see the person.

So many people are stuck in the past and are unable to grow because of the memory blockage. If you recognise this in yourself, self-healing using the symbols can start to move the stuck memory.

ome hurts are deep-seated and here is a method you can use many times over to gradually heal these problems. Sitting comfortably with spine erect, close the eyes and focus on the breathing. Once it becomes rhythmic, allow the consciousness to settle in the middle of the chest – feel grounded. Then bring the awareness into the soles of the feet, gradually move up the body, feeling a tingling in the different body parts.

When you sense an area of tightness or tension, feel it with the inner awareness and then let it go. Once the body feels very relaxed, visualise the Cross and breathe the name of Jesus. Imagine a door opening in the heart. Go through the door and into a sunlit garden. For a moment become aware of the sunshine, the song of the birds and the feeling of gentle breeze on the face. Allow a feeling of peace come into your being. Then become aware of a path leading through the garden to a beautiful shady tree. Walk along this path and then sit on a bench under the tree, and sit quietly waiting for someone. The first few times you might have to call someone whom you need to forgive (later on a person appears on the bench next to you). Greet the person and then, very gently say what needs to be said to the person that needs to be forgiven. Allow this process to happen with an imagined conversation. And then ask the person if they need to forgive you. When this is done sit quietly with the person, and then after a while bid farewell. With a lighter feeling in the heart, begin to go back along the path and enter the doorway into your heart. For a few moments ground yourself in the heart area and when ready open the eyes. This can take ten to twenty minutes and if there is an issue that really needs to be healed, do this meditation regularly and know that the healing is happening from deep within. As there is an inner consent happening, allow the Holy Spirit to work through you. You need contribute nothing except allowing the action of the Divine Healer to take place.

HEALING BAD HABITS

There are number of ways to heal bad habits such as smoking, over-eating, swearing and so on. One method is to write the bad habit on a piece of paper with your name as well. Draw the Cross over it invoking God’s name, then draw the chalice over the paper and imagine the healing blood of Jesus working through the bad habit. Do this every day for ten to twenty minutes, imagining the bad habit dissolving. You can say positive affirmations whilst sending Reiki into the bad habit or compulsion. Fold the paper and keep it with you. Whenever you feel the urge to do the unwanted habit, take out the paper and send Reiki to it.

For weight loss, use the paper and give Reiki to it each day, but also before each meal and whenever the compulsion arises to snack between meals. Often these unwanted habits have an emotional origin so healing painful memories is also very helpful in breaking bad habits.

Angels are mentioned many times in the Bible. They represent God, they are his mediators and interpreters. They are also guardians. It was they who helped Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus flee the wrath of Herod. They help human beings on their earthly journey. Many people have experienced the presence of angels when they do Reiki healing. They are perceived as assisting in the healing process. Several times I have seen angels as I do Reiki: once I looked into an angel’s eyes and felt the most incredible love and desire to serve coming from him. It was not a warm love but icy blue. Another time I sensed a group of angels. For a brief moment I was in their company and experienced a sudden change in consciousness. It was as if my eyes were opened to the glory of God and I heard the never-ending hymn of praise that all creation sings. This was a very brief experience but it has never left me.