Being a Reiki Master

Qualities of a Reiki Master

Being a Reiki Master is of course more than just three days training. In reality, it is the work of a lifetime, rather than just the attainment of a title. The title of being a Reiki Master is more indicative of the fact that you have now made a commitment to bring Reiki into the world and that you are ready to try and integrate Reiki into more (or all) aspects of your life. 

Whilst there are obvious benefits to being a Reiki person in terms of the inherent healing abilities both for yourself and others, in some ways the real challenge is how to integrate Reiki into and how it can work in our daily lives. 

Reiki is a sacred practice that requires reverence and our greatest respect if we are to experience its most wonderful value. The benefits of Reiki can be all encompassing, not only giving us the ability to heal ourselves and others, which by itself is deeply meaningful, but also bringing guidance for our lives. Its unlimited nature can create opportunities for continual growth, unfoldment and the awakening of our own boundless potential.

The ever increasing joy, peace and abundance that await those who sincerely pursue the path of Reiki are not only a blessing to be enjoyed, but also contain the healing that the planet so dearly needs.

One of the real values of any spiritual tradition is that it helps us to live our lives more consciously. Living life consciously is really what the choice of healing or the spiritual path is all about and it is what Usui intended when he brought forward the five precepts.

As well as the healing ability of Reiki and of course the ability to bring about change, it’s also about cultivating qualities that generate well-being, such as non-judgement, unconditional love, patience, forgiveness, surrender and probably a few more besides. What’s more, it’s about being conscious of your every action, intention, thought, feeling and emotion.   It is about bridging worlds, so that you are not immersed (and thus isolated) in either the material or the magical world.

In practice, being a Reiki Master is about living by the Reiki Principles every moment of every day in your own humble way or at least trying to whenever you can, noticing when you don’t and gently trying to pull yourself back into the way you want to be when this happens. It’s not about the mystical experiences, though of course these do tend to keep coming as well.

As well as these magical, mystical moments, Reiki as a way of life is also about how you cope in the midst of a sweaty, smelly crowded train, how you are when you are driving on the motorway and everyone seems to be cutting you up, how you are when your boss snarls at you for the third time that day and how you are at three o’clock in the morning when your neighbours wake you up…again.

It’s not exclusively putting the mystical into the material, or bringing the material in to the mystical…it’s about bridging and mixing the two, being able to ground the energies of Reiki into your own life, those of others around you and the world at large and living a richer life as a result. 

The joys of becoming a Reiki Master are many and you don’t necessarily have to teach in order for the Master training to be useful. The additional healing energy, symbols, techniques and knowledge will add value to your healing abilities. Treating yourself, giving yourself and others healing attunements and treating others in person and at a distance will all be noticeably improved. The fact that you can pass Reiki on to friends and family is also a definite plus. Many take the Master training with just this in mind. However, if you ever decide to formally teach, you will be able to do so.

One of the greatest joys of Reiki Mastership is teaching Reiki to others. Imagine the thrill of witnessing the members of your Reiki class receiving Reiki energy during the attunement. Then, as you guide them in its use, sharing in their joy and amazement as they experience it’s gentle power flowing though them for the first time. As your students use Reiki to help family, friends and clients, a wonderful sense of spiritual connection will develop between all of you. Feelings of compassion and love for everyone will be strengthened as you merge with the Reiki Consciousness and know more deeply that we come from God and that we are all one in God.

The Reiki Principles or The Five Precepts

Just for today, I let go of anger

Just for today, I let go of worry

Just for today, I give thanks for my many blessings

Just for today I do my work honestly  

Just for today I am kind to my neighbour and every living thing

As we have already discussed in earlier courses, there are several different versions of the Reiki principles, Five Precepts or Reiki Ideals as they are also known. All of the versions are valid and none is better than any other.

When you are attuned to Reiki and thus become a channel for Reiki, it does affect every thought, feeling, every choice, every action and thus every moment of our lives. When Usui originally began to formulate and then teach Reiki, he realised that what he was working with was and is more than just another healing technique. Thus, he asked his students to live by the Reiki Principles as he considered that working closely with the Reiki principles was and is a valuable part of Reiki practice. Today they still provide a valid means of guidance for all of us on our Reiki journey as we look to integrate Reiki into every moment of our lives.

Most of us try and live our lives by a version of the teachings as and when we can, but actively working with them and thinking about them as we go about our lives does provide a deeper level of understanding of their meanings. Here are some further thoughts for you on the five precepts.

Just for Today

This phrase prefixes all of the principles as they are mentioned above, and I think this is one of the most important parts of them, or indeed life.

First of all, it is a practicality. If you were to take a vow or make a promise to live your life by the Reiki principles forever after, then odds on that sooner or later you would probably break that promise. We’re all human after all, and such a promise would be a very tall order. However, if you make the promise to yourself to do it “just for today” then that is a goal that’s much easier to achieve. If you happen to “break the promise” today, then you can try again tomorrow.

The phrase “just for today” also tells us that we should be living in the “now”, in the present moment and be conscious of what is going on around us. Many people spend a lot of time with their thoughts on the future, thinking about what they’re going to do when they finish work tonight, their holidays in two weeks time etc or in the past; why they didn’t take that opportunity that came up last week etc. When we have these thoughts, then we are not living in present time and as part of our journey to Mastery we need to bring all of our energy into present time.

When we do live in present time, or in the “now” then we are more mindful, we are more conscious of what is going on around us and we are effectively more alive and better connected to everything that is. You have experienced being in the moment many times in your life and hopefully you do on a regular basis. You are completely absorbed in what you are doing and when you are completely absorbed, then you are living it and effectively being it. If you listen to a sports person, or another performer such as a dancer, or a singer then they will tell you the same thing but in slightly different language; they might “be in the zone” or call it “being in the flow”.

Eckhart Tolle wrote an excellent book called “The Power of Now”  in which he says (among many other wonderful suggestions) “Wherever you are, be there totally”, whether it’s doing the washing up, walking along the street or engaging in a performance of some kind. What Tolle suggests is that people try and escape the present with thoughts of the future and memories of the past because their “here and now” is not good enough. When I have “x” then everything will be ok, or when I am with “y”, or in “z” then I will be fine. This suggests that we don’t accept ourselves as we are and are thus not taking responsibility for our life as it is. Acceptance is the first key to healing in the sense that admitting or accepting a condition is very often the first step on the path to recovery. It doesn’t mean that we can’t aspire to bettering some aspects of our life but the first step to that is accepting where we are now and thus accepting ourselves.

There are many ways to be in the “now” – simply take time in your life to perform simple tasks with complete attention, using all of your senses and being in the moment. It’s a form of meditation; Buddhists call it a mindfulness meditation. Being grounded (and using the grounding exercises in the Reiki I course) is a very good start to living in the “now” and of course breathe is one major key.

Just for today, I let go of anger

Although we may not always like to acknowledge it, anger is actually a conscious choice. Often it can be a habitual reaction to a set of certain circumstances arising in our external environment or even as a reaction to pattern within our own behaviour that we do not like (or wish to accept).

Anger is frequently linked to responses from the past. We experience anger because our expectations are not being met in some way or often if we are not meeting our own expectations.

The letting go of anger does not mean suppressing or repressing it. The storing of anger can have a very detrimental effect on health and can also drain a person of energy. It is important to express the emotion but in a responsible manner. If you perceive someone else’s action to be the source of your anger, then there are several ways you can deal with this. You can be passive about it, make no comment about it and just allow it to happen; this is effectively storing the anger internally. You can express the anger as you feel it at the other person. This will probably be seen as aggressive behaviour by the other person (and possibly yourself at a later date) and physiologically doesn’t do either of your any good. The effective way is the middle way; by being assertive. Taking a deep breath and telling the other person how you feel in a constructive fashion will ultimately have a positive impact for both of you. Your own self-esteem is boosted by standing up for yourself and expressing how you feel, your health will receive a boost in the process, and assuming you are expressing yourself appropriately then you are not damaging the other person.

 Keeping a diary or journal is also a good way of releasing emotions. Often it is the best way of truly expressing how we feel. The very act of writing something down is effectively a release of energy and thus a positive action.

Just for today, I let go of worry

Again, worry is a conscious choice and again, we can choose to let it go. Worry is simply a fear of the future, the unknown and the fear that we may be unable to cope in the future with whatever may happen. This often focuses around a “what if” type scenario – a future event that hasn’t happened and may never actually do so.

The American author Mark Twain once famously said “I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.”

By worrying, we are actually indulging in bad energy management. We are actually projecting our fears (also energy) into the future and we may actually end up creating what it is that we don’t want. We are creative beings and it is important for us to focus on the positive and what we want, rather than the negative and what we don’t want to attract. By letting go of worrying, we start to live in the “now”, and in doing so we begin to manage our own energy that bit better.

Just for today, I give thanks for my many blessings

“Gratitude is the best attitude” is one of my favourite sayings. By developing an attitude of gratitude and actually be grateful for our many blessings, we start to attract more positive experiences into our lives. Most people take a lot of things in their lives for granted, or regret what it is that they haven’t got. Neither is energetically beneficial. Gratitude is also widely regarded of a way to raise your energetic vibration or energy levels.

By focusing on the reality of what we have got and being grateful for it (however little it may be) then we raise our consciousness and start to attract abundance of every kind into our lives. This is something we can easily do at the end of every day; before we got to sleep at night we can quickly review our day, simply being grateful for everything that came into our lives. When we decide to view this from a spiritual “high point” then we can actually give thanks for everything (whether it is good or bad) that comes into our lives. There is a reason and often a lesson in every experience.

Just for today I do my work honestly 

“Work” in this context means much more than your job. Firstly, it also means your purpose (the reason you are on the planet), and in that context it means the whole of our path and all we do, think and feel. Effectively, you are your life’s work!

Therefore, the most important person to be honest with is you. By being honest with yourself, and thereafter others, you raise your level of consciousness and awareness.

Honesty with oneself also sometimes involves making difficult decisions. Staying in our comfort zones is generally the safe option, and it is only when we venture out of our comfort zones that the real growth begins. Sometimes, the decision to step out of the safe and comfortable takes a lot with honesty with oneself.

Essentially, being honest is the basis for Mastery; whether that is Reiki Mastery or life mastery is irrelevant. It means listening to oneself; the inner voice or the spirit (or whatever we choose to call it) and then to be true to it, even if we may not be overly delighted about the possible consequences. Ultimately, it’s about moving away from the personal and moving into the bigger picture, whether we choose to call that the Universal Plan, Destiny, God’s will or whatever your personal preference is. A relevant spiritual teaching is “Thy will, not my will” and sometimes that takes true honesty to oneself.

Just for today I am kind to my neighbour and every living thing

“Work” in this context means much more than your job. Firstly, it also means your purpose (the reason you are on the planet), and in that context it means the whole of our path and all we do, think and feel. Effectively, you are your life’s work!

Being kind to everyone we meet and every living thing, under any circumstances that we may encounter, might seem like a huge commitment. It is not, however, about liking every single person that we meet. It is about respecting everyone we meet and respecting their life path. We may not like someone or we may not like what they are doing but we can honour and respect the fact that their path is different from ours and in no way better or worse; it’s just different. Everyone that we meet is in some way one of our teachers and are offering us some form of lesson, whether we choose or are able to see it or not.

Once again it is, of course, very important to remember to be kind to ourselves first and foremost, and thereafter to extend this kindness outwards towards every living person and thing.

This principle is based on the Sacred Truth or premise what “all is one” and/or that “We Are All One”, so that whatever we do to others, we are effectively doing to ourselves (or the one).

Therefore, the most important person to be honest with is you. By being honest with yourself, and thereafter others, you raise your level of consciousness and awareness.

Honesty with oneself also sometimes involves making difficult decisions. Staying in our comfort zones is generally the safe option, and it is only when we venture out of our comfort zones that the real growth begins. Sometimes, the decision to step out of the safe and comfortable takes a lot with honesty with oneself.

Essentially, being honest is the basis for Mastery; whether that is Reiki Mastery or life mastery is irrelevant. It means listening to oneself; the inner voice or the spirit (or whatever we choose to call it) and then to be true to it, even if we may not be overly delighted about the possible consequences. Ultimately, it’s about moving away from the personal and moving into the bigger picture, whether we choose to call that the Universal Plan, Destiny, God’s will or whatever your personal preference is. A relevant spiritual teaching is “Thy will, not my will” and sometimes that takes true honesty to oneself.

The Breakfast of Masters

This appendix is not about nutritional advice, but about three qualities which two hypnosis teachers, Julie Silverthorn and John Overdurf, have found to be greatly enhanced and refined in all “enlightened masters”. The following is based on distinctions John and Julie made in their book “Dreaming Realities”.

Intention

Intention is the ability to focus, sharpen and maintain one’s attention and purpose over time. Like the light in a laser beam, the conscious, unconscious and higher conscious minds come into alignment, giving our intention the power to cut through fluff and obstacles.

Powerful intention arises from clear thinking. We see, hear and feel the intended results and the results of the results clearly, vividly and expect them with a sense of certainty. We know that this is what we want and the moment our intention becomes absolutely clear, we send out a “telepathic cord” into the future which actually creates the event at that point. To the extent that we maintain our intention, that event becomes inevitable.

Magic is intention applied at a key moment, and key moments are created through total alignment of all we are, do and have. When we lack such alignment, we live in tension rather than live your intention.

Energy

The second quality of “enlightened masters” is the amount of energy they have and are able to move through their bodies and transmit to others. A continuous awareness of energy and how we invest it at any moment, plus a sound knowledge of how to refresh and build our energy are key ingredients to living masterfully.

The connection between energy and intention is central. Intention guides the flow of our energy. Intention, starting with a thought, plus energy equals actions and creation. It is the actions we take what connects our intention with our energy and grounds them into physical reality. Intention without energy will lead nowhere. Energy without intention is likely to stray to someone else’s intentions or to merely create bouncing whirls of chaos.

All “enlightened masters” work on the principle of maximum focus and minimum effort. By having released all emotional baggage, transcended all conflicts and completed and healed their past, they have reclaimed their energy and can make it fully available to the here and now and the future.

Whenever you are about to make a decision, ask yourself “Will this option raise or lower my energy?” and let your body answer. Or in other words, “Would I choose this option out of love or out of fear?” These questions provide useful guidance.

The Ego Meter

The third key that “enlightened masters” possess is “the ego meter”. It is the state of possessing an ego instead of being possessed by it. It is the conscious relationship with your Higher Self, Spirit, Source, Rei, something greater than the ´little self´, resulting in the knowing that “I am more than I think I am”, “I am really not the one doing it anyway” and “I am a channel. It happens through me.”

Working Professionally as a Reiki Master Teacher

Once you feel ready to extend your Reiki practice beyond friends and family to working with the general public, there are several things to be considered:

•  Your professional appearance, personal hygiene and the choice and tidiness of your work space are important elements for a client to feel comfortable and respected.

•  Get professional liability insurance cover whether you work from home or from a clinic and make sure that the premises confirm to health and safety standards.

•  Use the client record form provided for the initial interview of a new client as well as for follow-up treatments. Keep the forms n a safe and ideally lockable space separated from their address details.

•  Confidentiality is of great importance. Never disclose anything about an identified client to a third party without that client’s permission.

• Respect privacy, dignity, religious, cultural and personal beliefs.

• Adhere to the scope of the Reiki practice. Do not offer or promise any cures. Introduce clients who are new to Reiki to the main ideas about what Reiki is and tell them that you work on the premise that all healing is self-healing – each individual creates their own unique responses to a Reiki treatment and is responsible for these effects.

• Do not give any diagnosis or any medical treatment. Send clients with conditions requiring medical diagnosis and medical treatment to see a medical doctor and invite them to come back for complementary Reiki treatments if they wish.

• Refrain from criticising the work of other practitioners in the presence of a client.

• Align your fees with what other practitioners of Reiki (or, should you be the first one other body therapies) in your area charge.

• Membership with any of the existing Reiki associations may be useful for your credibility as a practitioner, for networking and for up to date information about events and developments in the field. But choose wisely. Make sure that the association does a little more for you than just collecting your membership fee.

• Commit to continuous learning and personal and professional development.

• Refrain from using your position as a Reiki practitioner to begin a sexual relationship with a client.

• For your own security you may choose to treat previously unknown client in a clinical setting, otherwise in your home only with your partner or a flat mate around. Consider home visits carefully – the client should already be known to you and it should be safe and comfortable for you.

With gratitude to my Reiki Masters, William Lee Rand and Doug buckingham, for sharing with me some insights of this article.

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Dr Giancarlo Serra
Usui/Holy Fire® III, Karuna Reiki® Master Teacher
T: +44 77 8649 7360
E: info@giancarloserra.org
W: www.holyfirereiki.eu – www.giancarloserra.org

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