Threshold Notes - The Reiki Attunement

http://schools.portnet.k12.ny.us/~kim_pinto/FOV1-00022DD3/STAGE

As I mentioned in Part 1, when most students come to me for master level training, especially if they are new to my Reiki classes, they usually are very keen on anything to do with the Reiki attunement. In the distant class most will jump right away past the class checklist to the section on attunements, especially the sample videos I have (even though they are pretty old productions from 2001.) So this particular topic includes some thoughts I have shared on this very important part of the class.

Part 1 - topics on 1 – the attunement intention; and 2 – the student's potential energy experience
Part 2 - topics on 3 – the integration process; and 4 – the teacher's experience

For a time once Reiki began to spread around the internet I would come across people claiming to be a certain Reiki level, especially at the master level. When I asked them about what they learned they would eventually share that they had only received a free (or paid) attunement from someone, usually over the internet, with no training involved. I explained to them that although the energies they may have experienced could be helpful to them, in some ways it was as if someone gave them keys to a new car but didn't teach them how to drive. In actual fact they really hadn't attained any Reiki level from the person who gave the attunement or reiju, even if they had been given a certificate. Mind you, now there are more Reiki web sites, videos and books that can help fill this gap. But I feel that the masters willing to share the attunements might at least also offer some free assistance. Not all of them do.

As you may discover if you attempt to join certain Reiki organisations, you are often required to give some evidence of your Reiki training to the level you claim to attain. I suppose this is to at least offer some guarantee (from the organisation's point of view and legal standing) that anyone who might come to you by way of the organisation for training, is able to get at least some certified version of Reiki training. In some countries, states and municipalities there are now laws in place that attempt to protect the individual from false claims in the area of alternative therapies, including Reiki.

So I would suggest that an attunement or reiju alone does not confer a certain level upon a person (e,g, Reiki 1, Reiki Master or Shihan). It is just a small but important part of the process towards attaining a Reiki level. The rest is the content and practice in the class as well as the interaction between teacher and student. And of course in these times, a certificate of completion usually accompanies this and is often required as proof of such.

I try to make this very clear to my Reiki Master students, and to my Reiki level 3 students as well. For I do share a simple attunement method or reiju in Reiki 3 that they can use with family and friends, in order to help to spread Reiki. (Once a student receives the energy of the 4th Usui symbol, this seems to make attunements very easy to carry out.) But I explain that they should immediately give the person some instruction as to what Reiki is and how they can use it, then have them test this energy out on themselves and on someone else, just to discover how it affects others. In the process, the Reiki 3 student might then discover if they truly wish to take on the responsibility of becoming a Reiki Master and teacher.

In my Threshold master class there is a fair amount of practice in giving attunements, and also with the variety of Japanese Reiju and old Reiki energies I share in the included Threshold Reiju Workshop. In a live class there is either another student or at least me they get to practice with. However in a distant class the student needs to acquire someone they know to at least practice the Reiki 1 ceremonies, and some of the reiju they learn. In such a situation I again emphasize that they need to give some instruction as mentioned in the previous paragraph, especially if the person is new to Reiki.
An easy access resource to assist my students in this (or anyone else) is the Sample Reiki 1 Class Pages.at my public web site. There they can either print some of the free articles or at least point their friend or family to them to help answer any questions they may have. I find this process of sharing with those close to you helps to bring people closer together.

One of the lost Reiki practices that was recovered due to Mr. Hiroshi Doi's visits to the west was that of frequent re-attunements for students and masters alike. In the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, reiju or attunements were part of each class day with your teacher, in spite of the fact that classes usually were only about 2 hours in length, and lasted 4 or 5 days. Plus, as a member of a local branch of the Gakkai, you would attend monthly meetings during which a meditation including an empowerment was given by the branch or society leaders. Even Mr. Hayashi followed this practice, although instead of monthly meetings he held semi annual reiju kai or reiju gatherings.

Re-attunements seem to help boost your abilities with the Reiki energies, much like repeated instruction from a music teacher might help you perfect your abilities with a song or music piece. This of course assumes that you are practicing with what you have learned in between visits. Typically you would reach a plateau in your abilities and need to return to the teacher to extend them, and then practice some more. This would be a very simple process for the student to verify. Some people even go to the extent of getting an energy sensitive person or clairvoyant to check the results each time.

I recommend this to be part of your own after class activities for yourself, and also one you make available to your own students. One way this can be done is by holding periodic meetings or Reiki shares for past or current students. Then during a group meditation or focus, offer one of the simple Japanese reiju to each participant. The ceremony need not be a long one and can simply be to the main energy you work with (like Gendai, Threshold, Komyo. )

Another way it to allow students to repeat or audit a class you already have scheduled.   An even simpler way is to offer a distant attunement once the student has contacted you.

However, there is even an easier solution you can explore and then can offer to your students, one that does not require a web site or constant visits by students to boost their abilities. Any attunement or reiju can easily be replayed. For that matter, any healing can be replayed as well. This is because a part of you never forgets an experience. All that is required is that you just get quiet and relaxed as you would when receiving an attunement or Reiki session. Then imagine returning to the space and time when you first received it, and imagine in your mind that you and the teacher or healer are now replaying the entire energy experience. It doesn't matter if you had little or no sensations in the first experience. In fact you might get even stronger sensations than that first time.

Afterwards, as described in my article "Validating Attunement Energies" you should test this version of the Reiki energy on yourself and on familiar healing subjects.   The latter can help you to determine if there has been any change to your energies, especially if you are not sure after your own self treatment.

It's also an easy way to get an exact energy duplication (and signature) of what was once shared with you. In my article "Perfecting Reiki Attunements and Reiju" I describe how I use this method to re-aquaint myself with certain types of energies I have previously been attuned to, especially if I am about to use them in a class for that style of energy work. I do this for Gendai Reiki, Komyo Reiki and Sekhem-Seichim-Reiki classes, as well as other energies I have experienced.

To be continued .....

Threshold Notes -- The Reiki Attunement-Part 3