Why Learn Reiki?

What many people don’t realise when they sign up to learn Reiki is that it is so much more than a technique you learn to treat yourself and others. (And it’s certainly much more than a 2-day course and a certificate!)

Yes, during the course you learn the procedures and processes for giving and receiving Reiki (and yes, you will receive a certificate at the end of it), but this is really just the beginning.

In the weeks after the course, as you start to do the meditation practices, self-treatment and explore the Five Precepts, you go through what is commonly known as a ‘cleansing’ period, in which whatever is ready to be explored and released comes to the surface. (This may manifest on a physical, mental, emotional or spiritual level.)

As you continue with your own practice and move through this initial cleansing, you then start to realise that you have this wonderful tool that you can use anytime, anywhere and begin to see the benefits of Reiki. Your sleep quality improves and your sleep is highly restorative. Your immune system is stronger and you find you are very rarely sick. (And even if you do get sick, you recover much more quickly.) You’ll also find that by clearing any stagnant energy or blockages in your energy field, you can prevent this energy from impacting your physical body.

And then there comes a moment when you realise that you’re not really doing Reiki, but you are Reiki. That Reiki is already within you, just as it is without.

You also start to recognise that underneath all your labels — your name, nationality, job title, and all your thoughts, beliefs, programmes, habits, preferences etc. — there is something unchanging.

And this is what Usui’s original intention was when he taught Reiki: to guide his students into discovering their essential nature, their True Self. Pure consciousness.

And when we start to discover our essential nature, we step into a reality beyond labels, judgement and separation, into a world of non-duality where there is no I, me, mine and you, your, yours. And we begin to experience what it means to live from this space of non-duality, emptiness and spaciousness.

This is really why we learn Reiki.

And there are yet so many other benefits of learning Reiki that you may not realise when you first begin. There is the community — ongoing opportunities to share, practise, receive reiju, and continue to grow in a supportive environment.

There is also so much more to learn about the history and traditions behind Reiki. Visiting Japan gives you the opportunity to experience the places connected with Usui Reiki Ryōhō, including Mount Kurama where Usui had his enlightenment experience. You can explore the esoteric spiritual practices that influenced Usui and discover more about the wider context in which Reiki developed. (And the more you learn, the more you realise there is to explore.)

These things are not necessarily what we imagine when we first decide to learn Reiki. We may simply be looking for a way to treat ourselves, or perhaps a practical tool that we can use to support the people around us. We don’t necessarily know what we are stepping into.

I certainly didn’t.

Perhaps that is why, for me, Reiki became so much more than something I learned to treat others.

It has become and continues to be this wonderful journey of discovering who I really am.