Exogeny Network ™

      The Reiki Principles

Just for today, give thanks for your many blessings.

Just for today, worry not.

Just for today, anger not.

Just for today, do your work honestly.

Just for today, be kind to all living things.

The principles run through just about every Reiki tradition I have encountered.

They are worded differently, but their spirit is the same. They are part of Being Reiki.

Nobody expects that you’ll follow these principles 24/7, but remembering them can be helpful when it comes to finding your peaceful place and putting you in the proper frame of mind.

I find that reciting them when preparing to give Reiki puts me in contact with the source and starts the flow.

      Full Treatment Front Positions

Healing children and pets requires a somewhat different approach. Both kids and pets seem to absorb Reiki faster than adults and so need less time. I haven’t used Reiki on an animal, but my young son is very sensitive to it. In fact, my first “dramatic Reiki success” was when his diaper rash (a nasty, open-sored, oozy affair) cleared up miraculously overnight. He can definitely feel it flowing, too; at times he’ll sit still on my lap for long periods watching a video, but will get restless and move my hands as soon as I start sending Reiki. If he bumps his head, though, he’ll come over and put my hands on the hurt place. Also, if he’s sick he’ll tolerate more. Basically, I am saying to trust the child’s (or animal’s) intuition on how much they need. Just put your hands anywhere you can for as long as the subject is willing to tolerate it.

    Healer’s Ethics

Now that we’ve covered everything you need to know to give basic Reiki, and before we talk about attunements, is a good time to mention ethics. The most common warning in healing magick is that you have no right to send healing to anyone who doesn’t want it; people have a right to hold onto their dis-ease, so get permission first. I see some room for discussion on this one, but basically, it is a good policy. Anyway, since we are talking about a hands-on healing system, it would be kind of a trick to give healing that the recipient doesn’t want.

Next, and this was already mentioned under hand positions, be sensitive to touch issues. If the person whom you are healing is not a spouse or S.O., you will probably want to skip or adjust the groin positions to something a little less… personal. Similarly, try to remember to ask if the person minds you touching their throat; this is a powerful position and it’s a shame to skip it, but you can easily move to the sides of the neck or keep your hands several inches above the throat. Finally, and very important, never promise a person that they will be healed. Reiki is good for many things, and sometimes the result can be dramatic – but other times the results are subtle. Do not say anything to make a person feel that you have lied to them. Above all, never use Reiki or any other magickal healing technique to replace modern medicine. It makes a wonderful supplement, but it is not a replacement! Did I say “finally” a paragraph too soon? (Warning: major “waffle” coming.) Taking money for Reiki is another issue, but not one that I feel we need to get into here. Anyway, that is a personal matter and I don’t feel that I have the right to dictate to you about it. Suffice it to say that I do not charge, but if it became a major time drain, I would reserve the right to adjust that policy. If you get to the point where you are considering charging for your Reiki services, be sure to check the laws in your locality about licensing, certification, zoning, and whatever other legalese stuff they might have in place.

     Attunements

Alright, now you have read all of this, how to get an attunement. As I said a few sections ago, I am willing to give distant attunements. I would like to correspond with you just a little before jumping into that though – not so much to “test” whether you really read everything, but to get a “feel” for who you are. To attune from a distance, I need to make a connection of some sort, and I do not feel able to do that with just a name. I’m going to ask Terry to take care of forwarding e-mails from anyone who wants to get in touch with me. His address can be found elsewhere on the site. I hope that doesn’t discourage anyone from writing – I welcome your questions and comments – but I get quite enough SPAM without plastering my e-mail address on yet another web site, thankyouverymuch. I recognize the possibility that the volume may get to be such that I have to withdraw or limit this offer. We’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. Before you get an attunement, I ask that you have a daily meditation practice going for at least a few weeks. Obviously, I can’t check that out, but it’s for your own benefit. You are the only one who can judge if you’ve found that “peaceful place” from where you can connect to Reiki. After an attunement, it is not uncommon to have a week or more of “detox.” Symptoms can include diarrhea, runny nose, or frequent urination. The person usually feels fine, regardless. I experienced none of these, but my hands tingled constantly for several weeks; that’s also said to be a common after effect. After you get an attunement, you should give do a healing on yourself or someone else every day for at least 28 days. (It is recommended that you do the self-healing even if you do a healing on someone else.) This is to keep your channels open and help you get used to channeling the energy.

In Conclusion, for now.

     As I said at the beginning, this has been the bare bones of Reiki I training. It is enough to get you started. If you want to learn more, I recommend (with a few reservations) that you read Essential Reiki, by Diane Stein, visit the Angel Reiki web site (http://angelreiki.nu/), maintained by Vincent Amador, or e-mail me through Terry.

Namaste,

Nyniane

     Doing Reiki/Hand Positions

  So, you’re attuned and you’re ready to do a Reiki healing, either on yourself or on someone else. Where to start? First, connect to the Reiki source. This isn’t a huge complex thing. What I recommend is taking a deep breath and finding your peaceful place (see the meditation section).

  Recite the principles. And lay your hands on the client.

Some people say things like “Reiki on,” and then later “Reiki off” to disconnect.

  Others like to vigorously rub their palms together. These things and others are worth trying; just keep it simple to start with, and do the same thing every time you start to send Reiki. Hold your hands with your fingers together, as though you are wearing a pair of mittens and always use both hands at the same time. Unless it’s uncomfortable or convenient.

There are those who say that both of these things (fingers together and both hands at once) are mandatory to give Reiki, but on that I’ll give an unreserved (expletive deleted).

      It is good to use both hands at once, as this completes the energy circuit, but it is not necessary.

Anyway, you lay your hands on the first position and let the energy flow. You don’t have to try to direct it; in fact, you should not try to direct it. Just feel the energy.

It is common to feel it flowing through your palms as a heat, or a tingling. The sensation will increase to a peak, and then decrease.

    When it is almost undetectable, move your hands to the next position. Some people get no sensation at all and others experience a steady flow, rather than an increase and decrease. If either of these is the case, it is advised that you either use a rule of thumb of 5 minutes per position or let your intuition be your guide.

 Hand Positions

 "Hand positions" refers to where, on the subject, you put your hands. I’ve seen several "standard" sets of positions. Diane Stein, one of the most respected non-traditional authors, gives a set of TWENTY positions for a self-healing. Don’t get me wrong, they are worth knowing, and worth using, especially when you first start out. But 20 positions times 5 minutes each? These healings are going to take for-freakin-ever! There are many sets of hand positions circulating around, quite a few of which are proclaimed to be the only "correct" ones. What is of primary importance, in my opinion, is to find a set that you are comfortable with and stick with it, at least until you are experienced enough to rely more on your intuition.

 I’d advise using Stern’s Full Treatment every time when you start out, time permitting. Even at the beginning, however, a little bit of Reiki is better than no Reiki, so if it’s a choice between doing a short treatment or doing no treatment, do what you can.

Your intuition is very important in choosing what set of positions to use. It’s been my experience that the "best" positions are sometimes neither near the physical problem or right on top of any chakras. For example, one hand on each hip seems to be a very powerful position, and is likely to help a pain in my knee more than placing a hand directly on the knee.

Here I will attempt to describe the full treatment positions as listed by Diane Stein in her book, Essential Reiki, because it is one of the more complete, and also one of the more widely used sets.

I'll also include the Short Treatment and Self Treatment given by the traditional Reiki master Richard Ellis in his book, Practical Reiki; this Self Treatment is one of my favorite sets.

The full treatment here is as Stein describes it for self-treatment. Treating others is identical, except that you should be sensitive to any touch issues. For example, many people are sensitive about being touched on the throat, and if this is the case that position can be skipped or administered from several inches away from the body.

   Likewise, positions involving the breasts or genitals should be avoided or adjusted for the comfort of both parties. In self-healings, you may want to skip one or more of the back positions, if they are difficult to reach.