Herbalists, forest
rangers, farmers, and many people have an attunement to nature.
Nature has its own form of energy, and each life form within
nature has its own energy. Anyone drawn to a plant, animal,
or bird for no logical reason, and is aware of receiving a
gift from that connection knows nature's form of energy.
Energy can neither be created nor destroyed, and there are
trillions of forms of energy. The spiritual practice of Usui
Reiki Ryoho uses one unique form of universal energy. The
life force energy within each living being is another form,
and throughout history different people have used still other
forms. Many forms of energy are within and around us 24/7.
Regardless of how many forms of energy one has experienced,
each new energy feels different, if he or she is open to receiving.
Each initiation or empowerment (attunement) received from
a Reiki Shihan (teacher) opens up your pathway a bit wider
to allow more universal energy to flow through you. To completely
open up to be one with the universe, which is beyond human
comprehension, would takes years of study, discipline, and
practice. For Mikao Usui to reach his first awakening it took
years of gathering knowledge of all kinds and then he did
not connect to universal energy until his second awakening
following three years of disciplined Zen practice.
As popular a phrase as Reiki attunement has become sometimes
the knowledge that Usui Reiki Ryoho is a spiritual practices
becomes lost. I first experienced Reiki in the 1980s. I explored
other energy practices, met a few Reiki Masters, and then
in the late 1990s I connected with a gifted Canadian Usui
Reiki Ryoho teacher who taught me the spiritual practice of
Usui Reiki Ryoho is not complicated, but has a depth that
requires time to understand and guidance in how to embrace
the energy.
While I often say just the word "Reiki", I know
"Reiki" alone does not necessarily represent the
spiritual practice that Mikao Usui founded in the early 1920s.
As you read on, you will see why I say this.
I completed the teacher's level in Western styles of Usui
Reiki Ryoho and then went on to complete the teacher's level
in Gendai Reiki-ho and Komyo Reiki, commonly called Japanese
Reiki. The research conducted and close lineage to Mikao Usui
of three of my Usui Reiki Ryoho Shihans (teachers) gave me
a wonderful beginning in my practice of Usui Reiki Ryoho.
I feel honored at what they shared with me, and have continued
to listen and read words of other Reiki teachers, even if
some things I disregard. There are no secrets to be revealed
about Usui Reiki Ryoho, but the hours of guidance from the
right teacher can help a person to gain the understanding
to grow spiritually and enhance all areas of his or her life.
Healing is a byproduct of Usui Reiki Ryoho, it balances and
surrounds with harmony so that one can live with health and
happiness.
Reading an interview Paul Mitchell, a Usui Shiki Ryoho teacher
(a style of Usui Reiki Ryoho), gave in October 2003 I saw
an appropriate way of expressing how a teacher invites another
into the spiritual practice of Usui Reiki Ryoho. He said.
"Initiation is the sacred ritual passed on from master
to master, which allows Dr. Usui's gift to be available to
us. It is spiritual transmission." I disagree with Dr.
placed in front of Mikao Usui's name and with the usage of
master, but that does not take from the appreciation I have
for the wisdom in his words.
Mikao Usui never received a doctorate. He was a very intelligent
and insightful man, traveling a different path then formal
education. I often include master/teacher after Shihan, but
I have come to feel I would be a bit full of myself to think
I could master the universe or any form that comes directly
from it. When you visit my website http://www.naturalhealinglearning.com/
you will see master on my certificates, but I am most comfortable
referring to myself as a Reiki teacher and practitioner.
No style of Usui Reiki Ryoho is better then any other style
and each person should connect with the Reiki Shihan (teacher)
that feels right to him or her. I would not suggest however
if you want to learn a spiritual practice, that you study
5239 Reiki. I would also not suggest that your first choice
of a Reiki teacher be Reiki Kushida. Then again, even though
Reiki Kushida is a Japanese astronomer who co-discovered the
asteroid 4875 Ingallis, discovered at least 14 supernovas
in other galaxies, and who the asteroid 5239 Reiki is named
after, she still might have studied with members of the Usui
Reiki Ryoho Gakkai.
Even if Reiki Kushida did not study Usui Reiki Ryoho, she
still may have mentally connected with a part of herself that
was a very strong energy when she was looking through her
telescope. In the 1980s I experienced altered states of mind
through meditation, which might be described as the same feeling
as an attunement by someone not having been connected to universal
energy by a qualified Reiki Shihan. Experimenting with certain
audio tones, what some call toning, during meditation not
Usui Reiki Ryoho, I would go into that space where time and
worry simply do not exist. Brain waves operate at many levels,
so with guidance and practice you can experience many energies
simply within yourself. I have experienced many energies,
but none has the same feel as the unique form of universal
energy called Usui Reiki. Unless a person has experienced
the different energies, he or she cannot know if two energies
have any similarities.
Following studies of other forms of energy I attended a festival
of energy practices. I opened myself up to receive all the
positive energies around me. It certainly sat me down, but
it was not the same energy as Usui Reiki. The world is full
of mysteries and many different forms of energy. Each time
we experience a new energy it is foreign to our whole self
and feels different then what we have experienced before,
but that does not mean it is universal energy.
You do not have to be looking for energy to experience it.
Love is energy and people often find that without looking
for it. Mikao Usui was not looking to connect to the vibrations
of love and harmony of universal energy, it just happened
while he was in deep disciplined focused meditation. I say
connected because for centuries people have known that universal
energy has been, and is always all around us, so he did not
discover or rediscover anything.
I have received what is commonly called attunements in many
styles of Usui Reiki Ryoho. The vibrations of love and harmony
of universal energy are always the same, but the life force
energy of the person through which it flows can change the
way the energy feels, looks, and smells. Think of universal
energy as the pure water coming from a spring in an untouched
natural forest. The water drunk from a paper cup will taste
different then that from a glass or a tin cup, different again
depending upon what other beverage was first in the cup or
glass, and different depending upon how well the cup or glass
was cleaned. It is the same with universal energy flowing
through body, mind, and spirit.
An attunement is only the beginning and is best received
from a qualified Reiki Shihan in a style you decide is best
for you. There are no odd rituals practiced if the style follows
the tradition of Usui Reiki Ryoho. No hidden secrets and no
way anyone can skip the time needed for the shifts to happen
at all levels. Each person assimilates in her or his own reality
and what appears new to him or her might be viewed as a secret.
There are many others energies and energy practices in the
world. Usui Reiki Ryoho is the connection to a unique form
of energy and stems from living the Gokai.
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