Please note that I did not say love fees “necessarily mean the quality of instruction is insufficient,” but rather they “may indicate low confidence, little experience, or lack of grounding.”

I wonder how often cost is the reason someone doesn’t take a Reiki class. I’ve seen so many people overcome a financial challenge to make this one-time investment in a First degree class (which is all that people really need), that I think it is more likely a lack of perceived value rather than the actual cost that puts some people off. And when the class fee is a consideration, I wonder what people miss when they are not given the opportunity to overcome an obstacle.

Usui wanted Reiki to be widely available, but he had fees he felt were commensurate with the value offered, and Japanese Reiki master Hyakuten Inamoto tells me they were not low.

I always love reading your reiki blog and I always learn so much!
I very much appreciate what you share about finding the right reiki master teacher however, I happen to disagree with the part about quality and cost. My reiki master teacher fees are quite low and it has nothing to do with her abilities or confidence. She is a very well-respected and experienced teacher and practitioner (not only with her clients and students but in the medical community as well). She chooses to keep her fees at a reasonable level because she believes everyone should have the opportunity to experience reiki (as a client or a student) and doesn’t want cost to be the reason someone does not experience reiki. To be honest, if it wasn’t for her reasoning, I may not have had the opportunity experience reiki when I did. It’s changed my life and now that it has, I can’t imagine things otherwise. Now I’m not trying to defend her or her fees. I simply wanted it to be known that low price DOES NOT necessarily mean the quality of instruction is insufficient. I know some practitioners who paid 2-3 times more that what I paid and their training was quite poor (that’s what they’ve told me).

Anyway, my comment is stated with much respect to you. I have much affection for you. I just felt compelled to share my feelings because of my passion.

Very warmly,
Jessica

“This book has a very traditional view on Reiki. For those of you that are considering being attuned via the internet, you may be somewhat disheartened by this book. I say, “buy it anyway”. It is a very informative book and is written well. I personally believe that all people are capable of bringing energy into themselves, whether it be through Reiki, healing touch, qi gong and a host of other healing practices. I was attuned via the internet and I was extremely satisfied. I have experienced amazing results with Reiki with myself and many others. This book did an excellent job teaching me some of the important things I may have missed in a one-on-one experience. I appreciate this author’s expertise and thoughts on Reiki and would recommend this book to all people seeking to learn energy healing.” Terri Ward, children’s author of One Starry Night and Aunt Tami’s Strawberry Farm.

Regarding your kundalini experience, I would refer you to a true meditation master for guidance. In my experience (45 years as a student of meditation and yoga, practicing Reiki since 1986), kundalini is not to be taken lightly. It’s one thing to get it moving, quite another to guide it and protect the student. Daily self-Reiki and receiving treatment from trusted practitioners is of course a good idea.

I practice and teach Kundalini Reiki, which is a modality that has been very helpful to those with premature or difficult Kundalini awakening experiences that have led to ongoing effects. I have some experience working with people who have suffered from related difficulties. If you’d like to talk more about this with me, I would be happy to share more information with you. My email can be found here: http://reikiawakening.com . Blessings and light, Alice

I want to clarify that after I was certified for Reiki 1, I did do the self-treatment and contemplation for 3 months before I was certified for Reiki 2. I also didn’t practice on paying clientelle for 2 years after getting my certification. And my Master certification was after practicing on clients for 2 years. I just wanted you to understand that I haven’t necessarily been rushing my practice. I do wish to take classes in the future, but for me, it was a matter of a free certification vs. something that I just couldn’t afford. At some point, I will be going back and taking classes. I do respect my 2 different Reiki masters and have a continuing relationship with the both of them. However, I think that they both operate on a level that is less than traditional.

I respect both traditional methods of teaching, and less structured ways (obviously). I am not a purist and it has served me well in most situations in my life.

In regards to the kundalini energy – is there something that I need to do for myself since mine was unknowingly released?

Thank you for your time, Amelia

It seems to me that you are suffering from not having the foundation of formal training and not being supported by your Reiki master as you grow in your relationship with Reiki.

I frankly don’t understand how one can be “certified” in Reiki 1, 2, and Master without having adequate training. Practitioners who pass the practice in this way clearly have a very different understanding of Reiki than I do. My First degree classes are usually about 10 hours over at least 2 days, and longer for large classes. And this is just to learn to practice hands-on. My students are taught that daily self-treatment is the foundation of this practice, and there is a delay of at least several months before taking Second degree (if at all). In my lineage, Reiki master training is an intensive apprenticeship rather than a class.

Would you consider taking some time to focus on yourself and daily self-treatment, and maybe taking First degree training in-person with a Reiki master you feel drawn to, someone who is available for a continuing relationship? Then you would have a basis from which to decide for yourself what is credible and respected.

There is not much I can say regarding the book you mentioned other than that traditionally, the symbols are not published on the open market; they are available to anyone who wants to train to the Second degree, and the discussion of the symbols remains among Reiki practitioners who are at the Second degree or Master level. Westerners sometimes do not appreciate the value of traditions, or that it takes time to develop, and decide that traditional ways are no longer meaningful in today’s world. I don’t agree. Traditions offer support and guidance and protection. They will naturally morph over time, but throwing them out the window doesn’t seem wise to me.

Reiki practice at any level is balancing and does not cause harm. That said, people who practice without understanding often add other things, such as their own intention, or use the symbols in ways that they were not intended, and I cannot speak for what is happening then. People can impose their will in the name of Reiki, even though that is not the practice. They can also do this with the best of intentions and without awareness. This is why I encourage daily self-practice and contemplation, and continuing mentoring with a credible, experienced, trustworthy teacher.

If Reiki students were content to simply practice self-treatment, and practice consistently, the understand would arise from within–although more slowly than suits many Westerners. But it seems that most students are not content to simply practice and let it unfold; they are in a hurry to make it bigger, better, more powerful, more noticeable–whatever they find gratifying. And that’s where the problems come in.

The awakening of the kundalini is a powerful, sacred initiation that is best done by a kundalini master who is able to guide the student’s development.

Here is the situation: I was certified in Reiki 1, 2, and Master by friends. I have not taken a class, but have been learning by experience the last 6 yrs. Recently, I took a class to learn Cranial Sacral therapy and the teacher decided to trash the symbols in Diane Stein’s book (he saw that I had it with me). He proceeded to say that anyone who uses those symbols is not practicing traditional Reiki and can cause harm – such as releasing someone’s Kundalini energy. Normally, my thought process is that this is just his opinion and I should make my own judgements based upon my experience. The thing is, in my very first Reiki experience (as a client) my Kundalini energy was released. Now I am wondering if that is harmful somehow, and how to prevent that from happening to anyone I provide Reiki for. It hasn’t happened yet, but it scared me a little. Is there somewhere to find the traditional symbols so that I can make sure to use those instead of the ones I have been using? I also want to eventually teach a class on Reiki 1 & 2, but don’t want to be teaching something that is not respected.

Any help you could give me would be much appreciated. And any books that you recommend would help as well.

Thank you very much, Amelia

I actually had my Usui training in person, after I had completed my Kundalini Reki training. I had the Usui class scheduled, but it was for the early fall and I and was ready to get going so I took the distance training first.

It ended up working out perfectly for me. I think it is important to note that I had been trained as a massage therapist with a specialty in vibrational healing massage (a form of energy work, combined with massage) in 1992. So heart based energy work was not new to me when I completed my first Reiki training.

I did not mean to equate the effectiveness of second degree with distance learning. That was not my intention at all. I agree with you that it would be comparing apples with tulips.

Blessings,
Kat

I am wondering why you included the comment about distant healing. Surely you don’t mean to equate the effectiveness of Second degree with distant learning; that would be comparing apples and tulips.