This is part of what I teach in my Reiki classes.  This is geared towards the experienced witch/pagan and those who have worked with basic energy.

This is by no means the complete course.  The complete Level One course handbook is over 30 pages long, and also contains some meditations and exercises on energy working.  There is also additional information specific to a person practicing Reiki Level One.  I have only included the information here that would help you make a decision regarding having a Level One Attunement and if Reiki is a practice you would be interested in.  Also, There are guidelines here that I feel should be included so you have some background into what Reiki is really all about.

If you are a medical professional seeking to augment your practice with a wonderful complementary therapy, then you may want to check into Reiki.  And for the stress reduction capabilities of this companion therapy, it is more than worth it.

Read through this material and see if this is the right choice for you.  And if you find this of value, drop me a line and let me know.  I can either put you in touch with a Reiki Master/Teacher in your area or we can work together.  I do not work with Reiki like it is a Golden Cash Cow as some Reiki people may treat this.  I have devised my own Reiki Manuals which are included, and a Level One Attunement includes a two to four hour class, depending on your level of working.

I am also including some Reiki CDs here that augment the workspace when either working with a client or on yourself.  I have listened to all these CDs and even written reviews, which the CD is linked to.   You may even find these CDs helpful in creating your own relaxed living space.  I am also sticking in a few handbooks that have been published recently that may augment your Reiki studies.

On Being a Healer

What is a healer?

There are many types of healers, many types of healing and different ways of going about it.

There are herbalists, aromatheraphists, reflexologists, accupuncturists.  While this all sounds too New Age for a lot of you, none of these practices are new.  Many of these techniques have been around for a long time, many of them are eastern in origins.

There are shaman, who have been healing the soul on many levels for centuries.  Their techniques involve astral travel, working on the many planes of existence, and treat disease as a sickness not only of the body but of the soul as well.

The path you have chosen for yourself, or the path that you are looking at right now, is a healers path.  It involves more than a couple of classes and some time out of your busy schedule.  It requires a dedication, a willingness to learn, and a commitment to helping your fellow man, or animals or the earth itself.  It is not a path to take lightly, and you should take time to consider what you are doing.

If you have already chose, and are going through medical school, or are a therapist or practitioner of some kind, then you are exploring the realm of "alternative healing" and I applaud your interest.  Healing is not just a body function that a medical doctor takes care of.  Healing occurs on all levels, and we need to look into this more closely.

The witch as a healer

Witches are nothing more than European Shaman or Medicine Man/Woman.  Healing takes place on two levels with most witches, the body and the spirit. 

In the Farrars/Bone book "The Healing Craft", the introduction says it best.  "We believe it is impossible to divorce the practice of healing, in its myriad of forms, from its origins in shamanic and premonotheistic cultures.  Chapter 1 elaborates on this idea.  Logically, this connection with healing must apply to the current renaissance of paganism and witchcraft."

You can not really separate the modern witch from his/her element of being a healer.  Whether its helping a friend who is all stressed out, or working with a friend who is HIV positive or has AIDS, to working with battered woman's shelters and soup kitchens or child centers, we are involved in many areas that require healing energies and our ability to work on two levels, body as well as spirit.

The influx of Eastern medicines and alternative therapies has opened a whole new world to the practicing witch healer.  There are many trained accupuncturists, practicing herbalists and information on Eastern medicines is much more readily available as government laws or large pharmaceutical companies do not control the products.  Much of this works in our favor as well as against.  We will discuss this more shortly.

We are exploring here an Eastern method of healing, Reiki.  We are looking to include this practice in our bag of useful healing tools.  Whether its for our own personal use or for the helping of others, we are going to explore its origins, its uses and the ethics involved in being a healer.

We may not be a doctor, so don't act like one

We first need to discuss what we can and can not do.  We live in a country bound by strict regulations regarding what we are allowed to do regarding healing.  This may sound constrictive but it is based on the idea that many people have no clue what they are doing, they are not properly trained and can just as easily kill someone as cure them.

If you are a doctor, have a license to practice any kind of physical therapy or medical procedure then this does not apply to you.  You already know your limits, as they have been very clearly laid out for you.

But if you are an "amateur" herbalist, or one just starting out on the healing path, you need to know the ground rules.

Legally, you can be held responsible for anything that may happen to your client as a result of your "recommending" any kind of "treatment".  Example - your client complains of a cough.  You recommend an herbal tea.  Your client is allergic to the herb you recommended, and ends up in the hospital, as a best case scenario.  Worst case, they die.  Yes, you are liable.  Why?  Because you recommended a "medical treatment" and you are not a licensed doctor.  Yes, while it is perfectly alright to learn about herbs, it is not perfectly alright to recommend an herbal treatment.  In many states, you must be a licensed doctor to be able to prescribe any kind of herbal.  Your best bet is to check.  Make sure, and then avoid any kind of conversations in that direction.

You can suggest things, but that will always be misconstrued.  Yes, always.  You are in a position to be interpreted as a healer, and anything you may say could be taken as a recommendation.

Learn to talk to your clients without discussing any kind of treatments.  Also, before you begin any Reiki sessions with a client, find out if they have any allergies, or rashes, or diseases that you should know about.  This is important, as it could save you from a law suit later.  Remember, Reiki is a complementary therapy, is not a cure of itself, and your client should always be referred to a professional doctor if they complain of medical problems.  This is for your safety.

Our client is not our patient

Why do we refer to our Reiki receiver as a "client"?  Because it makes it very clear that they are not seeing a medical professional, you are not a medical professional and there can be no confusion here with any kind of medical treatment.  You will discuss with your client that you are not a doctor, not licensed to do anything more than what you are doing (in the case of a physical therapist or a masseuse you explain that you are licensed to do only what you are doing, and that the Reiki augments the treatment).

I can not stress this enough.  We live in times when people are looking for any treatments that do not require medical doctors fees, conventional medication dollars and any kind of cheap alternative to doing what should be done.  This is across all boards.  People talk to political activists for legal advice rather than pay a lawyer.  Then they wonder why they are having problems.

Same for the Reiki practitioner.  While we may augment other forms of therapy with our treatments, we are not a substitute.

Always call your patrons a client.  They are not patients.  Get out of the habit of referring to them this way, or don't start.

The people we administer Reiki to are clients.

What is Reiki?

Reiki is energy

Reiki is an ancient healing art, which channels universal life energy (chi) through the hands of a practitioner into the body of a receiver.  The energy is tapped by the Reiki practitioner through attunements and by sigels or symbols.  The energy is invoked and is guided by the practitioner to the receiver.

Much of the work has been left to chance, if you read a lot of the material out on the market or attend classes given by mundane practitioners.  They are not accustomed to working with energy and leave it pretty much up to the "universal force or higher self" to assure that Reiki is applied to where it is needed.

We are accustomed to dealing with energy, we should know what the basics are and we need to pay much more attention to what we are doing in order to achieve the maximum benefit with the least amount of personal energy expended.

Reiki is a Japanese word meaning universal life energy.  Those of us who are familiar with Eastern philosophy or martial arts are aware of what chi is.  Reiki is this natural healing energy, and it flows through the hands of a Reiki channel in a powerful and concentrated form.

Taping the Universal Chi

This is the basic background that is given to most first level Reiki practitioners.  Again, the mundane society is not accustomed to working with energy, many of them can not sense energy or aura or manipulate any kind of energy.  We will explore these abilities as we progress further.

Reiki was rediscovered in Japan in the 19th century by a monk named Dr. Mikao Usui, who found references to it in a 2,500 year old Sanskrit document written by one of Buddha's disciples.  In the Usui System of Reiki, the healing energy is spontaneously and effortlessly transmitted from one's own body to another through the touch of hands .  The strength of the energy depends on the need of the receiver.  Reiki can transfer through any kind of material such as clothing, plaster, bandages, metal etc.  The practitioner, being a channel, only transmits the universal life energy, no personal energy is taken from the practitioner.  On the contrary, both practitioner and client are simultaneously strengthened and enriched with energy .

"While it is believed that the energy flowing through the practitioner is not effected by the health or well being of the practitioner, all energy takes on some of the aspects of the person it touches."  The part quoted suggests that Reiki is not effected by such properties, however, Reiki is energy, and it is a general property of energy to be influenced by its path.

"In giving Reiki, we are more than just channels: we become Reiki and we are universal life energy."  Again, this is a common belief amongst the mundane Reiki community, and only reinforces what we are finding: that we can and do influence Reiki energy with our own personal energies.

"Reiki supports medical treatments such as massage, foot reflexology, cosmetic massages, acupressure, acupuncture, chiropractic treatments, breath therapy, psychotherapy, etc.  It is effective wherever hands touch, because Reiki hands radiate healing energy at any time in any place.  Because of this, Reiki is especially helpful to those in healing professions."