Reiki form and function

Amy Roland's book, "Traditional Reiki," is both important and extremely helpful. One of its many facets is drawing a clear focus to the fact that for traditional Reiki energy, "anyone can do Reiki." While for highly intuitive people, exact method may not seem critical - prior to formally training in Reiki it has been clear to me that with permission, and with contact, i can perceive "switches" and "blocks" and reach Chakras anywhere in the body, from almost any point of contact. Nonetheless, in teaching Reiki, it is critical to use the "proper" and classical positions, because, not everyone is equally intuitive, some students can only learn to do Reiki learning the proper positions and methods, and in the learning stages of dealing with energy, proper grounding is critical.

There is something about following form and function that as well allows the person to be anchored as well as proficient. Imagine a person who is learning to play a piano. In order to become proficient, one must first learn the form and function of how to play. One must learn how to read notes, then to sight read. One must also learn the different beats, scales, and various harmonies that go into the mastery of the piano. It is only after learning these basics, and practicing them relentlessly, that one can become a virtuoso. That being said there are some that are born with the innate talent to be a virtuoso. Mozart was five when he created his first symphony. I have no doubt though that even a virtuoso or prodigy still has to adhere to technique. In the same vein Reiki technique sets the foundation for a Practitioner. The stronger the foundation the better the Practitioner. Once this foundation is laid, then this is where intuition can take an ordinary Master Practitioner and turn them into a virtuoso Reiki Master Practitioner.

In facilitating Reiki for the dying the importance of proper technique becomes magnified. Imagine a water pipe or conduit, and as water flowed through it, one could vary the quality or pressure of the liquid. In normal flow situations, the pipe would be secure, and could hold the water. When the flow is magnified in this manner the concern would be energy "leakage." Specifically when we speak about leakage, we are talking about fear based energy that affects the Practitioner. Fear can produce adrenaline response along with other disquieting symptoms such as dizziness, faintness, and or a sense of disorientation. While Reiki does no harm in itself, the fears that we have are capable of great harm not so much to the client, but to ourselves. We have to leave this at the door in order to effectively channel Upekkha Reiki ©. It is natural to fear the unknown, and death to some is a fearful concept. However if we can stand aside as channels and vessels of love and light, leaving our preconceptions at the door, then we have the greatest honor, which is to help a soul transition from life to death. The idea is simply being in the moment grounded and without fear. Because of this proper grounding and technique learned in traditional Reiki, becomes more critical when even the most highly intuitive person. In summary channeling Upekkha Reiki © requires a conduit, that has resilience and flexibility. In assessing the strength of a channel, it is not simply "force" that matters, since a "strong" tree can crack and shatter from a hard wind, and a tree that is resilient and flexible may sustain the strongest wind passing through it without harm.

Part of what it is so important to learn is that with Reiki for the dying, one really wants to be, needs to be, must be "only a channel." While in traditional Reiki, we are taught to be channels, many wonderful, compassionate, talented and intuitive Practitioners knowingly or unknowingly add something of themselves, or modify the spiritual energy passing through them. Again we want to stress, even modified Reiki will do no harm, and will turn itself off. It is for the best and highest good of the soul seeking healing. However in Upekkha Reiki © we are dealing with dying and death. As this is an intensely personal process to the person dying, we want to make sure we do not in any way hinder the dying process, or the process of transition. Hindrance of this passage could lead to unknown consequences, and this is why this process must be approached with respect, reverence, and as well with all our preconceptions safely at the door. This is why we stress over and over that it is critically important with the high spiritual energy involved in transition, to function solely as a channel, and to resist the temptation to allow energy to stick to us, or to change the energy in any way that is being channeled to the patient.

Dr. Harold Bob and Robin Littlefeather in collaboration