Is a Reiki Attunement Necessary?
About Reiki Attunement and Initiation
Does a person have to go through an official Reiki attunement ceremony in order for them to practice Reiki?
I have studied both sides of this question, and to be honest, I can't give a definitive answer. And so, this article presents both sides of this debate, thus allowing you to draw your own conclusions. First, a little background from Reiki.org:
Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words – Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy." So, Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."
The ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an attunement given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of life force energy.
Many who practice are quick to point out their Reiki "lineage" – the line of Reiki Masters that leads to the student. For some reason, despite being able to tap into an unlimited supply of life force energy, there seems to be a subtle one-upmanship when people mention who they were attuned by. For example, I was attuned by someone who was supposedly attuned by someone who was attuned by Hawayo Takata, who is the woman who introduced Reiki to the West in the 1930s. This makes me pretty cool in the world of Reiki, I think, because she was attuned by Dr. Mikao Usui himself, the founder of the Reiki system of natural healing. During my attunement, however, I wasn't given any official lineage documentation, so it's possible that I have many more "who was attuned by who was attuned by..." instances in my lineage.
Still, the question remains: If these attunements allow someone to tap into an unlimited supply of life force energy, why should it matter how far removed I am from Dr. Usui? In other words, does the energy diminish with increasing numbers of generations? Any Reiki practitioner will tell you that the energy definitely does not diminish. So, why bother with the lineage stuff? (I'll tell you why. It's because there is a lot of Reiki snobbery.)
Here's a little more background. Trainingreiki.com/reiki-attunement.php offers an explanation of the three levels or degrees of Reiki attunement:
- In the first degree, your energy will allow you to make energy flow out of your hands.
- The second degree will teach you the Reiki symbols in order to empower the flow of this energy. Once learned, you will have the ability to send Reiki over time and space. You will also have the power to heal both mental and emotional problems.
- The third degree is when you reach the Master Level. In this degree, you have control over many more Reiki symbols. More importantly, you can perform the sacred Reiki attunement ceremony on others at this level.
So, in order to perform Reiki and help others heal with energy healing techniques, is a Reiki attunement necessary?
The website http://www.trainingreiki.com/reiki-attunement.php explains:
Without going through Reiki attunement, it is impossible for a person to become a Reiki practitioner. In its general form, this procedure is a spiritual ceremony that introduces you to the symbols of Reiki, and all of their concepts. In an attunement, energy patterns are created around the student. These patterns are each attuned to the Universal Energy of Life. In order to achieve all of these, the Reiki master has to tap into the student's subconscious and use all of the necessary symbols.
Reiki requires attunement because it is its own process of initiation. It is impossible to have access to Reiki through simple meditation and intellectual exercises alone. You have to know how to open your crown chakra to let the Reiki energy in, and then allow it to pass through you. Without proper training, or if you have failed to go through the attunement process, it is impossible to complete even the first level of Reiki.
I've been through a few attunement ceremonies, and I've spoken with many Reiki practitioners and Reiki Masters. I have never heard anything unique to Reiki when it comes to an explanation of how to open the crown chakra. A Google search will yield that it's a well-documented process that has many variations, and there are just as many variations on the "Reiki" way as there are masters who have modified it slightly to how they think is best.
So you can surely open up the crown chakra without a Reiki Master. But you probably won't be able to get those symbols into your subconscious unless you have someone who actually knows how to get Reiki symbols into your subconscious. So, in that regard, an attunement is absolutely necessary for you to officially consider yourself a Reiki practitioner.
Also, I must admit that the actual ceremony is empowering. I don't think I would totally believe in this natural gift from Spirit of healing self and others without the ritual. It's not as powerful as if I were to conduct my own research and work with energy on my own. The level of belief would not be there to the same extent.
Level of belief....
That's a question that I've heard differing opinions on. Can you go through the hand positions and give someone a Reiki treatment without believing that you are truly a channel of the healing Reiki life force energy? My personal experience tells me that it is possible. When I first learned Reiki, I wanted to experience intense warmth in my hands, but I didn't. (Even today, I often do not.) I wanted my clients to have epiphanies and see visions of glory during their sessions, but they didn't. And yet, even after they, themselves, said immediately after the session, "Well, it was relaxing, but I don't think I felt anything different," it was almost universal that within the next day or two, I'd hear that their conditions had noticeably improved.
But I can also speak from experience that as my belief in "my" abilities to heal improved (yes, I know it's not me, that we're just channels of the energy), my abilities to "tune in" and affect change also improved. I've heard the same from many others, as well.
So, belief does affect the outcome. But it's not the determining factor. I've met people who believed so strongly in themselves and Reiki that they thought they could quite nearly perform miracles. Meanwhile, the Reiki Level I practitioner divorced mom bank teller who doubts her abilities because she doesn't have the time to practice as much as she'd like gets far better results working on the same people.
As a hypnotist, I've witnessed how people can become "the world's greatest psychic" through suggestion while in a very deep trance. I've also directed clients to tune in to their bodies and heal themselves. On the same lines, I've met energy healers who weren't attuned to Reiki but were essentially creating the same outcome using their own modality.
So, while they may not be "officially" attuned to Reiki, I believe there are people who can learn to heal in a very similar, or even exact same manner, as Reiki practitioners. And I know personally that the more I practice, the better results I get, which goes against the idea that when I got attuned, I became a channel of that energy. It shouldn't matter how much I practice.
And if it does matter how much I practice, then maybe if people studied, meditated, gone through some sort of ritual where they're told they can now heal, believed they became a channel of healing energy, and then really practiced and devoted themselves to helping others, then maybe that person could call themselves an energy healer.
And if a person can perform energy healing just like Reiki practitioners, and since Reiki isn't something that has a governing body officially granting licenses or degrees, then they can probably place a piece of paper on the wall with their name on it and the title, "Reiki Level I Practitioner."
So, ultimately, the question becomes: Can a person teach themselves to heal without their subconscious being given the various Reiki symbols?
What do you think?
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and does not substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, and/or dietary advice from a licensed health professional. Drugs, supplements, and natural remedies may have dangerous side effects. If pregnant or nursing, consult with a qualified provider on an individual basis. Seek immediate help if you are experiencing a medical emergency.
Comments
MythRaShen from Canberra, Australia on November 30, 2019:
Good article, and to answer the last question.
Can a person teach themselves to heal without their subconscious being given the various Reiki symbols?
YES.
I am a self taught energy healer, I was never attuned by anyone and do not have a teacher. After researching many different energy healing modalities Reiki is the closest to my own method, I can heal myself, over any distance and I can also heal mind, body and spirit. I do NOT use any symbols and actually find the idea of them and the so called need to be attuned absurd. So from what has been said I am already a Master. I do my healing of any individual via my higher self who talks to their higher self first to discover what ails them on all levels of their being.
A healing and a chakra balance/alignment is a simple process as is the discovery and removal of any attachments. These can be emotional, pain or even several different types of low level beings. One name for these is Archon's which is an energy parasite, and I have developed a technique that easily detects then removes them using sound sent through my energy body, it is all energy of varying frequencies.
I have of late been refining my technique and if a new idea comes to mind that requires me to make changes in order for it to be performed, then change it I will. I prefer the term HACK though, and I have also taught myself how to program my subconscious to varying degrees. I recently added an internal reservoir into my subconscious, this is to collect any unused excess energy that I create or absorb through my crown. I can then tap into it as a means of boosting the power and intensity of what I send out. I also created and added "Mind Crystals" to this reservoir as a means of boosting and cleansing it prior to sending it. Adding the specific crystals I chose the intensity of it has been multiplied by a factor of 3 or 4 times.
Prior to developing this method I use today I used to initially channel all energy directly from the Universe, it then passed through my heart before being sent on. My higher self recently told me that this energy is actually unclean due to it existing and mixing with both positive and negative energies before it reached me, and that it was affecting my own health and state of mind. So I was advised to modify my technique and change my source to within, with this alternative method I now draw energy directly from within my heart which I have connected to the galactic core of the milky way. A portal if you will, the energy comes from within then passes through the heart where the required frequency/color is applied to it prior to being sent. Not only is the energy noticeably cleaner this way, but it is stronger for both me and the one receiving it. I now find recovery a thing of the past and I do not have any negative energies to clear myself of afterwards.
I do not need to meditate or say a mantra in order to use it, I just ask my higher self to reach out to them by name and by location after setting my intention to heal/help them. I am then able to hear the conversation between my higher self and theirs. And another tool I have employed in my technique is what I call a "Psychic Hug", I always start any session with one, it greatly helps to put them into a calm and open state ready for what is to come next. So far everyone who I have done this with has commented after that the hug felt amazing and helped them relax greatly.
A typical healing session will last less than 10 minutes, and this includes healing any specific ailments, cutting and dissolving any energy or pain cords/knots, removal of any spiritual attachments, tune or activate then balance or align the chakras and energy column as a whole, removal or banishment of any unwanted negative attachments and cancellation of any contracts that do not benefit their higher selves journey/role.
I have also done for some something that this post was inspired by. I have initiated someones dormant psychic abilities and another I initiated their ability to also heal others. In a sense it could be argued that I attuned them to be a healer, when in fact they were already a natural healer like me but not aware of the fact. It was only so far done for two of the many I have connected with and my higher self, all that was said is that "I now activate *** abilities as requested" and that is all.
The next thing I will be attempting to do during an upcoming healing is controversial to even mention. One of my recent sessions on someone who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia informed me that the "voices" were in fact demons, and they are always negative and rude. So I have two ideas on how to clear these demons from them.
1. By using a similar method as used on any entity attached to a human, using force and a mix of a strong mix of many colored energy. Or use my energy to raise their own vibration higher than it is, this will make any low vibrating being attached become so uncomfortable with this new state that it either leaves them or it stays and has it's own vibration raised. Demons are actually thoughtforms and are like us all "VIBRATING" just at a lower frequency. If I can achieve this effectively I may find the Catholic church upset with me for making such claims. Well that doesn't concern me, if it can be done without the need for an exorcism then that is a good thing. And in doing so I may also be able to cure someone of a diagnosed mental condition, that being schizophrenia.
I didn't need my subconscious mind to be programmed with symbols in order for me to be able to allow me to channel universal energy. And the same applies to me being able to heal through time and space or to be able to help with depression or anxiety. So no Guru/Master is required at all. Maybe it was actually my higher self who attuned me, I doubt that, I think my conscious will to heal was the biggest factor enabling me to actually do it and become a Conduit.
A large factor in the effectiveness of any healing for me is my confidence in myself and my connection to my higher self. I do also hope that in the near future I will start refining my methods so I can then name it a name of my choice and to start teaching others.
Claudia on April 11, 2019:
I was attuned first level but give reiki energy as an LMT and honestly have heard my hands are very warm and healing. I didn’t get that from a $500 workshop and I doubt Usui did either
Dusty on December 10, 2018:
I did it and didnt even know what reiki even was!
Lara on December 08, 2018:
Hello, I find this article very informative, at least poses the right questions.
I have one of my own as well, as I am not a practitioner.
I've done 2 Reiki sessions in total (as a client) over the last 3 years, from 2 practitioners ( I travel often and they were in 2 different countries). Both of them have been very powerful experiences. Powerful and very very similar:
I went into a not totally conscious state (I would say) and both times I've been told that was very difficult for them to bring me back like I didn't want to.
But when they did, and I can tell now that was at the end of each session, I fell unbelievably powerful.
With no effort, I could break the table I was laying on into pieces. The force was incredible, my hands (especially the right one) were really warm and the arms were very tense.
In those 2 moments, the first session I saw a red Japanese dragon and could feel its power and the second I could feel as I was a volcano erupting.
Both the practitioners asked me afterward if I've done courses for energetic healing or something related before, they said my energy is very powerful and they suggested me to do it.
Of course, I did not even understand what they were talking about, I was not really sure what to make of it and I ended up not asking questions.
Now I'm wondering what they meant. This happened to somebody else?
Thanks in advance :)
Lisa on November 25, 2018:
It's a spiritual gift. People are making money with all this books and meetings. Lots of money and power selling themselves as gurus of one or another line. I think that you can do that by yourself.
In my opinion, this is the way some people have found to make money. In my spiritual experience, never affiliated to any specific dogma, I have learned that there are angels and that all this is connected to God, passes through Jesus and guardian angels and masters, whatever the name you give them. Then someone connects, begins to heal and sell connections of something that is a divine grace. I know that there is a very simple spiritual rule: when you become greedy with what you are thankful for, the angels abandon you and you are doing some suggestive theater for your audience. I just started on level one receiving a degree that I can use to earn money. Well, now, I was amazed by the whole set up to get people money. I do not go there better than before because everything depends on my training. If everything depends on me, this initiation could be done with God within a church or in nature or anywhere, as it had happened to me before. I do not believe in any lineage guru.
Kevin Dulin on August 23, 2018:
If it were free then it would be necessary. Also, who attuned the first practitioner?
Maurice Glaude from Dallas, TX on June 02, 2018:
For those wanting to tap into healing, Reiki isn't the only way. Reiki, in my opinion, is much more intimate and therefore has a greater chance of success on a consistent basis which is why I want to follow this path in the future.
MillennialPath on April 18, 2018:
This a great article and a subject that we should all be addressing. I struggle a lot with thinking there is a need for attunement. I certainly felt different after receiving my Level I and II attunements but to me it felt like a healing. A healing that allowed me to open my self to the flow of energy. That’s where I see the benefit. We need to open channels to facilitate the movement of energy. However that cleansing, I don’t feel, is only passed by a master of a certain lineage. Spirit is available through direct revelation. We just have to open to it. We also have to constantly be cleansing ourselves. Levels are about learning to work with energy. But symbols, I think that’s four job to cultivate them in yourself and understand who they are. Lineage doesn’t teach that.
I also struggle to accept that lineage matters. No mater who trains you, if your own energy system is clogged then reiki will struggle to pass through you. It’s about the self work to allow light pass through as if you were a hollow bone.
Thanks again for this article and all of the comments below. I love seeing that people are learning, challenging, and having conversations about the history and power of our work.
Rob Daugherty (author) from Pittsfield, MA on August 14, 2017:
I need to add that the comments to this article (MY article) are every bit as good, if not better and more informative, than the original. So, I appreciate everyone who added their thoughts.
Charlotte Smith on August 14, 2017:
Reiki healing is the same as spiritual healing and some people are much better at it than others (probably people who are more spiritually open!). The symbols are like meditation mantras which simply help to put the practitioner in the right frame of mind (as is the attunement which simply gives someone more confidence). Ultimately it is purely to do with how good someone is at channelling the spiritual healing force.
Rosemary on August 13, 2017:
For Amy Stars: Please reread Paul Peterson's comments. I want to let everyone know that Reiki is a part of you . Source is in you and you are in source. So if Reiki is universal energy guided by source-- there you have it-- you are source and you are energy! The biggest thing that the system of Reiki does for people is it gives them the comnfidence to believe in themselves and it give them a system --a how to -- to it for healing and personal development. But can a person do energy healing without an attunement? Just as Master Usui did -- you can too. We are all one. Namaste --Paul Peterson Reiki master
Amy Stars on July 20, 2017:
Answer to InnaBee's Question---Whom and/or What Attuned Dr. Usui?
He was being Attuned by H-E-A-V-E-N (Heaven or God) or Invisible Light Force (Ghost or Photonic Energy)!!!
--- Amy
Starleigh on January 04, 2015:
I really wish there were more arlteics like this on the web.