Fine tuning to a higher level

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH REIKI; ABUNDANCE THROUGH REIKI: Paula Horan; Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 120, R.H. Road, Mylapore, Chennai-600004. Rs. 75 each.

IN JAPANESE language ``Rei'' denotes universal, transcendental spirit, mysterious power or essence. ``Ki'' stands for the vital life force energy, similar to ``Chi'' of Chinese acupuncture. So Reiki can be translated as universal life force energy (ULFE). This Reiki energy is everyone's birthright. When we are born we are directly connected to this ULFE. But as we grow, negative energies like anger, jealousy and greed settle on the energy plane and disconnect us from the ULFE.

The practice of Reiki is essentially a fine-tuning of our physical and ethereal bodies to a higher vibratory level. Our body has a self-healing capacity and Reiki catalyses this capacity.

Healing by touch is an ancient technique. We see Jesus laying his hands on the afflicted and urging his apostles also to go and do likewise. The Buddha also is seen performing such cures. But like many other sciences, the ``touch therapy'' too was forgotten with the passage of all-devouring time.

It is to Mikao Usui, a Japanese monk, that we owe the rediscovery of this healing method. In the mid-1800's Usui was the Dean of a small Christian University in Kyoto. He was stunned when some of his students approached him with a request to teach them the technique by which the saviour healed the sick and raised the dead. Resigning his post he researched first at the University of Chicago and then in many Buddhist and Zen monasteries in Japan, China, Tibet and India.

Following a hint contained in the Lotus Sutras he did penance for 21 days on a mountain near Kyoto when a powerful light from the sky struck him. Recovering from the shock he found that henceforth by touching he could heal wounds and remove pain.

The universal life force energy had entered into him and the rest of his life was dedicated to the propagation of Reiki. Usui trained other teachers, who in turn, spread the technique in the West.

The author of the book under review, an experienced Reiki master who practises it all over the world, writes with such a joyful creativeness and love for it that it is easy to follow her in the application of Reiki in many forms of healing and life situations. She explains how Reiki is the simplest self-healing system which can be used to heal oneself as well as others.

But she also stresses that it cannot be self-learned; one has to be initiated by a master, who purifies the recipient's nerve- channels and opens them for the smooth flow of Reiki. Reiki attunement is like clearing up a clogged water pipe.

The master receives the ULFE through the crown of his head, gets all his ``chakras'' purified and energised and then transmits the energy through his hands. The student, likewise, gets the energy at the top of the head, becomes empowered and is able to pass it on to others by touch and massage.

The special attraction of Reiki is that it can be taught in a couple of days. It is very simple. Only about 30 minutes of practice a day is needed. And this self-healing can be done even while one is engaged in other activities like reading or watching TV.

The more one uses Reiki for self-healing, the stronger one's capacity becomes to heal others. Another interesting feature is that the teacher's channels do not get blocked in any way by his transmitting to a patient. Reiki flow is always positive and never negative. The author explains the three degrees of attunement. In the first degree the ``chakras'' are opened up to receive greater quantities of the energy. In the second degree there is a quantum leap in vibratory level. This involves a 21- day cleansing process.

The third degree is used to initiate a master in whom conscious awareness is amplified to surprising levels. She also describes how the practice of Reiki can be combined with other exercises involving the use of colour and sound.

Five basic effects accrue from Reiki. There is deep relaxation, energy blockages are dissolved, unwanted rubbish gets detoxified, there is a tremendous spurt in the healing capacity and the vibration frequency of every level of the body soars.

She stresses that since Reiki is a holistic approach to healing, ULFE liberates us from being emotionally hooked and blocked. It awakens us to a deep knowledge of the abundance which is the true nature of the Self or Atman. ``By listening and sensing deep into yourself you will discover that this fulfilment is not different from your true or core Self. In other words Reiki will eventually guide you to the experience that you yourself are Reiki or ULFE. You will discontinue living as a small and restricted ego with all its resistances and desires. You will melt into the all- encompassing ``I am'' which allows all positive and negative experiences to happen and flow through, without attachment, without getting hooked.''

Horan devotes the second volume under review to elucidate how this abundance that is our birthright must be approached from an understanding that the ego can do nothing; it only hypnotizes us into the illusion that it does a lot. Reiki is thus much more than a simple healing method which alleviates our unpleasant physical symptoms for the time being, until we foolishly take up our bad habits again. What is more, our progress towards spiritual maturity gets accelerated. And once you are attuned to Reiki energy, you never lose it. Reiki is forever.

C. S. RAMAKRISHNAN

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