REIKI: HEALING HANDS IN KENNEBUNK MAINE

My Reiki II class is well underway.  It is a private class with only one student--a lady who has been using her Reiki I skills on a regular basis, for self-reiki as well as reiki for her friends and family.  She has shown herself to be committed to reiki and a serious student.  She is ready for this next step.

We begin Reiki II with a brief review of  Reiki I and then go on to an introduction to the 7 chakras.  Chakras are energy centers or vortices  that correspond to 7 nerve plexuses & also to the endocrine system.

• Chakra 1 is located in the region of the coccygeal plexus, is related to the adrenal glands, corresponds to the color red, and, as the root chakra, is concerned with issues of survival. 
• Chakra 2, also known as the relationship chakra, is located at the sacral plexus, is related to the gonads (ovaries and testicles), corresponds to the color orange, and is active in matters of creativity--the incubation of creative ideas. 
• Chakra 3  is located at the solar plexus, corresponds to the color yellow and is involved with the ego or your personal power. 
• Chakra 4 is the heart chakra and is active in matters of unconditional love, self-acceptance, and a non-judgemental viewpoint.  Either the color rose or green is the corresponding color representing this chakra; the thymus gland is the connection to the endocrine system, and it is located at the heart or the cardio-pulmonary plexus. 
• The throat is the location of the 5th chakra & is involved in issues surrounding your creative voice and artistic expression.  The color associated with chakra 5 is blue, the glands are the thyroids and parathyroids. 
• The 6th chakra is known as the third eye and is located on the brow between the eyes.  The gland that corresponds with the 6th chakra is the pineal gland, and the associated color is indigo, a dark blue.  This chakra is the site of intuition. 
• The 7th chakra, located at the  crown, is involved with spirituality and living in the present moment.  The color is lavender, the gland the pituitary, the master gland.

The above treatment of chakras is just an overview and a superficial treatment of the chakra system.  Two of the books I use to teach chakras are:  Anatomy of the Spirit, by Caroline Myss, and Wheels of Life, by Anodea Judith. 

My Reiki I course that is offered through Kennebunk Adult Education was a success.  The world now has 4 more people who have started on a path of healing.  Soon I will be offering a course in Reiki II.  Where the focus of Reiki I is self-healing and taking responsibility for one's own health, Reiki II is now encouraging the student to offer healing to others.  This course will concentrate on the 7 Chakras-their location on the body, the parts of the endocrine and nervous systems that are related to them, and several other correspondences, such as colors, gemstones, and the psychological meanings.  The course also covers the three Reiki symbols that are used at this level.  These symbols must be learned & memorized.  We also learn their many uses, especially their use in distant healing. 

The books that I use in this course are Diane Stein's "ESSENTIAL REIKI", Anodea Judith's "WHEELS OF LIFE", Caroline Myss's "ANATOMY OF THE SPIRIT", and William Lee Rand's "REIKI, THE HEALING TOUCH".  As you can see from all that we cover in this course, there is quite a bit of homework.  This homework consists of reading, journaling one's experiences in using reiki, learning the 3 symbols & their uses, and the names, locations & significance of the 7 chakras. 

During the first class the students will receive a single attunement.  This is an initiation, an opening up or clearing of the student's energy channels to better allow the flow of reiki energy.  Each student experiences this attunement process a little differently.  Some students have felt tingling in the palms of their hands, or their crowns.  This is not surprising since I send reiki energy & symbols to both those areas.  Others feel warmth in their hands.  Since this energy can be quite subtle many students don't feel it immediately after the attunement, but do feel it later on in the class.  And some  people don't feel anything until the next day.

Those students who complete the Reiki II course will receive a certificate stating that they have attained the second degree in the USUI REIKI method of natural healing.  I will be offering this course in Kennebunk, ME sometime in April or May.  Those who are interested in this class should call or e-mail me for dates & times.  Students who received Reiki I training from another teacher are welcome to take my Reiki II course as long as they bring their Reiki I certificate.

In March 2009 I will be teaching a REIKI I Class for the Adult Education program in Kennebunk, ME.  It will be held on 2 consecutive Thursday evenings:  March 19 & 26, from 6 pm to 8 pm at Kennebunk High School on Fletcher St, Kennebunk. 

The focus of REIKI I is self healing, taking responsibility for one's own health and well-being.  In this class I will teach a little history of Reiki, including the traditional story of its founder, Mikao Usui; the derivation of the word "reiki"; and the story of its introduction to the US by Madame Hawayo Takata.  That is all very interesting, but the most popular part of the class is the actual hands on teaching of self-healing & healing another.  After being given the first attunements, the students learn the hand positions that form the basis of a REIKI treatment.  Each student gets the chance to give REIKI and to receive REIKI during this class.  It is very much a "hands on" type of learning experience.  Students are encouraged to use their intuition, but I have found it is helpful for beginning students of REIKI to have a set of hand positions to use at first until they trust themselves enough to follow their own intuition.  Each student is given a handout that includes illustrations of the hand positions, the REIKI story, an outline of what I teach in the class, a book list, a resource list and more.   Each student is encouraged to practice REIKI on himself and on anyone else who is willing to receive it and to write about his REIKI experiences in a journal which he can then share with the class or not.  There is also a simple assignment to read part of a book on REIKI and be prepared to discuss it in class.  During the second and final class students discuss their homework, receive their final attunements, give and receive REIKI, take an exam and receive a certificate.  These new students are then encouraged to do self REIKI every day and to start to view life in a new way.

Dr Mikao Usui formulated the following REIKI Principles:
    1.  Just for today, do not be angry.
    2.  Just for today, do not worry.
    3.  Just for today, be grateful.
    4.  Just for today, earn your living honestly.        
    5.  Just for today, be kind to every living thing.

What a wonderful way to live one's life!

Recently (October 2008) I became involved in an exciting research study at the University of Southern Maine.  A Reiki student of mine, who is an associate professor at USM, received a grant to study the therapeutic effects of Reiki on patients, age 60 years and over, who suffer from anxiety and depression and/or pain.  The subjects were carefully screened, and then they answered questionnaires to determine their levels of anxiety, depression and pain prior to starting the study.  Each Reiki practitioner (master/teacher level) met with the same subjects every week and gave 30 minutes of Reiki to each subject once a week for 8 weeks.  At the end of the 8 weeks, each subject was interviewed again to determine any change in level of anxiety, depression or pain.  At every visit each of the subjects had his or her blood pressure and pulse recorded before and after the Reiki session as well as his level of pain.  The study is still underway even though my part in the research is over.  I got so much positive feedback from the subjects that I had the privilege of working with for 8 weeks that I am already convinced of the therapeutic effects of Reiki.  I now eagerly await the tabulated results of this research study to be published.

• Essential REIKI, by Diane Stein.
• Healing REIKI, by Eleanor McKenzie
• REIKI Hands That Heal, by Joyce Morris
• REIKI Fire, by Frank Arjava Petter
• Hands on Energy Therapy, by Clare Wilde
• The Everything REIKI Book, by Phylameana Lila Desy
• REIKI, the Healing Touch, First and Second Degree Manual, by William Lee Rand
• The Original REIKI Handbook of Dr Mikao Usui, by Frank Arjava Petter