Self-Attunement

I did not then, and do not now, wish to enter into the debate on whether Usui Sensei himself was self-attuned or not.

That is history, and is now a moot academic and theoretical argument that can go on endlessly. Nobody can go back in time and verify for themselves as to what happened. Historical records are sketchy, and you cannot work with conjectures as the foundation of your beliefs and value system.

As a Reiki healer who has gone through the traditional system, I have attuned others in the healing technique by following the Usui system, and have asked others to undergo the process of self-attunement that I have designed.

The two sets of groups – one attuned through the Usui system; and the other that was self-attuned – have reported identical results in their healing. Both the groups have the same level of success rate when it comes to their healing process.

What does this prove?

That the process of attunement through a human mediator, which I have outlined above – is just one of the processes through which you can get in touch with the Universal Life Energy (U.L.E.) swirling around you?

As I write this, a saying by the Buddha in the “Kalama Sutra” comes to mind, and I take pleasure in quoting it:

“Rely not on the teacher / person, but on the teaching. Rely not on the words of the teaching, but on the spirit of the words. Rely not on theory, but on experience. Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe anything because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and the benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

While continuing with my practice as a Reiki healer, I would come across very enthusiastic Reiki learners who wanted to be initiated into Reiki. They had been to many masters who were established practitioners in the domain, but had baulked at the huge fees required to be coughed up for attunement.

Ingrained into tradition as I was, I believed in Mrs. Takata’s precept that Reiki should not be taught for free. So, after sensing the intensity and yearning for learning the trade amongst these people, I would carry out the attunement process on them for a small token fee.

Yet, this concept of having a mediator – some human being, who is already attuned into Reiki – as your guide who hand-holds you into the domain of Reiki, continued to bother me.

Even if we suppose that indeed there was a requirement, why should there be so much difference between the fees being charged by different Masters? Why didn’t the original Masters lay down a set of fees for each level of attainment, which could then be currency-adjusted for different countries?

Two Reiki Masters, both practicing in the same region; one charges exorbitantly high; and the other charges ridiculously low! Both of them would take the learner through the same process of attunement, now wouldn’t they?

There was another dimension to this issue. The entire action of Reiki is based on one single, fundamental point: the intention of the channel.

Once the intention of the channel is set, appropriately refined and fine-tuned by the Reiki symbol that they visualize in their mind, Reiki energy automatically begins to channel through them and into the body of the recipient.

So, if the channel:

Takes pains to understand the meaning and function of the individual symbols;
Has done sufficient practice and expended enough effort into visualizing, understanding and internalizing the right symbol in their mind;

Works on his own psyche to cleanse themselves, and removes their own blocks and negativities;

Brings the right Symbol in their mind before beginning a session with the recipient before them;

Then, the intention of the channel is sufficient for Reiki energy to flow.

Keeping this rationale in mind, I began working on methods of self-attunement. Since, in order to cleanse others of blocks and negativities, one has to be cleansed oneself first, I gave first emphasis to this part of the self-attunement.

As I had also been introduced to the seven-chakra concept from Buddhist and ancient Far-East spirituality, I brought in elements from chakra healing into my method.

Since the Reiki Symbols very powerfully represent the intentions that the channel has during the session, I ensured that the Symbols are kept in the forefront all through the attunement process.

After fusing Far-East elements with the Japanese Reiki and conceptualizing this selfattunement process, I began offering willing self-initiation to Reiki learners. I would make clear upfront the difference between my method of attunement, and the Usui method of attunement to them.

My method of self-attunement was offered to them free of charge. I was fortunate that quite a few of the learners volunteered to go through this self-attunement process.

After the self-attunement was completed and the volunteers-transformed-into-Reikipractitioners began practicing, they began giving me feedback on how they fared in the healing arena.

The results were excellent. Reiki practitioners who were self-attuned reported the same level of success as do the ones attuned through a human mediator.

While making such a forceful statement in favor of self-attunement, let me hasten to add that I am not against mediator-induced attunement. Most definitely, having a mediator to initiate you into Reiki energy is like wandering in the jungle and coming across a guide who has already been there, and knows the area quite well, at least better than you.

The benefits of a mediator inducting you into Reiki are beyond debate.

Another good analogy that people give in favor of Reiki-Master-aided attunement is that it is like a ready-made program that you can simply download and use; and gives you an edge over the attempt to write your own program all over again, bugs and all.

My point is that we prepare the learner in advance, by providing them with the map, the torch, and all the paraphernalia required to negotiate their way in the jungle. And give them the confidence they require to go through it.

My point is to give the ready-made program to the learner in advance. They do not need to acquire it from a human being!

Making it mandatory for the learner to go through the process of attunement through a mediator is what I am against.

So dear reader, I take immense pleasure now in presenting to you a method of selfattunement that I have observed is equally proficient in initiating you into Reiki. The method is aligned to Reiki technique by virtue of using the symbols that Usui Sensei has handed over to us.

With full respect to Usui Sensei, Dr. Hayashi, Mrs. Takata and all the illustrious Masters of Reiki, I present the following method of attuning oneself to Reiki.

You may go through the entire procedure once or twice; and first understand the spirit behind what is laid out in the text here. Once you are sure that the procedures that I have outlined here gels with you, and you are in tune with my thoughts as I pen them now, go ahead.

Go ahead with an open heart and mind, and remove all cynicism, “I have done this and all that” attitude, before plunging in. Open yourself up and experience for yourself. Like Buddha said in the Kalama Sutra.

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