I have seen questions raised over the compatibility of Westernized Reiki and the 'original' teachings of Eastern or Usui Reiki. There are some Reiki therapists who have been trained in the eastern variant that tend to look down their noses at western practices. I must admit that I myself am guilty of that on occasion.
Before I proceed I should admit that I have not been trained in any variant of Western Reiki so I am speaking from a lack of experience here, but I have been attuned and trained in Usui Reiki Ryoho. My masters are of the opinion that they wished to teach and attune as closely to the original methods as they were able to and have trimmed out what they believed to be purely western influence from their instruction. I have no problem with this at all but I will state now that I have no problem either with western methods that are genuine extensions and discoveries that have proved an increased benefit to the client and/or the practitioner.
Western Reiki has acquired a bit of a bad name over the past few decades, more because of the flakiness of some of its adherents than any fault with the basis of the practice. There is a website out there today claiming to provide Dolphin Reiki! Yes, you read that correctly, and it is not a site providing holistic care for dolphins, but the practitioner claims to channel Reiki energy from dolphins. Now I don't wish to appear too judgmental here but what on earth do dolphins have to do with Reiki? I agree that they need the energies to live just as we do, but why try to channel it from them when you have the pure source at you beck and call? Dolphins do have a genuine therapeutic effect on certain conditions when the patient is in their presence, but I feel that particular website is taking the 'Reiki' theme too far.
What a lot of this boils down to is the western tendency to want to make money. The original westernized Reiki teachings promulgated by Ms Takata where perfectly fine. The history she provided was altered to take care of American prejudice against all things Japanese at the time she introduced it to the U.S.A. This accounts for much of the western belief that Reiki has Christian roots. There are others out there who believe Reiki is of Tibetan origin; it isn't. Reiki was discovered, for the first time by Mikao Usui. He was a Shinto lay preacher in Japan. The past two decades have allowed some original texts from Usui, and other historical documents, to surface that have clarified a lot of this, and I'd recommend anyone seriously interested in gaining a better understanding or Reiki's roots to read up on some of Frank Arjava Petter's work.
The money-making side of western 'New Age' has unfortunately led to a tendency for some Reiki practitioners and some energy healers, who have never been attuned to Reiki, to stick the word Reiki onto everything they offer to try to legitimize their practice. Hence Dolphin Reiki...
Reiki energies come from source, the universe, the universal consciousness, God or Allah, or whatever you wish to call the primal energy that allows everything to subsist in this reality. If you wish to filter the Reiki energy through something, then at least bring it in to this dimension in a relatively pure form first. I use Reiki energy in my Crystal Therapy sessions. Pure Reiki is perfect for cleansing, charging and energizing crystals, as well as purifying the aura and working with the chakras. Placing a crystal over a chakra and gently running Reiki through it also helps ensure the energy the client receives is of the purest kind and limits the possibility that your own energy is used by mistake. Using Reiki in this way helps to enhance the effect of another form of therapy.
I would suggest that if the person purporting to provide Dolphin Reiki really wishes to go that route then they should market it more fairly by stating they channel Dolphins in some way and project Dolphin energy into the client. What ever they do, it is not Reiki.
So far this has all sounded a little anti-western. I am not anti-western at all, I am just anti-some-new-age-money-making-practices. I need money as much as the next person but I try not to deceive my clients, it's not fair and not good karma (if you go for that line of thinking).
Legitimate western alterations I am happy about are where Masters have meditated on, and experimented with, additional symbols and further supplementary attunements. I question the need for 20 extra symbols but then I have not been trained in their use. I assume they are used to fine tune the energies for very particular needs. Supplementary attunements are okay so long as they don't interfere with the originals.
Any tradition dies if it is not open to change and evolution. Reiki has a rock solid basis on which to build but if Western Reiki is to survive, I would suggest its genuine adherents weed out the cow-boys, charlatans and snake-oil merchants, and show them up for what they truly are. East can meet West, I am sure of it, and we will all be the better for it.
Andy Cook is a Reiki Master Teacher, Crystal Therapist and Indian Head Massage practitioner. His approach to his clients is one of providing a holistic approach to the entire person, not just trying to treat the symptoms presented.
He works out of East London and is also available for Reiki training and attunements by appointment.
Andy's personal blog can be found at http://andy-cook.co.uk
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