Why I'm not teaching Online Reiki 1 and 2 Classes

I am unable to meet students in person to teach 1^st and 2^nd degree classes during the current situation.  This can be frustrating, but I hope you can wait, because the initiations, an important element of both classes, are not something that I would consider doing from a distance.

Some Reiki masters are offering ‘online’ initiation/attunement.  This is not a new thing, but due to current restrictions, it may seem to be an obvious solution to those wishing to continue making a living from Reiki.  Reiki Council, which represents practitioners from many different schools of Reiki,has been discussing this recently.  The conclusion was that for practitioners who wish to give treatments to the public, initiations need to take place in the physical presence of their Reiki master.

I would go further: my practice is that all Reiki initiations need to take place in person.  Reiki is not just healing energy, it is something that benefits us in the context of a specific form of practice.  This form guides us in how to benefit from it, just as a glass is a container that enables me to drink water.   I teach and practice Usui Shiki Ryoho and one of the essential elements of this form is Oral Tradition.   

Many Eastern traditions are taugh through Oral Tradition, with the master and student spending time together, the student learning from everything that takes place.  This means not just what the master says, but also what they do and the quality of their being is important.  The master embodies the practice and energetic transmission takes place when teacher and student are physically together.  

As a member of the Succession Core Team, I have enjoyed Reiki development online with other Reiki students, but when we were later able to meet and hug in person it brought home to me the difference between the virtual and real-world experiences.  It’s a bit like imagining eating a wonderful meal compared to actually eating one!  There is a richness of experience that is possible in physical presence that is simply not possible when we are in different places.  I am committed to giving my students an experience that is as rich as possible when they take what I consider to be the important step of learning Reiki. 

So why is initiation different from distant treatment, which our practice does include?  Distant treatment is usually part of a series that will normally include some hands on treatment.  It’s an option to support treatment when it is not possible to be physically together (such as during the current restrictions).  The difference with initiation is that, in Usui Shiki Ryoho, it is a unique one-off event.  Initiation means a new beginning, a doorway to a new way of being.  I would not want to offer a limited experience for this significant moment.  Having performed thousands of initiations over the years, each one has been unique and, to me, sacred.  

Another reason I would not perform the initiations remotely is that there can be no doubt the initiation has taken place if we are together in physical presence.  The student sees me, receives the touch of my hands, we breathe the same air and hear the same sounds at the same time.  A virtual touch is simply not the same experience.

Reiki has the potential to transform your life, so I feel it’s important to give this moment a full celebration, something that would feel very different remotely, just as singing is better when we are together than via Zoom!  So, difficult and frustrating as it is, I will wait until the full experience is possible again and I hope you will too.