by Frans Stiene / www.o-books.com
The Way of Reiki came to me in a lightning flash. One day I sat down to write and it just flowed out of me. This happened as a result of practices and training in Japan with my teacher Takeda Hakusai. which over the years have opened me up to a much deeper understanding of the system of Reiki as a way of awakening to our own essence, our True Self.
Please don’t let “over the years†and “True Self†make you think, “this might not be for me†or “too deep!†Whether you are new to the system of Reiki, a long time practitioner or a curious spiritual seeker, these are teachings for everyone. With a little effort you will see benefits, which deepen with time and practice. The Way of Reiki is like a recipe, so to speak, of working with Mikao Usui’s teachings, a recipe of remembering who we truly are so that we can lead a life free of anger and worry, a life full of gratefulness, true to our way and our being, with compassion for ourselves and others.
In this book, I start with a very important part: how to prepare for our practice. Often we forget this kind of preparation, but as with any kind of recipe we need to get the right ingredients and use them in the right order; else we do not get the desired results. Therefore, the right result within the system of Reiki, the ultimate happiness we seek, is laying bare our True Self, our essence, our great bright light.
In a way it is like making a cake. First of all we need a recipe. After we read the recipe we need to get the right ingredients and then combine them in a specific way. Maybe we need 100 grams of butter, 120 grams of sugar, 2 eggs, etc. Too much butter and our cake will be greasy; too many eggs may give us cake soup! Now we must put it all in the cake tin, properly mixed; we cannot just throw it all in in one go. There are many elements at play before we can enjoy the benefits of eating the cake. This is the same within the system of Reiki. It is not just some heap of practices and exercises we can throw randomly together and hope for the best. No, Mikao Usui put them together to be used in a very specific way and structure to get the desired result of laying bare our great bright light of love and compassion because that is the deepest form of healing we can give ourselves. And through this we can start to help others to rediscover their own great bright light of love and compassion. That is the most profound thing we can do for someone else, and a main aim of this book. For as each of us comes to live a life of less anger and worry, more gratitude, kindness, compassion and truth, those benefits can spread within our circles and far beyond.
The preparation is the understanding of what Reiki really is, why the precepts are within the system of Reiki and what they are trying to tell us. It’s learning that our mind, body, and energy are so essential to understanding our own healing practice and that of others. It’s seeing why the hara – our centre – is so important within the practice but also within our daily life. Through first reading about it we gain a deeper understanding of what the system of Reiki really is about. The clearer this understanding is, the more we will gain from the practice. Again this is the same with making a cake; if I want to make an apple cake I have to get apples, not pears. Therefore, reading and understanding the recipe is very important if we want to get the desired outcome.
When we understand how to prepare the best we can, we then move into the practical aspects of the system of Reiki. We will explore Shoden Reiki I, how and what to practice. Shoden means beginner’s teachings and is the foundation for the other two levels. Without a solid foundation we cannot go into the higher teachings. Here again we can look at the concept of a recipe or a plan, like for building a high rise apartment building. Even for that we need the right ingredients and the right order. We can not start with a roof. First we have to lay a very solid foundation to support the rest of the building; else it will topple.
Some of the elements of Shoden Reiki I discussed within The Way of Reiki are the precepts, hands on/off healing on ourselves and others and specific meditation practices as used within the Japanese tradition of the system of Reiki.Â
After exploring Shoden Reiki I, we move onto Okuden Reiki II, Okuden means inner or hidden teachings and this points to what is hidden inside of us. Hidden deep inside is our own great bright light of love and compassion. But that is not easy to lay bare as we have covered it over with layers of anger and worry, for example. Therefore Mikao Usui placed very specific tools, symbols and mantras within this level to help us to rediscover this inner hidden gem of our True Self. In this book we look at the more traditional Japanese viewpoint of these symbols and mantras. If we truly understand why they are there and how we can work with them, then we will get a much clearer result, just like making a cake.Â
After Okuden Reiki II we will explore Shinpiden Reiki III. Shinpiden means mystery teachings, as it is all about the mystery of life, who we truly are. The Reiki III symbol and mantra will be explained as well as certain aspects of the Reiju/Attunement/Initiation. Again, all are part of the recipe Mikao Usui created.
To really understand all of this we should not forget the historical aspects of all the practices found within the system of Reiki. The more we start to see where Mikao Usui took his teachings from, the more clearly we will understand the system of Reiki and the more we will know why and how to work with these practices. We will understand the benefits that are waiting for us as we deepen our practice.
But just as reading a recipe is not enough, just reading a book about the system of Reiki is not enough. We have to sit down and do our practice. And that is why you also will find practical elements within The Way of Reiki so that you can explore all of this at home for yourself. Just reading a recipe will not still our hunger. We have to follow the recipe, bake the cake and then eat it; only then do we truly start to understand and experience its deliciousness. It is the same with The Way of Reiki – The Inner Teachings of Mikao Usui.
The Way of Reiki guides us on the path to becoming a better human being, softening our anger and worry so that we can live in a world of compassion and kindness. It is a must read for any Reiki practitioner or teacher who wants to bring more love into their practice, teachings and the world.
The Way of Reiki – The Inner Teachings of Mikao Usui by Frans Stiene is available from www.o-books.com or from wherever books are sold.
BOOK LINK: https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/o-books/our-books/way-reiki-inner-teachings-mikao-usui