I have very little knowledge about reiki.. just internet info. I know the basics of practicing it myself from what i've read but I also know that an attunement is suggested(demanded) in order for one to properly practice reiki. Not quite sure why this is as it seems a little scientologist/culty for me (especially considering the price it takes to reach each level. I know meditation well, i guess i can sense energy and understand the chakras etc...

Haven't had reiki performed on me before. Period. Not by this teacher.. haven't even met her. It seems that if I do ask for her to perform reiki on me she'll merely charge me another 70-80 bucks as well. I know if I learned Reiki I'd certainly be willing to offer attunements for free to those who are willing to learn as it seems that this healing energy should be shared with all and not only those who can afford it. Let's get the gift economy started in the healing community and spread the love around.

Ya... I think mine was 125 and I paid over a three month period and helped out when I could with Reiki.

i know a truck driver reiki master in New York, who really explained the whole bogus-ness, of the levels of reiki, because even after all the money and hours you could be incapable of performing reiki altogether.
she told me personally that i should begin practicing because i gave off a stong vibe that she said would translate very well to some forms of reiki... its not some magic words you recite from a book or skill level you can buy ... it is a practice and skill can be gained, but talent exists as well....
to find out if it truely is something you want to do try meeting some reiki people, get healed yourself as a starter, and try and understand if you have in your heart and soul, and head, to do what it takes if your serious about it...
i wish you best of luck ....json

I found this information at the International Center for Reiki Training website. I have found that often when I type an answer here it can take on many forms and many times it is not what I intended to mean. I often feel like I have a foot in my writing mouth:~) I hope this helps explain things for you. Check out this sight, it really helped me with my questions.


The Attunement
Reiki is not taught in the way other healing techniques are taught. It is transferred to the student by the Reiki Master during an attunement process. This process opens the crown, heart, and palm chakras and creates a special link between the student and the Reiki source.
The Reiki attunement is a powerful spiritual experience. The attunement energies are channeled into the student through the Reiki Master. The process is guided by the Rei or God-consciousness and makes adjustments in the process depending on the needs of each student. The attunement is also attended by Reiki guides and other spiritual beings who help implement the process. Many report having mystical experiences involving personal messages, healings, visions, and past life experiences.

The attunement can also increase psychic sensitivity. Students often report experiences involving: opening of the third eye, increased intuitive awareness, and other psychic abilities after receiving a Reiki attunement.

Once you have received a Reiki attunement, you will have Reiki for the remainder of your life. It does not wear off and you can never lose it. While one attunement is all you need for each level to be attuned to that level, additional attunements bring benefit. Experimentation has found that additional attunements of the same level add to the value of that level. These benefits include refinement of the Reiki energy one is channeling, increased strength of the energy, healing of personal problems, clarity of mind, increased psychic sensitivity, and a raised level of consciousness. At the Reiki support groups sponsored by the Center, additional attunements are usually given by someone who has taken Third degree Reiki, with no extra fee required.

The Reiki attunement can start a cleansing process that affects the physical body as well as the mind and emotions. Toxins that have been stored in the body may be released along with feelings and thought patterns that are no longer useful. Therefore, a process of purification prior to the attunement is recommended to improve the benefit one receives. See below for specific instructions on preparing for an attunement.


Issues of Time & Money

by William Lee Rand

One area of concern in the Reiki community is the period of time one should wait between Reiki classes. Center policy is that a person needs to decide within themselves when they are ready to continue with their Reiki training. While it is important for a student to practice what they have learned before going on, each student is different in their needs and in their capacity to absorb new information. Because of this, it is difficult to set a fixed time period between classes that is right for every student. That is why it is important for the Reiki student to develop and rely on their own inner guidance to determine when they are ready for the next level.

However, according to some Reiki Masters, there must be a fixed time between Reiki classes in order for the training to be effective and in order for it to qualify as Usui Reiki. The formula commonly promoted is three to six months between Reiki I&II and as much as three years between Reiki II and Master. It is implied that this is the way it has always been and that you must teach this way if you are teaching the Usui system. Otherwise, it is stated that your Reiki is not valid and it could result in problems in the use of Reiki.

The required waiting periods between classes was never part of the original Usui system. They go directly against how Mrs. Takata received her Reiki training. According to an interview that appeared in the Honolulu Advertiser in 1974, (see Mrs. Takata and Reiki Power in this issue) Mrs. Takata mastered the art of Reiki in one year. She did not have to wait three years to become a Reiki Master. It is also not how Mrs. Takata trained her Reiki students. In "Journey Into Consciousness" my first Reiki Master, Bethel Phaigh, explains that she learned the whole system of Reiki from Mrs. Takata in nine months and was given the Master level only a few days after receiving Reiki II. I have also received letters from several other Reiki students who knew Mrs. Takata personally and received their Reiki training from her who state that she had taught Reiki I&II together in just one day. Apparently Mrs. Takata treated each student according to what she/he needed and according to what was right for them as individuals. She had no set rules about how long one must wait between degrees.

The idea that you must wait a specific period of time between degrees is something that a few Reiki Masters added to the way they taught Reiki after Mrs. Takata passed on. It is not based on how she taught. Each Reiki Master has the right to decide how long her/his students need between classes or to allow each student to decide for themselves.

Another area of concern within the Reiki community is the fee that one should pay to become a Reiki Master. It is Center policy that a Reiki Master has the right to charge whatever fee she/he feels guided to charge or to charge no fee at all. We feel that this is something that must be decided by the Master using her/his inner guidance. Those that charge a high fee also have a right to do so. Also, because we feel that all actions a person takes on the spiritual path are right for them, those who pay a high fee are suppose to pay a high fee. The same is true for those who charge or pay low fees or no fee. The fee issue is an individual one and each person needs to look within themselves to decided how much they are willing to pay and how much to charge once one becomes a Reiki Master.

However, according to some Reiki Masters, a high fee, often stated to be $10,000 must be paid in order for your Reiki Mastership to be valid. It is implied that this fee has always been part of the Reiki program and was part of the information that Dr. Usui originally received. It is said by these same Masters that if you don't charge or pay this fee, then you are not a Master of the Usui system.

This "need" for a high fee is not based on any verifiable facts. The Reiki story told by Mrs. Takata indicates that Dr. Usui didn't pay anything for his Reiki training, having received it on a beam of light directly from the source.

There is also some question about what Mrs. Takata paid for her Mastership. According to Susan Mitchell, Executive Director of the Reiki Alliance, in order for Mrs. Takata to go to Japan, prior to her knowing about Reiki, she had to sell her house in order to pay for her steamship ticket. This really has no bearing on what she paid for her Reiki training and according to Susan Mitchell, it is not known how much Mrs. Takata paid for her Mastership or if she paid anything at all.

The idea of charging a $10,000 fee for Reiki Mastership was actually started in 1970 by Mrs. Takata when she initiated her first Reiki Master. She felt that because Reiki is so easily acquired, not needing years of discipline, but simply being passed on to the student through the Master, the Western mind would have no respect for Reiki unless a high fee was charged. In Japan respect for authority is part of the culture and so a high fee was not necessary. Mrs. Takata begin charging $10,000 for Reiki Mastership as an artificial way of creating respect. It must be understood that real respect for Reiki must come from appreciating the healing value it has and not from what one has paid for it.

Simply because Mrs. Takata was guided to charge this amount doesn't mean that all Reiki Masters should charge this amount. Experience has demonstrated that the quality of the Reiki energy one receives has no connection to the fee one pays. God does not respond to money, but to sincerity, humility and trust. There are those who have paid high fees and received poor training and there are those who have paid low fees and received excellent training. The important thing here is not the fee you pay, but the quality of training you receive. Ask your prospective Reiki Master exactly what you will be receiving for your money. Also check with other students who have become Masters through them to see if they are happy with what they received and if they feel supported in becoming successful Reiki Masters.

While each Reiki Master has a right to charge whatever they want, it is important to realize that high fees often prevent people from becoming Reiki Masters. High fees for Mastership also invite problems of greed, power over others and elitism which go directly against the nature and purpose of Reiki healing energy. High fees for Mastership may have had some value in the past and may still have value for some teachers and students. However, times have changed. World population is growing and the planet is becoming over-crowded resulting in widespread suffering. We need as many Reiki Masters as possible so the healing power of Reiki can be used to help solve our problems. While we respect the right of each Reiki Master to charge whatever they feel is right, we also think that high fees slow down the spread of Reiki unnecessarily and prolong suffering. Seeking to align with the purpose of Reiki energy, the International Center for Reiki Training has chosen fees that are more affordable and similar to fees charged for other types of training of similar value.

Thanks for all the replies everyone. You certainly have set my mind at ease going into the meeting tomorrow and knowing that whatever I decide will be the right decision for me. I have a feeling I will know my choice instantly upon entering the room with her. I do know that when I become a Reiki master, I will likely offer my attunements/trainings for free knowing that karma will take care of me.

Thanks,
bryan

OK... so it's been awhile but the meeting went wonderfully and I am going to go for my attunement this Thursday. Any suggestions for mental preparation?

oh ... wow, i know that this is exactly the kick in the arse i've been needing too!

i definitely need to be attuned again, my past master is still in boston, and although i've been having some semi regular reiki/acupuncture/massage/physiotherapy etc recently, the reiki guy is level 2 ... he's wonderful, but i know i need something more powerful than he can work with .. my heart chakra is unbelievable ... he described it as a vortex ...

yeah ... internet job for tonight ... find cheapish reiki master in adelaide, south australia!!!

thx! oh and glad to hear it bryan ... just be prepared to let the light in and the dark out ...

you may cry like a baby (i have), gnash your teeth (yup), and have visions that can only be described as past lives or fears manifesting themselves through the dark energies i tend to draw to me ..

i am learning to channel this stuff for myself, but yeah, mmm, reiki master!!!!

awesome.

funny aside, i actually called my reiki guy earlier to try and get in to see him tomorrow and he hasnt called back ... maybe that's a sign!

She's usually not around... her website I beleive is oughtenhouse.com or something like that, and she spends most of her time in Europe, but I happened to stumble upon the website one day and noticed Binghamton down at the the bottom of the page for the mailing address. I sent her an e-mail and happened to catch her at the right time (she's going to Europe for another 3-6 months or so in two weeks).

The attunement went well, no intense visions or anything at all really, but I have the utmost trust in this woman and had a sort of intense mystical experience just sitting there listening to her prior to the attunement. I did feel an expansion of some sort though and my chakras seem to be all doing much more nicely than before (though of course I can't see them or anything yet). Just curious as to what your experiences were after the attunement? I was reading online about the cleansing process and saw something along the lines of 1st 7 days - physical, 2nd 7 days - emotional, 3rd 7 days - spiritual, all with what appear to be setbacks + troubles along the way (the physical one being a desire for junk food (which I did have tonight and have eating my share already) which we have to just allow to happen and let go of). I'm very excited to see where this takes me now and although I did not recieve as magical of an experience with the attunement as some have stated, I do believe that I've recieved all the benefits I need and am ready for at this point. My growth will only continue from here and I am certainly ready to spread the light and love and bring about the golden age.

- Bryan