Just don't get it!

[kazziem]

Hey that was very strange...I had typed out for about 5 minutes and then my whole thread just disappeared. Let's hope this us not a repeat!

I would just like to know about the validity of reiki. I did reiki 1 in 2003 and didn't really get it..the symbols and how that could work etc..

It was only recently after doing a swap with a client that I felt so good after reiki that I thought there may be more to this than I realised so I did my reiki 2 about a month ago. I suffer from fibromyalgia, headaches, back pain etc and after a session with her I felt so light and calm I couldn't believe it.

Now, I'm not sure what I'm after here..I just don't seem to get how having symbols drawn on you can activate reiki.. It all seems a bit far fetched. I've tried reading books and looking at posts on here but I need to know how.
I practice reflexology and I understand how that works and have seen results but there is some science behind that..I'm not really sure what I'm asking for but I need some help in understanding why I feel like this and does anybody else have these thoughts.
A friend of mine thinks it's all rubbish..she is a spiritualist and says that anybody can heal and can't understand why I would pay someone to teach me reiki!

[MaryMagdaQueenofQueens]

The symbols, are just there to make it more real in this human world, as all rituals do. I do not use the symbols, just because i never really got into them. My husband on the other uses the quite regularly when he does reiki, and they work. Its all about getting you into the mind set i think. The power they hold is the power given to them by the person using them. If its not something you can wrap your head around don't worry about it. I think its quite like any other ritual or prayer, just a means of getting us there.

[Robinski78]

Although I don't personally have anything to do with Reiki, I agree with what Mary said, regarding the subliminal manner in which one can find the need for symbols useful, or even necessary, for them to attain a certain level or state of mind...

That picture is very, very clear to me...

Hope that has some supportive interest...

Robbie....

[Crystal Ambassador]

I also agree with what MaryMagda says. I've practiced Reiki for about six years, and the only symbol I have used more than a couple times is Cho Ku Rei. Even then, I haven't used it in quite some time despite using Reiki just about daily. I recognize that when I use it, it isn't bestowing some special power or otherwise giving me anything I can't acquire without it. What it does do, is help me remain focused and grounded by giving me something to do physically. I feel calm looking at and motioning the symbol, and it's by no means necessary.

Honestly I'm not certain whether the symbols do anything more than help someone focus. They don't seem to be necessary, from what I've heard from practitioners across the board. It could be likened to the prayer beads that Catholics and some Buddhists use; they don't need the beads to do the prayers or remember them, but it helps them focus by giving their hands something to do.

As for what your friend said, I agree that healing isn't something you need to pay others to learn how to do. Anyone can learn it. Having a physical mentor does help shortcut the process a little bit, since they often know of common pitfalls and how to avoid them. Whereas a self-taught starter may be inclined to absorb another's sickness energy to heal them, as an example, a mentor may teach that starter that they can instead send that sickness energy to the Earth or water so that the learner doesn't transfer the sickness onto themselves.

[vespa68]

I suppose you are talking about someone giving you an attunement. It's the intention that works to raise consciousness of the student but it depends on the exchange between the master and the student. Both must have higher consciousness in order for it to work well. As far of the symbols, I never use them anymore. It just helps focus your energy but after a while you don't need them.

[1Eris]

I do reiki and I never use the symbols. I agree it's all about the power of belief. I think some people can instinctive draw down what we call reiki energy but they wouldn't call it reiki. As others have said, the symbols are a ritual to aid.