How does reiki work? Part One
It depends on what you’re really asking. This is like the classic kid query, “Where do babies come from?” You have to guess whether the child is asking a practical question or a philosophical question, then you hope whatever answer you give satisfies their curiosity just enough but not too much.
Since we’re all adults here, we can have this talk from both a practical and a philosophical perspective. We’ll do this in a blog series:
This post, Part One, offers some basic info about the practice of reiki.
Part Two describes how reiki works in-person from a practical perspective.
Part Three will describe how reiki works virtually from a blended perspective.
Part Four will explore how reiki works from a philosophical perspective.
Part One: Basically, how does reiki work?
Think of reiki energy* as a radio wave. I’m not limiting this analogy to good ol’ AM/FM. Thousands of modern technologies make use of radio waves to exchange information through the air as if by magic. Are you on wi-fi right now as you read this? You’re using radio waves. Did you send a text today? You used radio waves. Have you ever connected a Bluetooth device? Used a remote control? Watched a TV broadcast? Yup, radio waves. [1] Radio waves are all around us all the time. Hey, that sounds like reiki!
Now, for every different technology relying on radio waves, there is a transmitter and a receiver. This is where the magic happens. Information goes from the transmitter to the receiver through the air on a radio wave. It’s easier to think of this in terms of actual AM/FM radio because that’s a simpler technology than wireless networks or cell phones. A radio station transmits information on radio waves and your radio tuner receives those information-carrying radio waves. [2] The operative word in the previous sentence is tuner. You have to tune into radio channels for any of this to work.
Reiki is like radio in that way. You have to tune into reiki energy for any of this to work. You can tune in by seeing a reiki practitioner or you can tune in by becoming a reiki practitioner. Reiki practitioners have been attuned to reiki so they can serve as a channel** for the energy. There are three degrees of reiki attunement:
A Shoden (first-degree practitioner) is attuned to practice reiki for themselves.
An Okuden (second-degree practitioner) is attuned to practice reiki for others.
A Shinpiden (master-teacher practitioner) is attuned to teach others how to practice reiki.
Reiki practitioners learn about reiki in a three-level course of study. In these courses, reiki practitioners are taught the history and principles of reiki, as well as practicalities like what to do in a reiki session. Attunements serve as a graduation ceremony of sorts for the corresponding course level.
In a Level I reiki course, you will learn how to tune into reiki energy yourself and you will also learn a series of hand positions to use in your self-practice. You will then be attuned as a Shoden.
In a Level II reiki course, you will learn to use special symbols to accentuate reiki energy and you will also learn the practice of sharing reiki with others. You will then be attuned as an Okuden.
In a Level III reiki course, you will learn to use a master symbol to attune others to reiki energy and you will also learn the different attunement practices. You will then be attuned as a Shinpiden.
In a reiki session, a reiki practitioner tunes into the reiki energy that is all around us and shares it with you. Part Two of this “How does reiki work?” series describes in more detail what happens in a typical in-person reiki session.
*In case you missed it, this “What is reiki?” post attempts to define reiki energy.
**I don’t mean channel as in psychic medium. I mean channel as in radio station. Reiki practitioners share energy like a radio station plays music. Radio stations don’t create the music—they just play it. Reiki practitioners don’t create the energy—they just share it.
[1] Marshall Brain, “How Radio Works,” howstuffworks.com, Infospace Holdings, updated February 11, 2021, https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm
[2] “Know how radio works and how radio waves transfer information from a station to a receiver,” britannica.com, Encyclopædia Britannica, no date, https://www.britannica.com/video/214986/How-radio-works-overview-radio-waves-frequency-amplitude-modulation