Since I came to know – and to love – the Usui System of Natural Healing (Reiki) I am entertaining myself with thinking about the term »Reiki-Master«.
Some of my thoughts – and questions – I like to share with you right now … The term »master« I know in relation to two areas of life, aside from Reiki.
The term „master“ in the area of crafts
One of the areas of life, where the term „master“ is used is crafts, you know, what contractors do. Like repairing the electrical installation of a house, stonemasonry, fixing the plumbing, etc. The other area is Spiritual Training.
When it comes to crafts, a person needs to train for years and gather practical experience in real life situations, pass tests, until being certified as a master of the craft. Then he or she can open up their own business and train apprentices to enable the craft to go on.
So, the master of a craft is highly skilled in theory and practice regarding his or her field of work. With the experience of years, working as a professional, combined with their training of various aspects of the very craft, they can educate themselves apprentices to become journeymen. Not many of the people who understand themselves as Reiki-Masters have this kind of high qualification in the area of Reiki as a master of a craft is qualified in their area of work.
The term „spiritual master“
A master of a Spiritual School has studied one or more spiritual paths seriously for years, gathering a lot of practical experience with himself/herself and others, studying texts and having had extensive talks with one or more Spiritual Masters to widen their consciousness. Sometimes he or she received initiations of several kind.
After some time, usually many years of hard work regarding personality development, the adept gains Enlightenment and Spiritual Realisation and becomes a Spiritual Master themselves. Then the person supports other people walking the Spiritual Path, sometimes passing on initiations, giving Spiritual Healing and Counselling in a way or another.
The effort to become a Spiritual Master, like, Osho, Satya Say Baba, Sri Aurobindo or Ramakrishna, requires great efforts and bears much risks.
Which qualities of these two areas of life where the term »Master« is being used fits to the term »Reiki Master« in your understanding? If any…
Or should the term »Reiki Master« be substituted with another, better fitting term? Like: Reiki-Teacher or Reiki Facilitator.
I am looking much forward to your thoughts!
And – I do not disrespect the profession of teaching Reiki. I just think its time to find a better footing term for those who educate others regarding Reiki!
AdditionallyI like to talk about my understanding of one of the aspects of the »technical« part of the path of a Reiki Master.
When looking into the handbooks of Usui and Hayashi, which have been edited really nicely and commented by Arjava F. Petter, I see a lot of knowledge about spiritual and energetically healing there. Usui, Hayashi and Takata have left us a lot of Information about how important the healing aspect of Reiki was to them and how to Use Reiki for performing spiritual healing. Usui, when asked in an interview, which illnesses Reiki could heal, answered, that it can help with any illness.
Usui received a medal from the Japanese Emperor for his outstanding healing work which he performed together with his students, after the horrible earthquake which devastated Tokyo in the midst of the 20s of last century. I think Usui knew what he was talking about. In addition to this, in the biographies of Takata it is mentioned, that she healed for example cancer. Not in one Session, but she did, as her two biographies claimed.
To become a good healer requires to learn from good healers
Considering this, I come to the conclusion that if a Reiki Master understands Masters like Usui, Hayashi and Takata as role models for walking the path of a Reiki master, or at least as knowledgable and wise people, a mayor task of the Reiki-Masters path is learning how to become a better spiritual healer every day.
This is one main reason why I emphasise in the trainings of my school Rainbow Reiki® the education about the practical and theoretical understanding of spiritual healing with Reiki as well as ongoing education in this topic. The Rainbow Reiki students who want to become Masters of Rainbow Reiki® are required to document dozens of sessions applying different healing methods of Usui Reiki and Rainbow Reiki during their approximately 2 years of training. To become a good healer requires to learn from good healers and to treat a lot because there is so much to learn from the clients and from Reiki during the treatments.
In my understanding, Reiki is too good to be studied only minimally.
What is your opinion on that topic?