David Vennells - Reiki for Beginners

About the Author

David F. Vennells, BSc., (England) is a Reiki practitioner and teacher. He first experienced Reiki after suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) for four years.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Reiki for Beginners 1999 by David F. Vennells.

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First e-book edition 2012

E-book ISBN: 9780738723938

Cover design: Adrienne Zimiga

Cover Image: Stockbyte

Interior Illustrations: Carrie Westfall

Editing and book design: Michael Maupin

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Authors Note

The author would like to point out that he is not a teacher of Buddhism, and that any advice given from a Buddhist perspective to support the practice of Reiki is simply something he has found helpful in his own experience of Reiki.

This book is not an authentic Buddhist text. Any reader interested in deepening his or her knowledge of Buddhism, or learning to meditate, should consult the information given in of this book.

Contents

The Essence of Reiki

The Story of Reiki

First Degree Reiki

Using Reiki

Self-Treatment

Treating Others

The Five Principles

The Nature of Disease

Reiki Meditation

The Voice of Reiki: Stories from Reiki Practitioners

The Good Heart

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Dr. Mikao Usui for his gift of healing from within and above. Also to Dr. Chujro Hayashi and Mrs. Hawayo Takata, for bringing Reiki to the West and helping it to flourish.

Many, many thanks to my parents for their constant love and support.

Also to Reiki Masters Carlyn Clay and Padma OGara for their inspirational example, and to Mary Macintosh and Beryl Vale for their great kindness in introducing me to Reiki.

Sincere thanks to the following who have helped me in many different ways: my sisters Paula and Clare and their families; my godparents May, Jimmy, and James; friends Greg, Paul, and Paul; Kelsang Tubchen, Sam, and all those who have contributed to the making of this book.

Also, special thanks to all those who have looked after me and taught me, especially Venerable Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche and Kelsang Khyenrab for their special teachings and blessings.

Though Earth and man were gone

And suns and universes ceased to be

And Thou wert left alone

Every existence would exist in Thee.

Emily Bront

Introduction

Writing this book has been a special experience, a great joy and a real privilege. Reiki has touched my life in many special ways and has given and continues to give me so much that it is hard to express in words how grateful I am.

There are now many books available on Reiki and no doubt many more will follow. It can be quite confusing for the beginner and the experienced practitioner to see through all this information to the heart, or essence, of Reiki, so it is important to remember that Reiki is basically a very simple, enjoyable, and experiential technique. Keeping our practice simple, learning from other practitioners, books, andmost importantlyour own experience is the key to successful Reiki.

Since Reiki came to the West from Japan, peoples awareness of the roots of Reiki in the Buddhist tradition has been diluted. This is now changing rapidly as we learn more about the life of Dr. Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki, and on how Reiki is practiced, as he originally taught it, today in Japan. This should not worry Reiki practitioners who are not Buddhist. We definitely do not need to be Buddhist to practice Reiki and we definitely do not need to be Buddhist to benefit from Buddhas teachings. They are both open to everyone, always.

Today, Reiki is combined with many different types of spiritual practice, other therapies and paths to personal growth, and there are new branches of Reiki arising as some Masters introduce their own ideas and techniques. Perhaps as a result of this the office of Western Grand Master is looking at ways of preserving and protecting the authenticity and clarity of the lineage and original teaching practices that came to the West via Reiki Master Hawayo Takata. With all these changes happening, the way forward can seem a little confusing! It seems that today many Reiki practitioners are looking for an authentic spiritual framework, form, or context in which to deepen their understanding and experience of Reiki. I became interested in Buddhism not long after becoming a Reiki practitioner and found that the practice of Buddhism and Reiki were very complementary. Practiced together, they both improved my quality of life tremendously while still allowing me to honor my Christian roots.

The motivation to write this book came from the wish to share the good health, sense of personal fulfillment, and deeper appreciation of life that I have gained from Reiki and Buddhism. I also felt that a simple guide to Reiki from a general Buddhist perspective might help Reiki practitioners, traditional and nontraditional, gain new and clearer insights in to their own Reiki practice and path toward personal growth.

I hope this book is helpful, and enables you to clarify, understand, and deepen your own experience of Reiki and become a little more whole, healthy, and happy along the way.

Preface: The Authors Story

O ne morning before I sat down to write, something happened that seemed very symbolic of my own first experiences with the healing power of Reiki.

On the window ledge in our kitchen there is a house plant in full bloom, with perhaps forty or fifty beautiful white flowers on stalks surrounded by green leaves all growing from a central bulba cyclamen. I had forgotten to water it for some time and noticed that all the flowers and leaves had fallen over revealing the bulb. It seemed to completely lack vitality and was obviously losing the will to live. I immediately gave it a good drink of water, a little Reiki, and hoped for the best.

When I returned to the kitchen about thirty minutes later, I was amazed to discover it had almost completely recovered! All the flowers and leaves stood up and pushed toward the light again. You could almost see a glow of Life Force Energy surrounding it. The change was swift, remarkable, and wonderful. I just stood there for a few minutes admiring this amazing natural transformation.