This post is for those of you who have learned one style of Reiki and would like to learn another one… or would like to change teachers (which can potentially be a style change in and of itself).

There is nothing wrong with wanting to experiment with new styles of Reiki. Many times they incorporate new or different Reiki energies that are not available in other styles. Even some classes touted as Traditional Reiki or Usui Reiki bear little resemblance to Traditional Reiki or Usui Reiki, but they still have some very interesting things to teach and very interesting energies to experience. It would be nice if teachers pointed out where their systems differ from the original one, but many times they don’t even know… they only know what their own teachers told them (and so on, and so on…).

Any new Reiki style should be approached with an empty mind. Shuryo Suzuki, in his landmark Zen Mind, Beginners Mind (details on our Reiki Book Reviews page here) discusses the Zen practice of approaching everything with an empty mind and I think this is especially true for something like a new style of Reiki where conflicting information may be presented. It is important to NOT question seemingly strange ideas until you see the big picture… once you do then you can put all of your knowledge and experience with Reiki together to determine how best to incororate them into your own Reiki practice. Joe Hyams sums this up quite nicely in his book Zen In The Martial Arts with this story told to him by his teacher… the legendary Bruce Lee, about a Japanese Zen master who was paid a visit by a university professor who had came to learn about Zen:

“It was obvious to the master from the start of the conversation that the professor was not so much interested in learning about Zen as he was in impressing the master with his own opinions and knowledge. The master listened patiently and finally suggested they have tea. The master poured his visitor’s cup full and then kept on pouring.

“The professor watched the cup overflowing until he could no longer restrain himself. ‘The cup is overfull, no more will go in.’

“‘Like this cup,’ the master said, ‘you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?’”

Approach the new style like you are a complete newcomer to Reiki and the Reiki energies. Ask a lot of questions… even if you think you know the answers… the answers may be completely different than what you expected to hear. Try to understand the new style completely from the Reiki teacher’s point of view… there will be plenty of time for judging and comparing later… during the lesson keep a completely open mind (or empty cup… as the case may be).

There are so many different Reiki styles to choose from, they probably number in the hundreds at this point with new ones popping up every day. Choose one that you resonate with, make use of the checklist for choosing a new Reiki teacher available here and dive in. I’ve got dozens of certifications from many different Reiki teachers and many different Reiki styles each of which contain experiences of distinct energies, distinct techniques and distinct practices. Of course some are more important to me, while others gave me very little if anything at all (that is not to say that those Reiki styles may not be beneficial to others) someday perhaps I will list them all here, but suffice it to say I treasure the experiences above all else and highly encourage anyone who is ready to test drive a few.

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!