No, I’m not talking about the Grateful Dead here (although I am a big fan of Jerry Garcia). This deals more along the lines of Reiki’s relationship with spirits (entities, ghosts, energies, etc.) that have passed on or transitioned from the physical realms… if any relationship is there to be had.

People generally equate Reiki with a Buddhist background and influence, however, in Japanese Buddhism there is a tremendous amount of crossover with Japanese Shintoism, which bases its beliefs on the existence of many Gods and spirits and actually closely resembles many types of native America Shamanism. In fact, there is so much crossover that these two were for many years joined together as one (along with strong Taoist and Confucianist components) and for many years existed as the national religion of Japan. Now they are split once again, yet coexist rather harmoniously. Buddhist Temples (from various disciplines) and Shinto Shrines (from various sects) dot the land and while baptisms fall under the realm of Shintoism, funerals under the realm of Buddhism (and recently chapel weddings have been all the rage, as the brides favor a Christian Ceremony replete with wedding gowns and bridesmaids over a traditional kimono clad ceremony… not to mention the ubiquitous trip to Hawaii for the ceremony).

This is important for our understanding of Reiki, because in order to put things in its proper perspective we need to understand Reiki thinking as it was in Dr. Usui’s day. It was in about 1900 when Shintoism and Buddhism made their split, Dr. Usui would have been about 35 years old at the time, so his beliefs would have been based on the old merged system (Ryobu Shinto), rather than the current split one. At the time, practices including divination, spirit possession, and shamanic healing were commonplace and the belief in reincarnation was a given. Therefore, there is no reason to believe that Dr. Usui deviated from the general belief system and the fact that he is buried in a Pureland Buddhist Cemetery lends strong supporting evidence to the fact that he was a practicing Buddhist.

So, in Dr. Usui’s time belief in spirits and an afterlife was the order of the day and communicating with spirits was a relatively common and accepted practice. Dr. Usui, being the enlightened person that he was would have had access to information that unenlightened people do not. It was on this information that Reiki was created. Whether or not Dr. Usui actually communicated with spirits or not is unknown, what I’d like to like at here is how Reiki would fit into that practice… that is, what is the relationship between Reiki and the Dead?

One of the first abilities discovered when one has been attuned to the Reiki energies is a greater awareness of external energies. Actually being able to sense something gives you a head start in communicating with whatever it is you are sensing. Connecting to the white light of Reiki also makes you somewhat of a magnet for these energies… so not only will you be able to sense them, you will actually be pulling them in. The ability to heal with Reiki energy is not limited to the living. Reiki breaks through energy blocks regardless of whether they are physically alive or not… these spirits may need the added energy or help of Reiki to help them to do whatever it is they need to do (one popular belief is that they must pass into the light).

An example of how this typically works (for me anyway) shows how simple it really is. Step One – I sense an external energy presence. Step Two – I send it Reiki. Step Three – It either accepts it (and invariably thanks me) or rejects it (and moves on). Five minutes later, I’m done.

In a way this is quite Advanced Reiki, but as you can see it doesn’t take an advanced Reiki practitioner to be able to do it… only someone who’s put the time and effort into being able to sense subtle energies disturbances and direct Reiki’s own energies to them. Reiki Level One is all that’s needed, although I recommend Level Two for its additional mental and emotional healing abilities and resources. Also, dealing with the dead is not for everyone… it is, however, an option… should you chose to accept. 😉

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