Once one has become a Reiki Practitioner there are basically 3 paths that can be followed… I base these on the 3 Pillars of Reiki and each has their own unique “personality”, if you will, their own practices and requirements, although, ultimately, they all lead to the same place, so no matter which one you’re on you are in the right place and you are always free to change paths if need be.
The Healing Path
Most Reiki Practitioners follow the Healing Path, although this does not mean that they are not free to take side trips along one of the other paths. Those that do Reiki for a living or combine it with other healing modalities like Aromatherapy, Acupuncture/Acupressure or EFT (just to name a few) are also most likely on this path as are doctors, dentists, nurses and other caregivers who make frequent use of Reiki for healing.
Practices commonly found on the Healing Path include traditional “hands-on” healing, mental healing, emotional healing, spiritual healing, healing of animals, distance healing, Reiki Shares, Reiki healing circles, etc. Rather than one specific route, there are many routes on the healing path (as with other paths) so that the practices of two people on the healing path can be quite diverse. There are also many different styles of Reiki, each of which has their own practices and beliefs, so again, two people on the same path may behave quite differently.
The Energy Path
Those Reiki Practitioners who are more interested with Reiki Energetics are most likely on the Energy Path where the important thing is to gain familiarity with the actual energy. Some styles of Reiki are much more interested in the energy and in energy work and spend very little time, if any, doing any type of actual healing.
Practices commonly found on the Energy Path include exercises to detect Hibiki or Reiki energy, distinguish between the energies of the different Reiki symbols, distinguish between Reiki and other forms of energy, grow and strengthen one’s energy channel(s), Byosen Scanning, Reiji and beaming Reiki through the eyes. Practitioners on the healing path. for example, may do energy exercises, but they are well aware which path they consider “the path with heart”.
Due to the Quantum Nature of Reiki Energy, practitioners on the Energy Path have taken great strides in proving that there is indeed a relationship between this new rather mysterious branch of physics and ancient mysterious shamanic-like disciplines. Reiki is just one of the fields that is bridging these two seemingly unique yet quite similar schools of greater understanding.
The Spiritual Path
Those who are seeking enlightenment through Reiki are on the Spiritual Path, and while this may very well be is the path that Reiki was originally designed for, over the years the other paths have attained equal status among Reiki Practitioners.
Practices on the Spiritual Path are generally based on meditation and advanced meditation techniques and there is quite a bit of crossover between Reiki and Buddhist philosophy and epistemology. The Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, the Reiki Society that Dr. Usui established, also makes use of the Meiji Emperor’s Tanka in its meditational practices. The Meiji Emperor himself was said to be enlightened and guided Japan through its age of enlightenment, so it is only natural that his words (of which the only surviving remnants are found in his Tanka) would be used as aids in this endeavor.
As stated above, it doesn’t matter which path you are one, none are superior and you may very well shift from one to another at different stages in your Reiki development. There are also those who prefer a perfectly balanced approach to Reiki, seeking to develop each of the pillars equally, and again, there is no problem with that either… as long as you know where you are and where you’re going you shouldn’t have much of a problem getting there.
For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!
