Learn Reiki FAQs

The initiations trigger release within you. This occurs on every level: spiritual, mental, emotional and physical. You can therefore expect to feel a bit different afterwards, and for changes to accelerate in your life. This could be anything: feelings of peace, elation or sadness as you let go of unneeded emotions; increased physical energy or increased need for sleep as your body adjusts; or changes in your eating and drinking patterns as you let go of unhealthy habits. Since Reiki is balancing for the individual, everyone’s response will be slightly different.

For many people the initiation triggers releases of old blockages that have been held in either the physical, emotional or spiritual bodies. As these blockages get touched by the loving energy of Reiki they soften. The cleansing period is your first phase of reactions to this. Traditionally in Reiki we are taught that this cleansing period lasts for 21 days—the same amount of time that Usui spent on Mount Kuriyama, but it’s more accurate to say that the cleansing continues for as many years as you continue to practice Reiki. However, it’s especially important during the 21 days following the first initiation to give yourself lots of hands-on healing, to drink plenty of pure water, and to look after yourself with extra attention.

Many Reiki teachers separate the master level into two parts: Master-Practitioner and Master-Teacher. These are also called level 3a and level 3b, respectively.

In the Usui Shiki Ryōhō lineage, these courses are generally taught as one combined course.

Please take a look at the preparing for a Reiki Initiation section.

Sure! Take a look at the recommended books page.

Please see the page on initiations.

Short answer: Not with us! If you’re keen to become a Reiki Master as quickly as you can, then the approach taken by the International School of Reiki will not suit you. If you really want to get certified to that level, then the most direct route is to take a free online Reiki Master course, and then download and print your certificate. You can do all of this within just one day for little or no money. But ask yourself, what will you be missing by taking this ‘quick as possible, cheap as possible’ approach to learning the art of Reiki?

Long answer: What are you hoping to gain by getting your Reiki Master certificate? Please think about that for more than a second before continuing to read.

If you answered “I want another certificate for my portfolio” or “I want people to call me a Reiki Master” then here it is again: free online Reiki Master course.

But if you are really going to walk the Way of Reiki then it’s got to be something deeper than that, because learning Reiki is more than just learning a set of techniques.

Let’s begin our enquiry with those techniques. The techniques of Reiki can be demonstrated in video or PDF. But observing a skill and actually becoming competent in that skill are two very different things. How many times do you need to practice a skill before you can say you have mastered it? More than once? And how many times would you need observation and feedback from someone skilled in the art to ensure that you had really got it? More than zero? Right. So even the techniques themselves take time and patience to develop skillfully, and guidance from someone who knows what they are doing.

But as I said, Reiki is more than a set of techniques. It’s a journey of inner transformation, and this journey is going to involve encountering your inner pain. This is not something you can experience by reading a PDF or watching a video. The tears you shed will be real. No-one can tell you how long this journey is going to take, and that’s why the International School of Reiki will not tell you that you can become a Reiki Master in X amount of time.

As you are personally transformed by this journey, you will develop your ability to respond to the needs of others and facilitate them in their own paths of healing. To get to the level of teacher, this is going to involve significant time and dedication. You don’t need me to tell you that this kind of journey takes more than a month, and certainly more than a day. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or hasn’t yet walked the path themselves.

So the question changes from “How quickly can I get my Reiki Master certificate?” to “How can I take the next step in my journey of healing with confidence, knowing that I will have clear and trustworthy guidance at each step?” You can forget about the quickly because if you’re going to become a Master then you will become a Master: you don’t need to worry about when it will happen. It will, and the Universe (G-d) will make this path and its timing clear to you.

So what’s the first step? Either getting a Reiki treatment session, or doing Reiki Level One.

Post-Script: Won’t I get more power from the higher levels?

No you won’t! A common misconception is that at Reiki One you get a little power, Reiki Two more power, and Reiki Masters the most power. If you want more power after that, you can try learning lots of different types of Reiki, each one giving you a power boost.

But how could this be true? If it were true, it would mean that the people with more time and more money would be the greatest healers. The richest people who can fly around the world and get to Master level in all lineages of Reiki would become super-practitioners, chanelling every possible healing vibration at once, while the poorest people who can only afford a single level one course would be very weak healers. This is obviously not the case.

Effective Reiki comes from sincere, regular practice. You can move mountains at level one if your heart is right. You don’t get more power at the higher levels, you simply learn new techniques, find new ways to connect with the energy, and create new opportunities to deepen your healing journey.

There are many lineages, some claiming to give you higher vibrations or certain secrets that are not available to the others. Some people seek attunements from several Reiki Masters in order to resonate with these various energies. In my experience, the spirit of the teacher is more important than the particular Reiki lineage they carry. See who and what you connect to.