Feeling lost on Reiki path

[Balance]

Hello everyone.
I’m in big doubt about Reiki(first and second initiation) I recently received. Actually I don’t know if it’s problem in Reiki transmission or is it a problem in myself. Let’s start from initiations.
My Reiki teacher lineage is:
1. MIKAO USUI 2. CHUJIRO HAYASHI 3. HAWAYO TAKATA, 4.WANYA TWAN, 5. AYLA NORLAMO 6. IVANKA SAVIĆ 7. My teacher
I was not able to find any Reiki master in my country who has fewer people between them and Takata, plus they all have corrupted lineages (more than 80% is from L. Rand and Karuna Reiki from Germany or similar).
Only ‘red flag’ about my teacher was that she said that she experimented with initiation on distance and that it worked for her Reiki pupils and after that she continued with such practice regularly for people who are not able to visit her due to distance(majority).
So, I got my first initiation at distance even if I was able to visit her. (Yes I accepted that…).
Month and half later I received second Reiki initiation but in person. I insisted that I want it in person, not at distance and everything went OK. Symbols used are same as on James Deacon website and that’s not the problem.

My big concern is Reiki flow. Between first and second degree I felt no flow. I would lie if I said I felt ‘magnificent all healing Reiki flow through my hands’. Nothing compared to heating Reiki flow Laura described in the first Wave series. Actually I never felt that real HEAT from my hands. Maybe once or twice some really mild heat but that’s it.

Anyway, I took second degree in person and I can use symbols now. When I write them in the air or on my palms I can sense something like ‘energy streaming through my body’ but again…mildly AND not every time I do Reiki. Sometimes I do not even feel that.

My biggest concern is even if I relax, even if I write these symbols three times on my palms, especially cho-ku-rei, I cannot feels much difference in flow. I can say that something is happening but it’s all on the edge of wishful thinking. I don’t know if I’m tripping or if there is a real flow, real difference. As C’s said, I do not want to be a tool for the tool. Some Reiki practitioners and probably all ‘spritual mumbo-jumbo’ lads, would tell me I just need to have faith that it will work and it will work, that I just have to practice tralalalal. But c’mon, if something is objective it should work even if I I’m skeptic. Yes, I have intent but who cares about believing and faith?
Electric lamp switch will turn lamp on, if whole installation is correct, whether I believe in it or not. That’s objective.
How can I know that flow is objective and not a mild product of my imagination?

I also did Reiki on my girlfriend and she felt no flow at all. Something very very mild on specific body parts and that’s it. I also felt really mild heat on few occasions and that’s it. After some time she fell asleep. Actually, she had menstrual pain in abdomen (she rarely has one), I thought maybe Reiki there would help, but as I said I only felt mild flow in lower abdomen area and that’s it. Similar pain continued in her lower abdomen on next day.

You know…when things like this happen in a row I really become demotivated to continue practicing or I continue practicing but very rarely which is equivalent to not practicing.

Someone would say that I’m impatient, but what if I’m doing nothing?

Yes I’m impatient only because I do not want to turn this whole concept into wishful thinking, like:

I sit, I draw symbols, I channel Reiki -> I sit, I draw symbols, I THINK I channel Reiki

Than I’m no different than any other ‘spiritual mambo-jumbo just believe and have faith‘ fool. And I don’t want that. It’s not just that I don’t want that, I’m not able to become like that, for now . Especially in the domain of believing and faith.
I have a really strong rational and skeptic component of my mind and if something doesn’t work I simply CANNOT pretend that it works.

When I train in the gym, I’m not just doing my workout. I try to squeeze and feel as much pain and soreness as I can and if I succeed in that, workout is good. If I feels sore day after, that’s a sign that it works. If no pain/stretch/pump/soreness is present during workout and no soreness day after…it’s a no-no. Something has to be changed.
That’s also one of the reasons why I chose to do web programming as a primary job. You hit the button and you see if program works or not (yeah, there are always bugs and errors but you can see in few seconds if software works or if you have to change something).

But Reiki in my case…I simply don’t know. Does it work or not? Is this really mild and sometimes non-existent flow a real Reiki flow or just 10V compared to supposed 220V? What about heat in the hands? Is it normal that even if I place palms over physical injury or body part where pain is felt, I feel weak to non-existent heat in hands?

Things like sweating and feeling of strong heat Laura described in first Wave series are for me ‘distant fantasy’.
(I also have to admit something which is not about Reiki but about Shamanic experiences and 'Burning questions'. I never had those. Yes I am 21 but never had anything similar. I started reading fourth installment of Wave series - first or second chapter - and Laura wrote in one of those that those who embraced 'shamanic path' should continue reading (or something simillar)...and I did not continue because I felt that I'm not on one and that I do not have these 'Burning questions' as G terms them. My life is generaly good, you know. Extravert+Low in neuroticism, going to university, learning skills on my own in spare time, have reasonably good parents and siblings, I'm ok with my girlfriend, problems here and there but it all gets solved if we talk with each other, sometimes have problems with speaking what I truly think but it's getting better(Autonomy type from HDTR). So, why would I ask such big questions? Do I have that feeling, that burning question which Laura had for herself, that she will lie her kids about the world they live in, that she will not be able to tell them the truth because even she doesn't know objective truth etc? No I don't. I get curious about something but that's it. I can read and I can inform myself about many things(Jung/Peterson/Wave/Shadow/History/Psychology...) but I cannot 'read' about shamanic path...I have to experiences it. I have to live it. But I don't even know what it is and even if I knew what it is I would only knew it theoretically plus be resentful for not living it...which is...again...not good. And when I try things like Reiki which are not 'ordinary' and they do not work aka. 'I feel no flow' than I get even more demotivated to even try to understand this 'Shamanic path', this 'not ordinary for many people' path and I accumulate feeling that these thing are not working for me...that I'm somehow disabled for them, that I don't have that 'something' which is needed for such path...I dunno)

Is it possible that some people cannot ‘download’ Reiki or that they have no ability like Candy from first Wave Series?

Do you have any advices for Reiki practising? How to know? How to enhance flow if it's even possible? etc..

Thank you all and sorry if my post is confusing…I am confused too.

P.S. In 95% of times I did not feel any flow when I placed my hands on head - my head or my girlfriends head. The really mild flow sensations I described earlier were felt when I placed my hands above the regions of first three 'chakras' - plexus - abdomen - genitals AND throat region (probably because I found out that I have a lot of resemblance with 'Autonomy type' from HDTR)

P.S.S. If moderators think that this thread should go to different category, please change it...I'm putting it for now in 'The Work'

 

[Ellipse]

What I want to say you: relax, step back, trust yourself and stay open for opportunities. You're only 21, it can very be that your higher self protect you by blocking this capacity for a reason or another. If you have the attention the universe will give you opportunities but not necessarily as you think.

Do you have a crystal? And if yes, do you use it?

 

[Chu]

I would say, keep practicing, on yourself and on others. Based on my limited experience, some people feel the flow immediately after their first attunement, and for others it takes a long time. We hypothesized that it could have something to do with internal blockages, but that they become freer over time. Your "pipe" (if you imagine Qi going through you into the person you are treating, in the same way water would flow through a pipe) needs to strengthen with time. If it's a bit "blogged", that will need to be cleaned up, also over time.

I think that the same applies to other things, or your path, as you said. You may be expecting too much at once. But does your curiosity and the steps you take make any difference in your life? If they do, then it may be working, and you just need time. By "changes" I mean practical things, like getting along better with others, concentrating better, being a kinder person, being more responsible, etc. Nothing "extraordinary", but simple lessons. THAT in itself is hard to do.

 

[seek10]

Hello everyone.
Is it possible that some people cannot ‘download’ Reiki or that they have no ability like Candy from first Wave Series?

Do you have any advices for Reiki practising? How to know? How to enhance flow if it's even possible? etc..

Thank you all and sorry if my post is confusing…I am confused too.

P.S. In 95% of times I did not feel any flow when I placed my hands on head - my head or my girlfriends head. The really mild flow sensations I described earlier were felt when I placed my hands above the regions of first three 'chakras' - plexus - abdomen - genitals AND throat region (probably because I found out that I have a lot of resemblance with 'Autonomy type' from HDTR)

I agree with what has been already told- Be patient, Keep doing it. It is possible one had normal life with all the good surrounding people, but some times it is not resurfaced yet, since life's experiences come in layers and memories surface when we are put in a tough situation which we haven't handled before. Often, what we think based on experience as normal, in reality is not normal- we just shut it down before we even had words and it became norm and society as such encourages it.

Keep persist and network . If you haven't read BIG-5 psychology books, you may want to read it.

 

[aragorn]

I agree with the others - too much expectation and pressure in your mind to "make it work" will block the flow. And the way the reiki flows, varies from day to day, in my experience. It could have something to do with ones mental state and/or physical health. I've found a couple of things helping, when I can't get the energy flowing properly:

1. Make sure that you're doing proper diaphragmatic breathing (also while you give reiki to someone else), then deepen it even further. Focus your mind on the solar plexus area. My reiki teacher once said, that you should try to "sense your hands from the solar plexus". You could also try some pipe breathing in combination with this

2. Do 10-15min of reiki on the soles of your own feet, until the soles and toes feel warm. I don't know why this works, and perhaps it works only for me, but for me this usually never fails. Once I get my feet warm, or at least warmer, things start to flow better in my hands.

3. When you lay your hands on someone (or yourself), try to relax them as much as possible. I've noticed, that having a strong intention of "doing reiki" can make your hands and fingers tense. The energy flows better the more you can relax. Try also to sense/feel/imagine, how your hands are an immersed part of the other persons body/energy. Never put pressure, just lay your hands lightly and try to relax them.

4. Close your eyes. I find that reiki works better with closed eyes. Could be, that it's just easier to concentrate in that way. As you do reiki with closed eyes, you can try to feel/see how the energy flows in the clients body. You might even feel where the client has a blockage, even if your hands are not close to that area.

Lastly, even if you or your client don't feel any heat, the reiki might still be working. I once did reiki to an older woman after just coming in from the cold winter weather outside. My hands were icy cold, and I didn't feel anything while giving the reiki. Afterwards, to my surprise, she said that "the reiki was good, but the next time she'd want it a bit less intense"!

 

[lainey]

Hello Balance,
When I was first attuned to Reiki, I had heard people talking about all these fantastic experiences they had like being visited by spirit guides, feeling extreme heat and energy, having emotional releases or walking about in a blissed out state of 'oneness' and-so-on. Then when I was attuned... nothing, nada, no sirens from the sky or bolts of lightening or ecstatic experiences. I started to wonder if it had worked at all either.

When I was treating people I had much the same experience as you, perhaps some mild heat here and there but nothing concrete to tell me that it was 'working'. What I found is, the more I practised the more sensations I would feel and the stronger the heat was. I was first attuned in 2014 and it's only been in the last 2 or 3 months that things have really picked up energy-wise and I have been able to feel strongly whether the energy was 'off' or 'on' and whether the flow was strong.

So I agree with the others, keep at it and practise as much as you can and work on yourself. Perhaps then, gradually you will begin to see a change.

 

[annp]

Balance,

I agree with what others have said as well – with additional practice you will start to be more attuned to the subtle flow of energy and will notice more.

Even when I don’t feel much heat in my hands, people will tell me they can feel heat and energy, so it’s not always easy for us to tell. Also – when I first started practicing distance Reiki I didn’t notice much – it was very different than working with someone hands-on, but with more practice that has changed and now I can really feel the energy pull and often get other sensations as well. So – just keep practicing as much as possible!

 

[Balance]

Thank you guys for support and shared experiences.

Yeah, my teacher told me that with additional practice I will become more attuned to subtle energy flow, just as you told me. But me being young, impatient and someone accustomed to: work -> immediate change (not immediate result but change) is making this path bumpy.

@Chu Maybe internal blockage for me is feeling that nothing out of 'ordinary'(like Reiki, 'ecstatic' experiences/dreams/etc, even channeling, and even EE (which i know is a total BS because it worked, but I lack consistency)) would not 'work' with me/would not happen to me. It's like a program, when slightest "I'm not feeling/noticing anything in the moment" occurs, negative thoughts just pop in my mind -> "This is not working, I'm wasting my time...I don't feel anything. I don't know if it's even working. Yeah...I will do the session and then what? Everything will probably be the same when I continue with my life after session. Why do I even to this etc.". It's like hyper-negative-skepticism program being turned on. I can prevent these thoughts by meditation and focusing and deep belly breathing but sometimes they prevail...and then I'm simply demotivated to continue because every 'no-noticing anything' moment feels like fail and distracts me.
About practical things in life/in relationships, revelations from HDT probably helped most for identifying negative behavioral-thought patterns...

@aragorn I will try things you told me and I wanted to ask a question or two . If I do not feel much energy flowing in the moment , where to focus? I was told to focus on specific part I'm doing. Do I have to focus on body part I'm treating or do I have to focus on my 'solar plexus' or where? Because when I don't feel much flow, instead of pressure -"it HAS to work AAARGH" I sense zooning out and I start entering semi-sleep state. It's more like nothing is happening let's go to sleep. So, if I do not focus myself I end up sleeping . So, the 'hyper-skeptic program' turns on when:
1. I don't notice flow and I'm focused on specific body part
2. If I survive 'not noticing flow' but end up not focused on something and start zooning out. Because then, I notice zooning out and program starts -> "This is not working, nothing is changing, this is not the point, i don't want to go to sleep bla bla bla".
So, what about focus when doing reiki on self and on others?

Hello Balance,
When I was first attuned to Reiki, I had heard people talking about all these fantastic experiences they had like being visited by spirit guides, feeling extreme heat and energy, having emotional releases or walking about in a blissed out state of 'oneness' and-so-on. Then when I was attuned... nothing, nada, no sirens from the sky or bolts of lightening or ecstatic experiences. I started to wonder if it had worked at all either.

When I was treating people I had much the same experience as you, perhaps some mild heat here and there but nothing concrete to tell me that it was 'working'. What I found is, the more I practised the more sensations I would feel and the stronger the heat was. [ Did you practise on others or yourself or both when able to? I'm still somehow afraid to do it on other people...because they do not feel much and are not very into it next time because the last time 'it did not work much'... ] I was first attuned in 2014 and it's only been in the last 2 or 3 months that things have really picked up energy-wise and I have been able to feel strongly whether the energy was 'off' or 'on' and whether the flow was strong.

So I agree with the others, keep at it and practise as much as you can and work on yourself. Perhaps then, gradually you will begin to see a change.

@lainey Same situation here...


@annp Ehhhh...distance reiki...one day probably
Btw. How do you guys think that distance reiki works?
(I recieved 3-4 distance reiki treatments, it worked but never felt stronger than in person...(maybe because I did in person first and than distance))

@Ellipse Maybe....who knows. I will try with practise and keeping in mind all things people here told me and what happens happens...I don't have crystals from Cass project because I had not participated in it. I have some bigger crystals I received few month later, but did not send them to crew because of inertia . Yet, I don't know how to use them. So, they are sitting there not even charged, not even helping anyone...just dusty crystals on commode waiting for I do not know what....


Everyone, thank you again

 

[Aeneas]

It's like a program, when slightest "I'm not feeling/noticing anything in the moment" occurs, negative thoughts just pop in my mind -> "This is not working, I'm wasting my time...I don't feel anything. I don't know if it's even working. Yeah...I will do the session and then what? Everything will probably be the same when I continue with my life after session. Why do I even to this etc.". It's like hyper-negative-skepticism program being turned on.

I think this is a good observation and can relate to it. In the past I would often have a big doubt if something would work on me. This also happened when I first learned Reiki 30 years ago. As if to teach me, the universe 'made me' me fall off the bike at high speed and thus gave me an opportunity to try out this new Reiki thing that I had just learned. Much to my surprise it worked and I had no bruises or soreness the next day.

How people experience Reiki varies greatly from person to person. Some people feel heat, others tingling sensations, some will see images and a great many will not feel a great deal. This might and might not change. I remember a Reiki master friend, who said that she felt nothing, and yet people often commented on her blazing hands. So, in my experience Reiki works, even for complete sceptics.

Because when I don't feel much flow, instead of pressure -"it HAS to work AAARGH" I sense zooning out and I start entering semi-sleep state. It's more like nothing is happening let's go to sleep. So, if I do not focus myself I end up sleeping .

Sleep and the zoning out is quite common and it often happens as the Reiki works through you. So even though you are giving Reiki to somebody else, it will flow through you and in your case help to relax your busy mind. This is not to be fought against as it is merely a sign that the Reiki is working and going to where it is most needed.

Regarding focussing while doing Reiki, I would suggest just to stay present with the person in an alert relaxed state. When you catch the mind wondering off, just gently bring your attention back to the present moment. Beating yourself up for the fact that the mind wondered off, is only more distraction by the mind, thus the use of the word 'gently' in the previous sentence.

Hope this helps.

 

[Aeneas]

One other thing that I forgot in the previous post was your initiation via distance in the beginning. This would mean that you have had only 3 initiations in person and 4 by distance. I don't believe in the Reiki initiation by distance thing and have never practiced it either. So I would suggest contacting your Reiki master and ask if it would be possible to sit in on her next Reiki I class and receive 4 additional attunements but this time in person. It used to be common that Reiki practitioners could sit in whenever a class was happening, so as to refresh and add extra hands/energy.

 

[lainey]

[ Did you practise on others or yourself or both when able to? I'm still somehow afraid to do it on other people...because they do not feel much and are not very into it next time because the last time 'it did not work much'... ]

I mainly practised on other people. Firstly, because I enjoyed to practise on my friends. Then I trained as a holistic therapist which allowed me to do practise on many people. Things picked up once I was consistently practising at least once or twice a week for an hour at a time. I started to see shapes and colours when I was giving Reiki which led to scenes of people, places and animals which led to stories and emotions and experiencing sensations of heat and a sort of movement of something through my head arms and hands.

All of the stuff I see is completely subjective of course so there isn't much I can say about it other than I get bits and pieces of information here and there. I have a theory that I am seeing in visual symbols what the energy is doing in a person but there is no way to verify it so while it's interesting, it's kind of a distraction to be honest.

I think if people are 'into' Reiki then they will probably understand that it is an accumulative process and one go isn't going to change much apart for some kinds of physical discomfort. The best results I've seen are from people who come regularly and have experienced relief from depression, anxiety and stress. I also think that sometimes Reiki works without the person necessarily knowing that it is the Reiki that is the instigator for certain behavioural changes. So, for them nothing has happened, but really they may have decided to change something in their life for the better.

Maybe what you could do to build your confidence is to find a house plant or pet if one is available and give it Reiki every day for a month then see what happens? Apparently the Reiki works regardless of what you are focusing on so try not to worry about what to think about. Most of the time I recite the prayer of the soul over and over in my head. It works as a good timer for when I need to change hand positions.

 

[Ellipse]

While searching on Cayce files I stumble upon this that can be helpful to you:

Notice that time and space are dimensions through which we come to understand
the creative and motivative forces. Patience reveals man’s response to God and what we
have done in relationship to Him.
The readings reiterate that patience is not a passive, but rather an active force! If
patience is an active force, then, for us to be patient, some force must be raised within us
that becomes the efficacious enabler for the application of patience. In deep meditation
we may raise the spiritual forces within the body and these may flow through the seven
spiritual centers of the body. The first of these, the generative organ of the body, the
motor, is said (in the Revelation letter to the first church) to have the virtue of patience. If
patience is an active force to be applied, and if the life force is raised in and through us in
deep meditation, then it follows that in order to be patient we must become meditators!
In seeking to apply patience there may be many misunderstandings. Let us
examine more precisely the wording of the readings regarding this principle:

That primarily needed is patience, persistence and consistence.
Then we would define for the entity what we mean by the entity having patience - in
an active, positive manner and not merely as a passive thing.
Taking or enduring hardships, or censure, or idiosyncrasies of others, is not
necessarily patience at all. It may become merely that of being a drudge not only to self but
an outlet of expression from others that may never be quite satisfying because there is no
resistance.
Passive patience, to be sure, has its place; but consider patience rather from the
precepts of God's relationship to man: love unbounded is patience. Love manifested is
patience. Endurance at times is patience, consistence ever is patience. 3161-1

Many people think that patience will make of them something of a doormat or
will lessen their strength of character. Many times the readings corrected this
misconception, as in the following:

To be sure, patience, longsuffering and endurance are in their respective manners
urges that would lead to virtues, but they cease to be a virtue when the individual entity
allows self merely to be imposed upon, and to take second place merely because someone
else, of a more aggressive nature, imposes. 3029-1