What are other Reiki teachers teaching? Do they really know what they’re doing? Are they really teaching with the student in mind? How about healing? Or is it all for money? Ok, it’s rant time again. But don’t go away, I think you will find some useful tips on finding a teacher after I’m done screaming.
The more and more students that come to me that have had some training in Reiki from another instructor surprises me. What they have learned (or not) surprises me more. I hate to talk about other teachers, but I am getting real concerned about what I see happening.
Now, I know that I throw a lot of things into my classes that are not Reiki, but help a Reiki healing (I was taught these by my teacher). I also put in many basic energy exercises because I feel that any energy user should know how to protect themselves from negative energies. And I know that these things are ‘extras’ that they probably won’t get from any other teacher. But all too often, they don’t seem to have gotten the Reiki part of it either.
When a student comes to me and tells me that they had certain levels of Reiki, and are looking to move on to the next, I want to see what then can do. I’m not going to just promote someone and then sign a certificate saying that they know all that I teach in all of the levels I teach. That is what signing a Reiki 3 certificate means to me. So, I usually do a trade with them to see what they can do.
What I usually find out is that they have not been taught very well. In too many cases, a student has taken two levels of Reiki and doesn’t know enough Reiki to qualify as a Reiki 1 graduate. (In some cases that is because their previous teacher broke (what I consider) Reiki 1 into two parts.) Only once have I seen a student that could do Reiki, and knew the hand positions. The only thing they were missing that I teach were the basic energy exercises, and I review them in Reiki 2. All too often, I will ask the new student to retake the previous levels. Most times they will. Once in a while, they will go elsewhere. (With my reputation as a teacher on the line, I will simply wish they find what they are searching for.)
Recently, I had three students that had taken some form of Reiki from previous instructors (different ones at that). They all had poor experiences based on what I saw.
Two of the students had taken Reiki 1, yet had never done Reiki on a live body. One used to practice by working on a teddy bear at home. The other just let her training slip by, and never did use it on people. They never worked on a live body!? That thought just chills me. How will they get the feel for doing Reiki if they don’t run the energy and actually work on someone? And it is most important to do it with a teacher there to tell them if they are doing it right or not. If I have only one student, I either find a volunteer for them to work on, or they work on me.
The other student had taken Reiki 1 and Reiki 2 with another teacher in town. He admitted to me that she really wasn’t a good teacher. He had learned most of what he knew out of Diane Stein’s book. Now, let’s see, he took two classes. Paid money for them. Then he bought a book and learned Reiki from it. Wow. Since he could do Reiki (channel the energies), I offered him Reiki 1 at a reduced price, and Reiki 2 at the full price (I do a lot more than most people in my Reiki 2). After his Reiki 1 class, he told me told me how bad his first teacher had been, and that he was very glad to have taken class from me. His words were “Your presentation was superb.”
I had one student that took Reiki 2 from another teacher because his wife liked that teacher. When he came back to take Reiki 2 and Reiki 3 from me, he told me that this woman really didn’t teach anything other than prayers. (Each student finds what they need to find in their path to Reiki, and they feel that what they have found was worth it. What each person looks for and finds comfort with is an individual thing, which is why different teaching styles appeal to different people.) My friend in south Florida recently took her Reiki 3 from her teacher. What she described was a lot of psychic work, but little Reiki. It happens to be what my friend needed, but it wasn’t what I would call a Reiki class. When she took Reiki 2, she didn’t get some things explained, and rather than ask her teacher, asked me.
I do a lot to help my students learn Reiki (or pretty much anything I teach, although the Reiki classes are more developed with manuals and all). I answer questions at any time, even weeks or months after the class. I want to see my students succeed. I think that is the major point. I’m concerned with money, as I need to pay the rent. But it is not the driving force of why I teach.
I put a lot of effort into letting potential students know what I do before they show up looking for a class. I will spend a lot of time on the phone answering questions as to what is contained in my classes (you can ask many of my students, and they will tell you how I spent 20 to 30 minutes going over what I do in classes J). I have my class outlines on my website where anyone can look at them and compare my classes to anyone else’s.
Now, what can you do when you are looking for a teacher? Well there are a lot of things to consider. The first thing that someone who doesn’t know any better will tell you is to check the lineage. A lineage is effectively a continuous line from Usui to the instructor you are talking to. In other words, it is a list of names that shows who their teacher was, and their teacher’s teacher was, and so forth back to Usui. The problem with this is that a lot of people learned Reiki that do not know their lineage. My teacher, Kay Mora, didn’t care about keeping track of her lineage. Her teacher, Judy Montgomery, didn’t care about keeping track of her lineage either. I have not been able to find Judy's teacher, Bill Jacobs to see if he did or not. But the key thing is that I don’t doubt that either of these people knew Reiki, and that I know Reiki. So, if they know Reiki, then there is a lineage even if no one kept track of it. The more important thing is that I’m a good teacher, or so I’m told by my students.
The problem is that some people hold their lineage like the bloodline in an ultra-rich family who has been rich for generations. They are better than those that have just made their money, simply because they never had to work for it. The same is often true for people that can trace their lineage looking at those that can’t. The key thing is their ability to teach. If knowing a lineage is important to you, then find a teacher that can list one, but make sure they can teach. One would think that is the case, but my recent student that told me his first teacher was a horrible teacher, and ended up learning from a book, his first teacher can list her lineage. Make sure you find someone that can teach.
When you look at a teacher, contact them, either by phone or e-mail, and ask questions. I will answer questions in e-mail, but I personally prefer to talk with someone on the phone because it takes less time, and I can be more complete. I will answer detailed questions in e-mail, but it is far easier when talking to someone vocally to give them all the information they are asking for. I won’t hesitate to return a call even when it is long distance. In my case, I use my cell phone for all my business, and I can call anywhere in the country for the same cost (and after 7pm, it’s free).
When you talk to your potential teacher, ask the deep questions. If they won’t answer them, then move on. Ask them what is covered in their classes. Ask for more details if the answers are too short. (When I’m asked what Reiki 1 covers, I say 'healing self and others’. I will also talk about the basic energy that I teach. If pressed for more details, I might give them or refer the person asking to my web pages.) When I lived in Maryland several years ago, I went looking for a Reiki teacher. I was given a number and talked with this lady over the phone. One of the things potential students will hear about is the term ‘attunement’. When she gave little of her class information, I asked her what an attunement was. She told me “Take the class and you’ll see.” Uhhh. This is the main reason why I didn’t take Reiki classes until I moved down to Florida. If that is the best answer a potential teacher can give, then you need to find a new person to teach you.
You want to know what an attunement is? An attunement is where the Reiki symbols (for the particular level of Reiki you are working with) are traced into the top of the head (where the energy comes in) and the palms of the hands (where the energy comes out). In doing this, a student is better aligned to the Reiki energies making it easier for them to pull the energy in and do Reiki. See? Was that so hard? Some teachers will tell you that an attunement gives you the ability to do Reiki. It doesn’t, you have that right now, even if you‘ve never been attuned. The giving of the attunements is like fine tuning your TV set to the proper channel. If a teacher tells you that they give you the ability to do Reiki, well it’s already time to move to another teacher. A teacher does not give you the ability to do Reiki. They may teach you to use that ability. They may align you to make it easier to use that ability. But they do not give you the ability.
You will find a whole lot of differences in prices in Reiki classes. I have seen Reiki 1 for as low as $75 (yes, even less than I charge) and as much as $1,500 (this was at a weekend retreat). From there the price usually goes up. Reiki 2 can go from $200, to $1,000 (or more). Reiki 3 can go anywhere from $600 to $10,000. Price is important. You have to be comfortable with the cost of the class to be able to take it. It is not necessary to go bankrupt to take Reiki classes. You don’t have to spend a lot to find a quality teacher. You need to find a teacher whom you are comfortable with at a price you can afford. Some may feel that if they spend more, they will get more out of the class. At that point, they are placing the value on the class. They may feel that if they pay $500 for a Reiki 1 class, it will be worth it. Now they may not get anything more from that class than they would from one costing $100, but to them it will be worth it. There are quality teachers at lower prices, and they can be found. I charge $100 for each level of Reiki that I teach. In other words, from knowing nothing to being a Reiki master will cost one a total of $300. So there are those of us that are more oriented to teaching than to making money.
One of the big keys is to find a teacher you are comfortable with. If you can’t find that, it won’t matter what price they are charging for their classes. Look up teachers in your area (under the links section of this website, you will find places that list practitioner information). Write them, call them. See how much time they will spend with you to answer your questions (and I’m not saying to keep them on the phone as long as you can just to see how long they will stay with you). See how truthfully they will answer you. Get a feel for their personality. Get a feel for whether or not they know the subject. Once you find someone you can be comfortable with, then look at price. (Of course you might want to rule out the extremely high priced ones first.) Basically, go with your gut feeling. This is probably the most accurate method you will ever have.
Once you find someone that you think you can learn from, at a price you can afford, sign up for a class. Learn Reiki. Become a healer. We need more healers.
I hope that was helpful. Take care.