(This is a continuation of the previous blog.)
When I attuned to Reiki, the process of becoming a teacher was quite expensive. Years passed, and the price went down. One fine day, my inner voice began to tell me to become a Reiki master. I had already committed myself to listen to that voice, no matter what it said to me.
I started looking for someone to teach me when I opened the newspaper and saw a one-page ad for a Puerto Rican Reiki teacher, Reinaldo Torres (R.I.P.) Reinaldo lived in Tampa and came to Puerto Rico to teach Reiki III or master classes. I called him in Tampa, and after a beautiful experience in his classes, I became a Reiki III master.
Reiki was brought to the West from Japan by Ms. Takata, of Japanese descent but a resident of Hawaii. She tried to have something so sacred be respected and valued in the United States, and the western world. In order to achieve this, Mrs. Takata established a series of rules about prices and initiations. I’m going to call this Traditional Reiki.
In Reinaldo’s class, I learned that over the years, Traditional Reiki was softening, and changing a bit. With Reinaldo, I learned to attune people in the traditional way that includes four attunements. Also, I learned how to attune with an additional symbol that allowed only one attunement. I had never heard of this before, so the question remained in my mind if that form worked.
Soon after, I went to my hometown, Ponce, and visited my sister. When I arrived, I found out that her husband was ill and was in a lot of pain. I told her that I had become a Reiki Master and could teach her to give Reiki to her husband to help him with his pain. She was my first student. I had never taught a Reiki class.
Since I was in a hurry, with a bit of apprehension, I decided to go with the single attunement system and prayed that it would work. After I attuned my sister to this extraordinary energy, I told her to practice giving Reiki to me so in case she had any questions I would be able to answer them.
In Reiki, the hands are placed with the fingers close together so that the energy doesn’t escape through the open fingers. After about five minutes, she asked me if it was indispensable to have the fingers together. I remember I told her that nothing was indispensable, just preferable, and I asked her why she was making that question. Her response, which amazed me, was, “it’s because I’m burning.”
Again, neither before nor after had I heard such a thing. I thanked my Reiki guides because I’m sure they wanted to let me know that this new way of attunement worked very well. Since then, that is the one I use in my classes.
It is wonderful to know that if we learn to listen to the messages, our inner voice or spiritual guides direct us at every moment.