Reiki Attunement
A Reiki Attunement is a mysterious, yet powerful initiation process done by a Reiki Master as part of a Reiki training. Through Reiki Attunements, the recipient receives a very intense healing and their energy channels are opened up to the Universal Energy, making them more aware and present.
The attunement will stimulate the entire physical, spiritual, emotional and energetic bodies, thereby promoting health and personal growth on all levels and enhancing the sense of well-being.
What happens during the Reiki attunement process?
In Japanese, the attunement ceremony is known as “Reiju”, which means spiritual energy blessing. When we receive a Reiki attunement, we are inviting spiritual blessings on our path of self-mastery.
The attunement process is a powerful sacred ritual needed for everyone who wants to become a Reiki practitioner. It marks the end of an old way of being and the beginning of a new path.
This opportunity is given by the opening of the energy healing channels which happens during a Reiki Attunement. The exact process is kept secret by the Reiki Masters to maintain the sacredness of the ritual and to prevent further misunderstandings since it’s difficult to express it in words. The article ‘The Attunement Ritual’ sheds more light on this topic.
During the attunement, the experience itself may be different for everyone and may from one attunement to the next – feeling the energy flow, hearing angelic bells, seeing colors, having visions, sensations of heat or tingling and the list goes on. Also, the way in which the attunement is done can differ from one Master to another, with only the basic steps being the same. Learn more about this in ‘What are Reiki Attunements All About’.
How to prepare for Reiki Attunements?
Having access to the Universal Energy is a tremendous gift and more people benefit from it since the gap between science and spirituality has been massively reduced. It is now commonly accepted that we exist as beings of light, created as part of a universe that illuminates and animates all things.
This being said, it means Reiki is already part of us, so why do we need an attunement to connect what is already connected? This is one of the misconceptions. We do not connect but educate to understand the nature of our relationship to a universe that sustains us. Reiki is and always has been a discipline of personal spiritual development. You can read more about ‘Misconceptions of the Attunement Process’ topic here. The Reiki Attunement is not meant to negate the need for training, nor is it meant to eliminate the need for practice.
A Reiki Attunement causes internal positive shifts on both sides – giver and receiver. As the student surrenders more and more to the process, more Ki energy carrying the Reiki symbols will be channeled into the Crown Chakra to the recipient’s heart. As receivers, we cannot control the process but we can prepare ourselves one week before attunement to encapsulate more healing energy during its performance. Reading ‘Attunements and How to Prepare for Them’ will help a lot.
For Reiki Teachers, they can increase the quality of a Reiki Attunement using their creativity to enrich the basic steps of the ritual. Whether the attunement is made in person or at distance, there are some tips which will assist any Reiki Master to offer a high-quality Reiki Attunement – creating a sacred space, following heart guidance, trusting the intuition, calling the higher beings to assist, integrating the new energies and the experience itself by both sides. You can read more about our ‘Seven Attunement Tips for Reiki Teachers’ article.
As we know, energy isn’t bound by space and time. While distance healing is a practice embraced by most Reiki practitioners, the idea of attunement done over distance has always been a controversial subject for the Reiki community. In essence, it’s all about intention. If both the teacher and the student are open to the idea of distant attunement and have their heart and soul in it, it works. Being skeptical or uncomfortable with the idea attracts the inefficiency of the attunement. This can be a great opportunity for those people who have no access to classes and teachers and wish to learn and attune to Reiki. Here you’ll find more about the effectiveness of distant attunements ‘Do Distant Attunements Work?’
We’ve done the attunement. What’s next?
After an attunement, it is very important to take good care of yourself. Usually, the recipient encounters a healing crisis that can last up to two or three weeks and can have effects on a physical or emotional level. This is happening because the energetic vibrational state of our being changes – the energy centers are cleared and aligned and new vibrations of energy are channeled through us.
People with a long history of health problems and different dysfunctional patterns are being drawn to Reiki healing energy in search of a cure. Part of the learning process with Reiki is to distinguish between healing and cure. Healing will be activated after the attunement process but similar to a spring cleaning, everything inside will be turned upside down for new order to install – this is the healing crisis. The cure will arrive sooner or later, depending on the openness to clear out the negative layers gathered over years. More on the topic can be found in ‘Attunement Triggers Healing Crisis’.
There is no reason to be afraid of the clearing and assimilation process. We only experience what is right for us and for our highest purpose. We are all unique individuals. The assimilation process of these energy shifts can be different for everyone who has an attunement.
Make sure to get out and exercise, drink a lot of water, take a salt bath, practice daily self-Reiki, meditate and most of all listen to your body. Maybe you would want to try a ‘Guided Meditation for After a Reiki Attunement’.
Another effect of the attunement will be the improvement of your psychic awareness and parts of your psychic abilities like clairaudience, clairsentience and clairvoyance will be gradually unleashed.
Each attunement strengthens, clears and opens channels to higher healing. If you are already attuned to Reiki and feel it’s time for a re-attunement, only great things could come. Maintaining a strong connection to Reiki energies will encourage the healing path.
The Reiki Attunement is a life-changing initiation. Keeping a journal can help track the process and the changes that will follow.
Powerful healing experiences with Reiki come to us through Grace and we should always offer gratitude to the Divine Consciousness for allowing this.
Over the years that I have been teaching Reiki, I have often been asked the question: “Why do I need an attunement or initiation to healing energy?” or “If this is universal life energy that is available to all why do I need to come to a Reiki class and receive a special initiation?” I would like to address these questions. I am going to focus on the word initiation as I feel that when you receive an attunement to the Reiki energy you are being initiated into the energy.
In the “Oxford English Dictionary” initiation is described as “the action of beginning, entering upon, or starting something.” It is also defined as “formal introduction by preliminary instruction or initial ceremony into some position, office, or society, or knowledge of or participation in some principles or observances- hence - admission to the knowledge of instruction in the elements of any subject or practice.” This definition accurately describes my perception of an initiation.
I am sure that there are those who worked with energy work much longer than I had when they took their first Reiki class. They may question why it is necessary to be initiated into something that they believed already existed within them. I would have two responses to them. Would the neophyte believe in this natural gift from Spirit of healing self and others without the ritual? Secondly, as the “Oxford Dictionary” indicates, initiation is also “admission to the knowledge or instruction in the elements of any subject or practice.” Is this not the process that Dr. Usui went through when he received the Reiki keys to healing from Spirit?
As a teacher I have seen my students many reactions to the process of receiving an initiation. In varying degrees each student has been touched in some special way by Spirit. Initiations are a part of the process of reconnection to Spirit and a beginning of a new or renewed walk down the path of life. Many doors are opened in this sacred ritual. If you have received an attunement to Reiki, remember back to the feelings you had during your special ceremony and connection to Reiki. If you are thinking about taking a Reiki class, then know that the healing energies that you were born with will only expand as Reiki begins to flow through your body, soul, and spirit. Blessings on your journey.