by William Lee Rand
I took my first Reiki class in 1981. Prior to this I was an avid seeker of spiritual development and had been a Rosicrucian, a professional Astrologer, a hypnotherapist, a Past Life Regression therapist and worked with a Hawaiian Kahuna for a year. I also had experience as a hands-on healer. These previous experiences helped me to gain a better understanding of the essence of spiritual energy.
Then, while in a rebirthing class on the Big Island, I learned that a Reiki class was being offered and I enthusiastically signed up. In the class we received a set of attunements that created powerful spiritual experiences. After this we practiced and I could feel the Reiki energy flowing through me and this made me very happy. As I practiced, and experienced the consciousness of the Reiki energy, it caused me to become more introspective. Then during a break, I became more deeply aware of the energy and realized that this was an energy that had no limit and that one’s ability to channel Reiki energy could be continually developed.
However, this idea was not popular at that time. People would often say that Reiki is the Universal Life Force so how can you improve on that? But my experience of the energy was telling me something different. I was shown that while Reiki is the Universal Life Force, that Force has unlimited potential and that what we receive in the attunements is only a small part of what is possible; that we receive only the beginning levels of this wonderful energy and that it was possible to attune to ever higher and more beneficial expressions of the Universal Life Force. I also contemplated the fact that as a student takes every higher levels of training, one’s Reiki energy improves. As an example, the Reiki energy of a Reiki Master is stronger that than of a Reiki I student. This too indicated that Reiki is a transcendent practice that can take one into ever higher levels of healing energy.
In addition, if one accepts that Reiki comes from an infinite source, then one must also accept that there must be ever higher levels of Reiki energy that exist. And it would just be a matter of discovering the path to follow in order to gain access to these higher levels and begin receiving benefit from them.
Because of this, I was continually looking for ways to develop the energy and also looking for ways to improve how I used Reiki in sessions. One day in 1993, while thinking deeply about the potential Reiki offered, I wondered how the founder, Mikao Usui, practiced Reiki. During this experience, I became aware that there was more to the practice than what had been taught by Takata Sensei and I could see Usui Sensei using the sensitivity in his hand to determine where the person needed Reiki. After this, I began practicing this technique in my Reiki sessions, which I called Scanning, and found it to be very helpful in knowing the best places to treat.
A few years later, I met Arjava Petter in Japan and he took me and Laurelle Gaia around to see the sacred Reiki sites. During this time, I demonstrated the Scanning technique to him. Then a few years later, after Arjava had done his research for the Japanese Reiki Techniques with Fumio Ogawa Sensei and others, he told me that Scanning was actually a method that Usui Sensei had used. Based on his research, Arjava began calling this method Byosen Scanning.
I was also focused on discovering ways to increase the effectiveness of my Reiki energy. During this process, I read all I could about hands on healing including the ancient Traditional Chinese Medicine texts and also discussed this topic with other practitioners and read the workbooks of various Reiki Masters. I meditated on how one might increase the strength of one’s Reiki energy and experimented with different methods. Between 1993 and 1995, this lead to the development of a new style of Reiki that contained eight symbols and a different attunement method. At first, I called this system Sai Baba Reiki as I was told that three of the symbols had come from the late Sai Baba, who was a well-known guru in India. Shortly after this I discovered that Sai Baba had not channeled these symbols so I changed the name of the system to Karuna Reiki®. I was told by many experienced practitioners that the energy of this new system was stronger and more effective than Usui Reiki. This was encouraging and I was happy that this system improved the healing benefits people could receive.
Then in January, 2014, while working with the late Janice Jones, a spiritual advisor, I was given the healing energy called Holy Fire Reiki, which was a further improvement. We have continued to work with this energy and in December 2016 Holy Fire II was developed.
Recently, while researching Reiki in Japan, I met with Hiroshi Doi Sensei and he said that according to the teachings of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, Usui Sensei had said that the most important task of the Reiki practitioner was to develop and strengthen the effectiveness of one’s Reiki energy. This validated my previous thinking and confirmed my experience that higher qualities of Reiki do exist and that not only is it possible to experience them, but that developing higher Reiki energies in oneself is the most important task of the Reiki practitioner.
I have continued to follow this path and new doors continue to open. Recently I have been shown an even higher quality of Reiki. This energy looks like a wonderful golden light that is very nurturing, supportive and healing. It can arise spontaneously and surround you and has a wonderful loving feeling. It raises one’s level of consciousness and feels more amazing than any form of Reiki previously experienced. The qualities of happiness it provides are much deeper, richer and more wonderful. It also provides you with the ability to accept this higher energy into your field without any effort and in a way that feels completely normal and natural. I’m being told that this is brought directly to Reiki practitioners who have Holy Fire Reiki and I have received reports that some of these practitioners are beginning to feel it flowing in them now and also flowing to their clients during Reiki sessions.
In order to receive it, you must accept the idea that the quality of your Reiki can be improved and that this can come to you as a gift. Then simply say prayers asking for this wonderful gift to be given to you. It may come to you right away or while you are going for a walk or meditating or giving yourself or others Reiki or at other times. Or it may come to you right now as you are reading this article! So look up and receive a higher way.
We are so very deeply blessed to be given ever higher and more effective levels of this beautiful energy. I wish each of you the very best as you live your lives and give yourself and others Reiki. May you experience great peace, joy and happiness.
