We are all learning, whether we are teachers or beginners (or both). And we don’t learn solely on our own.
Listening, watching, asking and responding to others are just some of the experiences we share and consequently learn from.
Today we ask you to share your Reiki teaching stories with other practitioners through our blog. Here are some questions to jog your thoughts… and please feel free to add to them.
What gave you that special A-Ha moment about yourself or about the world you live in?
What helped you become the best teacher you can possibly be at this moment in time?
Where do you get your inspiration from when teaching becomes a challenge?
What do you love about each and every class that you take?
Bronwen and Frans Stiene are the co-founders of the International House of Reiki and co-authors of The Reiki Sourcebook, The Japanese Art of Reiki, Your Reiki Treatment, The A-Z of Reiki Pocketbook and the Reiki Techniques Card Deck. Bronwen and Frans teach in the USA, Europe and Australia. Visit the Courses page to find a course near you.
Comments 9
My Reiki teaching is driven by my students. Frans of course is the light house.
I mainly teach one on one and love that because I can guide the student where they want to go on this journey with Reiki. Every Tuesday night I am amazed about the cultures that come together in my place, Hungarian, Thai, Indian, Cypriot, Greek, Polish, Japanese, Australian, Dutch (me). We first do a ‘oneness sending’ then ‘public’ hands on, followed by sharing with each other. Afterwards we share green tea and chocolates and the most in depth discussions from which I learn all the time, because I am being pushed to respond to their questions. The most amazing part for me is that I can sit and listen to the ineraction that takes place between the participants when the try to grasp the magic of Reiki.
Having been a primary school teacher for a long time, teaching Reiki seemed like the next step. I studied Western style Reiki but my teacher’s Master course was too expensive for me so I looked round and found Rebecca, who learned with Frans and is an amazing Reiki Master. Japanese Reiki with her just helped everything fall into place for me, and it makes perfect sense. Rather than an “Aha!” moment it was a gradual realisation that Reiki didn’t have to mean doing things that didn’t make sense or ring true for me. There’s a lot of integrity involved in Japanese style I think, and taking responsibility for your Self, which is one of the major things I enjoy sharing with my students.
Since I completed Shinpiden with Rebecca 4 years ago I have taught around 30 students and have learned so much from them as well. I think they enable me to be the teacher I am, and to a large extent, they are my inspiration. I have recently taught a Shoden course for a group of 4 parents/carers of children with autism, and their excitement and enthusiasm has been so uplifting. I also love the fact that our courses and Reiki shares are facilitating not only healing but also friendships and mutual support.We are always amazed at Shares how our combined energies are so much greater than the sum of the individual parts.
I taught my first Shinpiden student in November – she was my 3rd ever Shoden student – and as she will be teaching her first student next month, I am now a “Reiki Granny” (Frans, not sure what that makes you….;-)) and loving it!
Each and every Reiki class is a wonderful fusion of sharing the system of Reiki, learning from my students and seeing them blossom as Reiki energy enhances their lives as it has done with mine.
Hi Lois,
Isn’t it wonderful to share the state of mind and energy with others, I love group work.
I think that is a very important element of teaching as well, the sharing.
If you are a Reiki Granny, than I must be…very old 😉
Love
Frans
It really is the students that make me the teacher I am and inspire me with every course I do. I allow students to guide me in terms of what they need and want, whilst providing a sound structure for them to work from and encouraging them to grow in their own unique way. I love the fact that even after 12 years of teaching I still get questions I’ve never had before. I love challenges because this is where we have the chance to grow as a person, a Reiki practitioner and as a teacher. In fact the most challenging questions, students or clients are the ones I’ve learned the most from. It’s hard to think of a life that doesn’t involve teaching Reiki in some way, it’s such a beautiful and simple system and yet the effect is uniquely profound for everyone who uses it as part of their daily lives. It’s such a joy to witness the journey that students take from those first moments of exploring Reiki and seeing the wonder on their faces to months later when they walk into your space with all the changes and energy resonating from them. In fact there have been times when people’s faces change quite literally and in a different environment I wouldn’t have recognised them. Further down the line I get to see those who want to be a teacher themselves start that journey it’s awe-inspiring and the more I think about it the more lucky and grateful I feel for the presence of Reiki, my students and my clients in my life.
Hi Tina,
I have seen this too in my own teachings, that if we connect to students at their level of understanding, than all flows so much better.
This is why as a teacher we need to be firm and flexible at the same time.
Love
Frans
I started a nonprofit organization that works with the Lumad indigenous people in the Philippines. One of my greatest joys has been teaching Reiki to the Lumad (who have lost their local shamans due to cultural pressures from the out side) and to the church workers we work with there. I have had to learn to expect the unexpected and be flexible, letting go of what I think I SHOULD cover and just let the Holy Spirit be in charge. I’ve had to combine two levels into one class, flex to handle class sizes as large as 40, be relaxed about different cultural values about being punctual, work around no budget for copying materials for students, at times working with translators who don’t speak English very well, often having no electricity or running water (I bring a TON of hand sanitizer!), work around cultural beliefs about witchcraft (especially when teaching distant Reiki) and once even holding an inpromptu class without any of my training notes and only an hour to prepare.
It has been an amazing experience! Teaching in these conditions has freed me from feeling that I have to teach Reiki a “certain way” in order for it to be legitimate. I just try to focus on key concepts, trusting that Reiki will do the rest. Across language, ethnicity and cultural differences we are united in the healing light and love of our Creator. I love seeing the students light up as they begin to sense the energy! Reiki seems to be especially powerful there; I think because people are much more open to enery than in the U.S.
Deborah that sounds like a truly exciting and fulfilling experience. I love that it demonstrates how Reiki doesn’t need to be bound by bureaucracy or one person’s way of doing something being the only way. Flexibility after all provides the best chance of continued success and development for Reiki and those who work with it personally and professionally.
Hi Tina and Deborah,
I agree with you both that when we teach we need to be flexible, too many things are put in boxes but in fact spiritual energy can not fit in any box. As soon as we put it in a box it is not spiritual anymore. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your insights.
Love
Frans
Fascinating article—thank you.