The Dance of Reiju

Reiju, for me, is a beautiful dance shared between two people that offers so very much. As a teacher of the system of Reiki, it gives me a new experience with the energy and wisdom of Reiki every single time the ritual is danced. Just as with a table session, watching how each Reiju is a different and unique manifestation of the same Spiritual Energy, shows me how broad, wide and all-encompassing the energy of Reiki truly is. In hearing each student share their experience of their Reiju, I get to watch a person fall in love with and remember that they are Reiki. I get to watch transformations within people every night that Reijus are performed, and to see them be amazed by the energy within themselves. This teaches me about the energy of Reiki as much as it teaches them. I feel also that every time I practice Reiju with a student, I also have an opportunity to remember my connection with the Great Bright Light. This brings a connection experience of my own, as I move in the dance of connection in service to another.

I take my responsibility as a teacher very seriously, and practicing Reiju inspires me to improve my body, emotions, mind and spirit with a progressively deeper dedication, so that I can better understand the Great Bright Light, the Void, and thus better share in this information with others through this ritual. I find that the deeper my own personal connection to the wisdom of DKM, the better my own direct understanding, the better I can hold this resonance for and with others. Paradoxically, it is through the DOING of this, the PRACTICING of this, that I gain a better understanding. So I need to both hold responsibility to improve, and I need to be able to trust in the wisdom of Reiki that the student will receive exactly what they need from the Reiju that is offered that day.

For many years I shied away from teaching because I felt I wasn’t ready. I have been practicing the system of Reiki for 20 years this year, and only in the past 3 years did I finally arrive at a sense of internal permission to teach. Part of that was learning the traditional Japanese system as taught by the International House of Reiki. I had been previously trained in the Usui Shiki Ryoho lineage and without knowing what I didn’t know, I still felt that there was much I had not been taught. But I began teaching in this lineage, and it was my teaching that brought me to my learning. It was in showing up to teach that I was asked questions by my students that I couldn’t answer, and thus showed me the way to the Truth. This is also my journey with Reiju. It meets me where I am at, and guides me through my growing. But to hold it and dance it, for me as a teacher, requires both a commitment to bettering my knowledge and practice, and practicing compassion to meet myself where I’m at. This is how I have grown to be writing this essay now, and this is how I will continue to grow.

Reiju is one of my teachers, as well as a way of teaching. It is one of the things that shows me the wonders of this practice – this simple offering that offers so much. I think that the Reiju is important for students for the same reasons it is important for anyone who teaches this practice. (And let’s be honest, there is no true distinction between student and teacher, we are all students and Reiki – our True Self – is the teacher.) It both inspires us to continue to practice, and meets us where we’re at. Reiju can, all at once, instill a sense of wonder and connection, and a sense of diligence and commitment in wanting to further develop our practice. It also provides students with a direct, personal experience of exactly how diverse the experiences within the system of Reiki can be. One of the things I enjoy so much about Reiju is listening to a student relate one Reiju they have received to another, noting that they were completely different experiences. In this way it is a great teaching tool for showing how Reiki provides us exactly what we need each time, and that can be very different from one Reiju to the next. It helps to illustrate how one table session can be different from the next for a client, when a practitioner is wondering if they “know enough” to offer diverse sessions to meet a diverse set of needs. I can simply refer them back to their Reijus and ask them to reflect on how the same ritual gave them such a wide variety of experiences, each of which was perfect for where they were that day. It can help the student to understand why it is important to dedicating themselves to deepening the practice they have before feeling the pull to learn something new. If a 5 minute ritual can be so powerful and so different each time, surely a 60 minute table session can as well!

Recently I experienced something new that broadened my conception of Reiju. I was meditating and working with the DKM symbol and mantra. I felt the familiar, comforting energy of the Void, and spent time in the peace and stillness of being perfectly suspended without input or differentiation of any kind. And then I felt a light. It came from my own Hara and held me within it. I felt as if I have while receiving Reijus from others, except it was from me and for me, a totally self-contained experience, a closed circle. I gave, I received, I simply was. Even though I could not describe how or why, I had the deep sense that this was also a Reiju. One of entirely energetic making. I sat in simple awe of the system of Reiki, of the Great Bright Light and the Void. These teachers continue to teach and offer and grow as we grow, always meeting us exactly where we are. I have full faith that this will always continue.

Mea Tavares