How to Choose the Right Reiki Course

Introduction				The main difference here is that healing no longer
There are now dozens of different Reiki schools				has the central place in what is taught. Rather,
in the West, many of which claim to be superior				Reiki is seen as path to enlightenment in which
to others. This can be confusing for anyone				healing is just one of several essential
interested in taking a Reiki course.				components.
As a result, we need to ask ourselves the				The emphasis with Japanese Reiki is therefore on
following questions: Is there really such a big				personal evolution, and healing is in many ways
difference between Reiki schools? Or does it				just a by-product of this quest. (For more
simply come down to the quality of the Reiki				information on this, see my article 'The Five
Master conducting the course?				Building Blocks of Traditional Japanese Reiki'.)
To understand the issue we need to realize that				Which Reiki System is Right for Me?
in actual fact there are only two real Reiki schools:				To work out which Reiki system you should learn,
those that practise traditional Japanese Reiki (for				you must first decide what is most important to
instance, Usui Reiki Ryoho) and those that have				you: learning to heal, or finding a spiritual path.
descended from Mrs Takata's teachings in the				If you are only interested in hands-on healing you
West (i.e. Western Reiki).				would be better off finding a Western school of
Western Reiki Schools				Reiki (no point spending large portions of time on
Anyone who delves deeply into the various				things you aren't interested in); whereas if your
Western Reiki schools (systems) will discover an				chief focus is on evolving as a person, you would
interesting fact: while there are certainly large				do better to try traditional Japanese Reiki.
differences in what they teach, their core is				Naturally, this is not to say that Western Reiki has
almost always very similar - no matter how				no 'spiritual' component to it; but as a rule you will
divergent the external trappings.				find a much sturdier spiritual path with the
Of course, that's not to say that some schools				Japanese variety.
aren't better and worse than others, and that the				Second, once you have chosen the style you
term 'Reiki' is never abused. It is. People with				would like to learn (i.e. Japanese or Western), you
inadequate training and experience; people whose				need to choose the particular school based on the
main area of expertise has little or nothing to do				quality of the teacher, rather than the system
with Reiki; many have founded their own branch -				being taught (e.g. Karuna Reiki or Shamballa Reiki).
sometimes even with a trademark attached to it.				Since Reiki healing energy is in essence always the
But when we talk about serious practitioners and				same - regardless of whether you call it
schools, things are more alike than not. Reiki				Shamballa Reiki, Rainbow Reiki or the like - it
energy is simply Reiki energy - even when				doesn't particularly matter which 'system' you
surface appearances and outspoken teachers				ultimately end up learning.
would like to suggest otherwise.				What matters is simply that you connect deeply
Traditional Japanese Reiki				to the Reiki energy. And for that purpose, the
The situation changes somewhat when we look				only thing that should concern you at this point is
at the traditional Japanese style of Reiki that has				quality of the teacher, because it is he or she that
only recently (i.e. in the last decade or so) been				provides you with the spark needed to do just
discovered in the West.				that.