NON-CONCLUSIVE FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
Relative considerations regarding initiation in different initiatory schools:
An important point to reflect upon is that, if Reiki teachers and practitioners consider that, in order to practice Reiki, an initiation is required, whether in person or at a distance; Reiki is therefore an initiatory school; from which, for the purposes of our study, we could derive two meanings: a traditional initiatory school and a “modern or quantum initiatory school.”
What we can understand in the West as essential elements concerning traditional initiatory schools, according to two of the most experienced, recognized, and respected authors, is the following:
Rene Guenon deduces that, in order to be initiated, it is necessary to possess certain qualifications. The individuality must be taken as it actually is, with all its constituent elements, and there are qualifications concerning each of these elements, including the bodily element. Guenon says that there is nothing unjust in this and that considering oneself dedicated to being initiated is not a matter of pride. He admits that not everyone is capable of doing higher mathematics or being an artist, and that the same applies to a craft, since initiation was originally an initiation into a craft. Rene Guenon insists that what is transmitted through initiation is a spiritual influence that has the rites as its vehicles.
On the other hand, Dr. Serge Raynaud de la Ferriere considers that initiatory knowledge is not theoretical knowledge; the person who receives it is transformed by it, or rather, only accesses that knowledge to the same extent that they transform themselves.
In turn, initiations in different traditional schools manifest the following:
Freemasonry: The degrees of initiation are a consecration performed by the master physically and in person. As the initiate advances, they must likewise evolve in person and physically until reaching the highest level.
Spiritual schools: True initiation is not the ceremony of consecration to a more or less authentic degree, but the state of realization, because initiation is a state of existence, an illumination, a revelation. It is therefore necessary to undergo a slow process of study in order to achieve a proper understanding of things. The initiate will assimilate and reach the light through the individual projection of the guru onto the Chellah.
Shamanic initiation: the main paths through which shamans are recruited are:
Hereditary transmission; and
Spontaneous vocation (the calling or the choice); whatever the method of selection, a shaman is not recognized as such until after receiving a double instruction:
One of an ecstatic nature; and
One of a traditional nature (in person), techniques, functions of spirits, mythology and genealogy of the clan, secret language, etc. This double instruction is equivalent to initiation.
Energy schools; meditation schools; science of the soul and transcendental meditation: although in the science of the soul, transmission (initiation) is carried out in person, it is conducted in a group, with the public receiving the teaching, the practice, and the influence of the teacher in a single session.
Reiki
Beyond seeking the achievement of happiness or enlightenment as the final objective intended by Master Usui; we know that Reiki is a bioenergetic rebalancing system through the transmission of healing energy by means of the laying on of hands directly onto the human energetic field of the person receiving it.
When receiving a level, the new healer has the Reiki symbols implanted, which align with the universal axes for the optimal reception of universal energy through their energetic structure, and through their thought as a creative process.
These symbols have their own consciousness, and they are the key to accessing energetic power and sending amplified energy over long distances, knowing that this is not magic, helping the practitioner’s mind to remain centered and focused.
On the other hand, we know that thought is energy and wherever a thought is established, an intention is set and created. Thoughts produce emotions or feelings and, when reason is applied, motivate actions; thus, there is an axiom that says that energy follows thought.
So, how does distance therapy happen? The person who is going to receive the therapy is visualized, and energy and/or Reiki symbols are sent to them, in such a way that an energy channel is formed between the receiver and the sender, covering the body with the energy and tonality that is required. We must increasingly keep in mind that in the created world there is nothing except energy in movement, and that every thought directs some aspect of that energy.
And what happens in Reiki initiation?
Reiki initiation is an energetic initiation; regardless of whether it is traditional or modern; it is a ceremony intended to prepare the person who so decides to receive a particular teaching or knowledge.
In a Reiki initiation, mantras and yantras are used; and in some schools, other elements such as specific colors for each degree that is granted. Its objective is aimed at cleansing and strengthening the energetic structures of the initiates so that they may use and transmit universal energy or Reiki; (a more or less condensed explanation, knowing that Reiki is more than that in its philosophy and practice).
Thus, the practitioner receives the first amounts of energy and then, according to their preparation and behavior, receives greater amounts of energy and symbols that will serve to open or close the energetic channels; they also receive instruction on how to self-treat with that energy and how to participate in the healing of others using Reiki/Energy.
Now then; the present study conducted with a biofeedback device only captures energetic transmissions in a process of sending and receiving energy from the sender to the receiver; or what we call initiation; that is; it does not consider the philosophy, principles, and duties of a Reiki practitioner; biofeedback is like any machine, an instrument without emotions, values, pillars, precepts, or philosophy, unlike the human being.
An in-person or distance Reiki initiation can be performed from a purely energetic point of view; yes; but Reiki is not only that; it is philosophy, values, beliefs, it is a collection of elements beyond energy alone.
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Reiki initiation, in either case, does not merely consider initiation as such; an energetic sending process as cold energy; it means respecting a lineage from which one emerges, in other words, respecting the teaching, its philosophy, its ethics, its axiology, and its methodology.
It is important to answer the questions of what I want (having the desire, will, or intention to do, possess, or achieve something); what I can (having the capacity or ability to do a certain thing. Being in a position to do a certain thing because there is nothing preventing it) and what I must as a thinking being (having a moral obligation toward another. Neither science nor philosophy is necessary to know what one must do to be honorable and good and even wise and virtuous, as Kant stated); on this analytical basis of I want, I can, and I must. We will give examples of this:
What prevents me from killing a fellow human being when I want to and can do so?
What prevents me from abandoning my parents when I want to and can do so because they are old?
What prevents me from having relationships outside a monogamous marriage if I want to and can do so?
What prevents me from stealing in public office if many do it and I can do so?
All these questions lead to what ought to be and; what is the duty of being a member of a Reiki lineage?…
… the rules are determined and learned within the lineage where the Reiki practitioner is trained, in order to know whether those acts are right or wrong. Respect, continuity, and teaching the rules that determine whether the acts I perform as a member of a lineage are right or wrong are important; the same happens in a company, a university, a profession, a family, a government. Being grateful KAN SHA SHITE and GYÖ-O HAGAME; work diligently and honestly, that is: fulfill your obligations.
In a Masonic, shamanic, energetic, religious, or personal initiation; what matters are its principles and foundations; that is the lineage; teaching, philosophy, axiology, and techniques.
From the perspective of this study; the two groups of Reiki practitioners; those who give distance initiations or those who conduct them in person are right; what must be considered is their philosophy and their procedures for conducting them; that is where the center of the differences lies.
Just as giving Reiki in person and at a distance is not the same; and they do not use the same techniques; distance initiation cannot be carried out using the same techniques as those used for in-person initiations. Let us respect those who respect and promote a lineage so that they respect ours; whether traditional or modern.
If we accept what was stated in the analyses of this document:
… that Takata initiated Doris Duke at a distance, as some Reiki scholars state, and that Takata gave her a pre-initiation of Reiki Level 2 because she needed it for an emergency therapy and committed her to returning to Hawaii that same year to receive the in-person Reiki Level 2 ritual; -she did it as an exception-; there is no further study in which this becomes an everyday occurrence; therefore, being analytical and objective, and if we accept this premise regarding Doris Duke; distance initiation exists as an exception.
The Spanish language dictionary says that exception is: “A thing that departs from the general rule or condition…”; and everyday occurrence is: …” a characteristic of what is normal because it happens every day” …for reflection.
Those who perform distance initiations must develop their own methods; we cannot “hook ourselves” onto those already existing without the permission of those who created them. If the current Japanese masters who follow and created a Reiki system: Hyakuten Inamoto or Hiroshi Doi; and who are still alive and state that Reiki must be face-to-face; let us respect them, and if we want to perform distance initiations, let us create our own methods, protocols, and systems. Master
Usui also had the idea that Reiki should be initiated face-to-face; let us not question his legacy or lineage, his methodology; thus creating an uninterrupted transmission from masters to masters or from masters to students, united by the sacred touch of the in-person Reiki ritual, which goes directly back to the founder. What essentially constitutes the “chain,” that uninterrupted transmission of spiritual influence through the initiates. That is the respectful suggestion.
In our case, as the REIKI CEAAN system; we consider what was imparted to us by our spiritual masters Tahiro Numu and Nikol on July 26, 2020:
All living beings are channels for transmitting energy; only the central channel is limited in its energetic reception; it cannot be closed or blocked because then the person would not be alive or would have many problems of various kinds.
When a person decides to begin a path in Reiki, especially CEAAN, and the initiation ceremony is performed, the central channel is opened, at the same time as a connection with divine energy is established.
Also, within an initiation, the chakras of the person receiving the initiation begin to vibrate in such a way that they achieve a perfect alignment, allowing the crown chakra to open; thereby allowing access to clairvoyance and absolute perception.
Therefore, we can say that at the moment of initiation, the channel between the person and the divine energy which we call Reiki is permanently opened.
Reiki CEAAN performs initiations in the traditional manner; that is; in person, since at that moment the auras of the aspirant and the master unite.
Apart from this union; the master takes the aspirant under their energetic protection, which is why, when introducing the symbols, I also give them their personalized work symbol, which only the CEAAN school uses. Therefore, it is important to perform initiations in person.
Distance initiations in the case of Reiki CEAAN are only permitted in special and extremely extraordinary cases; provided that the aspirants already have at least the first-level initiation performed in person. In these cases, and also at a distance, they first receive a reaffirmation or rectification of degrees and subsequently the distance initiation, which is only permitted to a few people within the CEAAN teaching, not as a matter of control, but because of their level of development and commitment to humanity; and following analysis and justification of the extraordinary circumstances.
Initiation is not a harmonization because in a harmonization what is achieved is a vibration in certain areas of the body, such as the head and heart. Nor can it be an attunement because in this only a connection between the two beings is made, whereas initiation encompasses these two techniques and the others mentioned above, in addition to the fact that initiation is performed with the love, patience, temperance, and energy of the master who grants it.
About the author
Alfredo Aguilera Saldaña is an administrator and retired academic from the University of Guanajuato, Mexico. He is President of Alianza Reiki de México A.C., founder and former Secretary of the Federación Iberoamericana de Reiki A.C., and founder of the Reiki CEAAN System.
His career brings together Reiki, education, research, human development, and literature.
Learn more about Alfredo Aguilera Saldaña and his work at Mundo Reiki:
Author page — Alfredo Aguilera Saldaña
Previous articles
Reiki Initiation: Between Tradition and New Paths of Teaching
Methodology and First Data from the Research on Reiki Initiation
Editorial Note
Part 4 of 4 — Final Considerations of the Study
This article corresponds to the non-conclusive final considerations of Alfredo Aguilera Saldaña’s work, Reiki Initiation from an Objective, Non-Conclusive Exploratory Research Perspective with Multimedia Biofeedback.
The content of this part corresponds to the author’s original text, maintaining his positions, terminology, and non-conclusive character. The considerations presented correspond to pages 32 to 40 of the original document.