When you are ready to activate Reiki in your own hands, the process you need to participate in is called an ‘Attunement’.  Normally it is given as part of a Reiki workshop and in my lineage, it requires 4 Attunements spread out over the Usui Reiki Level 1 class (or 1 Attunement at Kundalini Reiki Level 1) in order to activate Reiki permanently in a person.

One of the questions I get asked a lot is “what exactly are you doing when you give an Attunement?” Although difficult to answer without going into a long and involved trip down several different concepts, the basis for an Attunement is best summed up as ‘resonance’.

If we place two same frequency tuning forks in a room and hit one of the forks with a mallet, the corresponding fork will vibrate in resonance, if we stop the sound of the original one we will still hear the sound resonating from the second one that was not touched – the vibration of sound flows through the air from one tuning fork to the other and the second fork responds by resonating to the same vibration (see video at the end).  In this way, someone who is trained to activate Reiki (referred to as a Reiki Master) is also trained to gain access to a vibration that allows the Reiki to activate in that person, and via resonance this information is passed on to another person through the ritual of ‘Attunement’.

Over the years the Reiki Attunement has undergone many changes to the extent that one Attunement process differs vastly from another in any given lineage.  However this is not a problem as the intention is to simply raise the vibration to a level that allows the body to resonate with the same frequency of energy as Reiki, once this is achieved the body is able to remember this frequency and it is retained for life.  Once you have been attuned to Reiki the ability to funnel or channel Reiki becomes a life long ability (much like learning to ride a bike, once you ‘know’ something you cannot ‘unknow’ it).

Anyone can be Attuned, there is no talent required or special healing ‘gift’, I have attuned little children, cats and dogs, I have attuned sceptics and believers, meditation masters and high-flying business executives.  No one can block resonance, if you want to have Reiki, there is nothing to stop you achieving that goal.

Once you have had an Attunement, the Reiki will simply flow through your hands automatically and without your direction, you can liken yourself to a large energy funnel and you can now direct your hands to any area of your body that requires attention.