SECRECY, POWER, HYPOCRISY
After my first encounter with the symbols of Reiki’s Second
Level I was told – more accurately, I was almost ordered
– to keep them hidden in utmost secrecy.
Pronouncing their mantras before
people who haven’t attained Second Level or, which is
even worse, showing their graphic aspect would have made me
lose their extraordinary powers. I believe that many others
have had this same experience.
Rationally speaking, I thought
such behaviour was justified as far as a correct and responsible
use of the symbols was concerned; but my inner feelings kept
telling me there was something wrong in perpetuating such an
inflexible and dogmatic secrecy.
Maybe some Reiki Masters (or
even most of them) wanted to keep the symbols shrouded in such
secrecy in order to play on their “mysterious” appeal
and somehow “justify” the high costs of this Reiki
Level?
Some people actually believe that the symbols, once learned,
must be kept safely hidden and can never ever be revealed –
or they will lose their wondrous power!
Others, though, believe that
the symbols may be freely disclosed – without them being
"watered down", contaminated or rendered powerless.
According to the latter interpretation,
the only thing that matters is a correct and responsible use
of the symbols by those who already know them and can activate
them thanks to their harmonization: those who have attained
Second Level.
In order to clear up this much-disputed
controversy, the first logical step is starting from the foundation
of the matter at hand:
HOW DOES A REIKI SYMBOL WORK?
Everything is energy, and everything is interconnected.
Every single thing is an individual
manifestation of the same Energy, a specific form of it. Every
energy has a form and a content. The form holds content, information,
awareness. Through the form we can reach the content. We can
create new forms and fill them with content.
Starting from these assumptions
Andreas Dalberg (Der Weg zum wahren Reiki Meister,
KNAUR, 1997, pg 199) proposes a number of explanations: one
of such explanations assumes the symbols are man-made, originating
from man within the usual space-time frame; another assumes
they were originated in other dimensions, that is to say subtext
beyond our perceptual parameters. The symbols are assumed to
be a means of establishing a connection, a contact with such
other worlds, planes or dimensions.
According to the first hypothesis,
when many people use a symbol or associate to a symbol a very
specific feeling and a particular form of awareness, that symbol
is imbued with a very specific content, energy, information
or awareness.
The actors involved in such process are the individuals “projecting”
their own psychic content on an external object. In our specific
case, psychic energies would have been connected to the Reiki
symbols we know through multiple, specific, strong and long-lasting
“projections”.
Those who use such symbols can use the power imbued into the
symbols and at the same time contribute in maintaining –
and even increasing – such power by sending their own
energy and intention through the circuit.
The other main hypothesis is
based on the assumption that Reiki symbols are not from the
three-dimensional world we know. According to this hypothesis
they are archetypical intermediaries – mediums –
between this reality and other dimensions, or planes of being.
They connect the Second Level initiate to the energy of these
planes and their actual power, and their meaning, is a consequence
of this contact, this resonance.
I wanted to illustrate the possible
ways of operation of Reiki symbols because almost every argument
used by those who preach the need for their secrecy is about
the possibility that the symbols themselves may be contaminated
or lose their power.
WATERED-DOWN OR DIRTY
REIKI SYMBOLS?
This absurdity is easily debunked:
assuming the symbols are just man-made containers for man-made
projections, it would seem much more useful to withdraw our
projections from them and work directly with our own strength.
Instead of keeping to project on symbols (which would be all
equivalent under this hypothesis), we would integrate within
our personality the awareness (and the energy that goes with
it) of the great potentials we have, without depending on no
symbol whatsoever.
Assuming instead that Reiki
symbols are conduits for connecting to other planes of existence,
there is no point in discussing whether to disclose them, nor
in arguing about their graphical representation.
The correct form of symbols, our own degree of awareness, our
intention and, most of all, our resonance with them are critical
in establishing a correct and responsible connection with Life
Energy.
The fact that the symbols
may be seen (or their mantras spoken) by people «non-harmonized»
with Reiki and who attempt to use them nonetheless, cannot harm
them in any way. They are “beyond” any
watering-down or contamination, since only through resonating
with them we can share their energy characteristics.
RESONANCE
The symbols are within each
of us (because they are light and we are light), and at the
same time far away from us (beyond the barrier of normal perception,
beyond our conscious awareness).
It’s resonance,
the activation of Reiki that makes us feel them, gives us awareness
of contact.
Also, keep in mind that the
symbols themselves, along with the whole “Reiki”
method, are just a means, a useful way to remind us our connection
to Universal Energy, our communion with the Whole and with Everything.
Reiki helps our heart
remember what our heart has always known, but has “forgotten”...
Reiki symbols simply guide our
first steps into the Energy; they act through love, purpose,
direction, power... but... everyone already has all the love,
knowledge and strength.
Human beings embody the essence
of Love, Intelligence and Energy. It’s worth remembering
that on the hallowed Mount Kurama, where Mikao Usui attained
the Satori (a specific altered state of conscience),
there is a temple where the divinity representing LOVE, LIGHT
and POWER is worshipped!
In
that temple, the sacred symbols of Love, Intelligence
and Energy are exposed to the public! Quite curious, isn’t
it? |
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Disclosing the correct
traditional symbol also means providing a reference for those
people who, for a number of reasons, have received badly drawn
or even noticeably altered symbols.
NON-ATTACHMENT
Every external tool which can
awake the abilities of our spirit and remind us who we are,
after having been used, must be recognized as such and abandoned.
In our evolution towards the Light no spiritual force must be
anchored to a fixed point, not even a Reiki symbol.
Through resonance, aumented awareness and more developed inner
feeling, we will know when we will no longer need to use the
Reiki symbols, since we will have interiorized them and will
feel their strength directly in our heart.
Our spirit will transcend all symbols when it will be fully
aware that our heartbeat resonates with the heartbeat of the
whole universe.
The heart knows no distance...