The Reiki Reiju Technique
Reiju literally means spiritual blessing or offering.
In traditional Japanese Reiki, Reiju is a technique used by Reiki Teachers (Shihans) and assistant teachers (Shihan-kakus) to re-awaken the dormant flow of Reiki in receiver’s body. It is what makes Reiki different from other spiritual healing methods.
Reiju in Jikiden Reiki became popularly known as ‘attunement’ in the West. The goal of Western ‘attunement / empowerment’ has the same goal – enabling someone to be able to use Reiki very quickly.
It is thought that Usui derived the Reiju process from a Tendai Buddhist purification ritual. During Reiju, no symbols are being used.
The Kanji for Reiju is a a combination of two Kanji: Rei and Ju.
Reiju: In the Presence of God, The Invisible Omnipresent Creator, At-Onement or Attunement is given, granted, conferred and imparted to us.
Rei – In the Presence of God, Our Reiki teacher and Our Friend, the Creator of our family in the heavens and the earth
Ju – At-onement or Attunement is given, granted, conferred and imparted to us.
Rather than just during an initiation, Usui performed the Reiju empowerment repeatedly as part of an ongoing support for the students. Some sources state that already Usui himself performed Reiju in slightly different ways from one time to another.
Hayashi significantly modified the Reiju by introducing the symbols and their mantras to the process. This laid the foundation for the majority of Western attunement styles in use today.
How To Perform Reiju
The outline of the Reiju version shown below is for information purposes only. I advice you not to perform a Reiju without having been initiated into this ritual by a qualified teacher.
Reiju is used by teachers of Japanese Reiki styles such as the Usui Reiki Ryoho and Usui Do.
The recipient should sit in a chair, eyes closed and the hands in Gassho (palms together, fingers straight like praying hands in front of the heart).
– Stand in front of the recipient, do Gassho, bow once.
– Move your arms out to the sides and stretch them high up with the palms facing the sky. Connect to Reiki and feel its Light coming into you.
– Lower your hands to above the recipient’s crown, palms horizontal, facing down, index finger of both hands touching. Then in one continuous movement with your hands, draw a line of energy down the midline of the body to the height of the recipient’s knees. Open your arms to both sides, still moving down until your hands almost touch the floor.
– Now stand up straight in front of the recipient. Put your hands on or above the recipient’s head, one hand on top of the other, palms down. Let Reiki flow into the recipient’s head for 10 seconds or more.
– Move your hands to the sides of the recipient’s head, palms facing. Let Reiki flow into the temples for 10 seconds or more. You choose whether to touch or not.
– Move your palms in front of her/his face and make and upward triangle with your index fingers and thumbs (symbol of the sun). Keep the centre of the triangle level with his/her third eye. Let Reiki flow into his/her third eye for 10 seconds or more.
– Move your hands down and hold her/his hands being held in Gassho. Let Reiki flow into his/her hands for 10 seconds or more.
– Move your hands down until they almost touch the floor. Turn your palms upward and join the little fingers side by side. Move your hands up along the midline of his/her body as if you were scooping the energy and returning it to the sky. Then open your arms to the sides and bring them down into Gassho in fro not your heart. Bow once.
– Gently touch the recipient’s shoulder and tell her/him that the Reiju is completed.
Reiju is a shared experience between the teacher and student, and this can be seen also in the teachings, as a teacher can perform the Reiju and teachings, but the student needs to work hard with what has been taught by the teacher, to experience the essence of Reiki.
A Teacher can teach a student so much but a student can only really truly understand Reiki by walking the path and working hard with what has been taught.
Reiju helps the student to feel trust within the teacher, and their teachings as the feeling of inner peace that the Reiju brings is so deep, that it becomes evident to the students, that the teacher has worked hard in their practice to achieve the state of mind to perform the Reiju.
This can often inspire the students to want to work towards the state of mind and the discipline that the teacher has.
Reiju is like a reflection, as there is no real giver or receiver as the teacher performs the ritual but because the teacher and student become one then they both receive the blessing of Reiju. So the more Reiju a teacher performs the more Reiki blessings a teacher receives, with each time you receive Reiju you have the potential of developing your practice to a deeper level.
Allowing the teacher to drop all attachments and concepts allowing the teacher to realise there are no boundaries and truly opening their mind, this is the point the teacher realises that they are no longer a Reiki Master but just a teacher as the expanse of Reiju and their Reiki practice is endless, without boundaries.
Giancarlo is a fully qualified Hypnotherapist and Past Life Regression Therapist. He is a registered with the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council, the Federation of Holistic Therapists, the Spiritual Regression Therapy Association and the General Hypnotherapy Register. Read more.
