A reiki initiation is the term used to describe the teaching process for each level of the reiki system. Each teaching session is sometimes called an initiation, but it can also be called an attunement. During the session, the person may learn important knowledge about the art and undergo certain rituals that can potentially help him become attuned to universal forces. A reiki initiation doesn’t usually take that long, and most can be completed in a day or even within an hour.
Each reiki initiation is an introduction to a higher level of the art, and there are either three or four levels overall. Sometimes the third level is broken up into two parts, and sometimes the third level is simply seen as two distinct levels. In either case, as a person learns reiki, he or she will normally go through four separate initiation classes.
The first reiki initiation is often seen as the most important, and it is designed to open up the individual to the higher forces of the universe so that he can heal others and perform basic reiki techniques. This is also the class where the person will learn various hand positions that are important to the practice of reiki. Later initiation rituals focus on things like auras and more advanced knowledge. The final level of reiki is where the person reaches a level where he can teach the art to others.
Reiki is seen by its practitioners as a healing art and an overall system for developing spiritual or mental well-being. Practitioners believe that they can tap into natural forces in the universe and use them for different purposes. They see the universe as being full of energy and they think that everything is ultimately part of a greater whole. When they teach people to use certain forces, they believe that they are simply putting people in touch with something that they’re already intrinsically connected to.
Most reiki practitioners consider the art to be religiously neutral in the sense that people from nearly any religious practice could potentially integrate reiki into their belief system. They also see it as a form of complementary healing instead of a replacement for conventional healing methods. If someone practices reiki, he or she will probably also rely on modern medicine if there is a serious physical illness. The same would also generally be true for mental illnesses.