How Reiki Symbols Can Change Your Life
Reiki is a spiritually guided life force energy used as a non-physical healing practice. Developed by Mikao Usui, Reiki is not a religion nor is it taught in the usual sense – rather it is transferred from the master to the student during an “attunement.” But don’t get too excited just yet – there’s still plenty to study.
Reiki With Intention
While in order to become a Reiki master one must live in a way that promotes harmony, Reiki is not dependent on one’s intellectual capacity or spiritual development. In fact, you don’t even have to believe in Reiki in order for it to work. However, the intention behind the practitioner is what gives the practice its strength and therefore must be cultivated.
Five Reiki Symbols to Open Your Mind
To help with this harmonious cultivation, five Reiki symbols were developed as teaching tools for students and are meant to be keys that open the door to a higher mind. These symbols may seem mysterious and somewhat intimidating at first, but they’re actually very easy to grasp. The Reiki symbols are based on the Japanese writing system, Kanji and should be drawn or visualized as taught during the Reiki 2 Attunement. By visualizing these symbols, the user is quickly connected to the universal life force and all negative predispositions are overridden.
In the old Reiki tradition, it was believed that these symbols are holy and must be divulged only to those who are initiated at the Reiki 2 level. As Reiki becomes more popular and widespread, there are multiple variations of these symbols. However, this is cause for little concern as the true power in Reiki symbols lies in their intention.
Here are the five Reiki symbols you should know if you’re ready to take your spiritual journey to the next level.
The Power Reiki Symbol
Japanese Name: Cho Ku Rei
Intention: Light Switch
Purposes: Manifestation, Increased Power, accelerated healing, healing catalyst, protection
Cho Ku Rei, or the power symbol, generally means “Place the power of the universe here.” This symbol can be used at any time during a treatment but is especially effective at the beginning or end of a session. It is most often related to a light switch as its intention is to instantly boost your abilities.
The coil-like structure of this symbol is incredibly telling. The coil can expand and contract to regulate the “ki” energies and can also be used as a funnel of sorts to intensify and focus power or to decrease and release energy when used in reverse. The coil can also be used to close a space around the receiver or an area in order to block out negative energies and to keep energies received from leaving.
The Mental and Emotional Reiki Symbol
Japanese Name: Sei Hei Ki
Intention: Balance
Purposes: Improve memory, Emotional Healing, Mental Balance
Also known as the Harmony symbol, Sei Hei Ki (pronounced “Say-Hay-Key”) brings together the brain and the body. Generally translated to “God and man become one,” Sei Hei Ki releases deep-rooted emotional negativity from the body and into the universe. Making this symbol your ally is an investment that will repay you over the course of your life. Sei Hei Ki is “loyal friend,” especially whenever you are facing difficulties.
The Connection Reiki Symbol
Japanese Name: Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen
Intention: Timelessness
Purposes: Distant healing, past/present/future, healing karma, spiritual connection
Also known as the “Distance Symbol,” Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen (pronounced “Hon-Sha-Zee-Show-Nen”) means “No past, no present, no future” and is to extend powers and send Reiki energies over a long distance. It symbolizes a shape shifter that can slip through time and space. However, do not focus its efforts on a specific problem – rather you must send its Energies Without Limitations and they will go where they are needed. Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen also gives access to the “Akashic Records,” or the life records of the soul. Because of this, it can be used to dispel trauma from past life experiences for deep karmic healing.
The Master Reiki Symbol
Japanese Name: Dai Ko Myo
Intention: Enlightenment
Purposes: Empowerment, soul healing, oneness
One of the most powerful symbols, Dai Ko Myo is only to be used by Reiki Masters as it combines the power of the first three symbols, Cho Ku Rei, Sei He Ki, and Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen. The symbol generally means “Great Enlightenment” or “Bright Shining Light.” It represents all that is Reiki and is believed to be the heart of Reiki. Though seldom used for any one specific purpose, this symbol instead enhances the healing effects of every form of Reiki and serves as a reminder that Reiki is love and available to everyone.
The Completion Reiki Symbol
Japanese Name: Raku
Intention: Grounding
Purposes: Kundalini Healing, hara connection, chakra alignment
The Raku symbol is the final symbol learned by Usui Reiki Masters and is used solely during the final stage of the Reiki attunement process to seal energy into the seven chakras. Its intention is to ground and seal the newly awakened Reiki energies. Also known as the “Fire Serpent,” the striking lightning bolt symbol is drawn downwards from the heavens to the earth and represents the life-force energy that runs down the spine, through our chakras. The origins of this symbol are less clear as it was not originally taught by Usui. Instead, it is speculated that Raku is an ancient Tibetan healing art of self-mastery and brought to the west by Arthur Robertson, a student of Reiki Master Iris Ishikuro.
About the Author
Healing with Sound, Frequency, and Vibration
Many associate illness and disease with prescriptions and interventions such as surgery. Allopathic medicine and science have traveled a narrow path built on chemical substances and sharp instruments rather than energy.
But the ancients recognized sound, vibration, and frequency as powerful forces that influence life all the way down to the cellular level. The gifted Greek philosopher Pythagoras prescribed music as medicine, asserting that the musical intervals he discovered are clear expressions of sacred geometry. He stated that music is the phenomena of numbers in time, reflecting the structures of nature, and has the power to restore balance in an organism.
Sound Healing Research
According to a study published by the National Institute of Health, “Music effectively reduces anxiety for medical and surgical patients and often reduces surgical and chronic pain. [Also,] Providing music to caregivers may be a strategy to improve empathy, compassion, and care.” In other words, music is not only good for patients; it’s good for those who care for them.
A 2010 Finnish study observed that stroke patients who were given access to music as cognitive therapy had improved recovery. Other research has shown that patients suffering from the loss of speech due to brain injury or stroke regain it more quickly by learning to sing before trying to speak. The phenomenon of music facilitating healing in the brain after a stroke is called the “Kenny Rogers Effect.”
For those struggling with addiction and substance dependencies, learning to play an instrument may play an important role in recovery. A study at the University of Wisconsin showed that exposure to the right music, tones, and frequencies produces dopamine, which is in short supply for the nervous system during the withdrawal process.
“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency, and vibration.” —Nikola Tesla
Singing bowl bathing is gaining popularity as a method to reduce stress and anxiety and to promote well-being. Laying down with eyes closed, participants listen while different bowls are struck and toned by a practitioner.
Studies show that this practice, called “sound bathing,” directly reduces anxiety and depression; both are related to increases in disease. According to one study, “Sixty-two women and men with an average age of 50 reported significantly less tension, anger, fatigue, and depressed mood after sound sessions. Tibetan singing bowl meditation may be a feasible low-cost low technology intervention for reducing feelings of tension, anxiety, and depression, and increasing spiritual well-being.”
A study published in the Southern Medical Journal (2005) demonstrated the beneficial effects of music in hospital settings. Researchers reported that “For children and adults, music effectively reduces anxiety and improves mood for medical and surgical patients, and for patients in intensive care units.” Researchers also noted that ambient music increased empathy in caregivers without interfering with the technical aspects of treatment.
Can Sound Fight Cancer?
In 1981, biologist Helene Grimal partnered with composer Fabien Maman to study the relationship of sound waves to living cells. Maman was also an acupuncturist and had previously discovered that by using tuning forks and colored light on acupuncture points he could achieve equal and even greater results than he could with needles.
For 18 months, Grimal and Maman worked with the effects of 30-40 decibel sounds on human cells. With a camera mounted on a microscope, the researchers observed uterine cancer cells exposed to different acoustic instruments (guitar, gong, xylophone) as well as the human voice for 20-minute sessions.
Using the nine-note Ionian Scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D), Grimal and Maman observed that when exposed to sound, cancer cells lost structural integrity until they exploded at the 14-minute mark. Far more dramatic was the sound of a human voice — the cells were destroyed at the nine-minute mark.
Next, Maman and Grimal worked with two women with breast cancer. For one month, the women devoted three-and-a-half hours a day to “toning,” or singing the scale. One woman’s tumor became undetectable, meaning it simply disappeared. The other woman underwent surgery. Her surgeon reported that her tumor had shrunk dramatically and “dried up.” It was removed and the woman had a complete recovery and remission.
Maman said, “Cancer cells cannot maintain their structure when specific sound wave frequencies attack the cytoplasmic and nuclear membranes. When the vibratory rate increases, the cells cannot adapt or stabilize themselves and die by disintegrating and exploding.”
