What is Reiki Attunement?

Reiki students must pass through three stages of instruction to eventually become a Reiki Master; during each of these stages the student will receive at least one attunement. Generally known as attunement (the term I will use in this article) it is also called initiation or empowerment.

Reiki practitioners believe that universal energy surrounds all of us and we can all make use of it, ultimately as a healing force. This energy is said to flow through channels within an individual. It is the aim of a Reiki teacher to open these channels within students ensuring that they will then become a direct channel for Reiki. The Reiki energy will now be able to flow freely through the student's body and pass on to someone else.

An attunement is a process that creates a Reiki healer. While it does not actually give the receiver anything new, it opens and aligns what was already within them. The process of attunement is simple and non invasive, it basically involves the Reiki master placing their hands on prescribed areas of the student's body. Reiki symbols and gestures will also be involved, the symbols are sacred and vary according to individual Reiki masters and the type of Reiki being initiated.

The attunement can be used on anyone; it is not a ritual or allied to any religious philosophy. It is a short process and is carried out with the student fully clothed, they are however required to remove all jewelry and anything metallic they may be wearing. The student can sit or stand but their feet must be touching the ground and their shoes removed.

What the student feels during the attunement will vary greatly, some acknowledge feeling sensations of heat, coolness or tingling, some have a feeling of total peace and wonder and many experience the healing energy running through them for the first time. After receiving all stages of attunement (ending at the third stage of Reiki healing) the students are now deemed Reiki masters and become capable of carrying out attunements themselves.