Logic sometimes enters into the decision to learn Reiki. You may have read a book about it, or had a treatment, or noticed the positive changes in a friend who took Reiki. You may have heard that Reiki can be helpful in releasing stress or for enhancing spirituality.

"The really valuable thing is the intuition. The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you and you don't know how or why."

Albert Einstein

Some people, when they call us, are in the midst of personal crisis and feel that Reiki can help see them through it. Others have a relative or loved one who has become ill and want to be able to help them.

These are logical reasons, but logic alone won't get someone to make the critical phone call and mail off the

registration form. Logic can work against that decision, for it speaks with the voice of personal experience and reflects the things we believe to be true.

The same way of thinking which declared that the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around it may say, ""I trust him because he's an MD" or "It was tested by the FDA." It may also say, "I never heard of Universal Life Force Energy" and "You can't possibly learn this in a weekend." Logic limits our possibilities.

Ultimately, the decision to take Reiki is a leap of faith, a decision to explore unknown possibilities, a trust in our own intuitive powers. This is very clear in the cases of people who call us and say, "I don't know why I'm doing this; I just saw the word 'Reiki' and was very attracted to it. What IS it, by the way?"

Others say, "I've known about Reiki for a long time, and I always meant to take it someday, but suddenly it feels urgent. I don't know why, but it's really important for me to take it NOW."

Reiki Deepens Intuition

We always emphasize in our workshops that the Reiki practitioner isn't the healer, but the channel for Universal Life Force Energy. Thoughts of success and failure and "Am I doing it right?" aren't part of giving a treatment. This is an occasion for the ego to do more than take a back seat; better if it takes a walk until the treatment is over.

Thus, even though before it's time for the student to give her/his first treatment during the workshop people often ask, "How can I tell if an area needs to be worked on?" those questions don't recur after the treatment sessions. Instead, students often report tingling sensations, coldness, heat, or other signs that they've been aware of blocked energy.

What may not be as quickly noticeable is that they, in giving their ego concerns a rest, have stepped into expanded identities. A student is no longer Jane, who worries what people think about her, but Jane, who has connected with an energy which honors her existence unconditionally. By channeling this energy she has found that some of her own limitations and blockages have dissolved. As a result the room available for intuition has expanded as well.

Reiki and Problem-Solving

You can greatly enrich the quality of your life by continuing to use Reiki to enhance your intuitive abilities.

If you are a Reiki I level graduate and have a decision to make or need some guidance to solve a problem we recommend giving yourself a Reiki treatment before beginning to think about the situation. Before giving yourself the treatment imagine the situation.

For example, there might be a misunderstanding with another person which you'd like to clear up. Ask Universal Life Force Energy to dissolve the energy blockage which has created miscommunication. When

you place your hands on the throat center imagine all blockages dissolving from that area. When you cover your heart imagine it as being fully open and loving.

You can enhance the effects of a treatment if you give it to yourself just before you go to sleep. You may want to ask for a dream to clarify the situation.

At the Reiki II level use distant healing. Visualize the situation you want to see healed or improved; then physically or mentally draw the symbols. In the case of a relationship issue say that this healing is for both you and the other person. You may want to (as in the Reiki I example), work on your heart and throat.

If you're looking for guidance, you might say to yourself, "This healing is to enhance my intuition on (name the subject).

Both within and outside of the distant healing ceremony you can draw the mental/emotional balance symbol and ask for an answer.

On an everyday level you'll find that the regular practice of Reiki will in itself deepen your intuition and sense of connectiveness to all other beings.