THE PATTERN OF Reiki TRAINING

[Mystic Wolf]

All aspects of the work: meditation, worship, and magick must be combined in a consistent pattern so that you may advance in skill and understanding.

Here is the order of a simple program of training:

1. Choose a place to establish a personal shrine to God/dess.

** When the shrine is first used, the Simple Devotion should be practiced for three consecutive nights. The devotion and primary meditation are then performed at least once per week.

The Home Shrine

1. IMAGES OF THE LORD AND LADY: Make or obtain images of
   your favorite deities, or use simple images such as tarot trumps.
2. THE ELEMENTS: candle, incense, and burner, two containers for
   salt and water
3. WORSHIP AND MEDITATION: Go before shrine for worship and
   meditation at least once per week.

NOTE: Practice in meditation begins with the mastery of the complete breath. By practicing the breath for five minutes daily, sitting quietly before the shrine, the practice will become smooth and comfortable in a short time.

2. Find opportunities to practice complete whole-body relaxation. You should practice relaxation until the basic state can be achieved in a few breaths. (Guided audiotapes provide a good way to experience the deeply relaxed state)

**By remembering these training experiences, and by regular practice before the shrine, you learn to ease the body’s background tension opening oneself to magick.

NOTE: If you do not practice daily, you must set aside a longer period for work on a weekly basis.

            1 min-      Complete Breath

            1 min-      Fire-Lighting and Visualization

            3 min-      Invocations and Deity Visualizations

            3 min-      Offerings

            3 min-      Breathing Practice

            3-5 min-   Relaxation

(This much can be enough for the first 6-10 weeks. Go to closing)

NOTE: You must realize 12 weeks of weekly practice will bring about the same skill as two weeks of daily practice!

3. Combine practice in meditation with visualization, seeking to be able to hold a detailed image consistently for one minute.
4. Practice the visualizations of the devotions until proficient. When this is accomplished you begin to practice the contemplations.
5. Complete the Black and White Mirrors, and begin to use the results in contemplation.

AN OUTLINE FOR THE SIMPLE DEVOTION
Go before the shrine, and begin a pattern of breathing and relaxation.

 The candle is lit with words of blessing to the Sacred Fire. The incense is lit.

**(Visualize a sphere of light surrounding self and shrine)

2. A simple invocation of the Deities is performed.

**(Build a proper visualization of the Deities in the firelight above the
    shrine)

3. Offer salt, water, and incense to the Deities with words of respect and petition.
4. THE PRIMARY MEDITATION: Is intended to calm the body, still the mind, and open oneself to the flow of blessing from the God/dess.

 

1. RHYTHMIC BREATHING and relaxation of the body.
2. OBSERVATION OF THOUGHT: allow the flow of the mind to run naturally. This might include feelings of warmth and inspiration from the Deities.
3. PRACTICE toward stilling the mind.

           Renew the incense on the altar.
           **(Once again visualize the God/dess above/within the shrine, feeling the exchange
                of energies between them and you)

 Expand your energy out from your heart to your household, the community, and the planet. Recite a heartfelt blessing to all kindred, and then extinguish the candle. NOTE: Visualizations are performed after mastering the skill!

SIMPLE DEVOTION AND PRIMARY MEDITATION

***(VISUALIZATIONS are performed after mastering the skill)

 

Go before the shrine; make sure that all is present on the altar. Sit down before the shrine and begin establishing your breathing pattern, then light the incense and candle saying:

           

A CHILD OF THE GODS OFFERS FIRE TO THE GODS

            O BLESSED SPIRIT OF LIGHT AND MAGICK

            FLESH OF MY SPIRIT

            BRING INTO MY SHRINE THE DIVINE FIRE

            OF YOUR WISDOM, LOVE, AND POWER

            O SACRED SPIRIT-FIRE, BE WELCOME IN MY HOUSE

            BLESSED BE!

 

***(VISUALIZATION: Upon lighting the candle, visualize a perfect sphere of scintillating light surrounding yourself and the shrine. This sphere is understood as the defining boundaries of the effective universe for the duration of this rite.)

 

Contemplate the images and invoke the deities in your heart, silently or with words.

 

***(VISUALIZATION: Visualize the forms of the God/dress above the flame. At first you can be content with visualizing an idol or picture of the Deities. As the work progresses this becomes an image of a loving being and then the moving, breathing presence of the God/dess.)

 

Continue your breathing pattern, feeling the light of the Deities enter your body and your power flow out to them as an offering. When this link is well established, recite the offering, elevating the elements at the proper moments:

 

            I OFFER MY OFFERINGS

            IN THE EYES OF THE MOTHER WHO BORE ME

            IN THE EYES OF THE FATHER WHO QUICKENED ME

            IN THE EYES OF THE GODS AND THE LIGHT OF THE FIRE

            MAKE ME YOUR ADOPTED ONE,

            O (DEITIES NAMES)

            ACCEPT FROM ME

            (ELEVATE THE SALT)

            SALT, THAT YOUR POWER PRESERVE AND DEFEND ME,

            (ELEVATE THE WATER)

            WATER, THAT YOUR POWER, CLEANSE ANd SUSTAIN ME

            (ELEVATE THE INCENSE)

            INCENSE, THAT YOUR POWER, INSPIRE AND DELIGHT ME.

            BESTOW UPON ME IN MY TIME OF NEED

            THE LOVE, WISDOM, AND POWER OF THE GODS

            BLESSED BE!

 

***(VISUALIZATION: After the offerings, visualize the images of the Deities radiate a positive aura of blessing that suffuses the sphere. You wordlessly absorb the blessing with your breath then proceed with the Primary Meditation.)

 

PRIMARY MEDITATION

 (NOTE: The Primary Meditation should be approached at your own pace. Each part may be taken in turn until the basic ability is reached. Primary Meditation can precede or culminate any magickal working. You should practice this series diligently. It is from this state that all further magickal trances issue.)

 

For a few breaths allow yourself to simply perceive the altar, opening your senses, then close your eyes and proceed with the primary series of mental exercises:

1. Begin or renew your patterned breathing at your preferred tempo. Your spine should be straight and your posture comfortable to hold without strain. You should sit motionlessly; merely observing the breath until this can be held comfortably for 3-5 minutes.

 

(NOTE: If you are completely new to meditation you will find this sufficient for you first weeks. Proceed to the Closing Blessing.)

 

2. Begin the process of relaxing your body. Begin with the legs and feet, focusing attention on each section of the body. As the attention is focused, the breath is seen as carrying away the tension and knots from that section.

Three full breaths should be given to each section. Once the face and scalp have finally been relaxed the body is left in a warm, relaxed, alert state. This state is central to all magickal work.

 

(NOTE: You should practice relaxation diligently. Only frequent repetition of deep-relaxation induction can train the body to release its deep tensions. Success in this practice is indicated by the ability to relax within nine breaths.)

 

 When the body is relaxed and the breath regulated you must begin to simply observe thought.

 

(NOTE: Proceed to the Closing Blessing if you have not mastered visualization.)

3. In order to complete the relaxation process and withdraw the mind from sensory awareness use the visualization called The Witch’s Mist.

 

THE WITCH’S MIST VISUALIZATION

 

Begin to visualize a warm, gray-silver mist collecting around yourself and the shrine. With each breath, the mist grows denser and opaquer, until at last all except the shrine is hidden.

 

This mist is seen as sparkling with various colors, and you understand each of theses sparks or colors to be an idea or thought to flash in the mind. Merely observe the flow of thought, knowing it to be merely a play of lights and colors.

 

As you withdraw from your body, so you withdraw from your thoughts saying:

            SINCE I CAN OBSERVE THIS THOUGHT, IT IS NOT TRULY ME.

            I WILL LOOK DEEPER FOR THE TRUTH OF MY BEING.

 

No single thought or image should be held to in this stage, but allowed to pass away in turn.

 

(NOTE: While this observation process has great value in and of itself, there is one further step which completes the Primary Meditation.)

 

4. As you sit at ease in the ocean of thought, you should begin to see the myriad of lights to wink out. By a gentle will you extinguish the lights, causing your mind to become more and more still as the mists darken.

 

At last, only the will to silence burns as a singular light. When that is extinguished the mist is completely dark, and for a moment the mind is completely still. This moment of stillness, when one does not do but simply is, is the heart of true meditation.

 

At first, it will last only a moment before some thought (i.e. “I’ve done it!”) will occur. But you must strive to hold that moment of emptiness and clarity for just one moment longer. The ability to dwell in this stage for relatively long periods is one of the hallmarks of great adepts.

 

(NOTE: When you have mastered the Primary Meditation, you will move onto the Contemplations.)

 

5. Upon completing the meditation, take nine complete breaths to return to local awareness. Proceed to the Closing Blessing.

  CLOSING BLESSING

Renew the incense if needed, and contemplate the One (Ultimate Creative Life Force), the Two (Lord and Lady), and the Three (Three Worlds: Earth, Sea, Sky).

 

***(VISUALIZATION: Upon re-centering in the shrine, you perceive the Deities’ power beginning to radiate forth from your body. It begins suffusing the sphere, then radiates outwards in all directions. You feel this field of blessing extending infinitely in all directions as you give the blessing.)

 

            I OFFER MY PRAISE TO THE MOTHER OF ALL

            I OFFER MY PRAISE TO THE SACRED PHALLOS

            MAY THE UNION OF PRINCIPLES BRING JOY TO ALL BEINGS

            AND RENEW THE ANCIENT WISDOM

           

TO THE SACRED FIRE I OFFER PRAISE

            MAY WISDOM, LOVE, AND POWER

            KINDLE IN ALL BEINGS

            AND RENEW THE ANCIENT WISDOM

 

            TO EARTH, SEA, AND SKY

            I OFFER PRAISE

            MAY THE ANCIENT WISDOM BE RENEWD

            AND MAY ALL BEINGS

            KNOW PEACE, JOY, AND HAPPINESS

            IN ALL THE WORLDS

            BLESSED BE!

 

After the flame is extinguished, you sit quietly for a moment until the energy is calm.        

 

[MARGARIDA MARIA MADRUGA]

Excellent article. Thank you, Mystic Wolf.