Author: John Tompkins, Jr
Trade Paperback, 128 pages
Publisher: Llewellyn
Publication date: June 2002
ISBN: 0738702064
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Reiki and Reiki training has become very popular in the last decade, but there have been relatively few books on Reiki published -- at least compared to other popular alternative healing systems. As many Reiki students are given very little actual instruction by their teachers, this dearth of books has been a real problem. John Tompkins wrote this small book, Mastering Reiki, as a "useful tool to help bring more blessings in both practice and teaching."
In his introduction, the author complains about the splintering of Reiki into many separate traditions and the lack of instruction that many Reiki teachers give their students. According to the author, many teachers give little more than the attunement and a couple of sheets of instructions on how to direct Reiki energy. The author intends his book to both be a guide for practitioners and a sound outline for teaching Reiki.
The first chapter defines Reiki and discusses what the energy is and why it is different from other types of "life energy." The second chapter covers the five Reiki principles. The third chapter discusses advancing through the Reiki degrees and the possible effects of advancement on the Reiki practitioner. The fourth and final introductory chapter talks about the relationship between Reiki energy and the body.
The fifth and sixth chapters of the book are long and detailed. The fifth chapter addresses Reiki hand positions and their relationship to the chakras. This chapter is well-illustrated and includes short worksheets. The sixth chapter covers the training that the author gives his students at each degree level.
The last two chapters of the book deal with actually practicing Reiki to help heal others. The seventh chapter addresses ethics in some detail, while the final chapter talks about what is involved in being a Reiki professional. Several short appendixes follow. The first four cover incorporating sound, color, and stones with Reiki while the last is an example of case records.
Mastering Reiki packs quite a bit of information -- and the author's strong opinions on the way Reiki should be practiced and taught -- into a fairly small space. It should be a useful basic guide to those who have received a Reiki attunement from a Reiki master who did not believe in providing much actual training, but it may lack the depth to truly let one "master Reiki" from its pages.
Reviewed by Randall
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