Upcoming Online Reiki Classes with William Lee Rand
by William Lee Rand
My relationship with Reiki has developed into a process of continually being open to ways in which Reiki can further evolve. And while I honor the traditional style of Reiki and have purposely studied with teachers to discover the facts concerning the traditional style, I have chosen to use this information as a basis to discover ways to continue developing the healing process of Reiki. Teaching Reiki classes online is the latest advancement in which I am happy to play a role.
To further this aim, I have also called on my background of having studied and practiced a wide variety of healing methods. When studying these methods, I sought to learn the technical aspects of each practice as well as gain insight into the type of spiritual energies upon which each is based and the essence from which the practice comes. I followed this path for over thirty years. During this time, I was involved with the Rosicrucians, self-hypnosis and meditation, Concept Therapy, astrology, tarot cards, past life regression therapy, rebirthing therapy, neurolinguistic programming, and the shamanic skills I learned while working for a year with a Hawaiian Kahuna. These experiences helped me realize that no matter how much one has learned, healed, and grown, it is always possible to go further. And in fact, this is the essence of the spiritual path. You will never be “there” as a next step will always be possible.
This is the beauty of life. As you continue to live your life, the excitement of opening to something new is continually presenting itself, and this will happen for as long as you continue as a spiritual seeker.
One thing the Rosicrucians said was that one should not believe something simply because someone said it is true since people can say anything. Nor should you believe something simply because it is written in a book since a printing press will print anything. However, if what is said or written sounds reasonable and useful, then try it out and learn from your experience. This method is a dependable way of determining what is useful. It is important because deeper inquiry reveals that the value of information is in the results it helps you to achieve. In other words, the purpose of acquiring knowledge isn’t just in the enjoyment of knowing, but in using it to accomplish some useful purpose. And then, in the end, it is not what you have done that is of utmost importance, but rather, it is who you have become.
I received Reiki I in 1981 on the Big Island of Hawaii during a weeklong rebirthing workshop taught by Leonard Orr, the founder of the rebirthing process. During the workshop, Leonard allowed the practitioners of other healing methods to describe their modalities. One person who did this was Bethel Phaigh, who was one of Takata Sensei’s Reiki Masters. And in describing what Reiki was, she said two things that impressed me. She said that the Reiki energy guides itself and that one does not learn to do Reiki in the usual way of learning something. That one received the ability immediately during a process she called an attunement.
These statements sounded like something valuable, and at the same time, I wondered if it were true and if there was a way for me to find out. Then, the next day, Bethel said that there would be enough free time in the rebirthing workshop for her to teach a Reiki I class and that Leonard gave her permission to do this. So, seeing the path I sought open before me, I joined the class.
There were four attunements in this style and during the first, I made my mind still and clear and became an observer as I didn’t want my imagination to trick me into thinking something had happened when it had not. And as Bethel approached, I felt and saw an energy flow down through my crown to my root and then back up and stream out the front of my heart. As this happened, I saw some dark objects moving out, and I knew my heart was being cleared and opened to be able to channel Reiki energy. Later, when we practiced, I found the healing energy to be strong, beneficial, and realized that Reiki was a significant healing method and was glad I had been guided to it.
Later, during a break in the workshop, I walked off by myself in the woods, and while I was looking at a sunbeam shining down through the trees, the energy spoke to me. It said that this is an energy that can be developed. And while I stared off into the distance, I contemplated the importance of this idea.
However, when I spoke to Bethel about this, she said that while she was a Reiki Master, she had not heard of this idea before, and as far as she knew, this was not part of how Reiki worked. Yet, the energy had told me this, and I knew in my heart it was true, but that it must not be generally known.
Because of this experience, I kept an open mind to the possibility of developing the energy. And over the years that followed, I practiced Reiki, took Reiki II, and eventually became a Reiki Master. And after this, I continued to study with several other Reiki Masters to learn any additional information each might have. This step included taking Reiki I and part of Reiki II from Phyllis Furumoto, and having discussions with Beth Gray and Harry Kuboi, all three of whom are Reiki Masters trained by Takata Sensei.
Then over time, as I practiced and taught Reiki classes, people would bring me symbols that were not regular Reiki symbols but symbols they had channeled. Then after accumulating a number of them, I called together a group of my best students; those who were psychic and sensitive to Reiki energy. And over a weekend, we meditated with the symbols and put together an attunement for them and a method of using them. Then I began thinking about how to teach these symbols. With the help of some of my students, including Laurelle Gaia, we created a new system of Reiki that eventually was called Karuna Reiki®. And I was pleasantly surprised to receive comments from my students indicating that to them, the energy was stronger than the Usui Reiki energy. And so, I realized that the same energy that had told me Reiki could be developed was guiding me to do just that.
The Hawaiian Kahuna I worked with said you may be able to see your aura and receive spiritual guidance about your healing. However, it will work better if you can find a talented healer to work with as he or she will be able to see your aura better than you can, and will be able to guide you to levels of healing you would not be able to achieve on your own. I followed this guidance, and over the years, sought out the best healers I could find so I could benefit from their healing abilities.
Then in 1995, I met Janice Jones and began having regular sessions with her. She was a spiritual healer who worked with Sai Baba and Jesus, then once Sai Baba passed on, she began working with Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit.
On January 14, 2014, in a remote session with Janice Jones, while I was on Maui, Jesus introduced a new energy that eventually became known as Holy Fire® Reiki. In this system, Ignitions are given at the Master level. They are like attunements, except they are given by the teacher conducting a short, guided meditation and then allowing soothing music to play for the remainder of the Ignition process.
In December 2015, Holy Fire® II came through in which Placements (like Ignitions) for Reiki I & II and the first part of Reiki Master were added.
A little while after this, in a session with Colleen Benelli, I was told that because of the spiritual work I had done in past lives, I was eligible to be upgraded to a much higher level of development. And on becoming aware of this, I asked that rather than this upgrade being done for me alone, could it be done in such a way that the energies could be available to help others to upgrade as well. I was told yes, this was possible, but because it would be a more involved and detailed process, it would take longer. To me, this opportunity was so meaningful that without hesitation, I gladly accepted.
Then, on September 21, 2018, while teaching Reiki classes on Kurama Yama, the sacred mountain in Japan, where Usui Sensei was given the gift of Reiki, Holy Fire® III was given to us. On January 7, 2019, I offered a webinar online which upgraded students with Holy Fire® and Holy Fire® II to Holy Fire® III. This event was quite an experience for me as I had never done an Ignition online and to such a large group of people.
This development was possible only through a process in which my energy field progressively developed and upgraded over a long period. Jesus and The Brothers and Sisters of the Light (the Ascended Masters) directed the process from above. Therefore, I must say that I am deeply grateful to be the recipient of such a wonderful process.
And while I have explained that the Reiki energy itself inspired my desire to seek ways to improve it, the worthiness of this quest is validated by research done by Hiroshi Doi Sensei, a Japanese Reiki Master and a member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. The Gakkai is the organization that Usui Sensei started just after beginning to practice and teach Reiki. And it was his purpose in starting the organization for it to promote the preservation and development of Reiki. Doi Sensei, being a Gakkai member, has access to the Gakkai archives. These archives contain valuable information, which includes the writing Usui Sensei did, but also the lessons of many of his Reiki talks and classes which were transcribed by his students. One thing Doi Sensei has uncovered is that Usui Sensei stated in his classes that one of the basic requirements for all Reiki practitioners is to seek to improve the quality and quantity of Reiki energy he or she can channel. The higher we raise the vibration of our being, the stronger the Reiki we have inside will be. (1) It is reassuring to me that the teaching of Usui Sensei validated the guidance I received from the Reiki energy.
Furthermore, we see that not only did Usui Sensei indicate that Reiki could and should be developed, but that Usui Sensei asked Hayashi Sensei to develop Reiki further, which he did by creating a stronger reiju process, and by teaching Reiki I & II together. Takata Sensei also developed Reiki by creating her “Foundation Treatment,” which included seven or eight hand positions and by adding the Reiki Master symbol to the practice of Reiki. (2).
Our Current Problem and Its Solution
Recently, the coronavirus has caused serious problems all over the world. The fact that this virus is easily transmitted to others and can cause serious illness, permanent debilitating conditions and death, has caused governments all over the world to create social distancing in which people must not gather in groups and for the most part, are required to stay at home. While these restrictions seem to be producing positive results in terms of reducing the spread of illness, according to the medical authorities, a permanent solution of a vaccine and achievement of herd immunity is not likely to occur for two or three years.
This situation has resulted in millions of people being laid off and otherwise unable to go to work. The economy has now entered a global recession, which is forecast to be worse than the Great Recession of 2007-8 and could take years to recover. (3)
At the same time, a serious problem has been created for Reiki teachers. Since Reiki classes are taught in person with groups of people, it means that they can no longer be taught. And given the length of time that this forecast to last, this will create a long-term detriment for the practice of Reiki. In addition, the effect social distancing will have on the psyche will also likely create repercussions for Reiki even after the coronavirus problems are solved.
However, I realized that if a way could be found that enabled Reiki classes to be taught online, then it would provide a wonderful solution. Not only would it promote the wider use of Reiki, which could be used to keep people healthy and reduce the number of infections, but it would also provide a source of income for thousands of people.
During a spiritual healing session I had with Colleen Benelli on March 20, 2020, we contacted Jesus and The Brothers and Sisters of the Light. It seemed they had been aware that something like this was going to happen and had a solution already prepared. We were told that because of our continued work with Reiki, our energy fields had evolved to be able to accept a powerful new Ignition that would allow us to give Placements and Ignitions online. This ability would solve the problem and allow people to continue to teach Reiki classes and derive an income from it without needing to have physical contact with others.
In addition, we were told that a similar process was waiting for us that would allow this same process to be offered to those who teach Usui/Tibetan Reiki, which would allow them to give attunements and teach their classes online also! This was an amazing development that provided a meaningful solution for all Reiki people.
We were very happy to learn this and began planning the webinar for April 4th. When I asked about how much we should charge for the webinar, I was told that it would be better if we charge a much higher fee than we did for the previous upgrade webinar.
In the last webinar which upgraded Holy Fire® and Holy Fire® II students to Holy Fire® III, I charged $35.00. This made it easy for people to take the webinar and receive the benefits it provided. But the price was so low that teaching this webinar would not provide much income. And because of this, no one taught it, but instead just referred people to my webinar. In thinking about this, I realized that for people to be able to teach the webinar, I needed to set the standard and charge a much higher fee than I did for the last webinar.
So, I asked for guidance and was shown a price between $350.00 and $450.00. This price seemed rather high, but I noted that the webinar was going to be much longer than the previous one, and students would be receiving much more extensive training. In addition, the webinar would give them the ability to teach their classes online, which in turn would provide those who took the webinar and taught online Reiki classes a method to earn money at a time when people really needed it. This experience has been incredible, and I am happy to have played a role in the process.
Holy Fire® and Karuna Reiki® are
registered service marks of William Lee Rand.
Endnotes
1 Rand, William Lee. Reiki, Love, Joy and Peace, A Reiki Healing Anthology. The International Center for Reiki Training, 2017. 150-151.
3 Goodman, Peter S. “Why the Global Recession Could Last a Long Time.” The New York Times, April 1, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/business/economy/coronavirus-recession.html. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/business/economy/coronavirus-recession.html.
