Issues of Time & Money

by William Lee Rand

One area of concern in the Reiki community is the period of time one should wait between Reiki classes. Center policy is that a person needs to decide within themselves when they are ready to continue with their Reiki training. While it is important for a student to practice what they have learned before going on, each student is different in their needs and in their capacity to absorb new information. Because of this, it is difficult to set a fixed time period between classes that is right for every student. That is why it is important for the Reiki student to develop and rely on their own inner guidance to determine when they are ready for the next level.

However, according to some Reiki Masters, there must be a fixed time between Reiki classes in order for the training to be effective and in order for it to qualify as Usui Reiki. The formula commonly promoted is three to six months between Reiki I&II and as much as three years between Reiki II and Master. It is implied that this is the way it has always been and that you must teach this way if you are teaching the Usui system. Otherwise, it is stated that your Reiki is not valid and it could result in problems in the use of Reiki.

The required waiting periods between classes was never part of the original Usui system. They go directly against how Mrs. Takata received her Reiki training. According to an interview that appeared in the Honolulu Advertiser in 1974, (see Mrs. Takata and Reiki Power in this issue) Mrs. Takata mastered the art of Reiki in one year. She did not have to wait three years to become a Reiki Master. It is also not how Mrs. Takata trained her Reiki students. In "Journey Into Consciousness" my first Reiki Master, Bethel Phaigh, explains that she learned the whole system of Reiki from Mrs. Takata in nine months and was given the Master level only a few days after receiving Reiki II. I have also received letters from several other Reiki students who knew Mrs. Takata personally and received their Reiki training from her who state that she had taught Reiki I&II together in just one day. Apparently Mrs. Takata treated each student according to what she/he needed and according to what was right for them as individuals. She had no set rules about how long one must wait between degrees.

The idea that you must wait a specific period of time between degrees is something that a few Reiki Masters added to the way they taught Reiki after Mrs. Takata passed on. It is not based on how she taught. Each Reiki Master has the right to decide how long her/his students need between classes or to allow each student to decide for themselves.

Another area of concern within the Reiki community is the fee that one should pay to become a Reiki Master. It is Center policy that a Reiki Master has the right to charge whatever fee she/he feels guided to charge or to charge no fee at all. We feel that this is something that must be decided by the Master using her/his inner guidance. Those that charge a high fee also have a right to do so. Also, because we feel that all actions a person takes on the spiritual path are right for them, those who pay a high fee are suppose to pay a high fee. The same is true for those who charge or pay low fees or no fee. The fee issue is an individual one and each person needs to look within themselves to decided how much they are willing to pay and how much to charge once one becomes a Reiki Master.

However, according to some Reiki Masters, a high fee, often stated to be $10,000 must be paid in order for your Reiki Mastership to be valid. It is implied that this fee has always been part of the Reiki program and was part of the information that Dr. Usui originally received. It is said by these same Masters that if you don't charge or pay this fee, then you are not a Master of the Usui system.

This "need" for a high fee is not based on any verifiable facts. The Reiki story told by Mrs. Takata indicates that Dr. Usui didn't pay anything for his Reiki training, having received it on a beam of light directly from the source.

There is also some question about what Mrs. Takata paid for her Mastership. According to Susan Mitchell, Executive Director of the Reiki Alliance, in order for Mrs. Takata to go to Japan, prior to her knowing about Reiki, she had to sell her house in order to pay for her steamship ticket. This really has no bearing on what she paid for her Reiki training and according to Susan Mitchell, it is not known how much Mrs. Takata paid for her Mastership or if she paid anything at all.

The idea of charging a $10,000 fee for Reiki Mastership was actually started in 1970 by Mrs. Takata when she initiated her first Reiki Master. She felt that because Reiki is so easily acquired, not needing years of discipline, but simply being passed on to the student through the Master, the Western mind would have no respect for Reiki unless a high fee was charged. In Japan respect for authority is part of the culture and so a high fee was not necessary. Mrs. Takata begin charging $10,000 for Reiki Mastership as an artificial way of creating respect. It must be understood that real respect for Reiki must come from appreciating the healing value it has and not from what one has paid for it.

Simply because Mrs. Takata was guided to charge this amount doesn't mean that all Reiki Masters should charge this amount. Experience has demonstrated that the quality of the Reiki energy one receives has no connection to the fee one pays. God does not respond to money, but to sincerity, humility and trust. There are those who have paid high fees and received poor training and there are those who have paid low fees and received excellent training. The important thing here is not the fee you pay, but the quality of training you receive. Ask your prospective Reiki Master exactly what you will be receiving for your money. Also check with other students who have become Masters through them to see if they are happy with what they received and if they feel supported in becoming successful Reiki Masters.

While each Reiki Master has a right to charge whatever they want, it is important to realize that high fees often prevent people from becoming Reiki Masters. High fees for Mastership also invite problems of greed, power over others and elitism which go directly against the nature and purpose of Reiki healing energy. High fees for Mastership may have had some value in the past and may still have value for some teachers and students. However, times have changed. World population is growing and the planet is becoming over-crowded resulting in widespread suffering. We need as many Reiki Masters as possible so the healing power of Reiki can be used to help solve our problems. While we respect the right of each Reiki Master to charge whatever they feel is right, we also think that high fees slow down the spread of Reiki unnecessarily and prolong suffering. Seeking to align with the purpose of Reiki energy, the International Center for Reiki Training has chosen fees that are more affordable and similar to fees charged for other types of training of similar value.