The First Degree is the original seminar during which one receives the access to Reiki for life. The student receives 4 initiations spread over two days or three nights. This is obviously the most important part of the seminar and is what makes the First Degree the most important level of Reiki. For a Reiki practitioner, nothing can be more important than being initiated to Reiki energy for life. Besides the initiations, the student is given talks on the science and metaphysics of Reiki with plenty of case histories to back up the theory.

They are also taught how to give self - treatments, to treat animals and plants, and to treat others in both crisis and chronic situations. Interspersed with this are practical sessions wherein the students are given the opportunity to put things into practice and experience the Reiki firsthand.

Informative and enjoyable, the First Degree workshop lasts a minimum of 10 hours. There are no examinations or tests because there is little to learn or know. There is really no need to give a lot of explanation because what really counts is the receiving of Reiki and using it by placing your hands on the body. Many Reiki Masters adhere to this philosophy and teach very little in their workshops choosing to focus primarily on practical application.

Nevertheless, the Reiki Network has found that in this day and age people are more likely to utilize a technique if they receive a good explanation of its dynamics. Otherwise evidence indicates that students often don't end up using it to its fullest capacity. For example, one can met Reiki practitioners who have not understood the concept of regular self - treats as a form of preventative medicine.

As a result, all Reiki Masters who are members of the Reiki Network give a required minimum amount of theoretical training. The format of this training and the other aspects of the workshop can vary according to the background of the Reiki Master and the culture they are teaching in.

▲ Top of Page

In the Second Degree workshop the students are taught advanced techniques involving the use of symbols. These are essentially energy patterns that, when utilized by someone initiated to them, enable practitioners to influence their lives in very powerful ways. The student is initiated to the symbols and then taught their many uses.

One of the most exciting Second Degree techniques is the treatment of people (and in fact any energy blueprint or energy field) at a distance. This is, of course, very different from the hands - on application of Reiki in First Degree, and has obvious practical benefits if you have loved ones who live overseas.

The principles on how and why this works are explained and many different ways of doing it are also explained. Second Degree practitioners can send the equivalent of one hour of First Degree Reiki in fifteen minutes, and can send to more than one person at a time. This is very time saving if you have a lot of people to treat. Once the principles are understood, the practical is easy.

Because the Second Degree technique enables treatment of any energy field, plants (crops etc.), and animals may be treated as effectively as people. The symbols have other individual uses, such as potentizing energy fields, harmonizing people and places, providing protection, and developing intuition. The level of Reiki energy in the hands is also increased.

Whereas First Degree Reiki is very straightforward in its application, Second Degree has an extremely eclectic and expansive array of applications. With the copious amounts of information involved, students usually leave the seminar enthusiastically planning enough projects to keep them busy for a lifetime!

Everyone who attends the Second Degree workshop will leave with certain skills. In First Degree, everyone leaves the workshop with the same amount of Reiki. In Second Degree the skills learned can be developed further. There are good practitioners of Second Degrees, very good ones, and great Second Degree practitioners according to the knowledge and development of skills such as intent and focus.

The degree of information imparted in Second Degree seminars varies significantly. Many Reiki Masters choose to impart only the basic information regarding distant treatment of another person. The Reiki Network has a set teaching program of ten hours minimum duration that ensures that all students receive a uniformly high standard of teaching and seminar content.

▲ Top of Page

This is the level where the Reiki Network has broken from tradition. Normally Second Degree is as high as you can go in Reiki unless you want to become a Reiki Master and teach Reiki.

One of the problems that many Reiki Masters have observed is that very often Second Degrees have gone to the time, effort, and expense to become Reiki Masters only to find that they are not suitable to teach Reiki. This is evidenced by their own feelings about the subject once they become Masters, or by the fact that they do not attract students. Experience has shown that only about 30 percent of Reiki Masters are actively teaching.

There are also many students who would like to go as far as they can with their Reiki but have no desire to teach Reiki (or so they think at that time). For these reasons many Reiki Masters saw the need for an intermediate stage between Second Degree and Masters.

The Reiki Network members (and many other Masters and associations) now teach Third Degree Reiki. (Often called 3A so as not to confuse it with the Reiki Masters who refer to themselves as Third Degrees). This Workshop is a three - day intensive program during which advanced theories and techniques of Reiki are taught. The student also receives a traditional Master's initiation that has a dramatic affect on the students personal growth and life awareness.

The Third Degree student is taught the first of the four Reiki initiations/ attunements. This enables the student to experience the joy of being able to initiate someone to higher levels of awareness and development as well as experience Reiki in the hands. The Reiki energy is not permanent because it will only be permanent when all four attunements are performed. The patients can experience the Reiki for a few weeks and even use it to treat themselves.

The Third Degree practitioner is also taught many other applications and knowledge that they can use for personal growth or to help others on many levels.

The Third Degree student, once in touch with the higher levels of Reiki, can use them for the rest of his/ her life. The student is then able to make the decision with clarity, whether or not he/ she wants to go on to the level of Reiki Master. In the Reiki Network, we choose all our Reiki Master trainees from Third Degrees. As a result, all the screening process seems to work very well.

▲ Top of Page

To qualify for Reiki Master training in the Reiki Network you must demonstrate a very strong desire to teach Reiki as well as have a sound background in the practical application of Reiki. You cannot become a Reiki Master simply because you are interested in it, or for intellectual reasons only. We do not accept people who just believe in Reiki. They must know Reiki works from personal, hands - on experience in their own lives and from practical experience and observation of patients they have treated. Academic qualifications are not necessary, but can be helpful in the learning processes involved with lecture content.

The trainee must learn all the necessary theoretical knowledge taught by the Reiki Network and be able to present it well. He or she is given a series of assignments that involve studying the separate subjects taught in the seminars, and then presenting them orally on cassette tape for the Reiki Master Teacher to listen to and give feedback on. A trainee will be expected to repeat the assignments until the teacher is satisfied the student can meet the requirements of the Reiki Network and the individual Reiki Master Teacher. There are also about six days of intensive lectures and discussions spread out over the training period.

More important than the theoretical side is the development of the Reiki Master trainee as a person and as an initiator. The initiation process requires the Reiki Master to be in a certain stage of development personally. Each initiation activates certain chakras and other energy centers of the body that involve transformative processes to occur in the energy field of the Reiki Master. During the training the trainee receives the knowledge and ability to perform each of the initiations individually. Each initiation must then be practiced and synthesized into the energy field of the trainee. This whole process varies between trainees according to their individual backgrounds. The average time taken is about one year.

The Reiki Network insists that Reiki Masters be trained over a minimum nine - month period. (Some take longer.) We have found that Reiki Masters who are graduated too quickly (some are trained in weekend courses!) still have to go through the synthesizing process and will have difficulty attracting students until that process is completed. There are also Reiki Masters who are able to activate the Reiki energy in the hands of their students but don't necessarily initiate them to as high a level of awareness. Others do so because they are trained to observe the metaphysical laws involved in the induction of a »Master Initiator«.

Most major associations insist on a minimum one - year training program. Unfortunately, there are still a few individuals giving »quickie« courses. Although it is their right to do what they want, it may not be in the best long - term interest of their students or Reiki. There are Reiki Masters who claim five years of training or longer. They have chosen to count the start of their training from the day they received First Degree. This is fine but it is not what we are talking about in the above system.

▲ Top of Page