It is often useful to be reminded that Reiki is a self-empowerment therapy and as such the role of the Reiki teacher is as a guide, not as a guru or saviour.
If we use the analogy of a mountain guide, their role is to take you safely up the mountain – guides know the route, they have been up and down a thousand times, they are familiar with the risks, the difficult parts, the times to rest, and the knowledge they carry is invaluable to help you save time and effort finding the route by yourself.
A Reiki teacher has knowledge of the attunements, and can provide this to you, a Reiki teacher has also had several years experience of self-Reiki and so understands where you may get stuck, or the challenges you may face along your Reiki journey – in that way, the teacher acts as a guide and can help you navigate your journey.
However, just like a mountaineer, your job is to be prepared, to train for the journey, and to do your part. You cannot climb a mountain if you are not physically fit, if you have not trained for the journey, and if you have not come prepared with the proper equipment. The mountain guide can only show you the way – you still have to climb the mountain yourself.
Reiki students often expect miracles, why can’t the teacher answer all my questions? Why can’t the teacher give me advice on my issues? Why can’t the Reiki heal everything immediately? Reiki is a journey, not a magic pill, and like any journey it requires dedication, application and the willingness to progress. The teacher points the student in the right direction, but the student is the one who has to do the inner work.
In Reiki this means you need to do your daily self-treatment, as a bear minimum! And then you have to be willing to look at what comes up, to face your blockages or your fears and to grow through it. If you do your self-treatment only when you feel good, and avoid any ‘bad’ feelings, how can you grow? Growth is through challenge, not through happy times – in happy times we rest, we feel good, we get to enjoy the fruits of our growth (we can stop along our journey and take in the view). In bad times, this is where we are called to grow, to look at our limiting beliefs, to face the challenges we fear – and to keep discipline with our Reiki self-treatment.
By all means see if your teacher has some words of wisdom, but remember the teacher is only a guide – they may be able to point in an upwardly direction, but only you can take yourself there.
