Customer Reviews

Essential Reiki: A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

Being a Reiki practitioner I prefer Diane's guide over the rest. Of course, it is not the be-end of all books dedicated to the craft of Reiki, but it is a great guide.

For those who don't know about Reiki, it is the art of holistic hands-on healing with the use of sacred symbols drawn on the palms of the hands of the practitioner and on the "patient" in order to start the flow of healing energy from his or her God. (I know that is a rough definition, but please understand that there are whole books dedicated to what Reiki is.)

The reason why this book is so controversial is because, as far as I know, Diane decided to publish the actual drawings of the symbols which is considered taboo. The symbols are supposed to be secret -- only revealed to the people who actually get an attunement (and people who have not received a Reiki attunement cannot perform Reiki on another person. Although that has been questioned as well.) Because of this, Diane has been looked upon as a type of "black sheep" of the Reiki community.

However, I personally am not one for secrecy and find her book extremely informative. Most Reiki guides keep out so much information on Reiki, because it is considered "secret" that their manuals for first-time practitioners can be confusing. Obscure references do not make a master of the student. Personally, I've had practitioners of my own become confused and ask questions constantly. After having them buy her book instead, they understand more. In other words, despite the fact that Diane's book "crosses the line" in some areas, she explains in great detail what each symbol means, when they are given to practitioners as well as step-by-step instructions on how to use them. She also says that one cannot perform Reiki without the attunements and that each level a person goes through they are able to receive more symbols to work with. She also includes others she has personally discovered for experimentation as well.

Diane's book is not perfect, but thorough and informative. Through the history of Reiki, it has been documented that Hawayo Katata (the last Grand Reiki Master) gave different but similar symbols to her 12 students she attuned to Reiki Master status. Why, no one really knows. In other words, the symbols are slighly different to many Reiki practitioners and hers are not considered the absolute correct ones. But then again, everyone in the Reiki community claims that their symbols are the correct symbols. When it comes down to it, there is a "power" symbol, an "emotional healing" symbol, "distance" symbol, "master" symbol and an "attunement" symbol that most everyone uses. How they are drawn is the actual debate.

Do I recommend this book to beginner Reiki students? It really should be up to their teachers. Some teachers are very informative and give out pamphlets on their methods and the individual symbols. Unfortunately, I've met students whose teachers don't give any direction at all and are very confused or eager to learn more. This book is a great start to those practitioners who want more information, but other texts should be considered as well in order to make a well-rounded practitioner. Reiki Masters have nothing to lose with looking at this book. As for people who have not received Reiki attunements and want to learn more, I suppose that this book is a good choice, but personally I have to say that I bought this book before I received my first attunement and honestly it didn't make a lick of sense until I actually became a practitioner. Then again, this is my own experience.

A thorough manual in addition to other Reiki books, a good reference for Reiki Masters as well as giving new ideas and not necessarily a good book for non-Reiki practitioners, but give it a try as well. Otherwise, I recommend personally looking up teachers in your personal areas as well as surfing the internet for information.

This is the most comprehensive book on Reiki that I have ever come across. I was so fascinated that I stayed up and read the whole book in one night--and I have read it, or even single chapters, again and again. Diane Stein's experiences in trying to find a way to learn Reiki (since her financial means were limited) were especially intriguing to me. I was convinced by her view that all people are meant to know Reiki, and as a Reiki Master, I have attuned everyone free. I do not have the time to teach extensively, so I explain the basics and see that the student has William Rand's Reiki, The Healing Touch for a basic introductory text. (I use a book in Japanese for those who don't read English.) For people who want more information, I always recommend Essential Reiki. I think taking classes with good teachers and classmates on whom to practice is probably the optimum way to learn Reiki, but as Ms. Stein says, that's not always an option.

Like the writer of another Amazon.com review, I do distant attunements, and the idea for doing so, and the instructions, I got from this book, although it seems that Ms. Stein does not herself do distant attunements intended to replace in-person ones.

Another piece of information I first encountered in Essential Reiki is the fact that doing too many attunements at once can exhaust a person. Her account of her own experiences was most helpful to me. It explained some odd experiences I had seen or heard of from others.

I don't always see eye to eye with Ms. Stein, as when she says one needs to put both hands on the body to do Reiki. I give myself Reiki on the train going to and from work, with only one hand on my body and the other hand holding the book I'm reading. She also says, or suggests, that one needs to actually touch to do Reiki, whereas I have felt Reiki from both myself and others when the hands are not touching the body. I also think she has an overly idealistic view of Buddhism. Living in Japan presents the religion and its effects a trifle differently than they are described by people who are acquainted with them mainly in theory.

These differences aside, I find Ms. Stein's book extremely valuable, and I have the utmost respect for her. I also admire her for her values and for all the good she is doing in the world. I know that her publishing the Reiki symbols is deplored by some, but I considered her reasons completely valid. In contrast to what is said in another review, I consider Ms. Stein's method of attunement excellent. I have only managed one in her style because I can't yet hold my breath long enough, but another (more experienced) American Reiki Master here says he has switched to her method of attunement because he finds it definitely stronger. For anyone who wants to know about Reiki in depth, this book is truly ESSENTIAL.

I read Diane Stein's book before I received my attunements. It was highly suggested by my Master Teacher. I found it to be a very comprehensive study and well illustrated. I was delighted to find the symbols for all 3 levels of Reiki and a complete explanation of her workshop sessions. I have 6 books on Reiki with their own style of writing, some more comprehensive than others on healing animals and varied information on the history, and healing techniques. Though I like them all (traditional), Essential Reiki is the most complete reference book that I have found. I am not wiccan, and I'm not a feminist. My background is Christian. The meta-physical side of me embraces the Truth in all religions. I am a Reiki Master in the non-traditional sense. Personally, I would exclude the power exercises in the back of her book, and refrain from the feminist slant that her book promotes. For this reason my rating is a 4 instead of a 5. At the same time I'm grateful that she had the courage and knowledge to write this book! The main difference I find between Diane's book and traditional Reiki is...non-traditional isn't secretive, and isn't exclusive because of cost. I teach in a workshop setting and give Reiki treatments. I am open to travel, and teach other self help workshops. You are welcome to contact me for further information.

This is one of the two books I, as a Reiki Master, recommend to my own Reiki students. I suggest this book for those who are more advanced or more curious than those who are only experimenting with a New Age healing modality, or are merely looking for a spiritual practice to replace a Western Judeo-Christian paradigm. Diane Stein thoroughly researches (& sometimes debunks) the Reiki legend while preserving the essence of Reiki philosophy. Her controversial book has offended many Reiki traditionalists because she exposes the Reiki secret symbols & attunement process. If you are looking for an integrative explanation of how & why Reiki healing works, then this is the best book your money can buy. If you choose to see Reiki as an exclusive healing modality to be ranked in preference to other healing modalities, then you will probably be offended because this book definitely does not present Reiki as a religious practice. Marvelous integration of historical fact, divergent philosophies, & esoteric practice.

I read this book shortly after taking a Level One Reiki class and found it to be an amazing source of information and ideas. I have since then obtained Master/Teacher certification and highly recommend this book to my students. I do disagree with some of the things in this book but I feel it is important to read all points of view and make one's own decisions. There are many add-ins within this book that are mixed in with the Reiki information and for a newcommer, that might become confusing or misleading but that is easily remedied with further study with a Reiki Master/Teacher and through continued readings of other authors. From it's debut, this book has been controversial. Reiki elitists continue to speak out against this book in defense of their own methods as training fees are getting more affordable to the public. This book has done a great service to the public by giving detailed information about this wonderful energy and system! It can't make you a reiki practioner but it will help you learn about reiki. As far as distance attunements go, I have received them and given them as well as received and given in-person attunements and I can attest that distance attunement is quite valid and potent. Reiki has no limits, only people's minds have limits.

Finally a place to voice my opinion about this controversial work!

I think this is a great book! Not because I think it is a complete guide to reiki, or that it has the most accurate information (even for its time), or that I think it is up to date... no I think it's a great book because the author had a vision, and she wrote the teachings of reiki down when no one else would! Not to mention how entertaining some of her wacky ideas are! And if for those alone, it is worth the read! I have enjoyed a few of Steins books, and for the most part I think she is a great teacher. I think she is a freakin' nut job, but that's ok.

Having been a reiki master for going on four years now, I know that a lot of what this crazed-feminist-woo woo-spiritualist has to say is not exactly reliable information! Much of it is channeled information (that means she talked to dead people, space aliens, and/or spirit guides to get it) and her radical worldview comes shining through! As many have stated, she comes off at first as a man hater. I know she is not. But yes, she is pro-fem. And that is quite all right.

The most inaccurate information in her book is the bit about reiki's history in Atlantis. Not that I have been to Atlantis, I just find it a bit silly to think that in grade school people learned level one, in middle school they learned level two, and in high school they became reiki masters. That's just kind of simplified. Sure there may have been some kind of level system to a system of healing that may have came down from space aliens to Atlantians, etc. But I just doubt it would have matched so perfectly to the three level system of Usui Reiki.

I don't think her book could harm you, as long as you know you don't have to be a wiccan to practice reiki! Oh, and its ok to be a straight male to practice as well! Ha!

Essential Reiki is a book that revolutionized the way reiki is practiced! It brought reiki out of the dark ages where it was almost impossible for the working class to obtain such wonderful knowledge! It helped make anyone a potential healer! It kept reiki masters honest during a time of copy write, trademark, and restriction battles! And, this book had the audacity to present the sacred symbols many elitists would have liked to keep secret!

All in all it's a wonderful book, and at one time this was the boldest contribution to reiki ever seen on the planet!

Be Well,

Stephen Mace

Ms. Stein broke with tradition by publishing the five healing symbols of Reiki. Prior to the publication of this book the symbols were passed only from teacher to student. This breaking of silence caused no small amount of controversy in the Reiki community. I understand and agree with Ms. Stein's reasoning for publishing the symbols, the modern world is in such need of healing that positive energy, no matter what it's source, is a welcome relief

Please understand that the process Ms. Stein discusses has very little to do with the traditional teachings of Reiki. This does not make it bad in and of itself however. The process of Reiki is one of healing and growth, and growth implies changes. Would Mikao Usui have approved of the publishing of the Reiki symbols? Of course not. Remember however Usui was equally opposed to teaching Reiki to non-Japanise and insisted that money exchange hands to provide the gift of healing. We are fortunate that these aspect of his teaching fell by the wayside and I believe there will come a day when we will all be happy that the secrecy element of Reiki has ended as well.

The book provides a strange but complete history of Reiki as well as instructions for passing attunements, a system of laying on of hands for healing and extensive philosophical discussion as to the origin of Reiki energy
Of particular interest in the inclusion of the attunement process itself. The process is fully explained from the view of the receiver as well as the one providing the attunement.

Despite it's good points the book has serious problems. These problems relate to Ms. Stein's worldview and political outlook. Throughout this book Ms. Stein's dislike (hatred? Fear? Loathing?) of men is palatable on nearly every page. It is made clear that she does not believe most men are capable of healing in any form. Her intolerance made the book almost unreadable

Part of the healing process is the healing of the self. As a therapist I understand that to help others you must have some sort of handle on your own issues and problems. To walk in balance you must resolve your personal issues. If you are unable to resolve these issues yourself than you need to seek professional help. Ms. Stein points out that love and hate cannot co-exist in the same body and not have negative consequences yet has apparently never followed her own advice.

Read the book, recognize hatred when you see it and pass it over, take the lessons of universal love and healing to hart.

I am a Reiki Master/Teacher. I received my attunments from two different Reiki Masters over a couple of years time. This book came out some time after I was practicing Reiki and I found it a valuable resource and use it continually. If you have a feminist leaning, a metaphysical viewpoint, an open mind and a thirst for doing something positive in a troubled world, I think this books has a lot to offer. I personally find Ms. Steins' Master Symbol easier to use than the one I was taught. I know others who have been attuned to Reiki who were taught different symbols than I was, but when we have discussed this we all feel it is the INTENT that matters, and so we proceed to pass along this amazing healing energy to others mostly using the process we were attuned with. Some Reiki folks seem to have a need to set in judgement of those who want to take the huge money factor out of Reiki (a Master level used to cost $10,000!), or find fault with publishing the symbols. Secret does not mean sacred. Let's get that straight! Yes, it was a huge risk Ms. Stein took in publishing the symbols, but if her reasoning was to show Reiki as a wonderful, easy, beautiful method, among many, to help people, animals, plants and the planet, isn't that a good thing? I happen to think it is.

I personally do not believe in intensive attunments-getting them all in one week-end or one day. The attunement process is incredibly powerful, and many people, including myself, need some time to adjust to the new energies provided by a Reiki attunement. Some people may adjust fine, but many feel "floaty" or "spacy" after an attunement. Do not make the mistake of thinking Reiki is something simple. Easy and simple are two different things, just as secret and sacred are two different things. Reiki changes you in ways you can not imagine until you experience it. It takes time to understand these changes. After my first attunement, I was amazed at my dreams, thoughts and ideas. I needed time to process what I was learning, and I gave myself that needed time before I proceeded with Level II. I did not become a Master/Teacher for another two years. I do believe you could give an attunement over the phone or to someone handicapped as Ms. Stein has done. Again, it is about intention of both the Reiki Master and the person seeking attunement, and having a proper attunement process.

I was called to Reiki, and I believe a lot of folks who will be drawn to pick up this book are also being called to Reiki. Read it with an open heart and mind, take what works for you, as with any information. Don't read only one book on Reiki, explore, gather knowledge, LEARN. No single source has all the answers. If you are called to Reiki, or any other type of healing method you are probably being called to the path of the Seeker. To seek means to think, delve, explore, question. Reiki can be one step on that path. It is a valuable path. It is a path very much needed now.

But do not think you can attune yourself to Reiki. Find a good Reiki Master who does not charge a fortune, make the time to truly participate in the beautiful experience that a Reiki attunement is, and allow time for what happens to your mind, body and sprit afterwards.

I think Ms. Steins' goal in risking so much to put this information out into the world speaks more to her desire to create another avenue for healing than it does to anythiing else. Ok, she has some areas in her own life that may still need healing. Don't we all? Don't mix up the information with what you may see as her stuff. DISCERNMENT! Practice it!

Oh-one more thing-the negative reviewer who said her hands got hot while she was reading this book-my dear, THAT is part of Reiki! When you give a Reiki treatment your hands become very very warm. You were probably being called. Too bad you did not heed that call! But the rest of us can approach this, and other books on energy healing with a much more open mind. I hope so.

Okay, so I'm not going to say that this is the only book you should buy. After all, there are a lot of good Reiki books out there. But this is one of the best ones. It presents Reiki with a simple and clear approach, truly a reflection of what Reiki is...simple and easy to do. So maybe Diane Stein was a bit overenthusiastic with her feminist and Wicca views, it's not really that distracting. Any intelligent reader can simply replace the "she's" and "her's" with "he's" and "him's" should one prefer to do so. And as far as Wicca, one can easily integrate Reiki into one's spiritual beliefs. Diane Stein is merely presenting one way of doing this and it just so happens that her beliefs are Wiccan. It's not distracting at all. One can learn a lot about all three levels of Reiki through this book. Diane Stein is a courageous woman and true Reiki teacher. Just like Usui Mikao (the founder of Reiki), she endeavors to bring Reiki to everyone. After all, Reiki does not only belong to the exclusive few whose primary end is monetary gain. Reiki belongs to all of us. We are all Reiki. It is our divine heritage. Diane Stein's book brings us one step closer to claiming that lost birthright.

Diane Stein felt a desire tho help others to heal. She felt that touch had the power to heal, became aware of the practice of Reiki and wanted to learn the practice.Unable to afford the very expensive training by a Reiki Master from the traditional school she expended great effort to gain an understanding of the practice of Reiki, the ability to use the healing energy, and the ability to attune others so that they could use the healing energy. She wrote this book to share the information she learned and in the process irritated the traditionally trained Reiki Masters who believe that the symbols published in the book are secret and should not be published.

There is a great difference between sacred and secret. The symbols used in Reiki allow the sharing of healing energy. That makes them special and sacred. To keep them secret limits those who wish to share this healing energy. I don't believe that the creator of all things prefers one group of people over another but loves all equally. The sharing of these sacred symbols is an act of great love.

This book explains very throughly the methods and symbols used in the practice of Reiki and is an excellent reference book for the Reiki practitioner. Whether the traditionally trained agree with her methods or not, they do work and those who are not able to afford traditional training are able to offer healing energy to others.

Every author writes through the filter of his or her own experience. Ms. Stein is openly feminist and Wiccan. I do not embrace either of these ways of life but can still value the information about the practice of Reiki that she has shared with us. I recieved Reiki I from a traditionally trained Reiki Master. When I wished to recieve Reiki II she seemed reluctant to give me that training. I was able to recieve Reiki II and Reiki III from a Reiki Master who was trained by Diane Stein. I am able to share healing energy with others and have successfully attuned others so that they can share the healing energy as well. This is a great gift.

In all things we must decide for ourselves that which is our truth. There is truth in this book. You do not have to agree with all of Ms. Stein's beliefs to find it.