Customer Reviews

Reiki: The Healing Touch

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

William Lee Rand has managed to write a Reiki book that is both spiritual and practical. His reference to the sourse of Reiki and the higher power, the need for compassion and it's relationship to healing helps us remember the real purpose of healing.

The fact that he has studied with so many different teachers from different lineages has given him a very broad understanding. You can sense the respect he has for all Reiki people and the fact that he promotes harmony in the Reiki community is very important to the health and well being of all of us involved with Reiki.

At the sametime, it is a very practical and down to earth Reiki book. He has done research in Japan and also taken classes from Japanese Reiki masters so that his Reiki information is based on facts and on original information from Japan, rather than second hand information that has wandered from the original intent of Reiki. He also includes all the hand positions for both self and others and important information on the Japanese Reiki Techniques that were taught by Dr. Usui and the Hayashi Healing Guide which are really necessary if one is to understand how Dr. Usui practiced Reiki. He has also provide very helpful information on developing your Reiki practice and becoming a Reiki master which I have found useful in getting my practice started. It also includes some of the best information on the Reiki symbols I have found.

This book is one of the clearest and easist to understand of all the Reiki books I have read. I truely feel that he comes from the heart and has done his best to create a very helpful and informative Reiki manual.

When I first started doing Reiki, this was one of the manuals that my teacher had included in her package of first degree attunement. Unfortunately, my teacher didn't give too much on the background of Reiki and when I decided to go into Reiki I really was depending on her for information. This book was fairly good, but not as informative as other manuals.

Mr. Rand does a fairly good job with descriptions of the power behind Reiki, but because of the whole "the symbols are secret" attitude, I feel that he skipped some information about Reiki to keep it traditional. Whereas I can understand the notion to honor the tradition of the privacy of Reiki it with the combination of the lack of information from my teacher left me with plenty of questions. I had to seek out other books to complete my curiosities.

However, it is not a bad book -- but very good with discovering the basics. I've read the reviews on his book and don't feel that they are really promoting his business, but he does have a clinic to support and since this is the manual that he distributes to his students, I can understand that he gives information on himself. (Please also note that I am not a student of William Rand.)

He has throroughly added to the manual with revised editions over the years and it has grown considerably larger with updated information of Dr. Usui and another path of Reiki considered the Eastern Tradition (whereas the typical four that most people learn to obtain the Reiki Master status, it seems that it really is only one level of eight.) He is very descriptive on hand positions, which can easily be forgotten after the first attunement and also gives diagrams.

Mr. Rand also gives information on how to contact him and where he can sell supplies. In my opinion, most people who read "help" books like to find out more about the author especially if they truly enjoy their books or have heard from others that they enjoyed his work firsthand. Considering this, I see no problem with relaying information regarding his classes or tools.

This book is good for Reiki practitioners who have knowledge of Reiki and want to read indepth on experiments with Reiki as well as a "how to" guide. Again, this is his manual for his classes. It is good for Masters to use for their students, especially if they have already given plenty of information on Reiki. A good bonus to already distributed information for students, but not the best.

This book contains a very clear explanation of the hand positions and includes many useful and powerful Reiki techniques, including some of Usui's original techniques which were not passed down by Mrs. Hawayo Takata, who brought Reiki to this country. The inclusion of recent research on the real history of Reiki, as opposed to the mythology which apparently has been taught in American Reiki circles, helps to set the record straight and adds to the credibility of Reiki and the book. Unfortunately, the book does not contain pictures of the Reiki symbols, which however can be seen in Diane Stein's Reiki book and in Diane Shewmaker's book on Seichim. While the book becomes too aggressively commercial at times in the promotion of William Rand's Reiki center, the author has a real connection to the loving, powerful energy of Reiki, and the book is well worth buying.

There are books which pretend to be a reference point, and there are those which not only are, but also exceed readers' expectations. These are some of those! Read them twice and heal the universe. A library worth having for every healer.

(1). Reiki The Ultimate Guide Learn Sacred Symbols & Attunements by Steve Murray

(2). The Power of Divine: A Healer's Guide - Tapping into the Miracle by Tiffany Snow

(3). The Reiki Sourcebook by Bronwen & Frans Stiene

(4). Reiki: The Healing Touch by William Lee Rand

(5). The Healing Energy of Your Hands by Michael Bradford

I just love this book :), I have been trained from Reiki I to Reiki Master-Teacher based on the teachings of this book and Essential Reiki by Diane Stein. I however, prefer this book. William Rand who I have not met yet has taken Reiki from Dr Usui's beginnings in Japan to present day Reiki all over the world and into in the vast Universe. It includes the basic hand positions, Japanese based positions such the Raku and everything in between including jump starting your own business in Reiki. I would highly recommend it:)

We love this book! Lots of History, tons of Pictures and easy to follow text. The Reiki Energy Healing Center follows William Rand's style of Usui Reiki and Karuna Reiki. He lives the Reiki Way of Life. He continually is exploring Reiki and expanding it. The research he has done to get to know Mikao Usui is extraordinary. He is an inspiration!

I have been using this book as a class manual in my classes for 13 years. Students love it! It is very clear and concise and great for those just beginning their exploration of Reiki, and for Reiki Master teachers to use in their classes. The inclusion of Japanese Reiki techniques and Dr. Hayashi's healing guide are wonderful. Several years ago I traveled to Japan with the author to research the history of Reiki. There is much confusion in the Reiki community regarding the history of Reiki. This trip resulted in clearing up much of the confusion. It was great confirmation to see Usui Sensei's monument at his grave. This monument is inscribed with the story of Dr. Usui's life...the true story actually carved in stone! The translation of this story is included in Reiki the Healing Touch. I highly recommend it.

Not that I am a Reikiphile, but I have read some of the books out there on Reiki and energy healing including some by Mr. Murray. I am a Reiki Master and shamanic practitioner, but don't teach and thus don't have any stake in what Reiki materials are sold/used. William Lee Rand's manuals were the ones used by the Reiki Master who trained and attuned me. If I were to teach a class I would use this manual or The Reiki Touch: Complete Home Learning System. The home learning system includes a useful DVD so you can actually see a sample treatment and the materials are somewhat more updated than this teaching manual, but the kit is more expensive. You can view video from the DVD at YouTube for free. I really appreciate the comb binding used on the Rand training materials that allow the book to lay flat for reference, but feel the format and materials should be updated and new issues addressed not the least of which is all the distance Reiki attunements, Reiki lineages/schools, new medical research into Reiki, etc. I also believe the symbols should be shown within the book. I realize that respect is being shown, but since the symbols are readily available anyway and would provide a useful reference for practitioners I can't see the purpose in not showing them within the manual. This would be a great time for Reiki Masters to get together and submit changes and additions. It appears the book was last updated in 1991 and a lot has happened since then. One thing I would like to see is some of the Master Manual moved to this book and the Master Manual updated and expanded. The information of forming your own practice particularly the included forms are useful. I like the inclusion of a documentation form to help practioners keep track of what occured during the sessions and any useful notes.

I want to say in closing that everyone can heal. I could heal before I took Reiki and the shamanic training. I have come to see that the purpose of Reiki was to help me develop spiritually. It concerns me that some are not developing their knowledge and techniques before offering teaching and the results are disappointment and misundestandings or just plain incorrect information being taught. And not everyone who is a good healer is a good teacher. I hope those interested in this field will take the time to develop useful information and materials and share it openly.

20 April 2011 update: I read Reiki For Dummies and found it was a easy to understand guide that would suffice for training at levels 1 & 2. It has the level 2 Reiki symbols in it along with 10 non-traditional symbols. It does not show how to perform attunements. It would also be appropriate for the casual reader simply interested in finding out about Reiki.

I found it such a good book that I went out to buy the cassette tapes that William Rand also has.

Definately worth the read for the beginner of Reiki as well as the Master!

I teach Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki and ONLY recommend books written by Willam Rand and Frank Arjava Petter...do not trust any other authors for traditional Reiki methods