Illustration by Gaia Orion

Activating Reiki
BY COLLEEN BENELLI

DO I HAVE TO DRAW all the Reiki symbols before I start giving Reiki? is a common question my Reiki II students often ask.
Students and practitioners sometimes talk of feeling impatient
about drawing the Reiki symbols in order to activate them. Especially the Distance Symbol since it is long and takes a while to
learn. After years of asking the same question myself, I have
found that Reiki activates when it is asked. Whether we invite
Reiki through silent intention or draw all the symbols one by
one, Reiki works by invitation. All ways are equal depending on
the needs of the moment.
The method we use to activate Reiki is individual and
according to our preference. I find that each of the methods I
use to invite Reiki work; however, they can create a different
experience for me. When giving a Reiki treatment for clients,
I find intention and focus are important; I love the experience
I have when deeply focused in activating Reiki. I begin with
drawing the symbols in my hands and the room around me. I
draw the Power Symbol over my body and all of my chakras. I

serendipity in the moments. Reiki can help me feel calm when

I am extremely busy and overwhelmed. It gives me the ability
to stay focused and present and to see the blessings in the busyness. Right now, my life is extremely busy and challenging.
One of my lifetime friends is in his final days of life, the farm
we have lived on for 20 years has sold after two and a half years
and we have to move within two weeks, and my mom broke
her pelvis in three places, so my husband and I have had to
move in with her to take care of her. And these are just a few
of the issues. Its all really over the top right now. I am truly so
grateful to have Reiki to help manage it all. But, I dont have
a lot of extra time for meditation and stillness, so I have to find
the stillness in the middle of my busyness. Right now, I find
that I often activate Reiki with my mind and intention. I draw
the symbols when I think of it, but just as often I simply think
of them and invite them. I do self Reiki with my thoughts.
Reiki responds with the same powerful life force energy as if I
spent an hour activating it and meditating. It just feels differ-

Reiki fascinates me in so many ways. I love that it works for each person in
the way that is just right. There are many reasons to activate Reiki in a variety
of ways. And we can see from the results that Reiki works however it is invited.
invite my spiritual guides, the enlightened ones, to be present.
My mind goes into a state of active listening. I can hear with a
higher consciousness and connection with enlightened beings.
I can hear the clients body and higher self with my intuition.
I receive perceptions of the original cause of the persons
injuries whether they are spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical, and whether the injury is from this lifetime or another.
Another great benefit is that I experience myself receiving
Reiki while I give it.
When I activate Reiki for myself and I use the methods
above to give myself Reiki, I go into deep meditation and stillness. I often receive clear insights for the issues in my life. I feel
steady, stable, and calm. Other times, I activate Reiki on the
fly. My day is busy, starting at 4:30 a.m. and going full speed
until late at night. When I invite Reiki quickly, I still receive
healing, but usually I am too busy to experience the feeling of
it. This is alright with me as well. The feeling is just different
because even though I am busy, I continue to listen to Reiki.
Reiki awakens my heightened perceptions so that I can notice

ent. All of the ways I experience Reiki are beneficial and are
equal and I have learned not to have preferences about how I
interact with it. I just invite Reiki into my day in the way that
is just right for me at any given moment.
Reiki will come when it is invited; it only needs a quick
thought for it to respond to us. However, getting our mind settled and responsive to Reiki and spirit can take time. That is
why it benefits us to create techniques and habits that are
designed to still our thoughts and focus our attention on our
connection with Reiki. When we repeat the same technique
when activating Reiki, it creates a body memory. The body
memory then increases each time the technique is used. Soon,
the stillness and focus occur more quickly because the body
remembers that drawing symbols on the hands means connect
with Reiki. Stillness, focus, heightened senses, and connection with divine energies follow, and repeated over time,
become an automatic response that can be felt by the body and
mind. The more a particular method is practiced the more
quickly and easily it is felt.

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William
Rand
describes
the
stimulus/response to Reiki in his article in
Reiki News Magazine (Fall 2007) What
Makes Reiki Symbols Work. He writes,
Whenever the student intends to use a symbols(s), such as when they draw it, visualize
it, or speak its name, (stimulus) their energy
field automatically responds (response) by
opening up to and bringing in the higher frequency spiritual energies that the symbol
represents.
How we connect to Reiki is often dictated by the situation we are in. It is not
always appropriate to draw the symbols.
Sometimes we are in public, at work, or in Photo Courtesy of Colleen Benelli
a family situation where we need to activate Reiki in silence. ously placed my hands on her shoulders. We had about five
In the volunteer training for cancer clinics through the North- minutes and by the time we were finished she thanked me and
west Reiki Association here in Portland, we are taught not to said she would be able to fly. Other times, we can be in a room
draw the symbols in front of the patients in the cancer clinics. full of family members with varieties of beliefs and it may be
This is out of respect for the varieties of beliefs of the patients. best to silently invite Reiki to ourselves and the room. Some of
They may not understand the practice of drawing symbols on my family and friends prefer to stay very alert during their
our hands and may incorrectly associate it with something else. Reiki treatments. My mother doesnt like the deep relaxation
I usually activate the symbols on the way to the clinic, and I and altered state a full Reiki treatment provides most people. I
send it ahead with long distance Reiki. My husband, Robin, is have several friends like that, too. A lot of times we just sit on
a finish contractor and places Reiki in every building and the coach with my hands on their feet in my lap, I invite Reiki
home he works on. There are lots of construction workers silently, and we chat or watch TV. It depends on the circumaround at all times. It would be awkward for him and others if stance and the desired experience.
he walked around drawing symbols on the walls. He simply
Last week I hiked up on the butte close to my house at sunintends Reiki to be present and uses his eyes to beam it into the rise. I activated Reiki by singing the sun up. I called to the Reiki
room. He feels it activate and has created a body memory using symbols by name, drew them on my hands and all around me, and
this style of inviting Reiki. Recently, I was in the airport secu- chanted their names as I watched the sun rise. I sang an Apache
rity line and the woman in front of me was having a severe song to the earth. I spent several hours inviting Reiki into my day
panic attack. I asked her if I could place my hands on her and and into my life. Through the Apache song, I asked the morning
give her Reiki. To my surprise, she exclaimed, Oh, thank sun to take my pain, to the earth, to the cool waters down below.
God! and I silently invited Reiki to fill her, and inconspicu- I felt the tension of the past six months drain from my back and
stomach, and drain through my feet into
the earth. I was inspired by the beauty
around me and suddenly my life challenges
became easier. I felt blessed to have the
time that day to spend hours in active meditation in nature. The view was spectacular
as the sun shone through the clouds over
Mt. Hood. Reiki filled my hands and body
and I noticed all of my perspectives changing to include the joy of the moment.
Yesterday I activated the Reiki symbols
by singing them through the house while I
cleaned. I loved the echo of the sounds filling the room. At times I stopped and drew
the symbols into the room. This morning I
woke up and invited the Reiki symbols into
Photo Courtesy of Colleen Benelli

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my day before I got out of bed. I just asked them to be with me.
I did self-Reiki this morning and took the time to say my
meditation to myself and used all the hand positions. I drew
the Reiki symbols into the room and all around me. I asked to
be healed of my feeling of overwhelm and to be empowered in
my ability to complete the work I have ahead of me with grace
and ease; just saying my intention into the Reiki flowing
through me changed how I felt. By the time the session was finished, I felt much calmer and more peaceful. It was nice to give
myself time. Other times, I have done self-Reiki as I was eating
breakfast, or even watching TV. I do self-Reiki every morning
as I wake up. In those times, I mostly just invite Reiki in my
mind. I call it and ask it to come. I feel reduced stress and more
clarity using these methods of self-Reiki too.
Because of my personality type, I have always had to have
flexibility in my Reiki practices. One of the areas I have to
constantly be aware of and heal is my resistance to rules. As
soon as I am told that there is one right way to do something
and that I am required to live by those rules, I resist. I think it
is one of the reasons that Reiki is such a match for me; it works
according to each persons own style and needs. I like to have
disciplines that I can follow, but I also like to create my own.
And I need lots of variety. Another person may love to have a
particular style of activating Reiki that she always uses and that
is just right for her. But Reiki itself does not require that we
invite it in any particular way. It just needs to be invited, in all
the ways we can imagine. Otherwise, if Reiki came to us without our asking, it would violate our free will to live in the world
the way we choosebecause once Reiki is included in a situation, it will naturally align us with higher thought and perceptions and not all people are looking for higher awareness at all
times. Reiki will never impose itself on us. It will always help
us in just the way we ask (although it doesnt always look the
way we thought it would!).
When I am working with Reiki clients and in my Reiki classes, I find that I almost always use the same ritual when I activate and invite Reiki. I feel more confident that I am fully
engaged in Reiki in the most powerful way possible. Since I use
the same routine every time, my body remembers and activates
quickly to receive Reiki. The Byosen awareness activates in me,
my active listening engages, my hands are awake, and my intuition is increased. The room around me is activated, and my
helping Reiki guides are present. Before my clients arrive or my
students get to my class, I activate the room with Reiki. I often
use the music called Reiki Chants by Jonathon Goldman, Laurelle Gaia, and Michael Baird to fill the room with Reiki and
music. The chants are imbued with Reiki and they support me
and help me to build the Reiki power in the room where I am
working. I draw the symbols in my hands, all around the room,
and over my body. I invite my enlightened spiritual helpers and
Reiki guides and create a Reiki container in the space. This is
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just for me. When I start working on my client, I draw the Reiki
symbols on my hands, over my body, in the room, and over my
client again. I invite my spiritual guides and Reiki guides to listen to the client and to assist in her healing and understanding
through the session. I also say my meditation and invocation as
I begin the session.
The same is true for my Reiki students. I activate Reiki as
mentioned above, before and after they arrive. The meditation I
have created fills the students and the room with Reiki. It speaks
of the symbols by describing their attributes rather than using
their names. As the students listen to the meditation, Reiki activates within them. This is particularly helpful for Reiki I & II students who dont know the names of the symbols or how to activate them yet. The meditation helps Reiki flow within them, and
they begin to understand the feeling of Reiki right away. It also
helps to build a safe container in the room, which makes it easier for them to relax and learn. I have this meditation on my website, www.reikilifestyle.com. It is free and you are welcome to use
it. In my last Reiki Master class, I had a lot of fun activating Reiki
by singing the symbols into the room before my students arrived,
and then I had the students dance the symbols into the room,
too. We had great fun! The Reiki was powerful and the room was
charged with energy and song!
When I teach Reiki, I teach and encourage my students to
activate Reiki by drawing the symbols on their hands. It is beneficial for them to begin with a routine that helps them create a
relationship with Reiki so they can feel Reiki activate within
their body. It helps them to understand how Reiki works. I also
teach them to use Reiji-ho. This is a method of placing their
hands in Gassho (prayer position) over their heart, connecting

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the hands and heart. Then they lift their thumbs to their third
eye chakra, and back to their heart. This method works great and
is helpful as a routine to invite spiritual guidance into the session.
I also instruct them in activating the room with Reiki by drawing
a CHK on the walls, ceiling, and floor, then drawing each symbol
they are attuned to in the center of the room.
The preparations for activating Reiki are written in the Reiki
class manuals written by William Lee Rand. However, I also
want my students to have the same sense of freedom I feel with
Reiki, and I let them know that Reiki works by invitation, not
necessarily by the method used for activation. I tell them of my
story that when I first received my Reiki attunements, I was very
undisciplined about my activation practices. Again, my resistance to rules and impatience got in my way. However, the more
experienced I became, the more I loved taking the time to invite
Reiki through drawing the symbols on myself and around me.
Today, because I love activating Reiki in so many different ways,
I know that each student will have to decide for herself. Some
will love discipline and routine and others will love creating the
way that is just right for them; Reiki responds in every way that
we invite it.
Reiki fascinates me in so many ways. I love that it works for
each person in the way that is just right. There are many reasons
to activate Reiki in a variety of ways. And we can see from the
results that Reiki works however it is invited. It all depends on
the experience we want to have, and what is just right for each
moment in our lives.

Colleen Benelli can be reached by e-mail at colleen@reikilifestyle.com,

on her website, www.reikilifestyle.com or by phone at (503) 912-0664.

www.reiki.org