Questions and Answers by William Lee Rand

Q. How did you develop Karuna Reiki®?

A. “I received my Usui Reiki training in 1981 and 1982 while living in Hawaii. I became a Usui Reiki master in 1989 after moving to Michigan. After becoming a master, I decided to study with other Reiki masters so as to deepen my understanding of Reiki. I went on to take the Usui master training from three other Usui masters as well. As I travel around the country and to other countries teaching and practising Reiki, I have also made it a point to exchange treatments, information, attunements and techniques with other Reiki masters and practitioners. I feel that healing is a never-ending study and that ever-greater benefits can come from God if we seek them. Through the process of having studied with many Reiki Masters, I developed a deeper understanding of how the attunement processes, symbols and healing energies work.

I did not originally intend to create a new system of Reiki but starting about 1989, I began being given non-Usui Reiki symbols and attunement techniques which were claimed to have benefits. I filed these symbols away along with the attunement processes that were included with some of them and also began experimenting with some of them. After a number of years, I had quite a collection and many of my students began asking me about these “additional symbols” and wanting to know if they should use them. In the winter of 1993, I gathered together a number of my best students many of whom were spiritually sensitive, to experiment with the additional symbols, try them out and decide which were the most useful. We asked for guidance and through this process came up with a set of symbols that seemed to have the best energy. We also experimented with an attunement process to go with them. Later I was guided in the further development of the attunement process and this eventually evolved into a new system of Reiki. Throughout the process, I prayed for help from the Higher Power and asked that I be connected to a healing energy that would be of greater benefit. I did not channel any of these symbols myself. They came from other Reiki masters. In 1995, I was guided to more clearly define the system and to name it Karuna Reiki® which can be defined as the Reiki of Compassion. While some of the symbols in Karuna Reiki® are the same as those used by other schools and systems, because the attunements are different and the intention is different, the energies that are connected to Karuna Reiki® are unique to the system.”

Q. Why do you say that Karuna Reiki® is more powerful than Usui Reiki?

A. “We teach Karuna Reiki® only to people who are already Reiki masters and most of these students received their mastership from other lineages besides my own. In fact, those who take the classes represent a wide range of teachers in the Reiki community. The general response of these students is that Karuna Reiki® is stronger or heals more deeply etc. than Usui Reiki. It is from the response of these students who are already Reiki masters and have a great deal of experience working with healing energies that this information is presented. It is asked that this idea not simply be accepted, but that anyone who is interested in Karuna Reiki® arrange to receive a Karuna treatment or take a class or talk to those who have. From this experience, one can form one’s own opinion. However, it must be understood that Karuna Reiki® is not a substitute for Usui Reiki or any other kind of Reiki, but simply an additional technique one can use to promote healing.”

Q. Doesn’t having different kinds of Reiki create barriers between Reiki practitioners, making it more difficult for them to work together?

A. “It is our philosophy to honour and respect all Reiki students and teachers regardless of lineage, organizational affiliation or the kind of Reiki they practice. Having different kinds of Reiki creates a point of interest between healers and opens the door for us to learn and exchange with each other, thus creating a stronger bond of love and respect. As we learn from each other, we grow in our trust that God works through each of us. It is our feeling and experience that Reiki is capable of healing ourselves, others and the planet as a whole and that this will take place more quickly if all Reiki practitioners work together in harmony.”

Q. Why do you use the term Reiki in the name Karuna Reiki®. Doesn’t the term “Reiki” apply only to the system of healing rediscovered by Dr Usui?

A. “The term Reiki was in use prior to Dr Usui using it and therefore is not exclusive to the healing system he rediscovered. There are many kinds of Reiki including Seichem Reiki and Tibetan Reiki. Usui Reiki is just one form of Reiki. The reason I chose to use the term Reiki for Karuna Reiki® is that Karuna healing energy is Reiki-like energy in that it is life force energy that is guided by the higher power. The word Karuna means “compassionate action” which is a feeling people often get who experience the energy of this system.”

Q.Why does Karuna Reiki® include chanting & toning?

A. “Chanting and toning the names of the Karuna Reiki® symbols while giving a treatment deepens the healing process. The vibration of the voice becomes a physical carrier wave for the Karuna Reiki® energy to travel on. This causes the healing energies to penetrate more deeply into the cells and tissues of the client’s body. The chakras and auras of both the practitioner and client are also opened more completely allowing a wonderful vibrancy to take place within and around them. Those who have experienced this process report a feeling of becoming more awake, more alive and more completely healed.”

William Lee Rand is founder and director of the International Center for Reiki Training. Go to www.reiki.org

Holy Fire® and Karuna Reiki® are registered service marks of William Lee Rand.