Essential Reiki - A Review

Essential Reiki - A Review

Title: Essential Reiki - A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art
Author: Diane Stein
Publisher: Crossing Press
ISBN: 0-89594-736-6
Published & Released: 1995
Length: 154 Pages

While working on my Reiki Level 2, I became interested in this book. At the time, it had only been mentioned briefly and casually, mostly by traditionalists putting it down.

Ms.Stein was one of the first people to bring Reiki to the public - the knowledge, placements, and the symbols, kept secret for so long. I found the book at Crossing Press and eventually requested a review copy.

The book itself is quite thorough and Ms.Stein did a wonderful job for the most part. I did find a great deal of the book to be "opinionated" - mostly dealing with the usage of symbols. Ms.Stein represents them as an absolute necessity where-as I and many others use them only to develop the skills, open the channels, and then move past them to channel the energy directly without them.

Despite my disagreement with that element of the book, the rest is excellent quality. The section on Kundalini and Reiki is where Ms.Stein branches off from traditionalist to modern teaching methods.

Descriptions and exercises to keep the healer and the recipient open and healthy, complete commentaries of healing sessions and clear diagrams will help the beginning Reiki student on the path to Master.

This book is meant as a guide and not to replace a Master/Teacher's lessons. As a learning guide, Essential Reiki tops the list. I know it will be a requirement for my students! The following quotes are from the Introduction.

Pg.3 - Para.3
"I felt filled with an energy I had never before experienced or dreamed existed. I was filled with light and with love for all Be-ings. My healing ability immediately strengthened, more than I had believed possible, and the ease of using Reiki confirmed that this was the healing method I had been seeking. If my hands had been hot in doing healings before, they were far hotter now. I knew at that time that I wanted to teach Reiki, but had no idea how that could happen."

Pg.5 - Para.2
"Though I have now been a Reiki Master for four years and have taught many