What is Reiki 2?

Reiki 2 is the second of three levels of mastery in the art of Japanese healing through a laying on of hands. This higher level can only be taught by an existing reiki master in which the student is given access to a higher level of life force energy than he has previously known. The student is also taught symbols which may be used to increase healing, and can begin passing this power to new students of his own.

Reiki is the practice of healing by laying hands on an individual and improving their life force energy flow. It is believed that when the life force energy is low, a person is more prone to illness and psychological depression. When the life force energy is high, then the body responds with health and a positive mental attitude. This Japanese tradition is passed from master to student, and teaches practitioners to tap into additional energy centers.

This healing technique is presented to students through increasing stages of attainment in which new methods, symbols, and energy sources of healing are taught. The student must master each level before advancing to the next. Different reiki training programs may give alternate names to the stages, and may include additional steps for their own licensing and certification programs. Most reiki communities, however, agree on three primary levels. These levels are reiki 1, the initiation degree, reiki 2, the practitioner's degree, and the master's or teacher's degree.

The training program for reiki 2 consists of two energy attunements and an educational course on using reiki symbols. The student must first have mastered the concepts presented in reiki 1 before applying for this advanced level of healing. An attunement is an exercise in which a reiki master channels an amplified form of the life energy found in all living things to the student. This allows the recipient a greater, expanded access to this energy, which he may pass on to clients in the future during healing sessions.

The symbols taught at this level are used to focus the practitioner's healing energies into specific frequencies of thought. They may also be used to pass on life force energy to new students and to increase the master's personal energy supply. Each symbol imparts a different meaning and may be drawn, visualized, or performed with the hands over the client by the master to cleanse, calm, and heal.

Many reiki 2 masters are also able to perform absent healing. This teaches a new symbol for the absentee, and may be used to heal individuals who are not present with the healer at the time of the ceremony. The master is often able to focus his healing energies and send it to the requester over a distance to improve his or her personal life force.