hi all....how many of you have taught Reiki to children? what are your views about this? what age do you feel is appropriate to attune children and teach them everything connected to Reiki?

were you yourself attuned at a young age? if so what were your experiences...?

what if any do you consider the pros and cons to be?

My daughter was attuned to level 1 at 11. her choice, I was attuned at the same time, my choice. however our teacher did mention that my daughter's heart chakra wasn't as open as it could be she said it was possibly her age, and also she wondered if my daughter possibly decided to be attuned because of me? again a possibility. but I must say my daughter does use reiki on herself a lot because of her chronic pain she prefers to manage that herself and doesn't want me to do it for her, so it has been good in that respect
There hasn't been any down side that I can mention, I'd check out who is attune a child carefully, some teachers won't attune under a certain age as the theory is a bit much to take in, but that is fixable as the child matures, level 2? possibly not
and my daughter has no interest in going further and she's 15 now. You know your kids it's a matter of weighing up the benifts I guess

Everyone is born with innate healing abilities
The Reiki system helps bring this ability to
the forefront. Children have less baggage than
adults and having faith that Reiki tools (innate)
is another method over traditional medicine is
not a difficult concept for them.

i'm kinda the opposite to bridget. it's a huge responsibility, a life-long path. kids aren't mature enough (possibly) to appreciate/understand the importance.

Milarepa wrote:i'm kinda the opposite to bridget. it's a huge responsibility, a life-long path. kids aren't mature enough (possibly) to appreciate/understand the importance.

Perhaps, but a life-long path has to start somewhere.

As to kids not being mature enough, how many of us can honestly say we really appreciated/understood the importance of what we were embarking on, that first day when we had our Reiki ability initiated?

Our appreciation and understanding deepens as we progress in our Journey with Reiki.


There was something I read in a Reiki Association newsletter more than a decade ago which stuck with me.

A child (I don't recall exactly how old) who had been initiated was asked to explain about Reiki.

Their response was something along the lines of:

"You put your hands on someone where it hurts; your hands get hot, it feels good. They get better."


Says it all really



Keep "Ageism" out of Reiki

i have not initiated any of my kids to reiki yet, but nevertheless, they keep watching me treating others, family members, friends, etc with reiki, and as all children do, they try to copy me and their mom who is reiki 1 too... in that copying, they adopt the same postures, hand positions, and enjoy a lot...my 3 year old daughter was yesterday treating her 6 years old sister by putting her small hands on her small belly a lovely scene, you know... as far as i see, when they imitate us elders in doing so, they naturally nurture their compassion for others for easing off their pains, and this is sorta good for their development... their natural sentiment of easing off pain of others through their little reiki hands (apparently), might weave into their core fabric of personality so that they are always there to help others when they see someone in pain.... thats the good part....

but, there are pros and cons with the decision.... it would be almost apparent that reiki gives a feeling of superiority to them within their age group and play mates...and especially as they happen to ease off the pain of their fellow beings 'instantly', they develop pride and often start feeling themselves a 'master of situation'... this is a wrong approach, but how would you educate a kid that healing of others does not happen with us, rather it is a system beyond our perception so far.... it is difficult to assume that kids will conceive it immediately....secondly, their little reiki 'tricks' will develop their inclination towards 'super-normal' 'super-man' stuff, which generally leads them into fancy and distorts the development of logical thinking... this inclination, if remain un-checked, has the potential of jeopardizing their learning in school, academia, and life in general....

i may only appreciate that kids possess a remarkable imagination power... their imagination is as strong as they are watching it happening in real life... leading them to 'explore' their spiritual side, coupled with their instantly achieved ability that they can ease off pain of anyone by just placing their hands, may be a quick start for them to make themselves believe that supernatural stuff is at core of life, whereas it is just a part of life like other equally important parts..


generally, i would support initiating kids into reiki only if you are mentoring them day to day basis, and are educating them objectively about nature of reiki and reiki experiences.... i would not, as a matter of my personal feelings, initiate a kid whom i m not in contact on daily basis


take care

salman

Lambs-Wool wrote:... it would be almost apparent that reiki gives a feeling of superiority to them within their age group and play mates...and especially as they happen to ease off the pain of their fellow beings 'instantly', they develop pride and often start feeling themselves a 'master of situation'... this is a wrong approach, but how would you educate a kid that healing of others does not happen with us, rather it is a system beyond our perception so far.... it is difficult to assume that kids will conceive it immediately....secondly, their little reiki 'tricks' will develop their inclination towards 'super-normal' 'super-man' stuff, which generally leads them into fancy and distorts the development of logical thinking... this inclination, if remain un-checked, has the potential of jeopardizing their learning in school, academia, and life in general....

Salman, hi

I feel your observations here could also apply to a great many Adults who become intitiated into Reiki.

hi James

no shame to admit that these observations apply to me as well....the charisma of doing something 'miraculous' is always too tempting to deal with if we adults even can't help, how difficult it would be for kids then ?

this leads a little poll :

a. since it does happen in case of adults too, no one should be initiated into reiki
b. since this happening is not age-related, why kids to be 'exclusively' excluded from reiki initiations
c. since adults can manage this tendency well, only adults should be given initiations
d. since kids could be educated and guided on this tendency, they should be given initiations with full confidence.
e. come on, this is not the only factor to decide about initiations in kids
f. none of above
g. back to original question in the thread




take care

salman

Thanks for all the responses folks...some interesting food for thought ..I have to say I agree with Bridget's post. I think children are far more accepting and receptive to our natural innate abilities than many adults, who have experienced a lifetime of 'conditioning'.

And I agree with salman in I think it would be better to iniate children whom one could help mentor daily....ie our own children or close relatives. I'm not so sure it would create delusions of grandeur in children though...I think that would happen more in adults, adults have had much longer to develop their ego... if anything i think children laying their hands on another in a very natural situation like a playground....would open up genuine curiosity in the child who would receive....i think it would be a very healthy and natural way to help children remain open to the whispers of the soul. Sadly modern living and modern 'education' and social conditioning, seem to be counterproductive to any kind of spiritual awareness and awakening. Modern life puts so much emphasis on the importance of material existence, aside from organised religion ( which I dislike) our children of today are not receiving real soul food.....


Like many people who are involved in Reiki I believe it has a very important role to play in the spiritual evolving of human consciousness in todays world.......so many people are still lost in a dark wilderness with no torch, tent or food when it comes to discovering their true nature..if the children really are our future then doesn't it make perfect sense to introduce Reiki to them at an early age?

Religion is introduced from babyhood in many cultures, and look at the mess that has made of society!...Religion initiates a child into tribal spiritual thinking and practice, with all it's dogma, limitations and rules. Religion offers blind faith.. Reiki by it's very nature induces the appropriate conditions to allow the initiate to have direct access to the essence of their being ...Reiki offers direct experience.

I think I've just answered my own question! ahah

ooh two new posts slipped in!

Milarepa wrote:i'm kinda the opposite to bridget. it's a huge responsibility, a life-long path. kids aren't mature enough (possibly) to appreciate/understand the importance.

If a child is interested and wants to
learn the Reiki system I would not
object to their being certified in Reiki.
Not to do so would be like with holding
First aid info. Reiki is a valuable skill
at any age. It enhances our innate healing

I offered to teach my grandchildren Reiki.
They were not interested in formal Reiki.
They are aware of the Reiki System. Their
mother is Reiki 1 and their other grandmother
is a RMT.

ok, this is cool. what level are ok the teach children? Master level included. Reiki isn't about healing, it's a by-product of an extremely spiritual experience. since many adults only view it in the superficially quantifiable way of healing, i'm not sure how teaching humans who may find it harder to grasp the profund depth of the spirituality, and, relay that to others, is helpful to Reiki. Unless, of course, it's another 'healing system'..

what does a reki teacher really teach anyway Wayne?? no one person can teach another how to be spiritual. For me my Reiki attunements have been keys to opening up my doors of perception....I don't feel that healing is a 'by-product' of that, but an integral part of connecting to our Divine nature. Us human beings have potential way beyond that which many current living human beings fully tap into.

ANY kind of spiritual awakening helps us become more of our true nature.......ie Divine


one cannot 'teach' a spiritual path for others to follow adherently.....all any good teacher does, is act as a bridge to help a student find their own way.... A teacher 'becomes' the bridge and offers the opportunity for a 'student' to cross.....

and again I will say, I believe children are far more receptive to spiritual awakening than adults....because they haven't been subjected to years of external conditioning.... do you really feel one should only 'teach/offer reiki attunements' to adults, because in your view adults are better qualified to take on board the 'profound depth and spirituality' that may arise as a consequnce?......children live in a beautiful innocent world...they don't have a whole load of 'baggage' to get rid of as a consequence of years of living in a predominantly materialistric world....the majority of their acquired baggage has been taught to them.

when i was a child I questioned absolutely EVERYTHING!!! particularly when it came to 'god' and what my catholic school taught. I agrued constantly about the idea of blind faith and much about the spewings of the christian bible. I innately KNEW that what I was being told to believe was not infact spiritual truth......children have open and receptive minds, which can make them vulnerable, but they are not stupid! you have children Wayne and as you know they are our greatest teachers!

( sorry if I'm waffling a bit, its late and I'm on me 3rd bud!)

For me, when my daughter spoke of her interest in reiki I asked her why?

She said so she could help herself feel better,

(she's has had chronic pain since she was 9) I wasn't certain for a while but as I too wanted to be attuned to reiki I asked around to find a teacher who would attuned children, she was very responsible and taught the theory in a way my daughter could understand. It come down to why, ASk your child to explain it and you'll soon know if it's the right thing to do and ofcourse always always be honest

Pachamama wrote:what does a reki teacher really teach anyway Wayne??

God, how long ya got!!

Pachamama wrote:
no one person can teach another how to be spiritual.

it's true no-one else can teach someone to do something they dont' want. but the way a person is taught has a direct relationship to what they experience. the students perception can be invariably from their own teachers. until the student decides to make their own mind up. even then, deep-rooted perceoptions can remain.

Pachamama wrote:
and again I will say, I believe children are far more receptive to spiritual awakening than adults....because they haven't been subjected to years of external conditioning.... do you really feel one should only 'teach/offer reiki attunements' to adults, because in your view adults are better qualified to take on board the 'profound depth and spirituality' that may arise as a consequnce?

What i feel is that although kids feel things naturally inside (for a time), they remain in this world, continue to be cultured in societies crazy terms, and ultimately will be a part of this rat race.

an adult who has their eyes opened for the first time, after many years of being brainwashed, has surely a much more profund experience than someone relatively fresh in the world, who hasn't went under the same amount of conditioning socially. For me, adults, if they knew what was being talked about, can far better explain the complex issues. spiruituality is freedom from many things, many things that control us. There are so many things i'm talking about that folks are blind to it.

They think this reality is what there is. i'm not talking about another 'plane', i'm talking about the perceptions on earth right now. perceptions dictate our reality. and if folks dont realiose, or remember, that somehow, somethings wehere inadvertandetly controlling our perceptions, to me it dilutes major things Reiki can bring about.

Pachamama wrote:
......children live in a beautiful innocent world...they don't have a whole load of 'baggage' to get rid of as a consequence of years of living in a predominantly materialistric world....the majority of their acquired baggage has been taught to them.

Of course. but all of us, the school teachers, kids tv programs, this whole world is based on baggage. and this is the problem. here's a ludicrous example. Kids are taught to respect authority, school, etc. All are taught to respect courts/police and tell the truth. Yet in the street heaven forbid the person who just speaks their mind all the time. we're taught one rule for a portion of society, another rule for the rest. to kids - 'dont say that it is cheeky..'. society teaches folks to tell lies, inadvertently or otherwise, and it's meant to be 'ok'.

We've got school teachers teaching 'reality' that may very well have never happened. down the years it becomes fact. we've got society mind-numbingly accepting what doctors say, simply cause it's assumed they're expert. what isn't realised is that the medicial profession is controlled by the pharmaceutical companies. we got freinds of the earth sending out papers saying collopidal silver is bad for humans, when one of their biggest donors is the drug companies. and, colloidal silver is magic for us! All these little realisations have came about because i was able to see first hand how i was being controlled most of me life, and Reiki helped me a little to free my mind. If this happened when i was a kid, i of course may not have went through this, but, i certainly would not know first hand that i was being controlled. and am now a little freer.

Pachamama wrote:
when i was a child I questioned absolutely EVERYTHING!!! particularly when it came to 'god' and what my catholic school taught. I agrued constantly about the idea of blind faith and much about the spewings of the christian bible. I innately KNEW that what I was being told to believe was not infact spiritual truth......children have open and receptive minds, which can make them vulnerable, but they are not stupid! you have children Wayne and as you know they are our greatest teachers!

the issue, maybe not with you. a parent can say whatever they want at home to their kids, in school, among their peers, things are once again back to brainwashing.

ya know, my daughter came home with a bloody voodoo doll one week. another week she wanted to know about the world ending in 2012. then aftere much discussion with my allaying her feers, she came back again and said it's ok, only torandoes in nottingham it will be. this is the kind of crap kids are doing at school. my daughters school is the highest rated in nottingham by ofsted. goes to show.

thanks for the great chat, i just woke.

warmest wishes
Wayne