I have been trained in the traditional school of reiki founded by Dr Usui and brought to the West by Mrs Takata. This means that I have done all levels of reiki from I to III and that I can now teach and mentor people into the reiki tradition. In short, I am a Reiki Master Teacher.

Part of my training involved doing an Anatomy and Physiology certificate, a Counselling Skills certificate and a Teacher training certificate for adult learning. I have also put together a portfolio of case studies and various assignments in writing to complete my training. This training has taken over two years from the time I completed my reiki II. I have thoroughly enjoyed my training and learnt a lot. But most of my learning has come from clients.

I have been asked why the title of master? Why not just teacher? In the beginning I did call myself only a Reiki Teacher, but I discovered that not all reiki masters are teachers. The title of Master comes from the Japanese tradition which honours teachers, elders and parents. It is a title that is earned through experience.

Some people think that to become a master takes one week-end workshop. I think the truth is very different although every case is unique. First of all, there is usually a good two years between the level I and the level III. But what matters most is how much you have learnt. This learning is about yourself as much as about reiki. And some people come to reiki after having done a lot of soul searching and are quite far down their spiritual paths and for those few, then becoming a master will be a lot quicker than for others. There is no right or wrong way to do it. It's not like University: there is no competition. Each student goes at her own pace and the learning cannot be rushed because it is life learning. The answers cannot be found in a book.

Becoming a Master in reiki is about respecting the tradition but also accepting to learn from everything, and that includes life, clients and students. You can be a teacher on one level, to those who are behind you on their path, a doer on the level that you have mastered and a student on yet another. One does not preclude the other. However, to be a true Master you have to realise that you have your own limits and that learning is an ongoing process that is only finished when you die. Even then, you might need to come back to learn some more.

The Master differs from the teacher in that he or she has more "power" than a teacher and with power comes a huge responsibility. With reiki things are extremely simple yet they do not fit in the classical learning model of "if I know this, then I will pass". It is deep learning. You are presented with lessons from life all the time. And if you don't learn those lessons they are presented again and again, until you get it. That's called a pattern.

So yes, it might seem that we, Reiki Masters, have earned our title in a lottery... but then how can you be sure that we don't hold true wisdom? Each master is on her own path of evolution and can only lead her students as far as she has gone herself. For this same reason, it is very important to chose your Reiki Master with care and meet her first before you commit to training with her. Every student has the responsibility of using her own judgement and thinking for herself. I tell my students: "Only take on board what rings true to you, and that goes for what I say too. The rest has to go".

Everything about reiki is rooted in simplicity. And the only real truth is that a Reiki Master should devote her life to serve her students to the best of their interests. That might mean to learn to let them go. And the same applies with her clients.