Why I Teach Reiki as a Path to Presence

When I first discovered Reiki, I did so in a very different context from today. In the early years of this century, Reiki was still little known in the West and, in certain circles, almost discreet.

I took the Level 1 course —Shoden, the beginning of the teachings— and I have never stopped practicing since.

Interestingly, it was not the course itself that convinced me, but the experience of receiving my first session and, above all, the first Reiju: a brief initiation ritual that produced a sense of clarity and wellbeing I had never experienced before.

My first impression of the environment, however, was unusual.

People were dressed in white. They greeted each other with long embraces. They spoke insistently about love, kindness and forgiveness. I did not fit into any of that. I felt out of place.

And yet, something very real was happening.

As the sessions progressed, I felt —for the first time— at home. With an unfamiliar serenity and the sense of discovering something authentic.

Over the years I came to understand that what was authentic was not the environment. It was the inner state that Reiki awakened.

The image of Reiki

For a long time, the public image of Reiki has been strongly associated with an esoteric aesthetic and narrative that, rather than bringing people closer, has often pushed them away.

Websites promising:
Reiki to attract abundance.
Reiki to heal karma.
Reiki to activate your energy in three minutes.

Messages that, without ill intention, have placed Reiki in a position that does not truly belong to it.

Because Reiki was not born for that.

What Reiki really is

The original name of the school founded by Mikao Usui at the beginning of the 20th century is Usui Reiki Ryōhō Gakkai.

Usui was not a monk, but a lay practitioner deeply influenced by Japanese spirituality and the Tendai Buddhist tradition.

Reiki was born as a path of inner development, not as a technique to solve problems quickly.

A path based on silence, daily practice, self-observation and a harmonious relationship with life as it is.

It does not promise immediate results. It does not require belief. It needs no embellishment.

At its core, it is a practice of presence.

Reiki, balance and presence

In the Eastern understanding of health and life, the key concept is balance.

Constant imbalance —emotional, mental, vital— is what generates suffering.

Reiki, when practiced consistently, returns the person to a state of attention, calm and clarity that allows this balance to be restored.

Not because it “heals,” but because it teaches us how to be.

And when a person is truly present, many things begin to reorganize themselves naturally.

What Reiki restores

After many years of daily practice, silent meditation and teaching, I can say with clarity:

Reiki restores what we too often lose: presence.

It helps us recognize distractions.
It reconnects us with silence.
It returns our ability to face life without escaping from it.

It is not esotericism. It is practice.

A simple, profound and deeply human practice.

Why I teach it

I teach Reiki because it is one of the most direct and accessible ways I have known to learn how to be present.

I have taught it to people of all beliefs, professions and cultures.

It excludes no one, because it demands nothing more than practice.

Today I teach it in small groups, individually, online, and also within teams and organizations, because presence is not only a personal benefit: it is a quality deeply perceived by others.

And because, in a world that constantly pushes us away from ourselves, Reiki remains a quiet path back.

A return to life as it is.

Would you like to learn presence with me?

Jordi Ibern