Interview with Lawrence Ellyard

1. Lawrence, can you tell us a bit about yourself, your background with Reiki, who you trained with and what service you provide now?

I started in Reiki by first being introduced to it in the form of a short Reiki session. This was back in 1991 when attending a personal development workshop. We were doing a great deal of meditation work and as can be expected I was having some trouble with my body adjusting to the practices. In the break, there was this man giving Reiki to another participant on the floor and I watched on with interested. After his short session, he offered to give me a go and I told him I had a headache from all the practice we were doing.

The first thing I experienced was a lovely warmth in his hands and in a few moments I was in a deeply relaxed space. I recall thinking to myself, ‘this guy must be some master of Reiki with years of experience’. After 5 minutes the session ended, my headache was gone and I felt much better. I asked him how many years had had been training in Reiki and he told me he had just finished the beginners class last weekend.

My next question was: ‘who is your teacher and when can I learn?’ A few weeks later, I found myself in a Reiki workshop and took to it like a duck to water. Since then I have studied Reiki through a variety of Reiki Masters, both in Australia, USA and some connections in Japan. I was the youngest Reiki teacher in Australia at the time (1993) and went on to establish The Australian Institute for Reiki Training, now called The International Institute for Reiki Training. I have trained a few thousand people in Reiki to this day and now have several Reiki teachers operating under our banner in Australia and overseas. I think my books have helped our growth over the years.

2. How would you interpret the word 'Reiki'?

Reiki is essentially broken into two parts: "Rei" and "Ki". Rei represents: Universal, Spirit, mystery, gift. And Ki represents: Energy, life force, talent and feeling. So Reiki is a Union with the Universal Spirit and your Life Force energy. This also describes what actually occurs when someone is practicing Reiki. One becomes a vehicle for transmitting Universal healing energy.

3. What do you think is happening in a Reiki session?

The Reiki practitioner is transferring Reiki energy via their channel through their hands to the recipient and boosting the recipients’ vital energy. It is a bit like servicing your car and getting fuel at the same time. Reiki is also being transferred through the eyes, the breath and whole body and can be experienced in many other ways.

4. What do you think is happening, at a basic level, in a Reiki attunement/initiation/reiju?

The Reiki attunement is where the Reiki channel is established and activated. This is like a marriage or bond between the recipient and the Universal energy. Once these have been performed by a qualified person, this link can never be broken and is made more familiar with practice.

5. Do you think Reiki can be used to help situations and inanimate objects as well as living things?

Yes. Reiki has a positive affect or any living thing and can provide a positive influence on inanimate objects and can be stored in inanimate objects to increase their qualities if done correctly. I have no doubt Reiki has a transformative affect.

6. Reiki is now becoming popular within the medical system. What role do you believe Reiki plays in the traditional medical system?

I see Reiki as being a great thing to work along side the traditional medical system. Our Institute has been involved for any years offering treatments for cancer patients in the hospitals with great success. It is great as a tool for pain management and emotional comfort. If it helps in the healing or remission of disease remains an area of contention. Until we have the opportunity to do double blind experiments in a substantial way as apposed to a qualify of life study then I would say that the medical profession will keep Reiki at arms length for some time still.

7. Distant Reiki and permission has always been a topic with many pros & cons what's your view on this given the earthquake disasters in Haiti and Chile?

Reiki distant healing can be thought of in the same ways a prayer. I think there is no need to formally get permission for giving a Reiki treatment at a distance. Of course if it is possible you can arrange to do this as a way to experience it as an experiment. We do this in our classes. All in all, it comes down to common sense, if the person would be open to it in real life then there is no issue over a distance in my opinion.

8. Many Reiki practitioners say you can go back into the past and heal it. What's your take on this issue?

In my experience this is possible in the way that the person can help heal, let go and move on from negative past experiences. Reiki can be a great way to access these issues and transform our relationship to these things. It is a personal thing and I recommend practitioners explore this and find a relationship with the practice to see if it fits in their lives.

9. Have you had any notable experiences concerning Reiki that you could tell us about?

I've had many. Probably the ones that have stood out the most are first aid situations. Reiki works very well when combined with first aid, of course one does first aid first and not only Reiki. I have found it most useful for injuries, cuts, sprains, pain and the like.

10. Can you describe your relationship with Reiki, and how it's affected you?

I feel Reiki has turned me into a more peaceful person. It is really helpful in transforming negative emotions and from long practice you become more and more the embodiment of the Reiki energy, which is harmony at its essence. So I guess I generally feel harmonious most of the time. Having children is a great way to test this out.

11. Do you feel that Reiki needs standard guidelines across the board for practitioners to obtain certification?

Yes it is good to set a general standard. The Institute has its own code of ethics and codes of conduct to provide a suitable guideline for practice. This is why it is important to learn from a good teacher who has had good training. There isn't always a good standard out there with Reiki so guidelines are very helpful.

12. Is there anything that I/we have not asked that you find is important when talking about Reiki?

Only that anyone wanting to learn should do their homework before deciding on a Reiki teacher because who you learn from really does determine what kind of methods and alignment you receive. We have re-trained hundreds of existing Reiki practitioners over the years who didn't get what they hoped for. If you would by a used car of your Reiki teacher then they might fit the bill to be your guide in this area.

13. What are your hopes & aspirations for the future of Reiki?

I hope the general standard will remain high so that it will become more recognised in all areas of life. This comes down to offering quality training by those who teach it and staying true to the traditional Reiki styles as they are taught. We have touched on a few subjects here that are more extensively presented in my books and on our website, so if what I have said makes sense to you, you will find our website a good resource.
Visit: www.reikitraining.com.au

many thanks Lawrence! That was great!

Thanks for your answers, Lawrence!

I have several of your books and have found them very interesting!

Reiki all around the world.
Seems like we all have a peaceful
thread running through our practices.
It makes me feel good to know that
you took the time to share with us.