The Reiki practitioner will learn several strategies for refining and deepening the Reiki experience for both the practitioner and the client in Advanced Reiki Techniques. These practices build on the procedures outlined in this manual. Many describe a profound deepening of the Reiki experience, and the aim is that the practitioner will build on these strategies in their own way.
Psychic Surgery
In many Reiki and energy-work traditions, the experiences, beliefs, and memories we carry are thought to hold us back from renewal. Practitioners describe a sense of deep release when that weight is set aside, and many report feeling restored to balance and alignment. This is the tradition's symbolic language for inner release, offered as imagery rather than as a description of the body.
Although psychic surgery has long been associated with the esoteric, here the name refers to a guided visualization rather than a physical operation. In this tradition it is offered as a way to reflect on where you feel out of balance and to imagine setting down what feels stuck, for yourself or, with permission, for someone else. Practitioners describe a sense of alignment returning as the imagery unfolds. It is a spiritual and imaginative exercise; it is not surgery, and it does not diagnose or treat a medical condition.
While the term "surgery" is used here, it is important to be clear that this is not a medical procedure. Anyone taking part—including you—should keep any conventional medical care and professional counseling they need, and should not delay or replace it with this practice. If a participant becomes distressed, pause the exercise and encourage them to seek qualified support.
You might want to incorporate this technique into your Reiki sessions.
Visualization
Before you begin, explain what the exercise involves, ask the recipient's permission, and let them know they lead it: they may keep an issue private, skip any step, pause, or stop at any time. The initial stage is simply the recipient noticing, if they wish, where they feel a difficulty—whether in a relationship, at work, or as a sense of disharmony in body or mind. They decide what, if anything, to describe to you.
If the recipient chooses a focus, you can offer a few gentle, open questions, but they do not need to tell you the issue; they only need to be aware of it themselves. The questions are simply a way to help them become familiar with what they are working with, in their own time.
You'll ask the recipient to mentally scan their body as they consider the issue, noting where they feel it most, if anywhere. This could be tension, heat, or cold that they notice. If they have difficulty pinpointing a location, reassure them that this is normal and that they can simply continue scanning or stop. If more than one area seems to resonate, you can repeat the instructions below for each.
If the recipient has noticed a specific location, you can invite them to describe the energy they associate with it in their own imagery—a texture, colour, size, scent, or shape. An open question might be: "If this had a colour, size, or message, what would it be?" They are free not to answer any question, and you can simply move on if they prefer.
When the recipient has something to focus on, invite them—without pressure—to imagine setting it down. Many people unconsciously identify with the very thing they want to release, so it is fine for them to take their time or to decide not to let it go. If they are ready, you can reassure them that whatever they take from the experience can be absorbed gently, in its own time.
The Technique
You can have your recipient sit or lie down. Begin by sketching the CKR on your own palms, silently intoning the name three times, and touching each palm with your other hand's index and middle finger. In the visualization, draw a large CKR in the air in front of the recipient while saying CKR three times, then picture a CKR over each chakra as you invoke the name. Keep the drawing to the air and the imagination; use physical contact only if the recipient has specifically asked for it and consents at the time.
Allow Reiki to flow through you until your whole body feels attuned to it. In this tradition, practitioners describe the hands and fingers seeming to lengthen as they settle into the practice; this is part of the visualization, not a change in the physical body. Move your hands slowly to become familiar with the feeling. While invoking the name CKR, draw or picture the CKR on each finger.
Before you begin, restate that the recipient's permission and comfort set the pace, and that they may pause, stop, or opt out of any part of the session.
Focusing on the area the recipient has noticed, draw a CKR in the air while invoking the name three times.
In the visualization, your fingers are imagined drawing away discordant energy from the region without touching it, and your intuition may help you sense what to gather or release. Keep breathing normally. Picture the energy transforming into light that the universe will use in new ways.
You may imagine gathering discordant energy more than once. When it feels settled, you can quietly check in, asking whether the recipient would like to continue, pause, or stop—rather than pressing for a report of change. If they meet resistance, you can invite them to explore whatever meaning the image holds for them, and visualize and intone the SHK symbol over the region. Some people find emotions surface during this kind of reflection and others feel nothing in particular; keep tissues nearby in case they are wanted, and let the recipient set the pace. There is no expected reaction.
Fill the area you imagine as discordant with Reiki energy. Intend to see it filled with light Reiki energy.
You can ask whether they feel ready to finish, thank them for the practice, and then close the link in the way the tradition describes.
In the visualization, the fingers return to their usual imagined length as you give thanks. You can offer a Reiki session afterwards if the recipient would like one.
Some people find that a difficult experience later yields meaning or insight, and the tradition sometimes frames this as a lesson. That meaning is optional and belongs to the person who lived it: not everyone will find a lesson, and resistance does not cause or prolong suffering. It is offered as a contemplative practice, not as an explanation for what happened or a promise about how things will turn out.
Related topic: Treatment and hand positions, 10-day treatment with acupressure, Alternative techniques in treatment, Alternative ways to use the hands, Techniques to strengthen the mind.