A colleague of mine who is a Reiki teacher contacted me with a conundrum. Here’s a distilled version of the question:
“I have a potential student who invites a lot of drama into her life (and tries to include me in it). She’s interested in learning Reiki, but I’m worried she’s not ready. Have you ever turned down students for a reason like this?”
Here’s my answer:
I’ve never turned down any students that I recall, but I don’t think I’ve had anyone quite like what you describe.
- I think your thoughts that learning Reiki would help her stabilize are right on. I would certainly encourage someone like this to begin a meditation practice and start daily self-healing.
- In many ways, it’s not your place to judge where she is in her process. If you’re teaching a class of several students and she becomes disruptive, then it’s reasonable to let her know that she’s not at the level of the other students and let her know what she has to do to get to that level. But you teach one-on-one, which is probably perfect for her.
- If you prefer to work with students who are already a certain degree along on their path, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, then you just need to let her know that, and again, have clear guidelines of what the prerequisites are before she can start studying with you. Maybe a certain number of Reiki sessions before the training begins, for example.
- Another thing to do, as a business person, is raise prices. I don’t think this is in alignment with your vision, but it can often be an effective way of keeping out people who don’t have their lives together.
- Last, if she’s including you in her drama, another consideration might be what are your own boundaries as a friend and as a teacher. Maybe the answer here is just that you don’t teach friends, in which case you can recommend another teacher for her.
Hope this helps!
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If you want to ask a question about any tarot or Reiki technique or metaphysical philosophy, please feel free to ask it in the comments! You just might see an answer from me in the very near future!
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Joy Vernon specializes in Traditional Japanese Reiki and is a Reiki Practitioner and Teacher in the Usui Reiki Ryôhô lineage through the International House of Reiki. She is also a certified Komyo Reiki Shihan (Teacher) and studied under Komyo Reiki Kai Founder Hyakuten Inamoto in 2011 and 2013. Joy first trained in Usui Shiki Ryôhô/Usui Tibetan Reiki in 2003, earning her Teacher certification in that lineage in 2005. She is the Organizer of the Denver Traditional Reiki Meetup and is a member of Shibumi International Reiki Association and the Healing Touch Professional Association.
© 2015 by Joy Vernon. All rights reserved.
