My Reiki Is Better Than Yours or your Reiki is better than mine. Notes on comparison and practice.

These are thoughts I carried at some point – quietly, often unconsciously. Sometimes they showed up as comparison. Sometimes as doubt. Sometimes as a subtle sense of superiority, sometimes as the opposite: feeling “less advanced,” less confident.

Spiritual practice is not immune to hierarchy. In fact, it can hide there very well.

When I first felt drawn to Reiki and began practicing, I had no idea how many different lineages and styles existed. For me, someone who loves both structure and freedom, this became a quiet challenge once I moved beyond the manual and the teachings I received during my Shoden training.

I began to notice that in this spiritual world, which I was initially drawn to because of the sense of freedom I felt within myself, there was also a lot of comparison – in myself and in others. Comparison of teachers, lineages, styles, levels, certificates. Comparison of how long someone had practiced, how confidently they spoke, how they placed their hands, whose Reiki felt “stronger,” whose presence seemed more convincing, whose words sounded wiser.

Even when I wasn’t saying it out loud, the thought appeared: their Reiki must be better than mine — or sometimes, the reverse.

Yes, I’ve experienced both.

There were moments when I felt disconnected, simply confused. And moments when I thought I had finally “understood” something others hadn’t.

And here I am with an unexpected inspiration: Kung Fu Panda 3. This may sound trivial, but it stayed with me

In the film, pandas once known for their healing abilities have lost their power. They no longer remember the technique, the method, the “how.” But as the story unfolds, they don’t regain their strength through instruction. They remember through being themselves. One through softness. One through joy. One through stillness. One through movement.

Piece by piece, they rediscover that their power never lived in a method. It lived in authenticity.

That story mirrored something I was beginning to understand in my own practice.

You do not become a stronger practitioner by adding more.

You do not need perfect hand placements or external validation.

You become a stronger practitioner by becoming more you.

By returning to your body.

By connecting to your hara.

By listening to your breath.

By staying present long enough to notice.

By remembering that Reiki is not something that moves from one place to another — it is a state of being that reveals itself.

Just like the pandas, you already carry what you are looking for.

What makes Reiki “strong” is not precision.

It is relationship.

Relationship with your body.

With daily return.

With not knowing.

With listening instead of performing.

With just being.

When practice becomes about comparison, something subtle breaks. We stop listening inward and start measuring outward. We replace intimacy with technique. We trade presence for correctness.

Over time, I’ve studied with many teachers and practiced in many places, temples, studios, private rooms. I’ve observed how different people carry the same practice in radically different ways. And slowly, one thing became clear to me: behind every title, there is a human being. Equal. Unique. Learning. Forgetting. Remembering again.

There is no universal way of placing hands. There is no perfect form to achieve. Because the core of Reiki is the same principle found in many energy practices: revealing your great bright life, becoming one with life force energy. And speaking of life force, this is the most common translation of Reiki (though I encourage you to explore the kanji more deeply to gain a clearer and more nuanced understanding).

So the same energy that creates everything exists within us. We are energy. There is no separation. There is nothing to achieve. There is only a return to ourselves and to practice, beyond a dualistic world where the ego whispers that my Reiki is better than yours or your Reiki is better than mine.

This is where spiritual practice is pointing us, toward the great bright light. And to move in this direction, we need time and practice. We also need teachers, experiences, and information that challenge us and challenge the way we think.

This understanding is what shaped the way I teach and share Reiki today.

It’s why I created 21 Energia Reiki not as a next step, but as a place to stay longer with the foundations. A space for people who don’t need pressure or comparison, but who benefit from a daily point of reference, a simple structure that supports practice without forcing it. I create the programs I once wished to have. Programs without group settings. Programs that are meant to inspire daily practice for yourself. And believe me, some days I feel like saying, “Okay, I’ll give up today — I have no power to practice.” But then I remind myself why I do it. I do it for myself. And honestly — 15 minutes? Fifteen minutes will not change much in terms of rest. But it can make a big difference in how I feel, how I speak to myself, how I experience the day. Just for today.

And it’s also why the Reiki Practitioner Toolkit exists for those who already work with others and want to remain clear and responsible in how they practice and speak. Not to control energy, but to protect the relationship with it.

My Reiki is not better than yours. It is unique, because you are unique. And that is how Reiki expresses itself. When practice is rooted in honesty and daily return, comparison slowly disappears.

Reiki reveals itself most clearly when we stop trying to be better or looking outward (in many meanings of this — something I will write about one day) and start listening more closely.

https://kasiawacenergia.substack.com/p/my-reiki-is-better-than-yours