Would Usui have offered Reiki training online?

There is some debate as to whether absent attunements are sufficient and whether online teaching of Reiki is effective. The question that comes to my mind is this: if there had been the Internet in Usui's day, would he have taught Reiki online? Surely he would have taken any opportunity to spread the wonder that is Reiki? So, we have to ask ourselves, HOW would Usui have done it, in order to preserve its essential qualities and integrity? My own answer and approach is this:

• There's much more to Reiki training than an attunement: any authentic Usui Reiki online had to include the history, the practice and sharing of what Reiki is and how to use it. Modern teaching and learning technology really lends itself to putting this over online effectively these days.

• Whilst distance attunements can probably be effective, we need to ensure that each distance/online student is truly engaging with the attunement and with their broader Reiki training. Again, the technology available now makes this perfectly possible - students can share their personal experiences through closed forum (e.g. Facebook groups) and attunements can be done in real-time via Skype or equivalent. 

The question is not whether distance attunements were part of the original teaching (times change, Reiki move on, we need to flow with it), nor whether distance attunements CAN be effective (many would testify that they can be). The question is: how can we assure, as Reiki Master-Teachers, that each student is engaging in the process with mind, body and soul? Even in physical attunements, face-to-face, there may be some students who chose to 'be elsewhere' with their attention, focus and commitment to Reiki!

So if you'd like Reiki training but would prefer to use the Internet to access a suitable Master Teacher, why not check out online Reiki courses?