A wai khru ceremony in Thailand, is an annual ritual during which time students honor their teachers as a way to show their gratitude. The ceremonies are practiced by those who study certain of the Thai ancient arts, such as Thai Massage and Sak Yant. On October 24, 2016, Arjarn Jame Khemthong, who provided me with the sak yant tattoos on my back during my last two trips, is holding his annual wai khru. He told me about it in June when I was in Chiang Man and asked that I make the trip back, but because of my life here in Arizona, I cannot go back.
Arjarn Jame, of whom I am a disciple. I feel his presence every day, even all the way across the world.
Arjarn Jame Khemthong applying Sak Yant, Serapi District, Chiang Mai
Nevertheless, I found it coincidental that this weekend I am in the midst of a Reiki training receiving very similar energy blessings from an entirely different lineage. I received a Reiki attunement several years ago and had largely forgotten what the ceremony involved. Today, after having two more Reiki attunements, I instantly had visions of the several blessings I had received from Arjarn Jame after he hand applied my tattoos. Traditional sak yant are forms of blessings, which are imbued with power from the master. They contain ancient mantra and yantra (typically geometric designs). In sak yant tradition, the power must be recharged every year during a ceremony, which is part of why disciples attend the annual wai khru. Having received the additional Reiki attunements today, I realized instantly that the energy being awakened is the same. In Thai it is called lom, but it is the same energy as chi, ki, and prana.
I went back and found some video footage of Arjarn Jame applying a blessing to two of my tattoos. Anyone familiar with a Reiki attunement will recognize some key similarities. I’m posting the video below, both for the shear beauty of the ceremony and also as my tribute to Arjarn Jame, of whom I am a disciple. I feel his presence every day, even all the way across the world.
