WHAT IS REIKI?

Reiki is a name for the life force energy inherent in all beings, and the name for the energy therapy treatment through which we experience it. The word Reiki is Japanese and is comprised of two kanji (Japanese pictographs) - Rei and Ki. Rei means universal or spiritual. Ki means life force energy. Together they mean Spiritually Guided Universal Life Force Energy. Reiki therapy is simply described as a relaxation or stress reduction technique that promotes self-healing.

Reiki is a natural healing system designed to assist in healing and help achieve balance. Reiki is administered by a practitioner, who serves as a conduit through whom the Universal Life Energy can be transmitted to the recipient, by either hands-on or distance healing techniques. Practitioners may also practice Reiki self-treatments.

HOW DOES REIKI ENERGY FLOW?

Reiki flows through our palms at different rates of speed, depending on various factors such as the extent of the recipient’s illness, degree of blockage, his or her readiness to accept change, and so on.

IS REIKI A FORM OF FAITH HEALING?

No, Reiki is not a religion, nor is it based on the acceptance of any religious doctrine. Having a belief system is not a requirement for Reiki to work. Reiki does not infringe on anyone’s right to believe what he or she wishes. However, Reiki’s principles are spiritual in nature and do encourage spiritual empowerment and growth.

WHO CAN BENEFIT FROM A REIKI TREATMENT?

Reiki’s gift of increased energy and vitality can be extended to anyone. It doesn’t matter what a person’s gender, race, intelligence, or financial status is. Reiki is not a healing energy reserved only for the elite, wealthy, educated, or spiritually evolved.

WHAT DOES REIKI FEEL LIKE?

During a Reiki treatment, the healer and the healee can usually feel different sensations in the hands of the practitioner. This is usually felt as a warmth, tingling, pins and needles, throbbing, cold, vibrational buzzing, numbness or even an electrical type feeling. Sometimes, there is no noticeable feeling at all, and the sensations can vary between treatments. It has been noted that with people who are very sick, the sensations are even stronger. This has also been true during distance sessions.

IS THERE AN EXPLANATION FOR THESE DIFFERENCES?

Actually, the Reiki itself has no sensate characteristics. What you are feeling during a treatment is the body's reaction to the Reiki flowing through it. Reiki emerges from the practitioner's hands and reacts to the tissues of the hands as it is passing through them. Then, as it flows into the body, it also reacts to the tissues of the person being treated. This is called polarization. This can change from day to day and from person to person. It also responds according to the individuals' sensitivities at the time of the treatment. Also, some people are simply more in touch with what their body is feeling than other people are. Since Reiki is also treating the practitioner at the time of the healing session, both the practitioner and the healee experience different sensations and healing within their bodies, minds and spirits.

WHAT IS A REIKI ATTUNEMENT?

A Reiki attunement is a ritual performed by a Reiki Master. The ritual involves energetic placement of Reiki symbols through a specific set of sequenced actions into the student’s crown and palms.

WILL REIKI EVER RUN OUT?

When you are giving a Reiki treatment to someone, you are giving of your time and your intent to assist, but you are not giving away any of your own energy. Reiki is in infinite supply. It never runs out.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE REIKI HAND PLACEMENTS?

Emphasis is placed on devoting five minutes on each hand placement so that no part of the body is neglected and to ensure that each body part is given equal consideration.

DO I NEED TO DIRECT THE FLOW OF REIKI?

Reiki will automatically go to wherever it needs to go with no mental involvement of either the practitioner or the recipient. However, when mental intention is used, a linear pathway is opened. This cleared route allows Reiki to flow more effectively to that part of the body where attention is most desired.

WHAT PURPOSE DO REIKI SYMBOLS SERVE?

Independently, each Reiki symbol has its own unique purposes. The combined function of these symbols is to provide Reiki practitioners with focal points for their healing intentions.

WHY IS REIKI CALLED "SMART ENERGY"?

Reiki is an intelligent energy because it knows which areas of the body most need healing and will automatically flow to specific areas where suffering or imbalance are prevalent.

HOW DO YOU EXPERIENCE REIKI?

A Reiki practitioner will place their hands in a series of standard positions on a client who is relaxing on a massage table or chair. The Reiki energy will travel through the practitioner's hands to the client. As the energy travels through the client's body, the client may feel it in a variety of ways including warmth, energy waves, and tingling or simple relaxation.

WHERE DID REIKI ORIGINATE?

Mikao Usui (Dr. Usui) developed Reiki energy therapy, in the early 1900's in Japan. He received the ability to perform Reiki and teach it during a three-week meditative period at Mt. Kurama in Japan. He formed a school - the Usui Reiki Gakkai Ryoho - where he taught many students, including 16 Reiki Master/Teachers who continued the practice. A Japanese woman living in Hawaii, Mrs. Hawayo Takata became a Master/Teacher while visiting in Japan. Upon her return to Hawaii, she taught Reiki and performed treatment. She is credited with introducing Reiki to the Western World.

WHO CAN LEARN REIKI?

Anyone can learn Reiki, from the young to the old. The ability to learn Reiki is not dependent on education, intellect or talent. It is passed from the teacher to the student during a simple Attunement Ceremony during a Reiki Class. There are several levels of Reiki Classes, each one more advanced than the one before. When a person completes the basic Level I Class, they have the ability to perform hands-on Reiki for the rest of their life.

HOW DOES REIKI HEAL?

Everything around us, including ourselves is made of energy. We are alive because life force energy "Ki" is flowing through us. In our body, the energy flows through pathways called Chakra's, meridians and auras. When the energy flows freely and balanced, the body is healthy. When the flow of energy is disrupted or blocked, it causes reduced functioning or illness in the body. As Reiki energy is introduced into the body, it identifies the disruption of the body's energy flow. It then gently clears the blockages, facilitating the body's natural healing process.

HOW DOES REIKI KNOW WHERE TO GO?

One of the most unusual things about Reiki is that when an attuned practitioner is near a person who is sick, the Reiki turns itself on automatically. The practitioner will often know exactly where a person is sick in their body. This intuitive aspect of Reiki is fascinating. Even if the Reiki practitioner is asleep (or even in a coma) and their hands are placed on a person who needs healing, the Reiki energy will start to flow.

This example shows that Reiki is activated despite the practitioner, the healee, or the belief systems of either individual. This is also why Reiki is so simple to use! The practitioner doesn't have to know what is wrong with the healee to help them. The Reiki knows.

The energy flow does, however, appear to flow more powerfully when the Reiki practitioner deliberately places their hands on the client in a conscious, loving way. If the practitioner consciously desires to help the client and uses intent, and if the client consciously accepts the healing energy, the Reiki is more powerful and effective.

DOES REIKI'S ENERGY VARY?

As stated above, Reiki does vary in strength according to the amount of disharmony within the client. In clients who are seriously ill, or very upset emotionally, the Reiki flows more intensely. This is due to the natural harmony and balance within the Reiki energy. It functions according to the client's need.

Reiki practitioners have also noticed that Reiki apparently turns itself off after the hands have been in one position for any given amount of time. This is usually the practitioner's signal that it is time to change hand positions and move on to the next area. Some people do not experience this intuitive sensation, sensing that the Reiki continues to flow during the entire treatment. This could be due to the individual expectations, consciousness, or intuitive abilities of the practitioner. This feeling also varies between the practitioner and the client during the same healing session.

IS REIKI THE SAME IN BOTH HANDS?

Many hands on healing practices teach us about giving and receiving hands. This isn't true of Reiki. The flow and effectiveness of Reiki are same in both hands. For example, if you treat one person for one hour with one hand, they will get half as much as they would have gotten if you had both hands on them. However, the quality would not be any less. Also, with Reiki you can treat two people at the same time, having one hand on each person. Reiki's effectiveness is not altered, and Reiki will continue to flow regardless of the rules of other healing methods that we have learned.

CAN A REIKI PRACTITIONER HEAL IF HE/SHE IS SICK?

Usually, a sick person has low physical energy and would be less effective in treating others because of the difficulty in harnessing their own energy. Clinical observations have shown that even a very sick or weak person can be attuned to Reiki, and they are just as strong and effective as a person who was attuned to Reiki while they were in excellent health. This again shows that Reiki energy is not coming from the physical body of the practitioner.

CAN YOU REIKI ANIMALS AND PLANTS?

Believe it or not, animals tend to respond to Reiki more quickly than we do, and their powers of recuperation seem to be superior to ours. Because animals have less accumulated stress, emotional blockages or self-sabotage tendencies, their inner abilities to heal are often stronger than our own. Also, wild animals tend to accept the Reiki energy more readily than domesticated animals. Any of you who have a pet know that they can be a reflection on their owners. So, if you see a really stressed out pet, you may need to also Reiki the pet's parent.

Plants also have a living energy field that can become out of balance; therefore, plants will respond to the harmonizing effects of Reiki. These two facts, that Reiki works on plants and animals, makes it very clear that the effects of Reiki are more than psychosomatic.

CAN WE TREAT OURSELVES WITH REIKI?

There are many gifted healers who can help others through energy exchange but cannot help themselves because their system is using their own energy to heal. Because Reiki does not come from our own bodies, directing the Reiki energy towards ourselves works effectively, thus the practitioner is also able to enjoy all of the benefits of Reiki. This is wonderful from the perspective of preventative medicine! One of the great joys of the Reiki practitioner is their time spent in self-healing sessions.

CAN ANYONE LEARN AND BE ATTUNED TO REIKI?

Provided the initiation and attunements are performed correctly by a Reiki Master Teacher, anyone can have Reiki activated in their hands. People in comas, children, or even animals can be attuned to Reiki. If you have been attuned to Reiki, you will have Reiki in your hands for the rest of your life.

IS REIKI A RELIGION?

Reiki is not a religion. Reiki is practiced by people of all beliefs. Christians, Muslims, Jews, atheists and agnostics can all learn, practice, and receive Reiki. Once you have it, you have it for life and should use it. Reiki practitioners are normal human beings who simply have the desire to heal.

ARE THERE ANY HARMFUL SIDE EFFECTS FROM REIKI?

In the two decades since Reiki Masters have been actively initiating practitioners in the west, there have been no reported cases of negative side effects from Reiki. There are, however, a large number of cases where people have observed what first appears to be a negative side effect. Actually, these people who have no understanding of the physiological healing process of the body are misinterpreting what they experience. When the body is undergoing a healing process, there can be short term effects which cause some discomfort.

People with a great deal of accumulated stress or emotional blockages can find everything stirred up at first by the Reiki treatments because the body is beginning its process of healing. These side effects are usually very much like a cold. I have also found that Reiki pushes an illness through the body at an accelerated rate. I believe that an illness has to run its full course in order to heal. In other words, the illness has to peak and then subside. A broken bone for example, may hurt a little more right after the Reiki treatment, but it will hurt for a great deal less time, and it will heal more quickly and effectively.

CAN REIKI BE COMBINED WITH OTHER TREATMENTS?

There are no contraindications to the use of Reiki. Reiki can be used effectively on its own or combined with another therapy. There are health problems that are so serious that we should take advantage of everything that is available to us. For example, Reiki is brilliant at promoting the rapid healing of cuts, even large ones; however, if you amputate a limb, you should see a surgeon. You would still give the body as much Reiki energy as possible because it will help dramatically in the recovery process from the surgery and reduce the amount of scarring and pain.

Serious illness such as cancer and AIDS still need to be treated and monitored by medical experts. Reiki will, however, increase the overall vitality of the body and its ability to heal. Reiki will also reduce the side effects of medical treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy and will maximize your potential to heal. In the meantime, each Reiki treatment you receive will work on harmonizing the underlying cause of the illness.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW REIKI WORKS?

One common observation of Reiki has very important ramifications. People being treated by Reiki and Reiki practitioners have repeatedly noticed that if a practitioner has his/her hands on a client in a particular position (such as the head), a person being treated will sometimes feel the Reiki working on a completely different part of the body. The part of the body they feel the Reiki working on is the part of the body that is in greatest disharmony. For example: the client may have diseased kidneys and feel the Reiki strongest there even though the hands are on another part of the body. This important observation helps to confirm the theory that Reiki is a harmonic that will, by its nature, always go to the area of greatest disharmony.

When we experience symptoms of an illness, we often fall into the trap of thinking that this is something that has just happened to us. This is very far from the truth in most illnesses. The condition will have often existed for years before it finally manifests as a symptom. A heart condition, for instance, will often have existed for years before you actually have a heart attack. Physics tell us that energy exists and moves first - matter follows. There is usually a disturbance in the energy systems of the body before there is a disturbance in the physical body. This eventual disturbance in the physical body is what is known as the disease.

The great thing about Reiki is that it doesn't specifically treat the symptom. Because Reiki is a harmonizing energy, it treats the whole complex of the body holistically. As it pours into the body and interacts with it, the Reiki will systematically start harmonizing the whole body, mind and spirit.

Even with apparently simple things like sports injuries, we find that there are underlying predisposing facts such as stress or fatigue. It has been established that if the body is over stressed or run down, it is more easily injured. When Reiki treats the injury, it is also treating the stress and enhancing the vitality of the individual.

Each disease can be seen as a particular combination of disharmonious frequencies. This would effectively tend to neutralize the disharmony in the same way that frequency therapies like homeopathy work. The difference is that in homeopathy, the practitioner has to diagnose the disharmony and choose the appropriate frequency, or medicine, with which to harmonize the illness. Reiki doesn't need diagnosis because it follows its own laws of harmonics and gravitates to the frequencies of predominant disharmony. Simply put, one does need a diagnosis because Reiki does its own.