About Reiki Healing
Perhaps the most widely known form of energy work, Reiki healing is easy to learn and do, but can have powerful effects.
It was started around 1914 in Japan by Dr. Mikao Usui, who received the knowledge of how to do it during a mystical experience. It is usually uses "laying on hands," with the practitioner's hands actually on the body of the client. Reiki uses specific hand positions, corresponding to organs and energy centers.
Reiki is a Japanese word meaning "universal life energy." As the Reiki Alliance website describes, the practice of Reiki "applies this energy through touch for the purpose of creating the connection with Reiki."
Taught Through The Oral Tradition
Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but rather is "transferred" to
the student through an "attunement" given in person by a Reiki master
(teacher). This attunement or initiation allows the practitioner to tap
into an unlimited supply of "life force energy," which they can use to
improve their own and other's health and quality of life. Reiki is
taught through the oral tradition, rather than through written
materials. (Therefore anyone proposing to "teach" you Reiki over the
Internet is not authentic.)
Reiki healing does not depend on the
practitioner's intellectual or spiritual capacity or state of
development. There is no body of esoteric knowledge to be mastered. Once
a practitioner is attuned, the healing energy just flows through
her/his hands (when they are being used for healing.)
Reiki Healing: Guiding Principles
Reiki practitioners are taught these guiding principles:
Just for today, do not worry.
Just for today, do not anger.
Honor your parents, teachers and elders.
Earn your living honestly.
Show gratitude to everything.
--Dr. Mikao Usui
Reiki Masters
There are now an estimated 500,000 Reiki Masters with as many as 3,000,000 people having been initiated into Reiki throughout the world.While nearly all practitioners are ethical and sincere, it's good to be aware that because Reiki is "taught" through attunement rather than study, it's possible for people to become a "Reiki Master" in a single weekend. So the fact that someone calls himself or herself a Reiki Master can mean a lot (e.g. a lifetime of study, selfless healing, and spiritual devotion)--or very little (i.e. a quick weekend and a couple of hundred dollars).
Becoming Reiki-attuned is a great way to bring more energy healing into your life. Accessible to learn, easy to perform, and effective, it's something I recommend to people who are likely to benefit from regular energy healing sessions for themselves or a loved one, but who can't afford that or don't live an area where energy healers are available.
More Info
I normally send people to the Reiki Alliance website for more information. The Reiki Alliance is the organization for traditional Usui Reiki practitioners. Here's the link, but at this writing the site is being overhauled.As an alternative source for more information, I recommend this site, reiki.7gen.com. It seems very complete and non-commercial.
Return from Reiki Healing to Types of Energy Healing main page.
Interested in learning more about energy, energy healing, and the chakras? Try my book, Chakra Care: Do-It-Yourself Energy Healing for a More Joyful, Loving, Fruitful Life. You'll learn
to clear, nurture and support your chakras with 500 fun, down-to-earth
activities. A user-friendly, practical guide, available as a paperback
or Kindle. Learn more or buy it here.