What is Reiki/Energy Healing?

Reiki is a form of energy healing or energy balancing. In that sense, many believe that it is a form of healing that may have been around for thousands of years, similar to the practices perfected by history’s great healers, including Christ, St. Francis of Assisi, King Solomon, among many others. It is difficult to know for sure whether or not that was similar as this current form, but reasonable to think that it might have been. The name “Reiki” is specific to the “modern” method of energy healing that was discovered in 1914 by a Japanese spiritual seeker, Dr. Mikao Usui, after spending 21 days on Mt. Kurama in meditation, prayer, and fast, according to the story. Further adaptations to expand the energy have continued since that time, with each healer usually finding his or her own unique style and technique through practice, study, mediation or other means to enhance the flow of energy. There are various other forms of energy healing, such as Quantum Touch, Healing Touch, with each having some of its own unique methods or characteristics, but all are rooted in the accessing of the universal life force energy. Each of us has the ability to interact with this energy, we have simply forgotten how to do it or forgotten that we can do it.

Many believe that Reiki is of the angels, and it is their way of communicating with us and through us, or perhaps connecting with us more effectively when our energy is in better balance or a higher vibration due to Reiki. That was certainly the case for me,with my first session magnifying angels dreams and leading me on a mission to study this practice. After completing the highest levels of Usui Reiki Master/Teacher and Karuna® Master/Teacher, I further expanded my angel and energetic connections by study, meditation, and practice…and feel that each aspect of these gifts is greatly enhanced by the others. I have also attended intensive workshops by several great healing teachers. To help my healing ability be the best that it can be, I practice daily meditation and prayer, and continue ongoing study of spiritual and religious texts, including the Bible as well as other current spiritual materials that reveal the great healing and miracles that are happening at this exciting time, while challenging us to do our part to contribute to that energy by BEING the Light of the World, just as Jesus instructed His followers to do, just as many other great master did. I feel that it is my calling to bring this healing energy and spiritual connection to as many as possible, and I take this responsibility seriously, while being grateful for the privilege to do so.

Reiki connects us to a powerful but gentle force of energy, or helps our bodies balance the energy. The feeling may vary from person to person. It is painless and soothing. Many feel a radiating warmth from the healer’s hands (far beyond any typical body warmth), a vibrating, pulsating, or magnetic feel. Other effects include seeing colors, auras, or light, as well as a deep state of relaxation and mediation, leaving the recipient feeling uplifted and energized. Some recipients see or feel little during the actual session, then notice significant effects afterwards such as better sleep, calmer demeanor, feeling less stressed. The deep meditative state alone generates significant benefits, since one hour of such deep meditation is said to renew the body and mind similar to eight hours of sleep.

While it is impossible at this stage to prove the effects of Reiki, I have personally seen myself and others receive tremendous improvements in both physical and emotional issues, including diminishing or dissolving of chronic pain (arthritis, sciatica, neck/shoulder pain, shingles, headache, fibromyalgia), improvement in sinus/allergy troubles, dramatic improvement medical test results, enhancing weight loss & addiction struggles, and many other physical issues. On an emotional & spiritual level, the effects can be even more profound. Some clients have seen supportive angels or departed loved ones during sessions, have gained clarity toward deep troubles or ongoing problems, have lifted fear from their lives, and gained a better sense of their Purpose. The possible benefits are too many to list, and I believe that the energy, because it is from God, can and will heal or enhance healing in anything that we are truly ready to allow it to. The key is to surrender our problems in faith, and do our part by seeking methods such as this to connect to our Higher Selves, and therefore connect to God/Source, because until we find our Higher Selves, it is more difficult to fully connect with God. And while we may have God experiences, they may also be very diminshed from what they could be. In that respect, we are limiting miracles in our lives. For the greatest results, it is also important that we do our part to live healthier, create good habits, exercise, consider medical advice or other things that assist in our healing process and open us up to more spiritual connection.

Reiki and the other Angel Healing work that I do honor all religious beliefs based in love and acceptance. From my experience, it strengthened my own (Christian-based) faith, and from my studies it enhances other religions as well. Reiki does not contradict religion or scripture, it actually upholds the underlying principles therein (love and non-judgement), and invites us to live in pure love and heal each others by sharing that pure love. Our Western culture has in many respects pulled us away from these principles of healing. Christians are often the most skeptical of practices such as this, primarily due to misunderstanding of its true nature and fear implanted against it, yet this is exactly what Christ told us to do when he said if we have faith of a tiny mustard seed we can move mountains. What does it say about our faith if we do not believe or even consider that it is possible to heal ourselves based upon that faith and love?…Perhaps it says that we don’t have much true faith! It is certainly worth pondering. And it is worth opening our minds to the possibility that miracles can flow through us.

I believe it is our responsibility to grow, learn, research, keep an open mind, expect spiritual miracles, claim our gifts, and truly demonstrate our faith – if we are serving God and our Higher Selves to our fullest potential. Anything less renders us smaller than the magnificent beings that God made us to be, which is betrayal in the highest sense.

One of the exciting benefits of Reiki is the very fact that it is a unifying energy for religions, rather than a divisive one. Its basis in love and acceptance is the very essence of God/Source. It is very easy in our culture and religious practices to talk about pure love and non-judgement, while in the same breath or thought be actively judging others for not thinking the same as we do or not following our own vision of what is “right” or what is God. Reiki is based on seeing the perfection and beauty in every soul, despite our differences. It is this attitude of love that can truly heal, not just on a personal level, but on a global level. So many of our problems result from our forgetting our goodness, beating ourselves up too much, never feeling good enough…and Reiki can help us feel and remember our goodness so that it can shine on others. Even without Reiki, the act of loving without judgment or expectation can heal. I hope that many of you who have never tried Reiki will have an open mind and experience it at least once. Your reading this website may be your own calling…?

A good source of information on Christanity and Reiki: www.christianreiki.org

An article discussing Reiki in Judaism

Many hospitals use Reiki to aid in patients’ healing, including such prominent facilities as Yale Childrens’ Hospital in New Haven, CT; Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, NC; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. More hospitals are adding this service as progressive medical professionals are recognizing its powerful benefits. Many of those involved in hospital and medical Reiki programs have reported faster healing in patients receiving Reiki, less need for pain medication, and many other benefits. For more information, visit www.reikiinhospitals.org , sponsored by the International Center for Reiki Training. This link provides a list of hospitals using Reiki (although only partial), as well as articles on its reported effects or actual studies regarding the effects. It also provides information for hospital professionals who would like to integrate Reiki into their services.

With sky-rocketing medical costs and our growing need for a pill to fix all our ills, Reiki and other energies provide some relief. The more we explore these avenues, the closer we will be to reversing our constantly growing need for medical and pharmaceutical fixes. Our continuous reliance on antibiotics for every ill will put us in a position where the antibiotics no longer work, so we need to get our bodies healthier and our immune systems in alignment and properly functioning to keep our medical and health treatments more effective and less costly. Reiki and other energy healing methods only enhance the medical advances that science provides us and help us take responsibility for our own health and well being.

Distance energy is healing energy that is sent “remotely”, when the healer can’t be in the presence of the recipient. To me, it is a form of prayer, but is empowered by the universal life force energy (the energy of God/Source). Studies of ancient prayer practices reveal that “feeling” prayer is the most powerful form, far more powerful than the prayer of words that we have generally been taught to do. The Reiki energy is that feeling prayer. Distance energy can also be sent to many at once, or for healing the world at large . I offer free group distance energy to anyone who has a request and emails it to me (include recipient’s name, location, need). Generally, the energy is more subtle, but the effects can be very evident. At first, I was a bit skeptical of the ability of the energy to “find” the recipient, but some of the experiences that I have been connected with have taught me otherwise – and have put my faith in a better place! I often do specific Distance Energy (rather than group) for situations where the need is immediate and large.

I was recently blessed with the experience of being connected through a friend to a family in OH whose father was in a coma after a car accident. I heard of their story and immediately had a feeling that I was supposed to connect with this man…that I was being called to do so. I asked my friend if the family would like for me to do a Reiki prayer candle for him, along with the many other prayers that were being sent his way. Within a couple of days as I read the posts on the web journal that shared his journey, he began to show signs of coming out of the coma, and began to make steady progress. I was so touched when one of his daughter’s called me (a couple of months later) to thank me, and to ask if me if I could do another candle for her dad, because the family thought that the candle had been his turning point. I have never met this beautiful family face-to-face (as of yet!), but I know that God called me to connect with them, so that we might bless each other. Their faith, and that of their friends and family, is remarkable. I cannot even type this story without tears running down my cheeks! The power of sharing Love, our only true connection to God, is amazing…it is in the Giving that we Receive.

An attunement is an activation of the ability to work with energy, so that you will be able to do Reiki on yourself or others. Being able to access this energy can lead to deeper meditation, greater manifestation, a higher sense of peace and awareness. It provides you a path to help heal yourself, and begin to heal others. Many feel the attunement as a very spiritual experience that takes their faith and their connection to a new level, just as baptism, communion, or other symbolic experience may do. It is you proclaiming that you want more, that you want to be of service through sharing light and love in a more powerful way. You are connecting energetically to the many others who share this loving energy, which makes your own light brighter.

Reiki incorporates symbols that can be focussed on to activate the healing energy. These serve as a mental mechanism to call on the universal like force energy (although the energy will also come through with simple intent of it to do so). Some people, in their lack of understanding, may feel concerned about the use of these symbols or worry that they are about worshippping some other being, or that there is something sinister connected to the symbols…nothing could be farther from the truth! These symbols represent such concepts as pure unconditional love, seeing others as equal to yourself (non-judgment), and sharing love without restrictions. I personally do not routinely rely on these symbols to initiate the energy work, but have come use my own process more often, which includes the same energy of unconditional love, and asking for higher powers/energies to work through me.

Reiki has various levels of usage with are progressively more “powerful” or represent a deeper degree of experience or commitment. These are Reiki I, II, and III (commonly called the Master/Teacher level and allowing one to activate and pass on the energy to others in attunements). In addition to these “Usui Reiki” levels, there is the Karuna Master/Teacher level. However, we all have this energy within us, so a novice may have just as much healing ability as another who has practiced longer (although regular practice helps hone and strengthen abilities). I think it is important to receive Reiki or energy work from someone whose energy you connect with or where you “feel the love”.

Anyone can learn Reiki through a simple process called an “Attunement”(see info above), usually accompanied by a class that allows for practice and additional teaching. This process activates the energy within you to allow you to access it on your own. I like to think of it as tuning someone in to the energy, similar to tuning a radio dial to the right place in order to get the station clearly. Even if you have no intention of providing Reiki to others, this is excellent for performing it on yourself. I have found that Reiki helps to me to get to a deep, powerful, and productive meditative state much more easily, which calls miracles into our lives more freely. For those who are concerned about using unfamiliar symbols of Reiki, I have an angel activation that uses angel and/or Christian-based symbols to allow one to tap into some form of the energy on a beginning level without reservation. By trying this form, one can get accustomed to feeling energy, and learning how to allow yourself to be a vessel of healing; then I highly recommend continuing by learning the actual Reiki methods.

In a nutshell, Chakras can be thought of as the energy centers of our bodies, sort of like our own energetic solar system. Most ancient forms of spirituality understand the importance of keeping these energy centers balanced, as imbalance in one or more chakras can create both physical and emotional problems. Reiki helps identify areas where the imbalances may be present, and helps balance the energy to heal the issue surrounding that imbalance. Often, one may not even realize a problem in a specific area, and Reiki can help to get in tune with these obstacles. Identifying the areas of weakness provides the first step toward healing them.