Reiki Healing

Introduction

"Reiki" is made up of two Japanese words: "Rei" and "Ki". 'Rei' means "universal" whilst 'Ki' means 'life force energy'. According to Reiki Healing, by Carmen Fernandez, p.6: Reiki "...is a very simple system of healing, carried out by placing hands on or over a person (who is always clothed), or animal or plant, with the intent to channel Reiki. It can also be sent, as absent healing, over distance and even through time." According to website The Reiki School, Reiki "...is simple and highly effective. The marvellous thing about Reiki is that anyone can learn it in just two days and it can be used for self-treatment as well as helping others. It is a great way to counteract stress and you only need to place your hands on yourself to start the process of the energy flowing."

The hand positions

There are three stages to initiation as a Reiki Healer.The first stage is termed as 'Degree I' in the Reiki community, and this refers to the stage at which an individual learns the "basics" of Reiki. Degree I focusses more on healing the self in Reiki. The individual is:

•   introduced to the 5 Reiki principle
• (briefly, referentially) taught the history of Reiki and is introduced to its founder, Mikao Ursui

• introduced to an affirmation which is designed to invoke the Reiki energy
• taught the various hand positions to use
• Given 2 "attunements" - Attunement 1 and Attunement 2

The hand positions are only really taught in the first degree. Adn whilst they are referred to a little in the second degree, they are of no major importance. Indeed, intuition is more taught in the second degree course, and this means that the person places their hands where they feel Reiki needs to be given, rather than following a set of procedures or rules for where exactly to place their hands.

    However, to give some idea about the hand positions, the following are taught. Usually, a Reiki treatment works down the body, starting at the head.

1. The eyes - The hands are placed over the eyes. This can be a refreshing exercise when the eyes are shut, and when the hands are left covering the eyes for a maximum of 20 seconds. 

2. The crown - The hands are placed at the top of the head, where the crown chakra is believed by spiritualists to be.

3. The ears - The hands are placed in order to cover the ears.

4. Base of the head

5. Base of the head and forehead - the left hand is placed at the base of the head (as in Position 4) whilst the right hand is placed on the forehead

6. Throat - left hand is placed on the back of the neck and the right hand is placed on the front of the neck

7. The calves

8. Ankles

9. Soles of the feet

10. Coccyx - hands are placed on the coccyx

11. Back of hara (reproductive region) 

12. Kidneys

13. Back of solar plexus (behind just where the rib cage ends)

14. Back of shoulders

15. Back of heart

Reiki Rules

Reiki is always given with the recipient fully clothed. Although Reiki is mainly about the 'laying on of hands' on the recipient, there are some common sense rules:

•  The key rule is, of course, to not touch the recipient's reproductive parts, nor the chest area of women. This is of course because to do so, it would be an invasion of their privacy. Consequently, as well as due to the fact that the patient (or recipient) is fully clothed at all times, the patient should not feel uncomfortable or ill at ease, or as if their privacy has been taken away.It unnecessary to touch any parts of the patient, as healing can be done on them by merely having the hands above those areas. Another reason why it's unnecessary to touch those parts is that according to one idea, the Reiki goes to where it is needed, so if Reiki is needed at any parts where Reiki is not being given, it will go there. Furthermore, it may be that by giving Reiki to an area near to an afflicted area, doing so may contribute to the improvement of the condition of the afflicted area that is nearby.
• The hands can be placed on the recipient's body, as long as they do not find it painful. Indeed, if a patient is suffering from a serious illness, the healer may feel inclined to place their hands on the afflicted area. However, they must ask for permission from the recipient first. If the recipient with-holds permission then the healer must work elsewhere on the body, although they can still direct Reiki to the afflicted area without touching it. This is because their hands will be placed - if the healer decided to give Reiki this way - in the person's aura, where they can still direct energy, though with their hands above the afflicted area. In Degree II, the initiate learns about the chakras and the pairings of chakras. They also learn about the aura and the various layers of it as well as the subtle bodies - which are the physical, etheric, emotional/astral, mental and spiritual bodies. The etheric body is believed to lie about half an inch to two inches out from the physcial body, whilst the emotional body is around two to four inches away from the physical body. The mental body is said to lie six to nine inches away from the physical body, whilst the spiritual body is thought to lie beyond that nine inches.Consequently, a full session of Reiki can be performed without touching the person once. So the Reiki practitioner, who should have done all the Reiki courses from degree I, degree II to degree III should be familiar with the aura and be able to give healing to the recipient in this way - through directing the Reiki through or into the aura. These are according to one Reiki Manual, as given during a Reiki II workbook from a Reiki II course. Opinions as to the exact position may vary from one train of practice to another, of course. And whilst this post deals with Reiki through knowledge gained from teaching from one train of Reiki teaching, that is not to say that there are slightly different takes to how to do Reiki. Nor does it mean that this or another take on Reiki are wrong, nor the correct take on Reiki.
• An invocation is needed in order to begin a Reiki treatment. This is merely an affirmation that may be stated aloud or in the head by the healer which is directed to the entity to which their belief system is specific, stating that they are about to give a Reiki healing (and so invoking the Reiki to start flowing through into them). If they belief in God, they may direct this prayer to God, whilst if they believe in Spirit, they may direct it to Spirit. Or they may simply direct it at Source. The invocation is taught in Degree I Reiki.
• At all times, the recipient must be made comfortable. Relaxing, soothing or meditating music may be played during the Reiki session. The recipient is normally made to relax also by beign asked to lie on the medical couch which should be comfortable for them to lie on. They must also be offered an additional pillow (and one must be on the couch anyway) and a blanket to keep them warm. The room must also be kept at a comfortable temperature. 
• The Reiki healers normally ask the recipient about any areas they wish to be worked on, and they may ask more about those areas of trouble - such as how long they have had it, etc. They normally appear warm and caring, and this further adds to the recipient having a pleasant relaxing Reiki experience.

The 5 Reiki Principles

Reiki initiation courses typically run over a course of one or two days.The exact prodedure differs depending on the person running the course. Whilst all Reiki practices derive from the same original source - Mikao Usui and his teachings - there are a vast amount of different kinds of Reiki. Also, there are some differences in some aspects of Reiki, which vary according to the person doing the course. For example, there have been some tweaks to the original priciple. According to p.135 of Reiki For Beginners, by David Vennells the Five Principles are:

• Do not get angry today
• Do not worry today
• Be grateful today
• Work hard today (spiritual practice)
• Be kind to others today

Whilst according to p.27 of Essential Reiki, by Diane Stein, the principles are:

• Just for today I will give thanks for my many blessings
• Just for today I will not worry
• Just for today I will not be angry 
• Just for today I will do my work honestly
• Just for today I will be kind to my neighbor and every living things

 However, according to the content of one Reiki course, the principles that were taught were:

• Just for today, I will live an attitude of gratitude
• Just for today, I will not anger
• Just for today, I will not worry
• Just for today, I will work hard
• Just for today, I will love and respect every living thing

However, it's possible that in the Reiki initiations taught by Usui himself, these principles did not exist. They are useful for spiritual practice and development and so probably contribute to the experience and practice, as well as to the philosophy of Reiki, because their purpose is to teach the intitiates to live in the moment (and to "live in the Now" is somthing that is encouraged by Eckhart Tolle in his book The Power of Now). 
     Interestingly, The Original Reiki Handbook, by Frank Arjava Petter, which is the translated version of Mikao Usui's Reiki Handbook, makes no mention about the Reiki principles.

Going vegetarian for a week

    Typically, an intitate who is to take part in a Reiki Degree I, II or III course is advised by their teacher to not consume any meat from animals a week prior to when the course commences. This is because of a widely held belief that eating meat can lower one's "vibrations". Animals are considered to be living creatures that have feelings just like we do. However, they are of a "lower consciousness" than humans (although trees and plants are lower still, with the rocks and minerals even lower than that), and to eat meat from animals can impact on one's consciousness and the vibration one is "vibrating at". After the Reiki initiation it is advised to gradually re-introduce the consumption of meat over one or two weeks. It is not necessary to give up meat permanently from one's diet as a consequence of a Reiki attunement.
     Initiates may also benefit from meditating a lot beforehand and may also be advised to drink plenty of water as well.

The symbols

In the first degree, the symbols are not taught. But in the second degree, initiates are taught the three core Reiki symbols. These are the symbols used for:

a) Power/Protection

b) Emotional healing

c) Distant healing

However, in the third degree (Reiki Master), there are additional symbols that are taught, which are supposed to be of an even greater, more advanced power. Point a) is a symbol of protection and may be used by Reiki Masters with the intention of protection and they may draw it in the air before commencing a car journey, for example. It is also used for distant healing in order to lend greater power to Reiki energy being sent to a distant person, location or animal.

Distant Reiki

Reiki can be sent distantly three ways:

1. Through a crystal medium

2. Through intention

3. Through a piece of paper

It is taught that before sending Reiki to a distant person, permission must be granted by that person. This can be achieved (or not) through visualising the person and mentally asking them if they would agree to you sending them distant Reiki. If they agree, then it means that they should be receptive to receive the Reiki that will be sent, whilst if they don't agree, then they should not be given Reiki. However, in practice, it is wise to always ask personal consent from the person directly - not through distantly "connecting" with them in one's mind.  

Through a crystal medium

In Reiki II, where they learn how to send distant learning, the Reiki initiate learns how to "attune" a crystal. These are the steps taken in order to attune a crystal:

1. First, find a crystal with one point. Typically, clear quartz is used, more for its purest "vibration" than anything. Other crystals may be used, provided they are points. Crystal wands can also be used. However, the crystal must have one singular point in order to "send" the Reiki. If the crystal had more than one point, then it may result in the Reiki not being sent as efficiently. 
2. Think of a person, place, location or animal that needs healing. It could be a distant friend, a family member who is undergoing surgery of some kind, or anyone who may need a little extra help. It could be planet Earth, a location that needs healing, or indeed a pet animal, or an animal which may need a bit of healing. What matters is the intention.
3. Write down the name of the recipient on a piece of paper. Ideally full names. However, if these are not known, write down whatever name they are known by. Again, it is the clear intention to send the healing that counts.
4. Put this somewhere safe and then "attune" the crystal by drawing just above one of its sides each of the Reiki symbols - first, the Power symbol, second the Emotional healing symbol and third the Distance Healing symbol, sealing the intention with the Power symbol again.
5. Every 3 days, renew the crystal's energy by doing Step 4.

Through Intention

Distant healing relies on intention. Through mere intention, healing can be sent to a distant person. Whether or not they believe in the healing may have a bigger impact on how the respond to the distant healing. Indeed, to some degree, belief in the distant healing can cause the person who recieved it (if they became aware of it) to be more inclined to "identify" key elements which they attributed to the effect of the healing, which may not have been anything to do with the healing. For example, they may have felt a surge of warmth at one point which they thoughts was due to the distant Reiki, when it may have been due to some other factor, of which they were probably unaware. Even if they only knew about the distant healing afterwards, they may be inclined to pinpoint times which were evidence that healing was taking place, even though these may have been events that were unknowingly fabricated or reconstructed by their memory sometime later (reconstructive memory). Indeed they may feel a need to identify such details so that they could impress or please the person who sent them the distant healing in the first place. Or they genuinely believe that the distant healing "did something". 

      To send Reiki distantly through mere intention is not a technique taught per se.

'Through a piece of paper'

All this technique involves is to write the name of the person to be sent healing on a piece of paper and to draw each of the Reiki symbols over it and imagine the Reiki being sent to and surrounding the person to receive the Reiki.

Group Reiki 

Reiki that is offered as an informal treatment to the public, that is run by a group of Reiki Masters, is called a "Reiki Share". It offers the opportunity for members of the public to receive Reiki in return for a small donation of money which contributes to financing the costs of running the Reiki Share. The person who comes in for healing normally has their session - which may last up to 30 minutes or more - has their session before they walk back out again (although they may stay and chat to anyone else waiting for a session). This differs to a formal treatment in which a person arranges for a Reiki treatment as an appointment, for which more money will be paid, than that which is donated to the Reiki Share.

     Group Reiki - which is a Reiki treatment done by more than one Reiki Master (or Reiki healer) - is generally said to last shorter than Reiki performed by one person. According to this view, this is because each of the healers is channelling Reiki through from the Universe (or Source, or God, or Spirit...) and so more Reiki is going through into the recipient's body than with only one person. 

Self Healing

Reiki can be formed by the Reiki healer on themselves, although there are some places which aremore difficult to access on one's own body - for example, placing both hands on the lower back can be extremely tiring for one's arms and elbows. However, Reiki treatments done on oneself can still be an ennjoyable and relaxing experience, though it may not be as enjoyable as doing it on someone else, receiving it from someone else, or doing Reiki as part of a group.

     One idea regarding Reiki is that the Reiki goes to where it is needed. This might explain why Degree II Reiki - which is about learning how to give healing to others and oneself - doesn't focus so much on the hand positions. Indeed, if Reiki was given to a part of the body where it isn't need, then the Reiki, according to this idea, will find its way to somewhere it is needed. 

     However, a Reiki healer doesn't miss out on Reiki even if they are giving someone else Reiki - because according to another idea, the healer receives Reiki just like their recipient does, during a session. 

Reiki on Animals

If Reiki can be given to people, then it can also be given to animals. However, unlike with humans, the healer cannot know for certain whether the Reiki did anything for the animal. Even so, there can be some interesting events which happen after a treatment, which may be seen as evidence that the Reiki did something for the animal. For example, a chicken suffering from soft egg syndrome (which is a condition that is difficult to treat and normally involves going to the vet) may happen to let out the source of its troubles by letting out the soft egg soon after the treatment. Then again, an ill pet or animal - including chickens - may act strangely before dying, after the Reiki treatment given to them. Whether Reiki does or doesn't do anything for animals - and this goes for people too - is down to personal opinion. If an animal apparently recovers from their illness shortly after a Reiki treatment, it will be seen that the Reiki "did something" to help with their illness, although the animal may have recovered from it anyway and it had nothing to do with the Reiki at all. If the animal doesn't recover, and instead keels over after the Reiki treatment, it will be seen that the Reiki helped them to "pass over". Indeed, the Reiki may not have done anything and their death was purely because nothing was done to stop it. But belief doesn't work like that. A fortunate event that happens after Reiki is seen as evidence of the Reiki working. If an unfortunate event happens after Reiki, it is seen in a positive light rather than as evidence that the Reiki doesn't work. 

Reiki on Plants

So if Reiki can be given to people and animals, can it be given to plants? The answer is "Yes". In the second Reiki degree, the initiate is not only taught how to send Reiki distantly, they are also taught about sensing or feeling auras of plants. Indeed, Reiki can be given to plants in the same way as with animals and people - the laying on of hands or through placing the hands over the plant, in its "aura". 

  
Reiki Psychology

Reiki may or may not actually involve a channelling of universal energy. And whilst people may benefit from a Reiki treatment, it may not aid their recovery from serious illness. However, it is usually a pleasant experience - and a relaxing one. In this way, a previously stressed person may come out of a Reiki treatment rather fresh and relaxed. But it may not be the laying on of hands - even within the patient's aura - that is the 'magic bullet' to helping one's health. Indeed, 'help', rather than 'cure'. 

    The belief is a large part of the Reiki treatment - if someone believes in what the Reiki did, and its practical abilities, then that belief will make them more likely to believe that the Reiki "did something" as has already been said. But might this just be the 'placebo effect' - an argument commonly used by sceptics and cynics for alternative medicine? Truth be told, whilst the 'placebo effect' (which is where a person's belief makes their body act as if the treatment did something when it actually didn't do anything) is a strong argument against, it is not understand exactly how the 'placebo effect' work. It may be that the body responds as if the treatment did something when it didn't (as has already been suggested), but, then again, it might be that that interpretation is wrong and, instead, that the placebo is where the person's belief makes their body respond to the treatment, and that the treatment did substantially have an effect on the body. Of course, this is the impact of the person's mind through their belief system. If a person doesn't believe in Reiki, for example, they are not going to find that the Reiki session did anything for them (although it may help make them feel relaxed even so).

        People often report feeling warmth during a Reiki treatment. This is usually interpreted to be due to the Reiki entering that part of the body where the warmth is felt. Warm hands are rather common, and these may be interpreted after or during a treatment to have occurred immediately or soon after the invocation at the start of the session. This may not be the case, because they may have lost sense of the time and the heat may have been felt a long time after the invocation. Regardless, the sensation of heat may just be a case of classical conditioning, as it may not have been the Reiki at all but instead be some other factor - perhaps the blood circulation. The same argument goes for when coldness is felt during the sensation. Yet different people have different experiences of Reiki, and so people will have different opinions as to what is Reiki and what isn't. Coolness may be one person's Reiki flowing in to the body/body part, whilst warmth may be another's Reiki flowing in to the body/body part. 

        In an earlier section, energy sensing was mentioned. Indeed, in Degree II, it is taught how to give Reiki to Past Lives - Reiki mixed in with intention - as well as "energy scanning". Energy scanning is where the initiate places both their palms just above the recipient's (another initiate on the course. Turns are taken so each has an experience of a treatment as well as doing one, overseen by the Reiki Teacher) body, to try and locate areas in need of healing. These are identified through tingling, warmth or coldness felt by the palms or "hot spots" or "cold spots". Generally, if coldness or cold spots are felt, it is seen that the area where these were felt is in need of healing. So the hands are placed on or above that location until they feel warmth restored there, before moving along scanning the body's energy. (In actual fact, the aura is what is being scanned.) This again is another example of classical conditioning, because the changes may be due to something else involving the healer.
        The Reiki session may be relaxing because of the setting it took place, rather than the Reiki itself. For example, relaxing music, caring staff, a comfortable couch, and people gently touching areas of your body all help relax the recipient.

References 

Reiki Healing, by Carmen Fernandez
http://www.thereikischool.co.uk/
Reiki For Beginners, by David Vennells
Essential Reiki, by Diane Stein
The Original Reiki Handbook, by Frank Arjava Petter