Reiki
An Ancient Art Of Holistic
Hands On Healing

An Introduction Our own thought patterns effect the health of our body. Each emotional thought pattern is really an underlying "cause" of a physical illness. Understanding the illness can help you address the cause and thereby riding the body of the disease. That doesn't mean that you can forgo mainstream medicine all together. Sometimes when you don't listen to the messages of your body; the issue progresses and requires medical attention. These metaphysical concepts can help you understand why the illness formed, and how you can include metaphysical practices to help support the medical treatment from your physician.   There are many books on the market that describe this system of belief and understanding, but for me, one of the best books on the market for healers is called "Heal Your Body" by Louise Hay, from Hay House Publishing. Ms. Hay has created one of, if not the definitive source for emotional causes, their corresponding illness and a metaphysical affirmation to help the individual deal with the originating cause.   Reiki works on this principle of belief, believing that underlying every illness is a dis-ease within the spiritual and mental minds of a person or situation. You can read more about this through Understanding Illness In The Body.   Reiki (pronounced RAY-KEY) ~ Rei in English is Universal, Ki in English is Life Force, which is similar to Prana, Chi, Energy and so on.   Reiki is considered to be a Universal Life-force, which is a fancy way of saying Divine energy, or healing from God, Goddess, The Great Spirits or what ever label you use to define the Universal Divine force in your life.   Basically it works like this: the Divine energy is brought through you as a Reiki channel and sent into the person, animal or thing you wish to be healed. As with most things spiritual, it is the intent behind the connection of the healer to the divine source that makes Reiki universal. Whatever your definition of God is, will influence your intent as a healer. Reiki, the Divine energy knows the rest. It is one of the hands on healing methods where everything is left up to the Divine force to induce healing to the receiver. You as a Reiki channel do not need to know the ailment of who or what you want to heal. It is the ultimate creation of the phrase "Let Go and Let God".   Many cultures use similar methods and words to describe related types of healing techniques. Usui System of Reiki was re-discovered in the late 1800s by Dr. Miako Usui, a minister in Kyoto, Japan. As of late, there seems to be some discrepancy as to what kind of Minister Usui was. The legend as it was brought to the United States, describes him a Christian minister. Some believe this is because the best way to teach this ancient Japanese method of healing here in the U.S. was to make it less foreign to our culture. Some researchers have suggested he was actually a Buddhist Monk. The American tale is still a good one however.   Dr. Usui set out to discover how Jesus performed hands on healings. Even in the bible, Jesus pronounces that all can heal with the power of God. But how? Dr. Usui went to the top of Mount Kura-yama and for 21 days meditated and fasted. Through a vision he was given his answer and the information of Reiki.   Before his death, Dr. Usui passed on his knowledge to his own students. One of these was Chujiro Hayashi who ran a clinic in Tokyo, Japan.   What is Reiki? Reiki is a gentle, non-invasive, hands-on energy transfer. The source of this energy is ultimately from The Universal Divine Force (God), therefore Reiki practitioners are simply conduits for the Divine source energy. Delivery of the energy is standardized and the Reiki practitioner does not need to know anatomical details. They simply follow a common procedure of delivery and the energy does the rest.   The energy itself, vitalizes the cells of the body receiving treatment. By the end of a session, all the systems in the body (blood supply, nerves, organs, etc.) are operating in a stronger, more cohesive way. Reiki works whether or not the recipient believes in this energy or not. Reiki can be used effectively on accidents that just happened (ie: cuts, burns, bruises, etc.) or on long standing problems. But Reiki has never been a method of alternative healing. It has always been used in conjunction with traditional medicine to enhance the body, mind and spirit's own ability to heal.   The magic of Reiki is that it affects the underlying issues behind an illness. Regardless of whither or not we know (as the healer or the receiver) what that issue is. Reiki pulls the energy up from within the body to bring it to the surface where it can be dealt with and changed. Understanding the ailment message then becomes part of the healing process.   Practitioners can also give themselves a Reiki treatment. Delivery to a client or to the self is simple, straight forward and effective. A practitioner actually increases their own vitality when they perform a session on a client. Because they are the pipeline for this energy, some of this energy will be assimilated by the provider, if for no other reason than as support during the session. But Reiki can also be used on animals, plants, Mother Earth, and even situations in your life. Healing your checkbook for instance when your in financial need is a practice that many channels have reported success with.   Reiki is not a quick fix. But it is a method to aid in the healing of various issues and health concerns. Especially when utilized as a support for mainstream healing methods.

Source: 1, h5, h6, h7, h8, h9, h10 Created: 03/28/1999       Updated: 03/10/2008