REIKI (pronounced Ray-Key) is a tool used by energy workers to connect to a high vibration of energy for healing and renewal. Reiki combines meditational techniques with intention, hand placements, and symbols to help us connect to the energy so we can direct it into our bodies and out through our hands. By increasing the flow of energy through our bodies, we incite and accelerate physical, mental, and spiritual healing for ourselves and all that we direct the energy toward. Energy workers have practiced some form of this art in cultures all across the world.
The theories on where this energy comes from differ greatly, but they are all describing the same energy… so it can be used by, and given to, anyone. The energy we use for healing has been described as “the source of life itself and far older in concept and fact than any religious philosophy,” and it goes by many names:
China: Chi
Hindu: Prana
English: Breath or Ectoplasm
Russia: Bioplasmic
Hippocrates: “Nature’s life force”
Kahunas: Mana
Christians: Holy Spirit
Egyptians: Ka
Greeks: Pneuma
Sioux: Wakan or Wakouda
Our bodies, and the universe they inhabit, are formed by vibrating particles of energy held together by intention. The existence of this energy has been validated through scientific research, and western doctors are finally considering its role in the functioning of the immune system and the healing process. Plus I have seen it work on my clients, my friends, my grandmother, my plants, and myself.
My theory on how Reiki works is based on extensive reading and experience and goes like this: as practitioners, we work to open and clear our body’s energy channels of obstruction. This allows us to channel energy from its source, into our body, through our hands, and into the person we are treating. Since negative energy vibrates at a lower frequency, it cannot exist when the body is vibrating at a higher level. By charging the body with positive energy, the negative energy must dissipate or transform. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily happen over night, we have been holding onto our negative energy for years and it may take some time to be able to let go of it on all levels. As our life force begins to flow in a healthy and natural way, old negative thoughts, patterns, and events that are unconsciously affecting our life often float to the surface to be released. Since everything is connected, once this negativity is released, we transform as we create a balance between our mind, body, and spirit.
The history of Reiki is about as fascinating and mysterious as the art form itself. We know that, at some point between 1914 and 1926, Reiki was brought to Japan by a man named Mikao Usui. Mikao Usui was born on August 15, 1865 in the Japanese province of Gifu. Before he died in 1926, he opened several Reiki clinics in Japan while teaching others how to use it. Who Dr. Usui was, and the events that lead to his discovery of Reiki, are not really known. What is known is that the practice of Reiki became divided into an eastern version and a western version during World War Two. Each version gives a different history of how Reiki was discovered and how to use it. The western version of Reiki evolved as it came into contact with western theologies. For example, some say Dr. Usui was a Christian priest, others say he was a Buddhist monk, and others say he was the principal of the Doshisha University in Kyoto. None of these were proven, so students of the west tend to believe the history that falls closest to their own belief system. Since there is currently no way of knowing exactly what Dr. Usui believed, or what he did before he opened his Reiki clinics, most are content in knowing that he must have been a spiritual man who’s life’s focus was directed at helping others.
I invite you to do your own research into his past if you are so inclined, but the fact that Dr. Usui discovered or rediscovered the Reiki System of Natural Healing and shared this knowledge with others is what’s important. Maybe one day we will learn the true story of how it was created, until then we should just be grateful we have it.
Until four and a half years ago, the closest I ever came to any form of eastern healing modality was rubbing the belly of the plastic Buddha sitting at the door of my favorite Chinese restaurant. Then I received my first chakra alignment and a whole new world opened up to me. During the alignment I felt this change in my overall mood and energy level and I decided to research it further. Having no idea what a chakra was, I was eventually lead to a Reiki Master here in Dallas named Kay Windham who suggested I try a Reiki attunement and see if it may be something I would be interested in. I made an appointment for the following week.
Going into my first Reiki session, I was both skeptical and very curious. I really didn’t know what to expect or what I was getting myself into. I was met at the door by a very kind and loving woman who brought me into the back room of her home where she spent about twenty minutes describing what a Reiki session was and what I should expect. Honestly, when she started talking about etheric bodies, energy transferals, and other metaphysical terms, I started to think I was about to waist a lot of money on something as reputable as the psychic friends network. She sensed my doubt and told me that I did not need to believe in Reiki to receive it. Which was a good thing because it was a lot for me to ingest at one time. Pushing my doubts aside, I decided to enter the session with an open mind.
What followed afterward was nothing short of amazing. The hour-long session left me feeling almost detached from my body and so light headed I had to wait about twenty minutes before I could leave. I felt revitalized and so filled with joy and hope that I knew this was not only something I wanted to learn how to perform on myself, but give to others as well.
I have now studied and practiced Reiki for four years and received my Reiki master shortly before my master died of cancer. During my training, she showed me how the Reiki healing system could be used to increase my vibrational frequency and create a greater flow of energy. As my vibration level changed all the negative thoughts and emotions I had carried around with me since my childhood started coming to the surface so I could deal with them. To say that the Reiki system, along with Yoga and meditation, changed my life would be an understatement. I am who I am today because of what I've chosen to learn and how I've chosen to apply it. This is how we create ourselves. The Reiki system gave me the foundation I needed to begin building the man I wanted to be.
Over the past four years I have found many ways to incorporate Reiki into my massage work. Sometimes I use it to reprogram or relax a muscle that has short circuited due to trauma or stress. It’s helped relax those who can’t seem to calm themselves and has proven to help those suffering from depression and anxiety. I’ve used it on breast cancer patients, migraines, trigger points, tendonitis, mood disorders, and several other forms of illness. My knowledge of the human body has helped me understand how the energy works and when to use it. I’ve witnessed dramatic and subtle changes in many of my clients, some of whom have gone on to learn it for themselves.
The Reiki system is neither a dogma nor a religion and was not created to conflict with our belief systems. This energy cannot be given to anyone against their will as it honors the recipient’s free will, or subconscious desire, giving the recipient the freedom to accept or reject the flow of energy. If the person refuses the energy, the healer can do no more.
I felt a great loss when I learned that my Reiki Master lost her battle with cancer. She would have died years before, but her use of Reiki and other holistic healing modalities kept her alive and in good spirits through her ending days. I owe a great deal of who I am to Kay and wish her love and happiness on her next journey. Her love and warmth will live on and I only hope I can one day do the same for someone else that she did for me.
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