“Health rests on three pillars: The body, the psyche, and the spiritual connection. To ignore any of these is to invite imbalance and disease.” - Gabor Mate, MD
Reiki is a Traditional Japanese healing technique that has been used since the 1900’s to heal both physical and mental ailments. It has powerful healing effects for various illnesses, injuries and overall well-being. It has been effective in assisting with offering relief in essentially every known illness. The word "rei" refers to a higher intelligence that exists in both living and nonliving beings. “Ki" is referred to as the "life force energy." If Ki is low, then we are much more likely to get sick or feel stressed. However, if Ki is elevated, we experience increased health and well-being.
Reiki is a natural and safe method of healing and self-improvement that enables patients to take control of their health, either supplementing or replacing conventional treatments. It has been proven to work effectively alongside conventional westernized medicine to alleviate side effects and promote recovery.
To administer Reiki, a practitioner flows life force energy through their hands to the patient. It can be visualized that the practitioner charges them with positive energy. This transfer of energy has the capability to unblock negative thoughts and feelings that are stuck in the physical body, which have been preventing the patient from healing.
The Reiki healer can identify the blocked negative energy—such as stress, anxiety, physical pain of all kinds, confusion, etc. and loosen up and clarify the energy pathways. A treatment can feel like a glowing radiance flowing in around and your physical body, freeling negative energy blocks. Once cleared, the patient often experiences feelings of relaxation, peace, security and enhanced wellbeing. Many patients have reported miraculous results, particularly after years of failures with conventional medicine.
As Usui intended Reiki to benefit all humankind, Reiki is not associated with any religion. All religions are welcome to practice and benefit from Reiki. A common misconception is that people believe it will interfere with your religious beliefs, which is not true. Reiki founder Usui was indeed influenced by Shintoist and Buddhist beliefs, but his main intention when creating Reiki was to make the practice unassociated from religion so that it could be available to anyone. Additionally, Reiki healers are of multiple faiths and beliefs.
Principles of Reiki
"If you live your life according to these five principles, you will lead a fulfilled life," as Dr. Usui told his students. When you can make small adjustments in your life to more closely align with the Reiki principles, you will feel more fulfilled, happier, and less stressed. The main principles are as follows:
- Just for today, do not worry.
- Just for today, do not anger.
- Earn your living honestly.
- Honor your parents, teachers, and elders.
- Show gratitude to every living thing.
Just for today, do not worry
The emotion of worrying causes stress in our bodies and minds. It also prevents us from living in the moment. Allowing ourselves to live one day at a time and focus on not worrying for this present day is a realistic goal that we can set for ourselves. With practice and training, you can also teach yourself to experience less worry and more positivity.
Just for today, do not anger
Again, the focus is on changing your behavior today, in this present day. As anger is an energy, we can transform it and channel it in positive ways. Reiki does not ask you to not feel angry, as it is an emotion that is a part of life, but rather acknowledge it and transform it. This process is much more manageable if you focus on changing your behavior on this very day.
Earn your living honestly
The third Reiki principle is to earn your living honestly, without lying or cheating. It also implies following strong values in your work that represent who you really are. According to this principle, you will use your work to serve the benefit of humankind, work hard every day, and show devotion to others. Again, it is about balance - not overworking yourself but when you work, you are fully present in the moment.
Honor your parents, teachers, and elders
In collectivist societies, it is very important to honor our parents, teachers and elders. This is because they enable us to become who we are today by sharing their knowledge and wisdom. They enable us to build a foundation, and therefore we must honor and respect them.
Show gratitude to every living thing
The final principle of Reiki reflects on the connection between yourself and the living beings around you. It’s very important to be kind to all living things. When you give gratitude, you can feel the connection between yourself and the world around you. This allows you to understand on a deeper level that everything is connected.