Primary Healing

Reiki is a Japanese word that is made up of two kanji: Rei & Ki.

 

It is usually translated as “universal life force” or “universal life energy”. History tells us that Reiki was developed by Mikao Usui in 1922 in Japan. A lady called Hawayo Takata started teaching it in the US in the seventies from where it spread throughout the western world.

 

Taggart King gives a good overview of the Reiki history on http://www.reiki-evolution.co.uk/where-reiki-from.htm

When I refer to Reiki I mean Usui Reiki Ryoho – the Reiki introduced by Dr Mikao Usui. There are many different types of energy healing that use the word “Reiki” in their name. However they are different to Usui Reiki and are more or less borrowing the word “Reiki” – probably because it is more familiar to people.

How does Reiki work?

In order to activate your Reiki you need a Reiki Master who gives you several attunements. Once the Reiki is activated it flows through your hands for the rest of your life. You can then use Reiki for yourself or for others. During a Reiki course you learn 12 hand positions that are used on the body for a 1 hour Reiki treatment. However, you can use your Reiki whenever you have time and whenever you feel the need for it (for any aches and pains or while watching the TV or sitting on the bus to work etc).

Benefits of Reiki

Reiki has a lot of benefits and some of its main benefits are:

• It reduces stress and increases relaxation
• It leads to overall balances on a physical, emotional and spiritual level
• It treats at the root cause and not just on the surface
• It can help reduce pain
• It can promote better sleeping
• It can support the immune system
• It can be used by children and adults

A holistic approach

Until recently the western medicine believed that we should only treat the symptoms. If you have got a headache you take a painkiller. Unfortunately a lot of western trained doctors still believe in that approach. Fortunately there are more and more doctors however, who have realized that they are only treating a symptom but not necessarily the root cause and that they have to apply a holistic treatment rather than just prescribe pills. Many studies have shown the positive effects that acupuncture can have and it is now widely accepted across the medical community. Some hospitals have started to use Reiki for cancer patients as studies have shown that it helps reduce pain and side effects of chemotherapy for example. So Reiki contributes to that holistic approach of treating and healing somebody’s disease.

Why do we get sick?

We get sick because different energy levels are out of balance.

There are obviously different diseases and we get sick for different reasons. If a virus is going around then we might catch it. If our immune system is weak (or our chi is low) then the likelihood of catching it is higher. If our immune system is strong (or our chi is strong) then we might either not catch it at all or recover much quicker.

If we have stomach cancer then there are quite a few reasons why we might have got it. The root cause might lie in an unhealthy diet or it could even be that for most of our lives we have lived with fears, anger, swallowed too much or were not able to let go of things. Sometimes of course it could be a genetic problem. In any case we can use Reiki to help us heal on different levels. The immediate thought would be: use Reiki to heal the cancer on a physical level. It can help, but it is not a miracle cure and we have to accept that. However, if Reiki was used to also heal on an emotional and spiritual level with such a serious disease then living with it takes on new dimensions.

When we get sick our body is telling us: you are not looking after yourself. It might be that we work too much, don’t eat well, don’t exercise enough, don’t share our burdens and sorrows, don’t speak up. Whatever it is, it’s a message that tells us that it is our responsibility to listen to our body and look after it – on all levels – physical, emotional, spiritual.

Can we see Reiki?

We can not see Reiki itself  - although I wouldn’t be surprised if some people can (like people who can see auras).  Recently my son surprised me with a comment. I was doing an energy exercise with my children so they could feel the energy. At first they could not feel anything. Then I asked them to rub their hands very fast. Now they could feel the energy much better. My son then said to me: Now I can also see the blue colour again. I had not realized that in his mind’s eye he could actually see the energy! Later he explained that it could also be the rainbow colours that he sees. That is one of the reasons why I love working with children. They are still so open minded so they can often see what we adults can not or don’t allow ourselves to see.

Britta Vock, a German Reiki practitioner  published a book about Reiki for horses. In the book she published pictures from Jeanette Gerkens Kuhlow which show through termography how Reiki works. She takes a picture of a specific area before Reiki is given, then another one while Reiki is given and finally one after Reiki has been given.  After the Reiki treatment we can see how the area that received Reiki changed its temperature by showing the area in a red colour. Please also see “Reiki for horses”, which contains more pictures.

 

 

 

 

Picture Jeanette Gerkens-Kuhlow, Book: “Gesundes Pferd – Reiki”, Britta Vock, 2007

Can we feel Reiki?

The majority of people can feel Reiki. As we are all individuals and feel things in different ways, we also feel Reiki differently. Some people might feel tingling in their fingers or hands, some people might feel heat in their hands, some people might feel that the hands are cold. A friend of mine gets a nice buzzing in her head. A very small percentage of people does not feel Reiki – or perhaps they might not be aware that they actually feel it.