The
modern interpretation of the word, Reiki (pronounced: RayKey) is the blending
of two Japanese words - Universal Life (Rei) and Energy (ki).
Depending on context, the words 'rei' and 'ki' have various individual
meanings. One of the most literal definitions of Reiki is Ghost (Rei) Care
(ki), which I really like, because Reiki is unseen energy (like the wind or the
warmth from the sun) that flows through a practitioner, reaching-out to the
recipient - be they human, flora, or fauna - with care.
A biofield therapy, Reiki is a complementary, natural, non-invasive, holistic
healing modality that renews and unblocks energy. Reiki can do no harm, so it
helps or does nothing. Energy healing has been discovered and lost and
rediscovered and passed-on through the centuries. The methods of modern Reiki
can be traced back to the 1900s and a scholar by the name of Dr. Mikao Usui.
Reiki is taught and passed-on person-to-person or Teacher/Master to Student.
Reiki practitioners are certified by a Teacher/Master. In modern times, and
because Reiki is energy, students can be both attuned to Reiki and learn the
Reiki practice distantly and electronically.
Reiki energy channels through the hands. I call it a no-touch energy massage.
Reiki can be offered just off-body, with minimum touch, or from a distance, be
it across the room or miles upon miles away (it's energy). It can be offered in
a structured head-to-toe form with specific hand positions and time intervals,
or it can be offered intuitively; the Reiki recipient can be inactive or going
about their business.
I am an intuitive empath, and taking my guidance from Dr. Usui, I offer Reiki intuitively,
and when I am offering Reiki to pets, in person, it often includes t-touch
massage. Reiki can also be infused into a space, into the physical, and
electronically, including social media.
Reiki energy is subtle and intelligent - it knows to go where it is needed
most. And, sometimes, that's a surprise.
Reiki is a spiritual practice in its connection to nature and life energy, but
it is not a religion. The practice of Reiki is guided by a precise code of
confidentiality, principles, and ethics.
There are five Reiki principles: 1. Just for today, I will let go of anger. 2.
Just for today, I will let go of worry. 3. Just for today, I will count my many
blessings. 4. Just for today, i will do my work honestly. 5. Just for today, I
will be kind to every living thing.
We operate in our day-to-day world through what's commonly accepted as The Five
Senses - seeing, tasting, feeling, hearing, and smelling. And, then there is
the stuff we sense (like "spidey sense"), that is beyond the basic
five, and that is the vibrational energy of Reiki.
As renowned Reiki Master, Penelope Quest says, "Remember, the Reiki is
pulled by the recipient, not pushed by the practitioner." Reiki can
only be offered with permission; it cannot be asserted; it cannot be misused;
it cannot be guided. A Reiki practitioner can channel the energy, but can
attach no value to the outcome (because it is not up to the practitioner... or
the recipient).
The Earth may seem still, but it is hurling through space and spinning at a
rapid rate at the same time. We may seem still, but there is a whole lot going
on behind the scenes inside our bodies, including a heartbeat. Reiki is
subatomic. Reiki is vibration. Reiki is quantum mechanics. Humans and animals
and plants are electromagnetic, and made up of cells and molecules and atoms,
always on the go, we are a vibrating conductor of energy flow.
While Reiki uses a practitioner as an energy channel, the practitioner is never
depleted (if anything. the practitioner is energized) because they are the
conduit and not the source.
For humans, Reiki is recognized as a complementary facet of integrative
medicine, well-being, and healing by more than 65 U.S. hospitals, including
Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Children's Hospital - Boston,
Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Nationwide Children's Hospital.
Reiki can be intended for well-being, balance, pain relief, stress management,
relaxation, a sense of peace, hospice, palliative, and end of life care,
assisting the physical healing process, situations, and focus. Reiki helps the
recipient align with their own healing abilities.
Through my own practice, for both humans and animals, I have offered Reiki to
complement well-being, alleviate the effects of arthritis; help relieve pain after
oral surgery; help bring calm and relieve pain for patients in palliative care;
offer comfort, focus, and balance in stressful situations; bring peace to
rescue animals; support medical procedures, rehab, and healing; support the
mourning process, and reduce discomfort. I have seen and felt Reiki do so much,
and I find most of all it helps, very much, in the "going through" of
life.
Animals understand Reiki pretty much immediately - it is a wild feeling when a
dog takes her paw and guides my hand to where she wants the energy to flow or
when a family of geese in my backyard turn and start walking toward me, in
unison, when I start offering Reiki from the dining room window. I offer Reiki
to both my cats on a regular basis and each cat responds differently. My cat,
Luci has also guided my hand with his paws, or he will position his body for me
and he wants hands-on Reiki. Bob is highly sensitive and until she relaxes into
Reiki, I hover my hands several inches above her.
With training and attunement, Reiki energy is available to any of us, even
animals (like a therapy dog) can be attuned. Dr. Usui intended for Reiki to be
available to anyone. Usui wrote, "In times like these, the happiness of
humanity is based on working together and the desire for social progress. This
is why I would never allow anyone to possess it just for himself!" Usui
called his system Reiki Ryoho - system of natural healing that addresses the
whole.
It is important to note that Reiki is a complementary healing modality and does
not replace allopathic treatment.
Reiki is offered by a certified practitioner. I certified in Usui Method Reiki
Levels 1 and 2, with specialized certification in Animal Reiki, studying
through Nancy Windheart,
in 2016. I've been practicing Reiki on behalf of loved ones, my pet clients,
and folks who reach out to a healing sanctuary I belong to on facebook ever
since. I intend to certify as a Level 3 Teacher/Master
in 2022.
One more note, I honor and remember Jena, the chocolate lab. My need to find
ways to ease her discomfort from arthritis, led me to my discovery of Reiki.
Jena walks beside me in spirit.
Now... Reiki On.