Read about the history of Reiki, a unique hands-on healing method. Find out what a treatment of this laying on of hands is like and what it can help you with.
Reiki is an incredibly effective form of energetic healing. What is energetic healing? Most of us have heard of the expression, 'laying on of hands.' Healing through touch has been around since ancient times, mentioned in the Bible as well as numerous other sources, both Eastern and Western. Many charismatic Christian leaders claim they can heal with this method.
Reiki is often called Universal Life Force Energy and is a union of the great, universal consciousness (Rei) with individual, personal energy (ki - or chi as the Chinese call it). It is actually a rediscovery of the ancient spiritual traditions of hands-on healing as practiced in the Orient.
The beginnings of Reiki as we know it in the West are somewhat obscure due to the upheavals surrounding World War II. Our knowledge has come to us through one practitioner and teacher, a woman named Mrs. Hawayo Takata. As far as we know, Reiki was rediscovered and developed by a Japanese man, Dr. Mikao Usui, prior to World War II.
As Mrs. Takata told the story, Dr. Usui was a Christian priest at a small school in Kyoto. Some of his students asked him if he believed in the healing miracles of Jesus Christ; they also asked if he believed we could do everything Jesus could do. Although Dr. Usui's answer to both of these questions was yes, he could not show the boys how Jesus healed. This sparked the priest's quest.
Again according to Mrs. Takata, Dr. Usui traveled throughout Asia seeking the secrets of healing through touch. He finally came upon some information in ancient Tibetan texts but was unable to comprehend it. After days of fasting and meditation, Dr. Usui came to an understanding of these techniques and returned to Japan.
As he practiced Reiki in the poor section of Tokyo, Dr. Usui realized the importance of coupling spiritual healing with physical healing. He discovered that in order to make the healing more effective and long-lasting, an exchange of energy had to take place, which engendered the will to be healed.
Before his death, Dr. Usui trained Dr. Chiyiro Hayashi, who opened a Reiki clinic in Tokyo. It was probably Dr. Hayashi who developed the specific hand positions taught to Reiki practitioners today.
In the early 1930s, Mrs. Takata, a Hawaiian woman of Japanese descent, became very ill while visiting relatives in Tokyo. As she was preparing to have surgery, she kept hearing a voice saying, "Operation not necessary." Exploring other healing options led her to Dr. Hayashi's clinic where she was healed through Reiki.
Mrs. Takata was so impressed that she asked to be trained in Reiki techniques, but Dr. Hayashi took some convincing since she was a foreigner. He did eventually train her, and as World War II approached, he asked her to carry on the Reiki tradition in the United States.
Mrs. Takata continued to practice Reiki until her death in 1980, passing on her knowledge by training 22 masters during the last five years of her life. Most of what we know of Reiki comes to us through this woman. The 22 masters she trained have continued to train others in this unique energy healing technique.
As more research into the foundations of Reiki has been done, many now suspect that Dr. Usui was not Christian, but rather Buddhist. In fact, he may have been neither. Apparently there was an extensive spiritualist community in Japan in the 1920s, and Dr. Usui may have been a seeker in this tradition. Instead of traveling throughout Asia seeking knowledge, it seems he may have meditated on a sacred mountain outside of Kyoto, Japan to rediscover the Reiki techniques and mantras (words repeated silently during healing).
At any rate, whatever its genesis, Reiki is an effective means of healing that affects every aspect of our lives. In my personal experience, I found it to be very powerful, yet subtle. I could definitely feel changes in my physical body, and while healing on other levels is of course not as readily evident, I do believe it has helped me become more centered and aware of my path in life.
My former Reiki practitioner, Jeanie, always stresses that Reiki energy is available to all of us. She says that it is our intent to heal and our willingness to be open to this energy that enable us to tap into this incredible source of healing energy. Thus Reiki is the perfect self healing technique. There are of course special Reiki trainings and attunements that are beneficial for enabling one to use this energy, and many Reiki practitioners do not agree with Jeanie's point of view. As with so many other healing modalities, Reiki has branched into several different schools of thought and technique. Personally, I like Jeanie's ideas because they empower me in my own healing. It is my belief that ultimately I am my own best healer.
What is a Reiki session like, you may be wondering? I have been to two Reiki Masters for treatment. A Reiki Master has had extensive training in the technique and can herself teach it. For all you modest folks out there, the good thing about a Reiki session is that you stay fully clothed. Usually you talk with the therapist for a while, discussing what is going on with you, not only physically but emotionally and spiritually as well. Reiki is definitely a holistic treatment in that it seeks to address all dimensions of well-being.
You then lie on a massage table and the Reiki practitioner lays her hands either on your body or just inches away from your body at specific places. The hand positions the therapist uses are standard among Reiki practitioners, I believe; however, some areas of the body may be focused on for a longer time period depending on what is going on with you. As the client, all you have to do is close your eyes, breathe deeply, and relax. Usually the practitioner plays some soft, calming music.
For me, Reiki sessions are always very soothing - I often go into a meditative state or even fall into a light sleep! During my first session with Jeanie, I experienced an intense pain in my head for a brief while - as I told her afterwards, I had a sensation of burning cold. She said that was the energy of some repressed memories being released - as with many adults, my dysfunctional family of origin has likely spawned plenty of bad memories I might want to repress! And, believe me, I am glad to release them, too.
Reiki is an excellent therapy for physical healing as well as for healing emotional wounds. In my case, the chronic bladder problems I had suffered from for years responded very well to just two Reiki treatments, and my frequent back pain improved as well. I know that Jeanie has worked with physical problems far more serious than mine, with a marked degree of success.
I always viewed my sessions with Jeanie as an opportunity to center and discover what it was I needed at that moment to function more effectively in my life. They were my special time to slow down and catch a glimpse of my direction and purpose.
I would recommend Reiki for just about anyone. I suspect anyone who is a Reiki Master could help you with whatever healing you seek, be it physical or otherwise. If nothing else, Reiki is an unparalleled method of allowing ourselves to find a brief period of peace in our hectic twenty-first century lives.
