Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
The word reiki is made of two Japanese words, “rei” which means “God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power” and ki which is “life force energy.” So reiki is actually “spiritually-guided life force energy.”
A reiki treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person, including body, emotions, mind and spirit, creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping many known illnesses and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.
A simple technique to learn, the ability to use reiki is not taught in the usual sense but is transferred to the student during a reiki class. This ability is passed on during an “attunement” given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of “life force energy” to improve one’s health and enhance the quality of life. Reiki’s use is not dependent on one’s intellectual capacity or spiritual development and therefore is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.
While reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use it. In fact, reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not. Because reiki comes from God, many people find that using it puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion rather than having only an intellectual concept of it. And while reiki is not a religion, it is still important to live and act in a way that promotes harmony with others. Mikao Usui, the founder of the reiki system of natural healing, recommended that one practice certain simple ethical ideas to promote peace and harmony, ideas which are nearly universal across all cultures.
During a meditation several years after developing reiki, Mikao Usui decided to add the reiki ideas to the practice of reiki. The ideas came in part from the five principles of the Meiji emperor of Japan, whom Mikao Usui admired. The ideas were developed to add spiritual balance to Usui reiki. Their purpose is to help people realize that healing the spirit by consciously deciding to improve oneself is a necessary part of the reiki healing experience. In order for the reiki healing energies to have lasting results, the client must accept responsibility for her or his healing and take an active part in it. Therefore, the Usui system of reiki is more than the use of the reiki energy; it must also include an active commitment to improve oneself in order for it to be a complete system. The ideas are both guidelines for living a gracious life and virtues worthy of practice for their inherent value.
The secret art of inviting happiness
The miraculous medicine of all diseases
Just for today, do not anger
Do not worry and be filled with gratitude
Devote yourself to your work
Be kind to people
Every morning and evening, join your hands in prayer
Pray these words to your heart
and chant these words with your mouth
Usui Reiki Treatment for the improvement of body and mind
– Usui Mikao
Additional Information
5 Reiki Principles You Can Use to Create More Ease and Flow in Your Life | Well and Good
Reiki for Christians | Christian Reiki.org