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No Reiki for me

I wrote this short commentary on reiki, a form of energy healing using the hands, in the November 2005 issue of The Good Life.

It may not be a fair commentary as I had not attended any workshop on it, but it explains why I had misgivings and was reluctant to attend, especially since the workshops cost big money back then.

This article does not, however, dismiss the power and the usefulness of this, or other forms of energy healing. I know of rei ki practitioners who are dedicated and who have helped many people through this work.

This article should also be read in the context of another article on Energy in our hands. Read also my article sharing experiences of qigong therapy.

Reiki is probably the most popular form of energy healing today (in the 1990s). Workshops, costing $400 or more per weekend, are held regularly and they are often fully-booked. Several of my friends have attended. Most seem satisfied although a few aren’t.

Not having gone myself, I cannot comment much of them except to say why I am not keen to attend. I don’t feel comfortable with the way this form of energy healing is promoted as something special, magical and shrouded in secrecy.

I am particularly uneasy about the idea that only a master can initiate us by performing mysterious rituals to open our energy channels. Equally discomforting to me is the fact that “advancement” comes with a big price tag.

Level II Reiki (to acquire “distant healing” powers) costs twice as much as Level I, or more. Level III, the master’s level that entitles a person to initiate others (for a fee), may cost up to US$10,000! A friend tells me that this price system has fallen apart in the US, where Levels I and II now cost as little as US$75, and level III cost only US$125.

I would feel more comfortable with someone to teach me how to open up these channels on my own through meditation, eating well and so on. It might take time. Reiki’s quick ignition, done while others wait outside for their turn, appeals to people who are impatient. But I am suspicious of most things instant, including “instant energy”.

Energy healing techniques certainly can be taught over a weekend. But it takes time to cultivate the maturity to use these techniques with wisdom and love.

What’s good about the reiki-rage is that it makes many people aware that they can use their energy, especially to help others. But this is not the only way. There is also qigong, pranic healing, quantum touch and many other forms of energy healing using the hands.

And there are lots of books of energy healing, including:

The Therapeutic Touch by Dolores Kriegger, PhD

Healing with Love by Leonard Laskow, MD

Hands of Light and Light Emerging, by Barbara Ann Brennan.