Anyone familiar with Reiki?

[LMM]

i find it rather amusing that in
a holistic forum as this that
there are so many negative
thoughts on an alternative
healing art....

It's a forum for discussion of holistic therapies, surely, not a forum where everybody who contributes has to agree.

Now I actually have tried Reiki. It was at a time in my life when I was desperate and depressed would have tried anything - I also consulted a homeopath and a nutritionist.

My experience? I enjoyed the lie-down and the focus of attention being on me, having got used to rushed appointments with consultants and oncologists. I wished the practitioner's previous night's dinner hadn't been so strong on the garlic and onions. I felt nothing during the session or later.

My conclusion? Bunkum, sorry.

All in all, like my other forays into alternative (or unproven) medicine, it confirmed my normal, rationalist position. As did researching all the other alternative treatments I was urged to try by well-meaning friends and strangers concerned for my welfare - or rather it strengthened it, making me a total sceptic, eager to spread the word.

[drummer boy]

if love can heal...who am i to fight it.

Right on

[emm7]

Just to say I did Reiki 1 in Oct 2006 and Reiki 2 last year and love it.
Reiki is amazing, it is a gift I feel very privileged to have received.
Since doing Reiki 1 I've given Reiki treatments to several family members and they have gone from utter scepticism to requesting Reiki and enjoying it. My family are all from Lancashire and Yorkshire so believe me when I say sceptical!
I think this is because they can feel the Reiki coming through.
(Have not tried it yet on someone who can't feel it so can't comment on that...)
If you are interested in Reiki and want to know more before attending a workshop or having Reiki treatment I recommend any Reiki book by Penelope Quest. All of her books are extremely practical, clear, detailed, helpful and have a wealth of information.
If you've got any questions feel free to PM me.

[Catt Queen]

I'm reiki II attuned and working my towards IIIa then will go on from there

[magnifico]

i find it rather amusing that in
a holistic forum as this that
there are so many negative
thoughts on an alternative
healing art....

holistic:
# Emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts.
# Concerned with wholes rather than analysis or separation into parts

Holism ie looking at the person as a whole along with their circumstances and environment is a perfectly rational frame of reference for health practitioners. It can in many cases provide a more useful analysis than that of the 'medical model' where people are seen as a collection of parts, and you have to find which one has gone wrong and 'fix' it. It is perfectly possible to have a legitimate evidence base for holistic styles of healthcare and it is widely used within mainstream healthcare systems by professions such as occupational therapists and psychologists.

Holism does not mean simply making something up which is contrary to all science and rationality and relying on the placebo effect and anecdotal 'evidence' in the way reiki or homeopathic practitioners do.

[emm7]

Hi magnifico,

Just wanted to say re:

Holism does not mean simply making something up which is contrary to all science and rationality and relying on the placebo effect and anecdotal 'evidence' in the way reiki or homeopathic practitioners do.

Yes holism is a philosophy / way of thinking.

Yoga is holistic in the sense that it aims to unite (yoke together) body, mind (intellect) and soul / spirit / 'heart'

Reiki is holistic in the sense that it is a form of energy which has the potential to stimulate / trigger healing of the body and / or mind and / or emotions.

All I can say is -- please try Reiki so that you can experience it before making your mind up about it.

[Mehrad]

My life coach was a qualified reiki instructor. She once did some chakra reading, was pretty interesting, apperantly i have too much energy in my head meaning i think too much, etc lol.

[puppydog]

a few things:

i've had reiki treatment, it was nice and relaxing. I won't say it did any more than that, but it put my mind at ease and was nice.

i have had real experience with things like 'chi circulation' 'chakras' 'healing hands energy' etc. There are lots of names for what amounts to the same thing, and in my experience there is some validity to them. Even if it's "jedi mind tricks" our bodies and minds are connected - anybody that's been nervous and had an upset stomach can understand that - and so if our mind can make us sick then maybe can also promote health.

i think there is less chance of reiki helping with specific ailments (sore finger) than of promoting overall general health

as for quantum physics, i've read a few books on the subject and it's all a lot of crazy talk that i don't understand. I'm not sure reiki has much to do with quantum physics per se, maybe just with physics in general.

i agree with the sentiment that this is the holistic forum, it would be good that people had an open mind about alternative therapies. That said, I'm not sure why you'd want to stop smoking dope if you were getting the results you wanted from that anyhow.

and how could you argue against the puppy receiving reiki in the wikipedia article?

[magnifico]

emm & omar

all i was saying that holism does not need to involve abandoning the need for evidence of a treatment's effectiveness, as seems to be being implied by some people on this thread. Holism does not mean 'without any evidence or rational basis'; rather it means 'viewing the person as a whole' - so I don't see why this being a holistic forum should mean that we throw our critical faculties out of the window and don't question whether something actually works just because it claims to be holistic.

[skinnydog]

Not that I've got time to get into long discussions on forums but I just want to highlight what omar tan said about how it'd be nice if people had more of an open mind about these things.

I've trained and am still training in alternative therapies and, like veganism, I never force my beliefs on to people. Yet what I experience where ever I go is people's ultra ultra negative views of it all and how they try and force their opinions of "it's all rubbish etc etc" on to us.

If you're one of these sorts then I don't see why have to justify what we do when we're not even trying to convert you to it. Some things work for others, some things don't. Don't decide everyone who has felt benefits from holistic therapies, like reiki, are lying about their own experiences and have been somehow brain washed by the evil money making (ha!) therapist.

[magnifico]

I'm sure many people feel better after reiki since relaxation (or lack of stress) and the placebo effect have been shown to have health benefits in many studies. So if you wanna do that stuff feel free, I don't mind as long as you're not taking advantage of desperate, vulnerable people by saying you can cure cancer or something.

I only really wanted to say on this thread that it is perfectly possible to practice holistically and in an evidence-based fashion, which is what I aspire to do as an occupational therapist - I didn't like the implication in people's assertions that the evidence for or against reiki shouldn't be brought up here because it is a holistic forum.

Also, if the reiki people really can produce magical energy beams out of their hands I suggest you all stop talking about it on here and show it to these guys instead. Make sure you donate some of the proceeds to VF!

[skinnydog]

not that I've associated reiki with paranormal and occult.

there's no one for me to take advantage of. I do it on myself and mates. It's not a job, it's a useful thing to have that costs nothing to give like other therapies may do (eg oils for massage etc). No professional therapist should claim to cure.

[magnifico]

cool, sorry if i offended anyone i did come on a little strong with my opinions

[emm7]

Magnifico I think it is great you are an occupational therapist and helping people & improving their lives.

I feel that I do have evidence that Reiki is an energy that flows through the body (don't know where it originates from) and has a comforting sensation but it is subjective -- my own sense-data / sense-experience and the sense-data / sense-experience of family members.

I don't know whether any scientific studies have been done of Reiki yet....

I know that personal subjective sensory experience is not scientific, as the whole point of scientific experiments is that they have to be repeatable and quantifiable. I am a computer programmer for a living so I do consider myself to be a logical and analytical person -- and people tell me I am good at my job so.....

I realise this must be frustrating.
All I can say is maybe if some scientists would get together and devise a controlled experiment I would be happy to take part...

Reiki has NOT 'cured' my health problems or made them go away-- and believe me I have them and hate them.

However it has been a comfort to me, deepened my spirituality and provided pain relief. Therefore it has helped me to cope better with the health problems that I have and not to be in such a deep degree of distress as before.

My logical mind can't explain it but my body and emotional self still find some benefit from it so I don't worry too much about having an explanation at this moment in time.

NB an aside -- I have heard that there are Reiki people who work on the NHS at some hospitals, some information may be on the Reiki Federation website?

[skinnydog]

NB an aside -- I have heard that there are Reiki people who work on the NHS at some hospitals, some information may be on the Reiki Federation website?

Some people I know were doing it voluntary for the NHS. Sceptic's: Where's the evil money making plan in that?