How Reiki heals
I'm often asked what Reiki is and how it heals. It's a difficult concept to explain succinctly, but here's my attempt at amalgamating it into a summary that may help those new to it!
Reiki is one of the holistic therapies rapidly increasing in popularity as people increasingly seek their own answers to the complexities of the health problems they're experiencing. The NHS is just far too over-stretched to delve into grey areas and find the root cause of many complex health concerns, since any number of factors can combine to create them. Of course, Western medicine and medication is essential for treating many illnesses and injuries and has an important role, but there are many less serious but equally disruptive health concerns for which symptoms can only be soothed by medication, and the cause remains elusive. This is where Reiki steps in perfectly, since it will flow wherever it is needed most, without any assessment or diagnosis, and help to undo the accumulated damage at the source and allow healing to take place naturally.
The word Reiki is composed of the two Japanese words Rei and Ki. Roughly translated, Rei means 'higher power' and Ki 'life force energy'. From a more spiritual context, Rei can be defined as the higher intelligence that guides the creation and functioning of the universe, the subtle wisdom that permeates everything. Ki is the intangible energy that flows through and infuses every living thing, including humans, animals and plants. It's also known as Chi or Prana. Therefore, Reiki is defined as a kind of spiritually-guided life force energy.
When the level of Ki is high, the body and mind are strong, confident, and able to cope with life's challenges with ease. When low, weakness and sickness become more prevalent. We receive Ki from breathing, food, environmental energies such as sunshine, and from sleep. Long used in popular martial arts, breathing techniques can increase our levels of Ki, and the rising trend in meditation also helps to nurture it.
In the experience of those who practice Reiki, this life force energy has an intelligence of its own, flowing where it is needed most in the client and creating the healing conditions necessary for whatever that person needs. Part of it's immense benefit is that it can't be guided by the mind (so is not affected by the practitioner), or misused, so it always creates a positive healing effect.
From the perspective of this ancient healing philosophy, the source of health comes from the Ki energy that flows through and around the individual, rather than from the functional condition of the physical organs and cells themselves; it is Ki energy that activates the functionality of physical organs and cells as it flows through them, and is responsible for creating good health. If the flow of Ki is disrupted, the physical organs will be adversely affected, therefore, it is this disruption in Ki that is the main cause of illness.
Of huge importance from a holistic perspective, is that Ki energy responds to the vibration of our thoughts and feelings. It will flow more strongly or weakly depending on their quality and vibration. Negativity will cause a disruption in the flow of Ki, which even Western medicine recognises, since its now known that a huge range of illnesses are caused directly or indirectly by the mind.
The 'mind' exists not only in the brain but also throughout the body, through the nervous system, which connects to every organ and tissue in the body. It is also now recognised that it extends outside the body too, into the subtle energy layers or bodies that radiate outwards, collectively known as the aura, or in scientific terms, the energy field or biofield. Therefore, our negative thoughts don't just exist within the brain, but are also experienced throughout the body, physically and energetically. The places where negative thoughts and feelings - 'dis-ease' - accumulate is where Ki is restricted in its flow, or distorted. The physical organs in these locations are restricted in their functioning, and if not rebalanced, the accumulation will result in illness, and over a longer period of time, disease.
The negative thoughts and feelings experienced in the unconscious mind/body are the greatest problem to health since, as we aren't aware of them, changing or eliminating them is made difficult. Because Reiki is guided by higher intelligence, however, it knows exactly where to go and how to respond to disruptions in the flow of Ki energy. It can work directly in the unconscious parts of the mind/body where negative and low vibrational thoughts and feelings occur, and gently shift the thought patterns and processes. Sometimes this results in situations from the past, old emotions and feelings, resurfacing, so they can be worked through and resolved.
As Reiki flows through and around the body, shifting negative thoughts or feelings trapped in the unconscious mind/body, it releases blockages, allowing the flow of Ki to resume. The body can then be restored and nourished with life force energy, and begin to heal and function in a more balanced and healthy way again.
The non-invasive, gentle nature of Reiki makes it a hugely versatile healing technique for a myriad of health and wellbeing issues, and it is no doubt destined to play an important role as a valuable healing practice in our modern world.
