Emily Pfister demonstrates Reiki on a patient.

I regularly volunteer to lay hands on or over people lying on a massage table to help them relieve stress, deal with cancer treatments or handle other issues in their lives. This NOVA student has made Reiki her favorite hobby. Believe it or not, there is nothing more involved in the treatment beyond focusing your attention on someone. I use symbols and mantras to focus and channel energy to them so they can heal from just about anything. Like Japanese food, learning about Reiki just doesn’t appeal to everyone or and may not be something that just anyone finds easy to swallow.

Reiki, (pronounced ray-key) a system of spiritual and physical healing, was created in Japan in the time between 1910 and 1920 by Mikao Usui. Usui was a Tendai Buddhist. According to Browen and Frans Steine, he came from a Samurai family and was dedicated to religious service at birth. Moribei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido martial arts, was said to be a close acquaintance of Usui.

There is something romantic about these men. They were both noblemen from Samurai families and devoted to improving the bodies and minds of men through developing rituals that elevate their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. In their book, Reiki Fire, Frank Arjava Pettzer and Chettna M. Kohashi translated part of an inscription on the memorial stone at Usui’s Tokyo grave to say: “If Reiki can be spread throughout the world it will touch the human heart and the morals of society. It will be helpful for many people, and will not only heal disease, but the Earth as a whole.”

I guess it would be great if I could say that this rich history of the rituals drew me to Reiki, but I didn’t learn any of that until I had received many, many treatments. I didn’t even know what the word meant. I guess what got me interested in working with cancer patients in the hospital and with a Reiki Center was my own forays experimenting with different therapies to relieve stress and cure a toothache that wouldn’t go away. My narrative isn’t as romantic or impressive as the Tale of the Discovery of Reiki. Usui supposedly fasted on a mountain for 21 days before a great sphere of light appeared to him and gave him the ability to heal with his hands, eyes and mind. I just had a toothache!

Reiki is actually a combination of two Japanese words. Rei means spirit or spiritual and Ki is translated to mean energy of life in Japanese. The true meaning of this ‘spiritual energy’ system was always meant to be revealed over time to the practitioners by seasoned practitioners called Reiki Masters. Today, Reiki students understand that the system is passed down through direct apprenticeship to a Reiki Master and that they become part of a ‘lineage’ or a spiritual line of practitioners that can be directly traced to Usui. Lineage charts can be found in all Reiki training centers, and students understand that they must go to a Reiki Master or trainer to receive a special series of attunements or reiju. The Steine’s explain that Usui based his reiju on a Buddhist ceremony called (in English) Dharma for protecting the body.

To be a Reiki practitioner, you have to go through a series of reiju and learn different techniques to sense the energy field that naturally surrounds people. There are three attunements set up to instruct people in the art of Mastership of Reiki. I had to go through rituals which caused me to see colors, people, places and aspects of my own psyche. The details surrounding the reiju are only made available to students of Reiki. Laying on of hands in stationary positions over my torso was involved. As soon as I underwent my first attunement, I would touch my head and feel what I can only describe as liquid heat come out of my hands to comfort me. One time I treated a drunken friend, who later told me that the treatment was a total buzz kill!

Amy Rowland, an American author who was attuned by professional psychic Reverend Beth Grey, says in her book Intuitive Reiki for our Times that “Reiki enhances intuition just as it enhances the natural ability that we all have to bring healing through touch.” Whether it is sobering up drunk people, experiencing comforting ‘heat’ or just visualizing the answers to tough problems, Reiki enhances our natural ability to be healthy and complete people. A person can get addicted working with Reiki, though. What would be better than volunteering to hold your hands over people and feel comforting sensations that make you feel good about yourself? I have seen people recover from headaches, joint pain and the negative effects of cancer treatment. It’s a rush. As far as hobbies go, this is one of my all-time favorites. And I definitely love working with students, especially when mid-terms and finals come around.

According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, 1.2 million American adults had used Reiki or another alternative energy healing therapy. There is no professional license for Reiki practitioners as of yet, and it is not covered by insurance. The reason I practice Reiki is because it makes me feel that I am really tapping into a spiritual force to help people heal. More and more hospitals are incorporating Reiki therapy into cancer and AIDS treatment programs. And, one day, working as a massage therapist, a nurse or a doctor, I will get to live my dream and incorporate my Reiki skills into my work at a hospital or clinic.

By: Emily Pfister

Stay updated by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.