Reiki: Theories and Potential Dangers

I met S.B. at a seminar I was giving on Meditation and Healing. Mentally, S.B. was presenting with anxiety and depression. Physically, she was experiencing tightening on the left side of her face and neck which was starting to spread to the left side of her body. Her eye and cheek were starting to droop from the inability to move her face. S.B. had consulted conventional doctors, but they had no explanation for what was happening nonetheless a solution. Needless to say, S.B. was concerned, even scared. S.B. is a Reiki certified practitioner. Why couldn’t she heal herself?

S.B., like many Reiki practitioners, has a genuine interest in helping her clients heal. But, like the majority of Reiki practitioners S.B. is not trained in seeing (reading) energy or in operating her body as an energy phenomenon. As a result, S.B. was picking up the energy of her clients which was making her sick. She also was “giving” away her energy to her clients, which was depleting her own energy levels making it difficult for her to heal herself. And, she was being the effect of the Attunement Process in which Reiki symbols are imprinted into the chakras in order to allow for the linking of energies which intensify the Reiki energy.

Why was this happening? Reiki is supposed to be beneficial for client and practitioner alike.

Theoretically, according to Reiki: the Healing Touch by William Lee Rand, because Reiki is guided by God-Consciousness, it can never do harm. It always knows what a person needs and will adjust itself to create an effect that is appropriate. In addition, because the practitioner does not direct the healing and does not decide what to work on, or what to heal, the practitioner is not in danger of taking on the karma of the client. Because the practitioner is not doing the healing, it is also much easier for the ego to stay out of the way and allow the presence of God to clearly shine through. The text goes on to say, “Because it is a channeled healing, the Reiki practitioner’s energies are never depleted. In fact, the Reiki consciousness considers both practitioner and client to be in need of healing, so both receive treatment. Because of this, giving a treatment always increases one’s energy and leaves one surrounded with loving feelings of well-being.”

In application, this rarely happens. Most Reiki practitioners do not know how to be a pure conduit for the Reiki energy. As healers, they become vested in the healing process and project their own expectations about the healing and desires about the outcome into the healing process. In other words, they inject their own energy into the person they are healing and, conversely, they pick up the energy of the client. This exchange of energies between practitioner and client compromises the healing and may lead to mental and physical problems in both practitioner and client alike.

Two other aspects of Reiki contributing to S.B.’s problems lie in the nature of Reiki itself and the manner in which it is administered. In order to administer Reiki, the practitioner brings in the Reiki energy into his/her body through the top of his/her head, into the chakras, and sometimes the entire body. The Reiki energy is then directed to the practitioner’s hands and then administered to the client.

The other problem lies in the Attunement Process. In the attunement process, a higher-level Reiki master makes adjustments in the Reiki students’ chakras and energy pathways in order to accommodate the ability to channel Reiki. Energy symbols are imprinted in the practitioners’ chakras. When these symbols are activated, the energy that is represented by the symbols links itself to its corresponding symbol. When the practitioner thinks of the symbol, the energy that it represents begins to flow in order to assist in the healing. In fact, these “energies,” which are represented by three main symbols, are guides, beings without bodies/spirit guides, that link to the practitioners’ chakras. When the practitioner thinks of the symbol (or symbols), the guide (or guides) links to the chakras and is channeled through the body of the practitioner onto the body of the client.

Theoretically, the running of the Reiki energy through the body of the client results in the client receiving a healing and theoretically, running the energy of the guides through chakras of the client and practitioner intensifies the Reiki energy making the healing more effective. In application, this results in a further exchange of energies which further compromises the healing process. In both cases, the practitioner and client are being exposed to foreign energies which are unnecessary for a healing.

The Reiki energy can be administered without the practitioner bringing the energy into the entire body. Channeling the energy through the palms of the hands is sufficient. In addition, the Reiki energy can be administered without the use of the Reiki guides. A person only should work with guides from the space of awareness and seniority over his/her space. Most Reiki practitioners do not have a clear idea or understanding of what they are doing. This can have serious repercussions for both the practitioner and client.

So, why is the exchange of energies such a big deal? The answer is a bit complicated, but for our purposes, I will try to keep it simple.

Everything is energy
Let’s start with the proposition that everything is energy. Everything is energy appearing in different energy patterns. Quantum physicists have discovered that if we break matter into smaller and smaller pieces we eventually reach a point where the pieces - electrons, protons, etc. - no longer possess the traits of objects. Electrons, for example, although they sometimes behave like particles, literally possess no dimension. In other words, beyond the atom everything solid disappears. At the atomic level all objects are 99.9999 empty space. Mass then is nothing but a form of energy. Even an object at rest has energy stored in its mass. The chairs upon which you are sitting are energy as is this building as are plants, trees, and animals. The only difference lies in the density of the matter and its degree of consciousness.

We too are energy
As human beings, we too are energy. We are the individual expressions of the One Divine Energy, the Supreme Being, the Supreme Consciousness, the Source, God, etc. In physics, this energy is referred to as a singularity. Although we all derive from the same energy source, we each are a separate unit of that energy.

We each run our own unique brand of energy. This is the only energy that works for us. Anything else, any other energy, will register as foreign in the body. If the foreign energy is not released, it will create blockages in the energy system. Overtime, the energy system will become polluted. Ultimately, it will become a stagnant body of energy. The foreign energy will manifest as anxiety, discomfort, stress, and eventually illness or disease in the body. Foreign energy in your space will register as pain.

Foreign energy
The only way to heal ourselves is to rid the body of foreign energy. The last thing we want to do is to fill up the body with foreign energy. Unfortunately, this is what happens in a Reiki healing. The practitioner and the client exchange energies. The practitioner and client take in the energy of the Reiki guides.

How does foreign energy enter our space and how do we clear it out? And, conversely, how do we keep our energy from entering into other people’s space?

As healers, knowing how to do this is particularly important because our intent is to assist in the healing process not to compromise it. As healers, the last thing we want to do is make others sick.

Body as an Energy Phenomenon
We are complex energy systems. As human beings, we are transmitters and receptors of energy, i.e., thoughts and interactions. Because we do not know how to operate our bodies as energy phenomena, we constantly are receiving information from everyone and everything around us through this system. And, we constantly are transmitting information to other people and our environment. (Ideally, we should be self-contained energy units.) This information is recorded in the body. The physical body is the record. Everything that we experience at an energy level gets recorded in the body.

As stated above, everything is energy. Even our thoughts are energy whether expressed verbally or not. There are two types of thoughts. The first are those which are neutral statements of fact, such as mathematical formulas. These thoughts do not have an energy charge. The second are thoughts which have an energy charge - either negative or positive. These thoughts are charged with emotion or have a lot of energy behind them. It is this type of thought about which we are concerned.

Thoughts with an energy charge - to which we are not neutral - will leave an imprint in our bodies. A concept to which we are not neutral such as invalidation, anger, fear, punishment or even “positive” thoughts such as love or admiration, if not released can cause damage to our energy systems. Why?

As spirit, we are whole. At this level, we are not divided. We are one. We are complete. Therefore, at this level we are neutral in nature. As body, however, we are divided. We are polarized. Everything exists as a dichotomy: Negative or positive; Beautiful or ugly; Success or failure. A thought with an energy charge represents one side of the dichotomy but not the other. By its nature, it negates the other side. A thought of this type is an incomplete picture. It represents one side but not the other. In the body, this registers as an incomplete truth. Therefore, it can never be reconciled in the body and acts an irritation to the body. As spirit, we become the effect of these incomplete pictures. We are able to express ourselves only through those pictures.

In Reiki, when the practitioner is not neutral to the client or to his or her ailment, his or her thoughts will have an energy charge. If the client, in turn, is not neutral to the thought, it will enter his/her space. It will act as an invalidation (because the thought only represents one side of the dichotomy) and act as an irritant to the body which ultimately will manifest as disease.

Think of this in terms of the following analogy. In order for a river to stay clean and beautiful, it needs to have an inlet and an outlet. If either one is not working, over time as people leave their belongings, debris, garbage, or even priced possessions like cameras, etc., behind, the river will become cluttered and polluted. It will eventually become a stagnant body of energy. The same thing happens to the physical body. Without an outlet through which to release foreign energy and an inlet through which to bring in energy of the self, the body will become stagnant. In ancient China, the Tao Te Ching proclaims, “Whatever is flexible and flowing will tend to grow, whatever is rigid and blocked will wither and die.”

How do we prevent this from happening?

First, as spirit we need to occupy the body and operate it from the center of neutrality. Second, we need to become aware of our own energy and keep it to ourselves. Third, we need to learn how release the energy of others from our space. It is only then that we will be neutral and pure conduits of the Reiki energy.

Accessing the Physical Body
As spirit, we are pure energy. As pure energy, we have the ability to be wherever we want. At this level, we are not limited by time and space. In order to express ourselves completely as spirit, we need to occupy the physical body. Recall the expression, the body is the temple of the soul. In the body, there are seven points of awareness in which we can reside – the seven chakras. The sixth chakra is the only place in the body from which we as spirit can be neutral. This is the place from which we can be aware of energy but not be the effect of energy.

Close your eyes and focus your awareness in the sixth chakra – the spot behind your eyes. This will allow you to give a healing without it being an emotional statement. It will allow you to give the healing without becoming vested in the healing.

Recognizing Our Own Energy
You need to become acquainted with your own energy. With your eyes closed, imagine a ball of gold energy above your head. Call your own energy from wherever you may have left it into the ball of gold energy, called a golden sun. Reach above your head with your hands and feel this energy. This energy is you and is the only energy that will work in your body. Anything else is not you and does not belong in your body. Allow the golden sun to descend into your body replenishing the areas which need it.

Grounding
Now that you know what your own energy feels like, you can begin to release any energy which is not you. Continue with your eyes closed and with your awareness focused behind your eyes. From there start to become aware of the base of your spine. Create an energy connection from the base of your spine to the center of planet earth. Allow this connection, called a grounding cord, to be the width of your hips. Allow any energy that is not you to release through that grounding cord. Replenish your self with your own energy through a golden sun.

Rev. Yolanda Quiroz Soto, J.D., November 27, 2008.