20,000 Reiki Flavors: Part 1 - What Is Reiki?
21 September 2007, Friday — intuitivesilenceOver the past decade we have seen enormous growth in the holistic and alternative healthcare fields. In the same time period, one facet of these fields has seen more expansion than any other: energy-based healing modalities, more commonly known by the generic term reiki.
The term reiki (pronounced ray-key*) originates from Japan. It is generally accepted that Rei translates to “universal”, and Ki converts to “life force energy”.‡ These however are very general interpretations because Japanese ideograms (or kanji’s) have many levels of meaning. For example, Rei is “more accurately interpreted to mean higher knowledge or spiritual consciousness”¹ and Ki “means the same as Chi in Chinese, Prana in Sanskrit and Ti or Ki in Hawaiian. It has been given many other names in various cultures.”²
In practice, Reiki (capitalized; or more appropriately Usui System of Natural Healing) is a designed methodical practice of applying reiki, or universal life force energy, for the purpose of stress reduction and relaxation. Reiki was rediscovered by Dr. Mikao Usui in the early 1900’s, and is administered through the “laying on of hands” - a technique which has been practiced for many centuries by persons of every culture and religion.
When administered by adept and qualified practitioners reiki has been shown to be a simple yet powerful adjunct to any healthcare regime. In some cases, persons have reported unbelievable and even miraculous results from reiki treatment.
