Reiki Overview

· It is not a massage.

· It is not a religion.

· It is not a belief system.

· It is not a substitute for traditional medical treatment.

· It is a form of energy healing. It works whether one believes in it or not - even if the recipient is unconscious. It works on animals and plants.

· Practitioners can easily use it to treat themselves as well as others.

· It works well with things positive. It can enhance the effects of other types of treatments. It accelerates the healing process.

· It may help with personal and spiritual growth.

· The name originates from the Japanese language where there is no equivalent to the English 'R' sound.

· Japanese pronunciation: resembles "lay-key" in English, but with the tongue briefly touching the palate, just back of the teeth, when pronouncing the 'L'.

· Anglicized pronunciation: "ray-key"

· Literal translation: "energy of the spirit"

· Common interpretation: "universal life energy"

· "Reiki" refers to both the energy and the practice. It should be clear from the context which usage is intended.

· One cannot learn to do Reiki by simply reading about it. In order to become a Reiki practitioner, one must be initiated, or attuned, by a Reiki Master.

· When a Reiki practitioner treats someone, it is not the practitioner's energy that is passed on. We are merely channels for the energy and are not drained in giving a treatment. On the contrary, we receive a treatment while giving one.

· Many have been taught that the Reiki energy, which exists all around us, enters the practitioner through the crown (the top of the head). From there the energy moves down and out through the palms of the hands.