August 19th 2005 -
Article 2-Reiki
It is hard to do justice to this ancient form of energy healing in a short article, but I will do my best.
Rei-means universal, ki means life force in Japanese. The universal life force (God) is understood to be the source of all healing. Every culture has had some form of hands-on healing. (For example, Jesus of Nazareth healed the sick, the blind, and the lame, and he taught hands-on healing to his followers. The Buddha also healed with his hands. So have thousands of shaman, wise women , medicine men, and herbal healers on every continent.)
There is scarcely a mother alive who has not comforted her hurt child by “kissing her better” or cuddling her until the pain stopped or the fever broke. The sharing of our energy with those we love is a natural human instinct. It is possible, however, to build on this universal ability by a spiritual training process which includes “attunement”, or opening of the chakras (energy centers) so that the healer becomes a channel for the healing energy to flow through.
It is necessary to accept the responsibility which comes with this gift. I have had hands-on healing ability since childhood, which is when I started rescuing animals which seemed to find their way to me. I have medical intuitive ability to some extent (the ability to literally feel another’s pain) but Reiki mitigates “taking that on” when I do a treatment.
With each step of Reiki as one becomes more able to help others heal, there is also the responsibility to offer healing to anyone who needs it-and one meets such people every day, as they seem to be drawn to the healing energy. Not all are willing to believe that such a form of healing exists, and some prefer to hold on to their pain too (there are secondary benefits to being ill or injured, for many people.)
On the other hand, I believe that every condition can potentially be helped with Reiki. All physical conditions are clues to issues which are causing pain within the psyche (soul), as body, mind, spirit and emotions are fully connected. It is not necessary to “believe” in Reiki for it to work, just to not actively block the healing energy.
A typical Reiki session involves the gentle touch of the practitioner’s hands either above the level of the body or on the fully clothed body. The client virtually always feels warmth emanating from the healer’s hands, and a feeling of peace, relaxation and love. More unusual occurrences are frequent.
I have had a client who came in for a headache not only lose her headache, but regain movement in a paralyzed finger (which she had not told me about.) I have had a male client have a very intense, emotional experience involving the spirit of his deceased brother coming in with a loving message for him. A third person was “visited” by her “secret friend “ from childhood days- that is to say, her guide or angel, (although the child with a secret friend may not know that is who they are dealing with.) A fourth client felt a third hand besides my own working on her-the hand of her angel or guide.
It is not unusual for Reiki therapists to be aware of these energies, since we are dealing in the realm of spiritual healing. Not all of them talk about it to their clients, and perhaps not all of them experience it.
But for myself, and for many other people, Reiki can be the beginning of a whole new way of looking at life-a healing of body, mind and spirit.
Christine Nightingale
(905)453-8095
nightiangel92@hotmail.com
Nightingale Natural Healing
72 Newbridge Crescent
Brampton, Ontario L6S 4B3
Canada