What is Reiki?

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Some things are to be experienced to be understood. Reiki is one such thing. No matter how many books you read, no matter how much you understand, it is really no different from reading about an orange and eating one. They cannot be compared. Still, there is a curiosity before you dive into Reiki, to understand what it is. Hence this article.

We are multi-faceted beings. We know that we are not just the body. We are beings with a mind. Mostly, our understanding of our system ends here. I have a body, I have a mind. We also know that the mind can influence the body; if we search around, we will find plenty of ‘positive thinking’ stories where a person willed himself from sickness to health. But, have you ever wondered what influences the mind?

How do you feel when you are in an old, quiet, beautiful temple or church? How do you feel when you are standing in the middle of roaring traffic? Or in a forest? Or in a hospital? Why is it that you feel so calm in a church, and so nervous in a hospital? It is the energy field.

We have sensed energy fields before. When someone very quietly comes and stands behind you, you eventually sense it, and will likely turn around to check. This happens because we sense it when their auric fields touch ours. This is why we don’t like some people standing too close to us while talking, while at other times just sitting next to someone in silence can be a calming experience.

Now that we’ve understood that we have and can sense energy fields, let’s take that a step further. We can influence the energy fields of other people. Everything alters energy fields – even giving someone a relaxing massage would smooth their energy field out. But it is not really actions or words that make us feel better and worse. It is the intent, which alters the energy that we make available to the other. Even if you were getting a massage, if they were doing it because they were compelled to, that would be far less relaxing than if they were doing it out of love.

When left to itself, this energy is automatically in balance and is fully capable of healing itself. However, damaging lifestyles create a hindrance in this process. A Reiki healer facilitates this by bringing the energies into balance, working on the energy of the person directly.