Reiki
Reiki is a Japanese word meaning
"Universal Life-Force Energy," the power that resides in all living matter.
"Rei" refers to the universal aspect of energy, and "ki" is the life force,
which flows through all living beings. "Ki" is equivalent to Chinese
"chi" and Hindu "prana." The practice of Reiki goes back more than
twenty-five hundred years to the ancient Tibetan sutras, but was rediscovered
by Mikao Usui, Ph.D. in the late 19th century and is now studied and practiced
across the globe.
Reiki is a gentle hands-on therapy
(although the practitioner's hands don't always touch the recipient's body)
that uses an individual's energy field as a means of healing physical,
mental, emotional and spiritual wounds and pain. When used for the
purpose of healing, Reiki works with the mind, body, and spirit, as well
as the relationship among them. Reiki accelerates the body's ability
to heal physical ailments and opens the mind and spirit to the causes of
disease and pain. A Reiki patient is encouraged to take responsibility
for his or her life and to free the body of energy blockages so that the
body, mind, and spirit can regain balance.
Links
This site is a good place to start for people that are
completely unfamiliar with Reiki. It gives an extensive background
and history, but also gives tips on how to choose a Reiki practitioner,
and even explains traditional hand positions for Reiki treatment.
It has a particularly thorough and interesting history of the founder and
masters of Reiki.
This web site was written by a Reiki practitioner and
hypnotherapist. The emphasis is on the types of medical and
psychological problems that Reiki can help treat. He has a special
program called Reikinosis, which combines Reiki techniques with hypnosis.
This page is also done by a Reiki practitioner.
He stresses that Reiki is a Buddhist practice and should not be Westernized
or turned into something "New Age." He offers explanations of the
fundamentals of Reiki, suggests books about Reiki, and lists other Web
sites having to do with Reiki.
Yet again, titled Reiki, this site
answers the question, "What is Reiki?" It's uniqueness, however,
is in the parts about the science of Reiki and the metaphysics of Reiki
which attempt to explain Reiki in a rational and scientific way for skeptical
westerners. These are of particular significance to the Mind-Body
philosophy.
A very good place to look for an extensive list of books
about Reiki, both for prospective recipients and for prospective practitioners.
There are suggested books, along with reviews by readers and introductions
by authors.
This site attempts to discredit the more "westernized"
form of Reiki, and reestablish it as a traditional Eastern practice.
There is very interesting part about personal Reiki stories.
Provided by the International Center for Reiki Training,
this is a huge on-line database of current and back articles from the quarterly
magazine
Reiki News. Articles range from "Reiki and Hospitals"
to "Was Jesus a Reiki Master?" Some very interesting articles--some
a little farfetched, others legitimate and scientific.