Reiki: Nothing New Age About It

Over the years the only time I ever seem to beat the odds are those moments when the chances of things going wrong in a medical procedure are a thousand to one against. Due to such phenomenal luck I had to deal with sympathetic dystrophy in my left leg that got so bad I almost lost the limb.

They say that every cloud has a silver lining, and mine was that through sheer desperation I turned to complementary medicine for a solution to my problem. When I entered the acupuncturist’s office for the first time I could barely walk. Three years later I no longer needed a cane.

Having once had my eyes opened I have never shut them. When my wife and I got together she was just beginning her training in Therapeutic Touch. This was a system of non contact massage developed by two nurses who were seeking a means of bringing comfort to patients who for one reason or another could not tolerate physical touch.

The practitioner gently manipulates the energy field around the patient in order to try and smooth areas of agitation. While it may sound far fetched and somewhat preposterous the results are remarkable. Hospitals have found that patients who have received therapy have had their levels of anxiety decreased dramatically. More and more health care facilities have taken to having Therapeutic Touch practitioners on staff.

The more she learned, and taught me, the more fascinated we both became with the idea of these types of healing modalities. When a friend offered us the opportunity to begin the process of learning Reiki we jumped at the chance.

Reiki was originally designed to help people with developing their own self awareness. A serious of symbols acting as a means of focusing intent, assisting in meditation on the universal flow of energy. Gradually it was expanded into a modality that could be used for treatments to help others.

A facilitator and client would agree upon an intent, and then the former would utilize the symbols to focus energy, and work with the client to fulfill their goal. There is nothing magical or mystical about it, no divine intervention was promised that would change your life or make you a new person. It is simply a means of helping people focus on and perhaps solve their problems.

My wife and I are now both what is known as Masters of two types of Reiki; the traditional Usui Tibetan and it’s modern offshoot Karuna Reiki. All this means is that we are able to teach other people the modality. It is not a designation of rank. We have both received certification through the only regulatory body in North America, The International Centre for Reiki in the United States

Article Author: Richard Marcus

Richard Marcus is the author of the forthcoming book What Will Happen In Eragon IV? and has had his work published in print and on line all over the world. The not so long-haired Canadian iconoclast writes reviews and opines on the world as he sees …

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