I used to have a website for my Reiki but am working on something new, but for now, this is what I wrote about what Reiki is:
What is Reiki?
Reiki is a complementary therapy, sometimes thought of as a form of spiritual healing. The Japanese symbols which make up the word 'Reiki' are most commonly translated to mean 'universal life energy'. This energy is what Reiki practitioners learn to work with, to allow to flow through them and out of their hands, into a recipient. Practitioners are basically channels, or paths, for the energy to reach where it is needed, and the best way to become a successful channel is to practice just being open, emptying your mind and meditating. Intention is the only other thing needed to work with Reiki.
There is more to Reiki than healing others; indeed when it was founded it was originally intended to be taught as a personal spiritual path, a path to enlightenment, and a self-healing method. You do not need to be religious or in touch with your spiritual side to practice or receive Reiki: it is neutral. Practitioners should live by a set of guidelines, known as the Reiki precepts, which read as follows:
''Just for Today
Do not anger
Do not worry
Be humble
Be honest in your dealings with people
Be compassionate''
What happens during a Reiki treatment?
Reiki is a non-invasive practice. Often the practitioner will rest their hands on appropriate areas of the recipients body (obviously excluding private areas); sometimes in a set sequence, sometimes in seemingly random order if they choose to heal intuitively and pick up on the areas most in need of Reiki energy.
Much of the time though, quite notably with animals, they do not wish to have a treatment in this way, so healings are done without any physical contact at all. Reiki energy works outside of time and space, so it is possible to send Reiki any distance across the world, and to send it with the intention that the recipient accepts the energy at a time that suits them.
Each practitioner works in different ways. I do very few hands-on treatments; almost all of mine are distance healings to animals as close by as a few inches from my hands, to as far away as the USA and beyond...
However Reiki is practiced, intention is the key. You can do a fancy ritual taking up an hour of your time, or you can just sit quietly for a while with your hands in your lap . As long as you focus on the recipient, and you intend, want and direct the energy to them, they will receive the energy.
What do I need to know about Reiki?
The first thing that must be stressed to the client (usually the animals (recipients) owner) is that Reiki is not a miracle cure. Reiki can and often does heal in many ways, but you cannot expect this to happen, as standard, for every animal. Reiki energy does what it needs to; just because you can't see how it has helped doesn't mean the energy is not helping them. Reiki can help ease physical, mental, emotional and spiritual problems, but it doesn't work magic. For this reason, Reiki must be understood as a complementary therapy, and it should never replace or undermine a veterinarians treatment and advice.
The second important point to mention is the possibility of a healing crisis. Healing crises can occur in a few cases, where the condition worsens for a very short while before improving. These are minor reactions, and should be thought of as 'bringing the bad out, sending the good in'. Healing crises usually only occur after the first two treatments, after which all the negative feelings should have been brought out and the positive continues to help in whichever way it needs to. This is the main reason a full course should always be performed on those new to Reiki, or those with chronic recurrences of their condition - Reiki needs the chance to bring out the bad AND send in the good. Healing crises do not always happen, but there is always the chance that there is enough of the negative there to mean that there is some deeper down which needs bringing out.
Another point to mention is that the practitioner has to make sure the recipient is willing to accept Reiki energy. With hands-on treatments, if an animal wants Reiki then they position themselves closer to you, investigate your hands (where the 'tester energy' has been sent), or make eye contact. Obviously this is not possible with distance healings, so I start out by sending mild energy for a moment. Once I feel pull of stronger energy flowing from my hands, I know the animal is open to receiving a treatment.
If I don't feel that pull or if the energy stops flowing, it means the animal does not want to accept Reiki. In this case I either choose to send Reiki and intend that it helps the recipient when they are ready (at a time that suits them), or I try a few times a day and offer very mild and calming energy.
