“No Reiki session is ever the same, since every individual is unique & in constant change” – Frank Arjava Petter (Reiki Fire)

Note: I published this article in my monthly student newsletter. I thought it made sense to share it here with other Reiki practitioners.

It is not unusual for Reiki practitioners to say that after weeks or months of practice, the sensations they experience during Reiki feels different or perhaps even diminished. For those people who had difficulty discerning energy from the beginning, any changes in sensation can make them feel as if they aren’t facilitating Reiki correctly, which is discouraging.

Frank Arjava Petter’s quote gets at the heart of Reiki practice – whether we do self-treatments or have a practice where we do treatments on others. As we evolve, as we become healed, the nature of what we experience must also change. The strong sensations some of you may have experienced in the beginning when doing self-treatment or working on others will shift because Reiki is clearing and balancing the energy in your bodies. We are channels, and the more clear and open we are, the less work Reiki has to do in order to fulfill its purpose.

There are three important aspects to any spiritually-based practice. The first is to practice non-attachment to outcome. If you become attached to what you’re experiencing physically or emotionally, you may miss information and insights that can lead you deeper into your own healing journey, practice and understanding your true nature.

The second aspect is simply to trust the process. You may not always feel like much is happening, but Reiki is always present, always working. There have been many times in my professional practice where I didn’t experience much sensation but the client reported to me that my hands felt hot or that they could feel energetic movement.

The third aspect ties into the first two, and that is to get ourselves out of the way. The less you believe that “you” are doing something and instead begin to conceptualize the energetic interconnectedness of all beings, the more you will “be” Reiki instead of just “practicing” Reiki. At that point, there is no need to try to change anything; change happens inherently and perfectly.

I have to say I love this cartoon! When I first tell someone that I am a Reiki practitioner, I often get a quizzical look. “Reiki? What is that?” “What do you do?” 

It’s also common for people to approach me and say, “Oh, I heard that you do Reiki” and pronounce it “Reekee” or “Reckey” or “Ryekey.”  After all, it is a Japanese-based practice and not yet rooted in the American mainstream.  It took me a while to remember how to write and pronounce the energy-based practice Qi Gong (which is sometimes written as Xi Gong, Chi Kung, or several other variants) so I completely understand. 

The cartoon plays on the verb we practitioners have given to describe our treatments: “I Reiki-ed him”, as if the energy were literally raking and smoothing down the energy in the recipient’s body.  Sounds rather violent but Reiki is, in fact a very gentle, non-invasive practice.  A recent client with decades of experience meditating with Indian-based prana practices described Reiki as a “soothing energy” after his session. 

If you have received Reiki, what was your first experience like?  Was it completely different than what you expected?  Did it exceed your expectations? Did it change your experience of receiving energy, or healing in general?

Several days ago, I was preparing my agenda for today’s Reiki Refresher workshop.  I happened to engage in a discussion on Facebook with my friend Sherri about the oil washing up on shore in Alabama and Florida.  She mentioned that she and a friend of hers were going to head down to Ft. Morgan, AL to spend time at the beach and send Reiki to the Gulf Coast.

The Gulf Coast is a special place for me.  A friend clued me in many years ago to the stunning natural beauty of Ft. Pickens in Pensacola, FL.  There’s nothing like camping near the beach and walking out at night under a bright moon down to the water, sand dunes and breezes all around.  In fact, I’m happy to be on the beach pretty much any time of day. The water exerts powerful energy; you don’t even have to be in it to feel it pulling away all stress and tension.  I’ve had some powerful moments standing in the surf, sending Reiki to the Gulf and feeling her return the love.

My family goes down to the Gulf Coast several times a year, because that’s where my husband grew up and many members of his family still live there.  Our love of that area is one of the things that connected us.  It was painful to see the devastation wrought in those communities after Hurricane Ivan in 2005, but we understand that these are forces of nature over which we have no control.  You pray for the best and prepare for the worst. 

The recent oil spill disaster is so much harder to comprehend and accept.  It’s impossible not to feel angry, sad and helpless at news reports showing slicks of oil staining pristine sand, and aquatic animals covered in poisonous muck.  The oil spill is not a singular event where we can quickly take stock the next day and begin figuring out how repair the damage.  This is damage that will continue for an unforseeable amount of time, devastating the ecosystem and livelihoods dependent upon this life source.

I decided to add time into our agenda for today to have my participants join me in sending distance healing to the Gulf.  It’s not as immediate as going down and shoveling tainted sand, but I do believe that energy builds on energy.  Whatever we send with positive, loving intentions will be made manifest somehow.  We don’t have to know how it came about; we just surrender to the process.

My workshop participants were very enthused and grateful for the opportunity to send Reiki.  It was a very powerful, emotional experience for all of us.  I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one wiping away a tear or two.  Several of us shared what we experienced during the distance healing session.  I envisioned Reiki as a big strainer of sorts, sifting through and removing all of the oil and impurities.  I’m not a highly visual person but the vision was very comforting.  Another participant said he saw Reiki entering the oil sludge and breaking it up, while another said she saw beautiful greens and blues – our hopeful end state.

Of course, there is so much more we can and should be doing to help restore our coastlines.  We are all interconnected and what happens to our Earth directly affects us too. Sending Reiki helps by maintaining hope and positivity for healing and wholeness in the face of loss and heartbreak.

*sandcastle photo taken by Dana L. Young at Johnson Beach in Florida