Reiki – what is it and what does it mean? Some of you may have had Reiki sessions. Others may have heard of this term. You may be feeling a bit skeptical and unsure of what it is. I would like to help you understand it on a deeper level that still makes sense to you.

Understanding Reiki Meaning

Reiki is a Japanese technique that was discovered by Mikao Usui in 1922. It reduces stress, promotes relaxation and often gives mental clarity, all the while also promoting healing of our bodies. The illnesses that we carry in our bodies most often come from mental and emotional traumas. These traumas have not been dealt with properly and therefore lodge deep within our bodies leaving us with various physical ailments.

Breaking Reiki down even further the Rei means spiritual wisdom or universal; it is present everywhere. Ki means life energy. In Chinese it is Chi, in Sanskrit is Prana, in Hawaiian is it Ti, and in science, it is called a biofield. This is the vital life force or the universal life energy. It is considered the non-physical energy that animates all living things. As long as something is living it is surrounded by life energy, and once it dies the life energy is no longer.  When the life energy is high you are less likely to become ill, but if this flow becomes restricted you are most vulnerable to become sick in some way.

Reiki and Life Energy

Chinese have studied Chi, or life energy, for thousands of years. They have found that there are many kinds of Chi. You will find in the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine that there are 32 different kinds of Chi or Ki. This list is over 4,000 years old.

Ki is also used by martial artists for physical training and mental development. In Yoga, it is used for meditative breathing exercises, which we call pranayama. Shamans of all cultures recognize Ki for divination, psychic awareness, manifesting and healing. In the 1940’s, Semyon Kirlian created a method for photographing the life energy that surrounds all living beings.

Using Life Energy To Heal

Ki is present around all of us and is easily guided by our minds.  If you do your best to maintain positive and healthy thoughts, your Ki will flow as it is meant to. Plus it becomes strong enough to stave off illnesses. If you are clouded with unhealthy or negative thoughts, your Ki is weakened and therefore may become unhealthy.

All healers, or Lightworkers, use Ki to help their clients. However, not all use Reiki. There are many types of healing energies, and Ki is at the center of it all. Reiki is a special kind of healing energy and can only be utilized by others who have been attuned to it. Most anyone can perform Reiki just by learning its techniques via the wonderful world of the internet unless you are attuned, these techniques are minimal and possibly of no benefit.

Embracing Life Energy

For myself, I noticed a considerable amount of difference after being attuned to each level. While learning, I had the valuable opportunity of practicing for a few weeks before being attuned at each level. This gave me the opportunity to take note of my natural abilities that I had, and also to feel the enhanced ability after being attuned.

We all have amazing abilities within us. It is up to each of us to be open to embracing those abilities. It is then that we will also be able to strengthen them and learn to utilize them better. As I explained before, we are all made of energy.

Because Reiki is guided by our spiritual consciousness it can never do harm. It will always know what a person needs and adjusts itself to create an effect that is appropriate for the greater good of the individual. You never need to worry about receiving Reiki as it is always safe.

The Power Of Reiki

The practitioner is merely a facilitator and is not able to direct the healing nor decide what to work on. The practitioner understands that the healing that occurs is not the work of the practitioner. It is the loving presence of spiritual consciousness clearly shining through.

Reiki can benefit us in a multitude of ways, from promoting relaxation to decreasing pain, releasing stress and anxiety, easing symptoms of a disease, deepening spiritual connections and feeling increased inner peace. Reiki can also help with supporting the dying process, relationship bonding, addiction and recovery, side effects of cancer treatments, mental and emotional clarity, and much, much, more! Reiki can benefit you with concerns that you may have not even known you were still holding on to.

Reiki works with the four aspects of the body. The physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. The physical aspects are physical discomfort, illness or injuries. The emotional aspect is the emotions and life situations, which also helps to heal and strengthen relationships. The mental is the cognitive or thinking aspect helping with memory retrieval, focus, and mental clarity. The spiritual aspect is how you view yourself in the world, your paths and purposes. Reiki is not a religion but it can help deepen ones’ religious beliefs.