Believe It, Or Not...

One of the great early philosophers of both Eastern and Western Christianity was St. Augustine. He lived from 354-430 AD and was the Bishop of a Roman province called Hippo Regius in the area now known as Algeria in Northern Africa. Among St. Augustine's tremendous body of theological works were arguments defending the church from allegations of magic, sorcery and witchcraft (Reiki healers never hear those contentions from skeptics, do we?). St. Augustine summed up his rhetoric on the topic with the observation that: "Miracles do not happen in contradiction to nature, but only in contradiction to that which is known to us in nature."

Fast forward to the 19th century, and we find that the logic taught by St. Augustine is supported by the great physicist Albert Einstein in his famous quote: "We know nothing at all. All our knowledge is but the knowledge of schoolchildren. The real nature of things we shall never know."

Although I am not aware of any evidence linking either of these men to energy medicine in general, or Reiki in particular, it is obvious to me that they would have had no trouble believing in the healing power of Universal energies which are not obviously visible or documented in mainstream scientific evidence. Both of these men were brilliant enough to realize and openly admit that we as humans are aware of and understand only the most minute portion of our earthly existence and surroundings.

Although it has long been known by Reiki healers that a Reiki session will work without regard to whether the practitioner actually believes in Reiki or not, I believe that the healing power of the energy will be complemented and perhaps accelerated by the belief and faith of both the practitioner and the client in its benefits...call it "power of positive thinking" or whatever, but faith in Reiki to do only good certainly can't detract from the process.

As Reiki healers following in the mission shown to Dr. Usui on Mount Kurama, we have an obligation to our calling to continue and expand the practice of Reiki throughout the world, and to further that goal, we must always be sure to present Reiki in the positive and professional light it deserves. Now I'm certainly not suggesting that Reiki healers should be street-corner preachers thumping Usui's handbook and shouting to the masses that damnation is certain for those who don't believe. Such over-the-top behavior would certainly be counter-productive and detrimental to mainstream acceptance of the validity of the practice, relegating it to a cult-like religious persona.

Obviously this is not what we want.

I believe that the best contribution we can make to Dr. Usui's calling is to be well prepared, knowledgeable and factual whenever we are called upon to explain what Reiki is all about. Never portray Reiki as mystical, paranormal, religious or incomprehensible. Keep the explanation simple and concise, and always point out that Reiki is a complementary therapy and should never take the place of traditional medicine. Explain that Reiki is a healing technique rooted in ancient Chinese Taoism and rediscovered in 19th century Japan to balance the body's energy system through a laying on of hands. It benefits the client by clearing blocked energy pathways, thereby helping them heal, or simply to remain grounded and healthy. Importantly, leave your ego completely out of the discussion or thought process by pointing out that you, as a trained Reiki practitioner, have simply been given the ability to channel Reiki energy and have no mysterious or unique powers of your own other than a compassion to heal. You could even go so far as to add that all people are capable of this given the right initiation, and if your practice includes teaching, let them know about your classes.

I sometimes add to the discussion, time permitting, that there are many schools of energy medicine, just as there are many Religions, or many languages. Using a different technique to achieve the same balance in the energy system is no different than believing in a higher power but calling him or her by a different name than your neighbor does. I sometimes loosely compare Reiki to Pranic Healing, Acupuncture, QiGong, Tai Chi or Ayurvedic practices in the same way one could compare Christianity to Judaism to Buddhism to Hinduism to Islam and so on. Different terminology and practices, but all effective and all for the same basic goal. Similarly, this article could have been written in French, German, Sanskrit or Russian and would have conveyed the same information.

Whether it be energy healing, religion, or any other modality, it is obvious that the Universal consciousness caused humanity to uncover methods to reap the benefits when necessary, although these methods differ somewhat from being evolved in different and distant regions of the Earth.

If such an explanation doesn't satisfy your inquisitor, invite them to take a session and even go so far as to offer them a full money-back guarantee if it doesn't make them feel better. Trust Reiki to take it from there.

Keep in mind that there will always be skeptics. This is not a bad thing. Reiki itself functions completely as a free-will system and doesn't get offended if someone doesn't believe. Things will happen whenever, and for whomever they're supposed to.

Just for today...don't worry!

Bob McGrath
Master Practitioner/Teacher
Pathways to Harmony