Reiki and Hospice Care...An End-of-Life Transition Story

One of the services I provide as a Hospice volunteer is to sit vigil with patients who are in the active process of dying. I have personally found it very rewarding to be able to ease another person's anxiety over impending death by simply being there so they aren't alone at this vitally important moment in their existence. It also often proves to be of great comfort for the patient's loved ones as well, to know that if they are unable to be there personally, that someone is there to provide a compassionate presence during this critical time.

Almost without exception, patients at this stage are unresponsive or comatose. Although I might personally feel that providing a Reiki session for them would significantly ease their suffering, the ethical question of permission comes up.

Since no Reiki practitioner should ever send Reiki to another person without their permission, how can we use this wonderful tool to help in such situations?

I will attempt to address this dilemma with a real-life story of one of my actual cases. Of course, any identifying details such as name or location have been changed to protect the patient's privacy.

Recently, I had weekend on-call duty for Hospice vigiling, and on Friday afternoon, the volunteer coordinator called me with an assignment for a patient approaching death in a local hospital. I arrived at approximately 9 AM on Saturday morning to sit vigil with this patient for several hours, and intended to return again on Sunday to do the same thing.

When I arrived, I found the patient demonstrating agonal respiration and otherwise completely unresponsive to his surroundings. Simple observation of some of the items in the patient's room led me to believe he was a Roman Catholic, as am I. I only mention this because Roman Catholics often are conflicted about receiving Reiki since it has not been endorsed by their Church leaders at this point in time. That's a discussion I have addressed in prior writings and I don't intend to get into it here other than to comment that it made the permission issue even more important than ever in this particular case.

So how did I use the gift of Reiki in this case to ease the suffering of my patient?

I started with Catholic prayers at his bedside asking that the hand of God guide all my actions for the greatest good of this man. In my case, God, in the form of his son Jesus Christ, is my primary Reiki guide, but other practitioners would rely on their own guides in such a situation. Reiki is not a religious practice.

Next, I attempted to make an intuitive connection to the patient's higher self to ask his direct permission to flow Reiki to him. Often when I do this, I will get a very clear clairsentient response, which is usually but not always positive. In this particular case, I did not receive such a signal. I didn’t get a negative response either – just no response at all. That being the case, I went to “Plan B” which is to ask that Reiki flow for the greatest good of the situation rather than the individual.

I began by clearing the room of any prior energies using the Level II power symbol on all four walls, all four corners, and the floor and ceiling. I then charged the room with the positive healing energy of Reiki by inviting all three Level II symbols as well as the Usui and Tibetan master symbols and the Tibetan Fire Serpent symbol into the room to make available whatever energy might best resolve this situation. Note that if you are a Level I practitioner not attuned to any of the symbols, simply inviting Reiki energy into the room is effective as well.

I then sat quietly by the patient's bedside and meditated on the wonderful healing energy flowing through the room, also asking God for a peaceful transition for this patient, who had obviously been a very kind and well liked man as evidenced by the way the nursing staff attended him with extraordinary heartfelt compassion and care. They all seemed to have a sincere genuine affection for this patient beyond the normal caregiver compassion I typically witness.

During my meditation, I received clear intuitive direction that I should charge my hands with the Level II Mental/Emotional symbol, but still was not given guidance to give hands-on Reiki directly to the patient. It was just more of a feeling of preparation than a call to action if that makes sense.

At this point, there was a sudden cessation of the patient's agonal breathing, and he opened his eyes for the first time in weeks. He looked directly at me, but I did not have the feeling that he was seeing me...rather he seemed to be looking beyond me and seeing things that I could not. After just a couple of seconds, his eyes closed and his face relaxed. His breathing did not resume, and I received a crystal clear signal that I should take this patient's hand in mine and ask Reiki to flow to help him on his journey.

I rang for the nurse to check his status, and then took his hand and continued to hold it until a doctor could be summoned to officially pronounce his passing, which took roughly an hour due to multiple emergencies occurring at the same time. During this period, I was blessed with an incredible sense of peace and gratitude, and the knowledge that the patient's transition had been wonderful, and completely without fear or anxiety. Just the incredibly peaceful expression on his face was enough to let anyone see that he had an amazing passing.

This man had been struggling at death’s doorstep for weeks, and yet within an hour of inviting Reiki into the situation, it was resolved and he was at peace.

This true story demonstrates that there is no one simple answer for how best to use Reiki in a situation where the patient cannot grant direct permission. If you simply trust your guides and your intuition, Reiki, with its own spiritually guided wisdom, will provide you with the answer for the greatest good.

Sending intentions and energy for a wonderful 2012 for each of you,

Bob