Ancient Instinct

The act of laying hands on a person or animal body to comfort and relieve pain is as old as instinct. When experiencing pain, the first thing most people do is put their hands on it. When a child is feverish or ill, a Mother's instinct directs her to place her hands on her baby's forehead. When a dog or cat is in pain, their instinct is to lick the area. An animal mother will lick or touch her young in distress. Touch conveys warmth, serenity, healing, caring and love. This simple act is the basis for all touch healing techniques.

The Japanese term Reiki (ray-key) can be defined as: "Rei" means "universal life force" or more intrinsically: "Spirit", "Soul", "Divine" or "Sacred". "Ki" is difficult to understand, since there are no English equivalent or adequate words or phrases to translate well.

The following paragraphs attempt at the description: The Chinese perceive of Ch'i (or Qi or Ki) functionally in five different ways, by what it does in conjunction with the body's ability to "move"

• Ki includes physical and mental movement like running, thinking and even growing up.
• Ki acts as an immune system, protecting the body.
• Ki changes food into blood.
• Ki holds in place vital organs and keeps the blood in its proper path.
• Ki maintains warmth in the body and is subject to what we would call lack of balance or dis-ease.

The person who is attuned as a Reiki Master has had her body's energy channels opened and cleared of obstructions by the Reiki attunements, as well as years of working at raising personal spiritual awareness and a commitment to embracing a spiritual perspective of life on earth. The Reiki master not only receives an increase in this Ki for her own healing, but becomes connected to the limitless source. This source can be named or described in any way the healer chooses including God, Goddess, the Higher Self, the First Source, the Universe, Divine Spirit or whatever can be termed primary creation of life energy. Reiki is not a religion or affiliated with any religion; it is the source of life itself and far older than any religious philosophy.

A Reiki session begins with the practitioner placing her hands on the body, either in a specific area, or using  Reiki hand positions. The Ki energy does the rest, without any direction, flowing through the practitioner's hands. The energy has intelligence far beyond human and will go where it is needed. It is not drawn from the practitioner or from the aura, but comes directly from the source. The energy heals on all of the body's levels - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. Reiki allows the whole being to heal itself and will go to the root cause on any or all of the being's levels. People and animals are more than physical be-ings. We have a dense physical body and nonvisible, nonphysical bodies that are energy levels comprised of Ki that direct the state of the physical body. Reiki and other forms of energetic healing connect with these vibrational energy bodies.

Reiki masters are empowered with the ability to open the doors that allow distance or absentee healing. We connect with the image or name of a person, animal, place or time, allowing the energy to flow as intended. Distance healing has the same energy and power as hands-on healing. Reiki energy work can be used alone or in conjunction with any allopathic, complementary or alternative treatment. It will not interfere, but will enhance any other treatments.

Reiki is a healing connection to the Source, therefore a connection to all life, including the self. Healing the self empowers a person or animal to accept full responsibility for "intending to manifest wellness and joy in life". A true healer is one who gently guides others to self-healing; acting merely as a channel or facilitator for love and light to flow through. Animals prove that Reiki healing is not dependent on any belief system. They make no judgements about the outcome of the treatment, and accept the energy with gratitude and love.