Reiki
Is reiki, as it explains itself, real?
If it works, does it matter?
The origin story of this modality is beautiful--a man who had spent his life toiling in the business world, attaining earthly riches but no internal peace, threw his money in the direction of the attainment of enlightenment, hiring master after master, asking them to teach him how to achieve eternal spiritual bliss.
Finally, fed up, one master said: you must prepare for enlightenment as though you are preparing to die.
He took this missive seriously. He gave away all earthly possessions and took himself to a holy site, a waterfall, engaging in a particular form of meditative practice, allowing the water to fall onto the crown of his head. (Talk about ritual immersion!) He was so dedicated that he was prepared to stay there until he attained the enlightenment he sought, or until he died.
So he stayed under the waterfall--he waited--night fell--he shivered--he hungered--he experienced a gauntlet of emotional, physical and spiritual upheaval, and then, somehow enlightenment arrived.
Everything had changed. Nothing had changed. Somehow, it came over him and he knew he had arrived at the appointed state. Overjoyed, he ran in the direction of his master's house, excited to tell him the news.
He tripped. He fell. He injured himself. Even this did not dissuade him from the joys of enlightenment. He laughed, he knelt to tend to his wound, and with the simple touch of his hands, spontaneously healed.
This is the mythical origin of Reiki Healing--a mere side effect to the bliss of the attainment of enlightenment.
But it gave Usui something to do with the rest of his life! He was not just chopping wood and carrying water, he was teaching other people how to channel and use this universal healing power.
Perhaps this is the reason that there does not seem to be as much pushback about Reiki as an appropriative act--the person who created the modality, who had the spark of enlightened healing, explicitly wanted this healing energy to spread as far and wide as possible.
And it has. Reiki is a direct lineage--I was trained by a master who was trained by a master who was trained by a master, and the line goes back to Usui himself.
But you don't have to believe any of that for Reiki to work.
See, instead, this study, or this one, or this meta-analysis (that's a study of studies) put out by UCLA.
Western science cannot yet explain the why or the how of Reiki's efficacy, but it can sure demonstrate that it's effective. And guess what? We don't know the why or the how behind the efficacy of antidepressants, either (the commonly held belief that they correct a serotonin imbalance is simply untrue--depressed people often have just as much serotonin as non-depressed people prior to treatment) but there's something about pharmaceuticals that has the feel of legitimacy.
So we have a practice with demonstrated benefits that has none of the risks or side effects of treatments like medications and surgeries.
In my view, it's insensible to try more invasive procedures before an evidence based practice without any risk. The fact that it feels a little esoteric or woo-woo is simply a bias. Dismissing reiki as a treatment is not supported by the literature.
Available both in-person and via remote session.
$120/hr via zoom
$225/90 minutes in person
