Reiki—Exploring Its Mystery

By Siddheshwari Sullivan

Siddheshwari Sullivan, longtime OPEN EXCHANGE lister, offers private sessions at the Reiki Center of the East Bay in our Health & Healing category. What is Reiki? Read on...

Reiki is a spiritual healing practice that can help return us to balanced functioning on every level—physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, even social." This lucid description is from the newly published book Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide by Pamela Miles, a colleague of mine and a Reiki Master for fifteen years.

The form of Reiki is very simple. A trained person places hands on the body of the one seeking treatment and energy flows, bringing the healing and balance that Pamela mentions. The mystery of Reiki, on the other hand, is immense.

Although much is documented about the effects of Reiki, such as improved immune function, and reduced stress, anxiety and pain, Reiki works in ways that are not understood. For instance, I treated a woman who had been depressed from childhood. After a few treatments, the depression was completely gone, and it did not return during the several years we remained in contact. Through Reiki, a severe burn on my finger healed faster than a blister I got on the same day as the burn. "Miracle" stories abound.

At other times, on the face of it, Reiki seems not to work at all. In my nineteen years of practice, however, I have noticed the subtle ways in which it sometimes works, opening doors and leading people to what they most need.

My daughter's situation is just one example. When she was two years old, before I learned Reiki, she received a series of treatments from a friend to help heal chronic colds and ear infections; I noticed no obvious improvement. Shortly after the Reiki treatments, the door opened to another source of help. Someone referred us to a chiropractor who diagnosed my daughter with candidiasis and allergies and put her on a very strict diet. After two years of this diet and continued Reiki, her health improved enough that she could begin to eat foods that used to cause her problems. Her diet was no longer patently clear; what she could safely eat varied from day to day. A struggle between us and within me ensued during these early school years. My daughter wanted to eat the foods her friends ate. I wanted her to be healthy, and I wanted her to be happy. As time went on, I realized that she ought to learn for herself what her body needs. I encouraged her to check in with her body; that developed her intuition. At the same time, I learned to let go of the need to control. Rather than just cure an infection, Reiki put my daughter on a life-path of healthful eating and inner knowing, and helped me grow in trust, which also improved our relationship.

Reiki, being divine, intelligent, loving, healing energy, flows to where the person needs it most. When the changes it brings are not obvious, we might explore all our levels of being—emotional, mental, physical, spiritual, and social. If we do, we are likely to notice the subtle immensity of Reiki's mysterious work in our lives.