I’ve been asked quite a bit about Reiki Healing lately and as its world can be full of money making freaks and quite dangerous people I thought I’d talk briefly about it and how it works and what the dangers can be.

Let me begin with the science.  Humans are tribal people and touch, empathy and affection from others is important to us.  When we’re hurt, the first thing we do is to put our hand to the wounded site and maybe rub or massage it.  When a child is hurt, we also do the same and ‘rub it better’, even when emotionally hurt it’s good to receive and give a hug, we’re tactile by nature and that is important to us, pain, both physical and emotional are exacerbated by lack of empathy and touch from others, so we have a natural ‘need’ for it.

Our physical and personal space is clearly delineated in our minds, our close personal space is called ‘peri personal space’ described thus…

“The peripersonal space can be seen as an action space which is limited to the area in which we can grasp objects without moving the object or ourselves.”

In this space our brain will work in anticipation of contact, thus if it is seen as a threat we will ‘flinch’ in fear or react with skills that we have learned, this is how I worked out the ‘wedge point’ and touch drills in the Shi Kon Training System. Similarly if it was an attractive person from the gender that we like, our brain and body may have different more pleasant reactions, or if both the hand healer and healee have good healing intentions, the brain and body will react ‘in healing mode’.  The ‘energy’ that both parties feel is their own anticipation of touch – and although not a ‘channeling’ of energy as often described, can be just as powerful.

Some people have a lot of energy and that is not necessarily good, they can be energetic, ADHD, arrogant, nasty, mentally unstable and sick idiots, or they may be calm peaceful, yet powerful people that have worked for emotional intelligence, and learned to control and focus their power with years of hard, correct and powerful training.  Look at their character, their lifestyle, their training methods, their students and healing results to judge for yourself.

Some people believe they are ‘wounded healers’ and ‘sacrifice’ themselves and their energy to heal others, in my opinion they are just as dangerous, passing on their problems to others.  Reiki also has many ‘snake oil salesman’ constantly wanting to put themselves on a ‘higher spiritual ground’ to you and ‘channeling Masters’ – people that are unable to become anything in the real world so they live in their own little ‘gamers paradise’ where they’re special and will probably have their hand in your pocket all the way through.

Hand healing is natural.  Anyone with good intentions can do it.  If one or both people are well trained in mind body connection and meditation it can be enhanced.  It has a good, sound, scientific base – just beware of the idiots and salesmen!