Reiki is Quackery

4 minutes of reading
Is reiki quakery

 Facts about Reiki from different perspectives

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” – Buddha

Reiki and science

Reiki is an energetic technique that promotes healing. During a session, the practitioner places his hands near or lightly touching various parts of the recipient’s body, such as around the head, shoulders, stomach, legs, and feet. Most people report intense feelings of relaxation, and recipients sometimes fall asleep during a session. Sessions can last from ten minutes to an hour, depending upon the available time and what the receiver needs. Reiki was introduced to the West by Mrs. Hawayo Takata, who learn it from Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a disciple of Dr. Mikao Usui, founder of Reiki.

Since its introduction in 1937 to Western society, Reiki has been the center of a polemic. In both the scientific and the religious community. These debates were fuel mostly by the misunderstanding and lack of facts. To this day, 78 years later, skepticism still exists. For instance, Dr. Stephen Barrett, MD., describes Reiki as being Nonsense on his website Quackwatch. However, we made much headway in the medical arena. As an example, some prominent scientists have and are doing studies about the therapeutic properties of Reiki. They are publishing their findings in scientific publications. One of the published authors Dr., James Oschman has scientifically explained how Reiki works. He stated, his findings are base on the electromagnetism of the body, and the individuated electromagnetic signature of each organ. Most of the studies about this modality are around healings. Anne Vitale, PhD., published one of those papers in which compiles research made by Schlitz and Braud, Wardell and Engebretson, and others in this field. There have been some well-documented studies on the effect of this Energy Healing modality on the Autonomic Nervous System. In another laboratory research conducted on white mice implanted with highly accurate telemetric, the biometric data clearly shows that Reiki reduces the heart rate in both stressed and unstressed rats. Animals are excellent for these kinds of studies as they do not have a belief system that can influence the data.

The medical community supports Reiki

The medical community is the one that has most heartedly welcomed this alternative practice. While it is not universally accepted, The nursing community endorsed Reiki and has a chapter dedicated to it in the American Holistic Nursing Association Handbook for Practice. Furthermore, about 20% of the hospital in the United States offers Reiki, as part of their patient care services. More and more doctors are open to this unconventional care and mention it to their patients as an alternative to conventional treatment. One proponent of this noninvasive healing practice is the famous Dr. Mehmet Oz. As we can see, Reiki is gaining ground within the medical establishment.

Reiki and Christianity

Since Reiki originated from Japan and has prompted spiritual awakening in its practitioners, the Christian westerners have had questions about their faiths and if this therapeutic practice is acceptable with their beliefs. Some Christian clergy leaders have been quite vocal against it. Some church leaders had forbidden their followers from being involved even in hospital settings where it is part of the holistic program. Again most of the resistances are due to misinformation. First, it needs to be mention, Reiki is not a religion and is not part of any religious denomination. As it a channeling of the natural or life force energy, it is compatible with any religious belief, even Christianity.

In fact, healing with the imposition of hands or healing touch abounds in the New Testament. Most of them performed by Jesus. The sometimes miraculous healing that happens during a Reiki session perturb some conservative Christians, and they question the rightfulness of humans performing such. However, one can find reassurance in John 14:12, where Jesus said, I am telling you the truth: whoever believes in me will do what I do-yes, he will do even greater things because I am going to the Father. Another practice that Christian is uneasy with is the notion of sending Reiki. Reiki is love and compassion energy, and for guidance, we can look at Luke 10:1-6, where the disciples were sent out and instructed to send peace to the house they were to be guests, and if peace was not accepted it was to be return to them. The same is true in Reiki when a practitioner sends Reiki to another person, and that person does not want it, it returns to the sender. Jesus was predominantly a healer; he healed the mind, body, and spirit. There are numerous accounts of him perform healing by touching a person. He also taught his disciples how to do the same. The only difference is that Jesus never named his healing modality. As you can see, other than having a foreign name Reiki is very compatible with the Christian faith. There are many nuns and clergymen in all Christian denominations that practice Reiki.

In this brief expose, I hope you can find some guidance either scientifically, medically, or religiously to help you either practice or receive Reiki. 

 

You May Also Like The Articles Below

Scroll to Top