Reiki’s uniqueness as a healing therapy stems from five main qualities:
1. Reiki energy is osmotic: Reiki energy flows as if by osmosis and once it enters the body it will be used where it is most needed. There is no requirement to direct the energy. In osmotic terms, there is a flow from high universal life energy (the air around us) to low universal life energy (our tired and exhausted bodies!). Energy will flow as long as there is a difference in concentration. When there is no longer a difference in concentration, the body is in balance. When Reiki flows, it is directed to areas of great need, it is an automatic process that requires no conscious direction or focus on our part.
2. Reiki energy encompasses everything: It works on all levels: physical, mental and emotional. ‘One size fits all’ due to the neutral state of the energy when it enters the body. The energy is used by the body and does not act on the body. Like potential energy (for example, the energy present in calories that is latent until released by our cells), it is inert until it is “channelled” into the body through our hands. Reiki energy will boost any work that needs to be done: on a physiological level, it can be used to repair damaged cells, reproduce, build immunity, create more efficient communication between different parts of the body, or release toxins. On a mental or emotional level it can be used to promote relaxation and calm.
3. Reiki energy flows automatically: Reiki will be ‘turned on’ or off without any personal effort, skill or special gift required by us. Anyone can be attuned to Reiki. The Reiki flow is turned on and off depending on the osmotic flow of energy and without any conscious effort or belief on the part of the practitioner. So, just as Reiki will flow to where it is most needed without our direction, it will also be regulated by the body’s need in terms of the amount of flow required. This quality manifests whether Reiki is being given or received.
4. Reiki energy is complementary: Reiki is complementary to any other form of healing or medication. There are no known contraindications. Because Reiki is a neutral energy, it does not have an innate quality of its own, making it complementary to other forms of treatment, such as chemotherapy, and safe to use when other treatments might be excluded, such as for pregnant women and babies.
5. Reiki energy is universal and limitless: Reiki does not consume personal energy or exhaust you in any way. It doesn’t depend on your state of health either. People who are already very sick can use Reiki to treat themselves or others. This quality makes Reiki very different from many other energy healing methods, for example Chi Gung (Qigong) healing, in which Chi (believed to be the body’s vital energy) must be accumulated within the healer. and then pumped into the person to be healed, dispelling their negative Chi. This leaves the Chi Gung Master without energy. Reiki has the opposite effect in that, after treatment, practitioners often feel rejuvenated having absorbed some of the energy that has been flowing through them to the other person. It is a significant benefit of Reiki that by giving Reiki to another, you also receive it yourself. It also means that no matter how sick you are, you can still start to rebuild your own energy without relying solely on others.