Q: What does the name Reiki mean?
A: The name Reiki (pronounced ray-key) is composed of two Japanese words, “rei” and “ki” (the Japanese kanji characters for each appear at left).
The definition of “rei” is universal, while “ki” means life-force energy. Therefore, Reiki means “universal life-force energy.” Many interpret the deeper meaning of “rei” as supernatural knowledge or spiritual consciousness, defining Reiki as “spiritually guided life-force energy.”
Q: How is a Reiki treatment given?
A: Reiki healing touch, a technique involving the laying-on of hands, works directly on the energy field – or aura – surrounding the body as well as the life-force energy flowing within it.
At Wellspring Rejuvenation Center in Atlanta (Ormewood Park area), clients lie on a massage table while I channel life-force energy into their chakras, the body’s principal energy centers, through my hands. For more information on how wonderfully relaxing a treatment is, please see this site’s section on Reiki Sessions.
Q: Is it difficult to learn to treat myself and others with Reiki?
A: No. Reiki is a simple technique that anyone can learn. It is not dependent on intellectual capacity and requires no prior experience with healing, meditation or any other kind of training.
The ability to channel Reiki is simply – almost miraculously – passed from a Reiki master teacher to student during a peaceful attunement process taking little time. Once attuned to this force in an introductory Reiki class, students can easily channel life-force energy to themselves and others through their hands.
Q: How does Reiki work?
A: We are alive because of the “ki” flowing through our body. This life-force energy travels through energy centers named chakras and pathways known as meridians. Disruptions in this energy flow adversely affect the mind, body and spirit, leading to illness. (See also Chakras).
Reiki is spiritually guided to restore the harmonious flow of “ki,” directing healing energy to wherever someone has blockages (the God consciousness called “Rei” leads the “ki” to areas of disharmony). Reiki is multi-dimensional and can help heal on whatever level problems exist (mind, body or spirit).
Energy blockages on all levels are often caused by negative thoughts and feelings. By raising the vibrational level within and around affected parts of the physical body, Reiki breaks away negativity, clearing and healing the body’s energy pathways.
Maintaining a positive outlook on life is important to prevent blockages from recurring along these routes. “As we think, so we become.”
Q: Where does Reiki energy come from?
A: Reiki practitioners are not transferring their own life-force energy to another when giving treatments. They have been attuned to directly channel Reiki energy from its universal source (an infinite supply). Coming from the Higher Power, Reiki exists on a different plane than electrical, chemical or other kinds of physical energy.
To many practitioners, Reiki feels as if it flows into the crown chakra, through the body, and out through the palm chakras to wherever they direct it (to specific parts of their bodies or to others). Practitioners feel the energy moving along this trajectory when giving treatments. All they have to do is intend to channel Reiki for it to begin flowing.
When treating other people, Reiki practitioners also receive healing because the energy must pass through them first. Instead of depleting their “ki,” treating others actually increases Reiki practitioners’ life-force energy.
Q: What can be treated with Reiki?
A: Any problem involving mind, body or spirit can benefit from Reiki, which works well in conjunction with Western medical treatments. In its long history, Reiki has been helpful in healing a wide variety of conditions.
While some have experienced cures from Reiki alone, they cannot be guaranteed. Stress reduction with some improvement in physical and psychological conditions are what most experience. The energy engages the body’s own self healing. Outcomes often depend on the regularity of Reiki treatments. The more Reiki you receive, often the better you will feel.
Q: Do Reiki treatments eliminate the need to see a regular doctor or psychologist?
A: No. Wellspring Rejuvenation Center recommends that people with medical or psychological conditions see a licensed health-care professional, in addition to using Reiki for their healing. Reiki energy works in conjunction with all other forms of healing, improving the results of drugs, surgery, psychological care, and other treatments.
Q: Why hasn’t my doctor ever addressed my body’s flow of life-force energy?
A: Eastern medicine well understands the importance of harmonious “ki” flow. Restoring it is the aim of acupuncture, herbal remedies and other treatments relied upon by millions of Asians. Unfortunately, the concept of “ki” is sorely lacking from Western medicine because of the lack of hard scientific evidence of its existence. Therefore, many medical treatments in the Western world merely address the symptoms and not the root causes of different diseases.
Western medicine is, of course, capable of myriad marvels, thanks to scientific advances. An ever-increasing number of people believe that the ideal health-care system would include the best of Eastern and Western approaches. The growing acceptance of acupuncture by the medical establishment in this country shows that this merger has already begun.
Reiki is increasingly being researched by the medical community with many encouraging initial results.
Q: Do you diagnose clients’ health problems at Wellspring Reiki?
A: No. During the course of treatments, I often can detect parts of the body that require deeper healing and sometimes receive intuitive insights about clients’ needs. I sometimes share impressions about areas seeming to demand more attention than others.
But I do not venture to specify ailments from which my clients could be suffering. I will gently suggest that they consider visiting their doctor if I strongly suspect that something is seriously amiss. If clients share information with me about their particular health problems, I certainly focus energy on those.
Q: Do I need to feel ill to benefit from Reiki?
A: No. For thousands of years, Eastern medicine has known that maintaining the harmonious flow of life-force energy is some of the best preventative care there is. When your energy is flowing optimally, not only do you feel great, but also your aura shines bigger and brighter in a way that others truly sense. You really glow!
Q: Who discovered Reiki?
A: The power of Reiki and knowledge of how to use it became known to a Japanese man named Mikao Usui during a spiritual quest at a Buddhist temple in the early 20th century. Usui (pronounced ooh-soo-ee).
Known as “universal life force energy,” Reiki is perhaps as old as the universe itself. We all have access to healing energy, but through his dedicated spiritual practice, Usui developed a system for helping others feel more one with high vibrations of energy. See also History of Reiki.
Q: Is Reiki a religion?
A: While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. There is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use Reiki, which has no dogma. Reiki will work whether you believe in it or not. Because Reiki comes from God, many people find that regularly using this energy deeply enhances their connection to spirit, whatever their particular religious beliefs. Reiki is practiced by people of all major religions around the world.
Q: How is one attuned to channel Reiki?
A: During the attunements given in Reiki classes, students sit peacefully in a chair as the teacher touches their heads, shoulders and hands in specific ways while using a special breathing technique and concentrating deeply.
Attunement energies guided by the Higher Power flow through the teacher into students during this process, making adjustments to their energy centers that connect them to the Reiki source, so that they, too, can channel this healing force.
During the attunement, some students feel warmth in their hands and tingling around their head, and a few even have spiritual experiences. Most people, however, simply feel relaxed. Because the attunement process is spiritually guided, it is always successful, requiring only the intention of the teacher to give it and of the student to receive it.
Q: How many levels are there to Reiki training?
A: In the Usui system of Reiki taught by Wellspring Rejuvenation Center, there are four levels of attunements (I, II, Advanced and Master) conferring ascending amounts of healing power. Wellspring Rejuvenation Center provides the first two attunements in the Usui Levels I & II class and the third and fourth attunements in the Usui Master Class (see Reiki Classes Overview) for more details). In the Master class, students learn how to attune others to Reiki as well as advanced techniques.
There is also a school of Reiki called Karuna, which is an expression of the evolving nature of Reiki. The Karuna Reiki system was formalized by the International Center for Reiki Training in the early 1990s. It’s not an entirely different form of Reiki, but it helps expand practitioners toolkit of techniques and symbols.
Because its healing energies are strong, Karuna Reiki is considered the next step after Usui Reiki. Only those who have completed the Usui Reiki Master training are eligible to take this two-day intensive class.
Whatever level of Reiki you’ve been attuned to, the strength of your ability to channel it depends partly upon how often you use it. The more you channel Reiki, the stronger its flow grows and the more deeply you are healed.
If you become attuned to Reiki and rarely use it, chances are this healing method won’t make much impact on your life. But once attuned, you never lose the ability to channel Reiki. It will always be there for you when you need it.
Q: I’ve heard Reiki can be sent from a distance. How does this work?
A: Yes, Reiki can be sent from a distance. This ability is conferred by the Reiki II attunement, and effective techniques for distance healing are covered in the Reiki I & II class. As with the attunement process, precisely how distance Reiki works defies complete explanation, but it definitely operates on a quantum level where here is as good as there time- and space-wise. The more you work with healing energy, the deeper your understanding becomes of the tremendous power of intention – and how we truly are all connected.
Q: Does Reiki have any side effects?
A: Reiki is safe to use on all people of all ages as well as pets and plants. For most, receiving Reiki treatments is a deeply relaxing and rejuvenating experience. However, sometimes people will have what is known as a “healing crisis.”
Like massage therapy, Reiki can release the body’s pent-up toxins into the bloodstream to be filtered by the liver and kidneys and removed from the system. At these times, people can briefly experience mild symptoms like headaches or weakness. These are good signs, meaning that the body is cleansing as part of the healing process. If symptoms occur, it is a good idea to drink more water, eat lighter meals and get more rest.
Becoming attuned to channel Reiki can also spark a cleansing process. In addition to stored toxins, the body and its energy field may release feelings and thought patterns that are no longer useful. Students often report an increased level of intuitive ability and healing of personal problems after an attunement.
For more about Reiki, please read these other informative pages:
For more information, contact Brad Dixon at [email protected].
Copyright, 2019, Wellspring Rejuvenation Center
Chakra image by Rossella Apostoli