Reiki

Taken from: Exposing Spiritualistic Practices in Healing

by Edwin A. Noyes M.D., MPH

Reiki is a popular “body-mind-spirit” therapy performed by the application of hands. The palms of the hands will gently touch the body, or might not touch, in various anatomical areas for three to five minutes and in a set of up to 20 locations for a full treatment. There is no massage; the treatment will last from 60-90 minutes. Treatment schedule may be weekly with 2-4 visits. With use of Reiki, no diagnosis is needed or made. Any type of physical or mental disorder is considered as a disturbance of a universal energy, believed by Eastern neo-pagans and Western occultists to permeate and flow through our bodies. (Note: It has been reported that there are one and one half million American Reiki therapists in USA.)

The name “Reike” is defined by the following synonyms: “spiritual power,” “mysterious atmosphere,” “intelligence,” “divine,” “miraculous force,” etc. Rei refers to ghost, spirit, soul, supernatural, miraculous, divine, etc.; while ki refers to spiritual energy, vital energy, life force, etc. It is the same meaning as qi, chi, prana, mana, vitalism and the other hundred names used to refer to this imagined force. Reiki has been defined further as a non-physical healing energy made up of Life force energy that is guided by a Higher Intelligence, or is spiritually guided life force energy. This is not referring to Jesus Christ, the Divine Son of God that the Christian follows.

The Oxford English Dictionary adds to our understanding of the alternative healing method of Reiki:

Hence: therapy, apparently based on an ancient Tibetan Buddhist technique, developed in Japan in the late 19th or early 20th cent. By Dr. Mikao Usui (1865–1926), in which the therapist channels this energy from him or herself into the patient by the gently laying on of hands, to activate the natural healing processes of the patient’s body and restore physical and emotional well-being. ¹⁾ Simpson, J., Weiner, M., Proffitt, et al., Oxford English Dictionary, (1989), 2nd ed.

Mikao Usui is credited with re-discovering this healing method in 1922. It was believed to have existed in Tibet in the 1800’s. Usui made it popular in Japan beginning in 1924 and continued teaching this method to others until his death in 1926. From then on one of his students, Chujiro Hayashi, carried on the training of practitioners. Hawayo Takata, trained by Hayashi, came to the United States and has been the prime mover of the therapy in this country. She died in 1980. Reiki branched into several divisions in Japan as well as here in the U.S.A.

The difference between Reiki and many other New Age healing techniques is that treatment is not supposed to unclog, or balance universal energy. Reiki simply facilitates moving the energy from the cosmos through the therapist, and on into the client where it is then said to heal physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The teaching is that the energy has intelligence which can seek out and heal anywhere there is disorder making diagnosis unnecessary. ²⁾ Roberts, Llyn and Levy, Robert, Shamanic Reiki, O Books, (2008), pp. 2-5.

It is reported that the recipient often feels warmth or tingling in the area being treated, even when a non-touching approach is being used. A state of deep relaxation, combined with a general feeling of well-being, is usually the most noticeable immediate effect of the treatment, although emotional releases can also occur.

What sets Reiki apart from other hands-on healing modalities is that to become a channel to receive the energy you must be attuned by a Reiki master. The Attunement (initiation into the occult) opens you to receive and channel Reiki energy to others. ³⁾ Ibid., p. 2.

Training to be a practitioner is divided into three levels.

First Degree level: This involves four “attunements,” by a Reiki Master, in four sessions activating the “chakras,” creating an open channel for the energy. The attunement methods are not made known and it is a secret to be held by those receiving the attunement. At the end of the four attunements the new therapist is ready to apply treatment. It is reported to be a very pleasant experience to receive Reiki, as a feeling of warmth and security pervades. It is said that once you become a Reiki therapist you never lose the ability.

Joyce Morris, in The Reiki Touch carried in The Movement Newspaper, October 1985, tells of a woman who received Reiki therapy. After the first session she remarked:

I don’t know what this is you’ve got but I just have to have it.

Another business lady remarked the following:

Reiki should be available through every medical, chiropractic and mental health facility in this country. Your fees are a small price to pay for such impressive results. I don’t know how Reiki works, but it works; that’s all that counts in my book. ⁴⁾ Barbara Ray, Ph.D., The Reiki Factor, Smithtown, NY: Exposition Press, (1983), p.63.

The Reiki Magic Guide to Self-Attunement text by Brett Bevell speaks to the first attunement:

I have sent a Reiki attunement across all time and space to all individuals who say the Reiki First degree Attunement Chant revealed later in this chapter….If you say this chant with the intent of being attuned to the First degree of Reiki, you will be attuned in the act of saying the phrase. This works because the attunement has been sent out across time and space to intersect with anyone who says the Reiki First Degree Attunement Chant while intending to be attuned. ⁵⁾ Bevell, Brett, The Reiki Magic Guide to Self-Attunement, Crossing Press, Berkeley, CA, (2007), p. 9.

Second Degree Level: This level of training intensifies the Reiki energy, allowing the practitioner to channel energy at a distance and to effect deeper healing. It also introduces three symbols used to increase the power of the practitioner’s healing ability. When completing this level of training the practitioner can heal over long distances.

Third Degree Level: (Reiki Masters) In Third Degree Reiki, you are attuned and trained with the capacity to attune others to Reiki. Another symbol is learned which is said to add power to the person having attained to this level. ⁶⁾ Ibid., p. 76.

Why so many words and space discussing Reiki? It is a power that can be used to transform another person into New Age consciousness (thinking). It accomplishes what the meditative path does for others; it changes the way people think and what they believe is reality. They may embark thereafter upon learning yoga, meditation, and other spiritual transformation practices. Old values change, and truth is no longer truth.

In many physical therapy clinics different New Age practices are common, especially with massage therapy. The therapist may be combining Reiki and other energy balancing methods without the patient even being aware. Reiki seems to be the most exciting therapy practiced and appears to be spreading the fastest. A leading Reiki master made the following comment:

When I looked psychically at the energy, I could often see it as thousands of small particles of light, like “corpuscles’ filled with radiant Reiki energy flowing through me and out of my hands. It was as though these Reiki ‘corpuscles’ of light had a purpose and intelligence. ⁷⁾ Rand, William Lee, The Nature of Reiki Energy, The Reiki News, Autumn, (2000), p. 5.

A Reiki master explains attunement:

Reiki attunement is an initiation into a sacred metaphysical order that has been present on earth for thousands of years …By becoming part of this group; you will also be receiving help from the Reiki guides and other spiritual beings who are also working toward these goals. ⁸⁾ Rand, William Lee, Reiki: The Healing Touch, SouthÞ eld, MI: Vision Publishing, (1991) p. 48. Reported in Youngen, Ray,A Time of Departing, Lighthouse Trails Publishing, (2006) p. 95.

Again a Reiki master shares her experience in practicing this modality:

For me, the Reiki guides make themselves the most felt while attunements are being passed. They stand behind me and direct the whole process, and I assume they also do this for every Reiki Master. When I pass attunements, I feel their presence strongly and constantly. Sometimes I can see them. ⁹⁾ Stein, Diane, Essential Reiki, (Berkley, CA: Crossing Press, 1995), p. 107 Reported in Youngen, Ray, A Time of Departing, Lighthouse Trails Publishing, (2006), p. 95.

Is Reiki compatible with Christianity? Isn’t it natural healing? Check out this quote:

During the Reiki attunement process, the avenue that is opened within the body to allow Reiki to flow through also opens up the psychic communication centers. This is why many Reiki practitioners report having verbalized channeled communication with the spirit world. ¹⁰⁾ Desy, Phylameana lila, The Everything Reiki Book, Avon, MA: Adams Media, (2004), p. 144. Reported in Youngen, Ray, A Time of Departing, Lighthouse Trails Pub., (2006), p. 97.

The foundation of spiritualism (contact with the dead) is to believe the lie told in the Garden of Eden, you will not die, your eyes will be open, and you will be wise like God knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:4, 5) Reiki is a fast track to make that connection with the spirit world. Ponder this next quote from another Reiki Master:

Nurses and massage therapists who have been attuned to Reiki may never disclose when Reiki starts flowing from their palms as they handle their patients. Reiki will naturally “kick in” when it is needed and will continue to flow for as long as the recipient is subconsciously open to receiving it. ¹¹⁾ Ibid., p. 270.

Reiki has become popular in several Catholic convents and some have conducted training in attunements. It has spread throughout protestant circles as well.

A systematic review of randomized clinical trials in 2008 assessed the evidence for effectiveness of Reiki. The conclusion: efficacy had not been demonstrated for any condition. ¹²⁾ Lee, MS, Pittler, MH, Ernst, E., Effects of Reiki in clinical practice: a systematic review of randomized clinical trials, International Journal of Clinical Practice 62 (6): 947.doi:10.1111/j.1742-1241.2008.01729.x. PMID 18410352. (2008) Retrieved 2008-05-02.

In March 25, 2009 the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued (Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy) halting the practice of Reiki by Catholics including Reiki therapies used in some Catholic retreat centers and hospitals. The bishops concluded (rightly) that the procedure was not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence, it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions, such as Catholic health care facilities and retreat centers, or persons representing the church, such as Catholic chaplains, to promote or to provide support for Reiki therapy. ¹³⁾ Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Guidelines for Evaluating Reike as an Alternative Therapy, March 25, (2009).

One of the fastest growing New Age healing techniques being used today is Reiki, (pronounced ray-key), a Japanese word which translates universal life energy or God energy. It has also been referred to as the Radiance Technique. Reiki is an ancient Tibetan healing system which was rediscovered by a Japanese man in the 1880s and has only recently been brought to the West.

The technique consists of placing the hands on the recipient and then activating the energy to flow through the practitioner into the recipient. One practitioner describes the experience in the following way:

When doing it, I become a channel through which this force, this juice of the universe, comes pouring from my palms into the body of the person I am touching, sometimes lightly, almost imperceptibly, sometimes in famished sucking drafts. I get it even as I’m giving it. It surrounds the two of us, patient and practitioner. ¹⁴⁾ “Healing Hands,” New Woman Magazine (March 1986), p. 78.

One obtains this power to perform Reiki by being attuned by a Reiki master. This is done in four sessions in which the master activates the chakras, creating an open channel for the energy. The attunement process is not made known for general information, but is held in secrecy for only those being initiated.

One of the main reasons Reiki has become so popular is its apparently pleasurable experience. Those who have experienced Reiki report feeling a powerful sense of warmth and security. One woman, now a Reiki master, remarked after her first encounter: “I don’t know what this is you’ve got but I just have to have it.” ¹⁵⁾ Joyce Morris, “The Reiki Touch” (The Movement Newspaper, October 1985). People don’t make such comments unless there is an appeal involved. A successful business woman gives Reiki the following praise:

Reiki should be available through every medical, chiropractic and mental health facility in this country. Your fees are a small price to pay for such impressive results. I don’t know how Reiki works, but it works; that’s all that counts in my book. ¹⁶⁾ Barbara Ray, Ph.D., The Reiki Factor (Smithtown, NY: Exposition Press, 1983), p. 63.

New Age teaching is that once someone is attuned he or she can never lose the power; it is for life. Even distance is not a barrier for the Reiki energy, for the channeler may engage in something called absentee healing, in which the energy is sent over long distances, even thousands of miles.

One master relates:

Just by having the name or an object of the person or perhaps even a picture in your hand, you can send Reiki to them to wherever they are in the world. ¹⁷⁾ “Vincent J. Barra Psychic Healer Transmits Reiki Energy” (Meditation Magazine, Summer 1991), p. 31.

Over one million people are practicing Reiki in the United States alone today. ¹⁸⁾ William Lee Rand, “Keeping Reiki Free” (Reiki News Magazine, Spring 2005), p. 37 In many cases, these are people who treat or work with others on a therapeutic basis, such as health professionals, body workers, chiropractors, and counselors. Despite its bizarre and unconventional nature, Reiki has struck a chord with an incredible number of average people. In Europe alone, the number of people accepting Reiki is very impressive. One Reiki master claims that in the thirteen years she lived in Europe she alone initiated 45,000 people into Reiki as channelers. ¹⁹⁾ Mari Hall, “Reiki and the Adventure of My Life” (Reiki News Magazine, Summer 2006), p. 14.

What Reiki is really about is using this power to transform others into New Age consciousness. As one Reiki leader states:

[I]t also makes a level of spiritual transformation available to non-meditators, that is usually reserved for those with a meditative path. ²⁰⁾ Paula Horan, Empowerment Through Reiki (Wilmot, WI: Lotus Light Publications, 1990), p. 9

Statements like this reveal that Reiki is in line with all the other New Age transformation efforts. It changes the way people perceive reality. Most practitioners acknowledge the truth of this. A German Reiki channeler makes this comment:

It frequently happens that patients will come into contact with new ideas after a few Reiki treatments. Some will start doing yoga or autogenous training or start to meditate or practice [sic] some other kind of spiritual method…. Fundamental changes will set in and new things will start to develop. You will find it easier to cast off old, outlived structures and you will notice that you are being led and guided more and more. ²¹⁾ Bodo J. Baginski and Shalila Sharamon, Reiki Universal Life Energy (Mendocino, CA: Life Rhythm, 1988), pp. 33, 49-50.

What concerns me is that Reiki apparently can be combined with regular massage techniques without the recipient even knowing it. A letter in the Reiki Journal reveals:

Reiki is a whole new experience when used in my massage therapy practice. Massage, I thought, would be an excellent tool to spread the radiance of this universal energy and a client would benefit and really not realize what a wonderful growth was happening in his or her being (emphasis mine). ²²⁾ “Sharings” (The Reiki Journal, Vol. VI, No. 4, October/December 1986), p. 17.

Of all the New Age practices and modalities, Reiki holds the title to being the most intriguing and perhaps eerie one. This is brought out in the following observations made by one of the leading Reiki masters in the country. He reveals:

When I looked psychically at the energy, I could often see it as thousands of small particles of light, like “corpuscles” filled with radiant Reiki energy flowing through me and out of my hands. It was as though these Reiki “corpuscles” of light had a purpose and intelligence. ²³⁾ William Lee Rand, “The Nature of Reiki Energy” (The Reiki News, Autumn 2000, p. 5.

Since Reiki is not something taught intellectually even children can be brought into it. In one Reiki magazine, I found an ad that was offering a Children’s Reiki Handbook: A Guide to Energy Healing for Kids. The book is described as a “guide that provides kids with what they need to prepare for their first Reiki Attunement. ²⁴⁾ The Reiki News, Spring 2006, p. 43.

(Excerpt from For Many Shall Come in My Name, pp. 78-81)

1.5 million practicing therapists of Reiki in US at this time and growing rapidly

Don’t be fooled into thinking that Reiki is not a spiritual force. It is!

According to a large Reiki organization: “Reiki can be defined as a non-physical healing energy made up of life force energy that is guided by the Higher Intelligence, or spiritually guided life force energy.”

IS THIS “HIGHER INTELLIGENCE” THE GOD OF THE BIBLE, THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE GOD? WE DON’T BELIEVE IT IS.

AND YET …

Christian Organizations and Churches everywhere are embracing Reiki just as they are embracing other mystical practices such as contemplative prayer.

“The reason for this level of acceptance is easy to understand. Most people, many Christians included, believe if something is spiritually positive then it is of God. “—Ray Yungen” While this is not widely advertised, Reiki practitioners depend on this “spirit guide” connection as an integral aspect of Reiki.”

Ray Yungen, A Time of Departing

The Connection!

Reiki, Thomas Merton and Richard Foster
(Excerpt from A Time of Departing)

A Plea to Those Reiki Practitioners
(excerpt from ReikiDangers)

We love you reikians, this is not about you as a person, we want to warn you about reiki spiritually. We don not condemn you, but are revealing these spiritual problems and sins, so you can repent. We see the destruction of reiki at work and devastated reikians, knocking on our church doors for help. At the end of this page you will find testimonies of saved ex-reikians. That is why we are taking the trouble, the expenses and the time to make this site. We are Christians, because we dedicated our lives to Christ-Jesus. We call you reikians, as you have dedicated your life to reiki, as many reikimasters do. We know that Jesus loves you, just click on “Salvation” and repent for all the sins mentioned on this page afterwards, be blessed with Gods Grace!

1/Reiki is spiritual and it does work, but is not divine, not of Jesus, and not of God (John 14;7). There is a difference between angels and fallen angels (1john4;1-4); there is a difference serving God (Mat4;10), and serving reiki. Between giving honor to God and honoring reiki, after each healing.(Mat.22;37) God Almighty, the Creator, who is our Father and is the Lord Jesus Christ’s Father. He is, is so much more then which you call god; the universe, or cosmos or All there is, universal life force or any name you can think of. He is, God of all Gods, Our Creator (Gen1;1). So, repent!

2/Yes, it is sinful, sitting before a home-made altar (idolatry), with photo’s of dead reikimasters (spiritualism), various objects, candles, incense (honoring spirits), praying and paying for and accepting reiki, thus authorizing a reiki-ritual performance to open the spiritual doorways for reiki energy and their spirits and afterwards serving in gratitude reiki and his reiki spirits. (serving false gods, Ex 20;1-6) So, repent!

A TESTIMONY