· what is reiki healing energy therapy?
· reiki heritage – how and where it started
· what happens in a reiki treatment?
· who can have reiki treatments?
· reiki for horses
and ponies
· working against stress with reiki. some
interesting statistics (including the House of Lords report)
· The Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health – healing research findings
· thinking outside the square with reiki – a few
examples
· ‘windows of calm’ – how to capture one every day using flowers or nature
energy
·
PIP –
Polycontrast Interference Photography – capturing human/ animal energy fields
Note: Please
click on any of the above Hyperlinks to go directly to that section.
Then
use both side-bars to navigate up/down the sections/page and/or view my full web
page with the top navigation icons.
Note: PIP image provided
courtesy of The Centre for Human Energy Field Research
What
is reiki energy therapy?
Reiki
Jin-Kei-Do – the way of compassion and wisdom through Reiki.
By the laying
on of hands on key energy points and meridians, this non-invasive healing
energy therapy encourages:-
· increased
well-being – revitalising and refreshing the body and mind through deep
relaxation
· stress and
tension reduction
· stimulated
energy flows – for optimum vitality, fitness and good health
· enhanced
self-healing and recuperative abilities if experiencing weariness, illness,
injury, trauma or feelings of ‘life imbalance’
· windows of
calm – ‘you time’ in a busy world
Reiki
encourages a deep tranquillity of the mind and body allowing the recipient to
optimise their vitality but also to support self-healing, personal development
and energising capabilities if required.
Reiki works ‘holistically’ – by treating the whole not just what we can
see or feel on the ‘surface’. Whilst
achieving states of gentle harmony and peacefulness, the body and mind are
simultaneously invigorated to an unexpected juxtaposition of being relaxed yet
‘sharp’. Reiki can be a stand alone
‘treat’ or used as a powerful yet gentle complementary therapy to be used with
confidence alongside orthodox healthcare.
Qualified
Reiki Jin-Kei-Do lineage practitioners such as myself frequently think of Reiki
as ”spiritually guided life force energy". It creates and sustains everything in existence and can be used
to transform and rejuvenate humans and animals, with the practitioner merely
acting as the conduit or ‘pipe’ along which the energy travels for the
recipient’s highest good. The energy is
not ‘of the practitioner’ so the recipient is assured the healing energy is
pure.
Reiki is not
a belief system based on ‘religion’ so if a recipient has a ‘faith’, Reiki is
not in conflict.
Reiki heritage – how and
where it started
rei –
universal
ki –
life force
Reiki is
frequently translated to mean Universal Life Energy or Life Force, and is made
up of two Japanese characters “Rei” and “ki” (pronounced ‘Ray-key’). “Rei” can be translated to mean both universal,
as in everywhere, and also spiritual wisdom, whilst “ki” means chi or the vital
life force within every living thing.
Reiki is the
descriptive name for the Usui art of Natural Healing which was re-discovered in
the late 1800’s by the Japanese scholar Dr Mikao Usui who set out to understand
more about how the ancient mystics and religious teachers were able to
heal. Although some of Usui’s history
is hard to clarify, the consensus of opinion is as follows.
Dr Usui was
born in 1865 and followed a variety of professions including being a
businessman, a politician’s secretary, a missionary and a supervisor of
convicts. During his time as private
secretary to Japan’s Secretary of Interior and State, Shimpei Goto, Usui
travelled to China, America and Europe which allowed him to study
voraciously. His reading included
psychology, western and Chinese medicine, theology, Zen Buddhism and
healing. He became a well-known healer
and in the aftermath of the 1923 earthquake that destroyed Tokyo and Yokohama
and killed around 140,000 people, Usui took to the streets to offer Reiki
healing to those who survived the quake and fires that followed. In recognition of his work during Japan’s
greatest natural disaster, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate.
Little would
Usui have known that his fascination and interpretation of the ancient art of
natural healing would become a highly popular global complementary practice,
flourishing as people seek more balanced ways of living and looking after
themselves.
What happens
in a reiki treatment?
Dependent upon which the recipient will find
most comfortable and relaxing, fully clothed treatments are given either lying
down on a treatment table, or sitting on a chair. Reiki therapy involves the practitioner placing their hands
gently on key energy points and meridians and allowing the energy to reach the
recipient via the practitioner, not from the practitioner. Equally, it is not for the practitioner to
decide where the healing energy goes or to influence it in any
way…practitioners are merely the conduits.
Reiki has its own wisdom and will support the body and mind where it is
needed – it decides where to focus for the recipient’s
highest good. Reiki helps restore
harmony to the body/mind through a safe and gentle experience although no
promise of specific results can ever be made.
After all, it is the quality of life that is important not necessarily
the absence of symptoms.
During a treatment, the recipient will often
become deeply relaxed yet remain aware of what is happening around them, for
example, the music, the birdsong etc,.
In this state of peacefulness, the mind is sometimes freed from the ‘noise’
of everyday life to think through thoughts with new clarity or to rejoice in
the ‘window of calm’ that a treatment can offer. Sometimes a healing process is instigated with the body and mind
commencing a cleansing of toxins, removing blockages and ‘memory scars’ caused
by stress or ill health. I firmly believe Reiki treatments can ‘rejuvenate and
invigorate’…..and I liken it to taking a weekend away, where we come back
feeling pleasantly different, ready to face the week with renewed optimism and
dynamism.
Treatments usually last for around 45-60
minutes although if seated, they may be slightly less. Treatments can be taken as one-off sessions
although the ideal schedule is three to four consecutive treatments that
frequently provide greater momentum.
For treating animals I prefer to adapt to
their surroundings and work in an environment where they will feel content and
relaxed, perhaps a horse/pony within their stable or a dog/cat in its basket by
the Aga or fire.
Who
can have reiki treatments?
Any adult,
child or animal can receive Reiki and it’s not ageist! Whether the recipient is 9 months or 90
years old, Reiki treatments are ‘windows of calm’ from the everyday demands
placed upon the body and mind.
Animals
are frequently receptive to Reiki. For
animal lovers, seeing our pets suffering affects us deeply so by giving them
non-invasive Reiki treatments, the energy can help the animal to resolve
physical and psychological imbalances, easing their silent suffering through a
gentle healing process. I have noticed
that quite frequently humans are drawn to new ‘therapies’ through our strong
desire to help our animals where normally perhaps, alternative treatments would
have been cast aside as ‘weird’. Thus,
our beloved pets sometimes lead us to explore new areas of information, which
without their prompting, we might never have found for them or ourselves.
Working with reiki against stress: some interesting statistics…
Certain levels
of stress in our daily and working lives are beneficial as it helps us to
perform well. But if the stress is
relentless then we become increasingly tired, perhaps we start to make minor
mistakes, in turn this may reduce our effectiveness and if unresolved, stress
can lead to illness and absenteeism from work.
Stress can damage our immune system and eat into our confidence, slowly
demoralising our belief in our ability to ‘cope’.
The following
are some interesting statistics on stress and complementary therapies
(CoT). I detail them not to scare, but
rather to show that seeking CoT treatments is an increasingly popular choice in
maintaining a healthy ‘balance’ in our bodies in today’s demanding environment.
· c12.8 million
working days are lost every year in the UK to stress.5
· In 2005, half
the UK workforce was believed to suffer from stress, with 26% of the survey
respondents believing between 50 and 75% of the workforce was a more realistic
figure for those suffering from some degree of stress. 3
· In May 2006,
an internet survey found that 1 in 3 UK workers (or c33%) cannot get to sleep
at night through anxiety; in 2003, a
Samaritan survey revealed 80% of Britons suffered stress at some time. 4
· 23% of the UK
companies researched had no stress beating policies in place in 2005. Only 6% were working on developing policies.3
· An estimated
market size in the USA at 2005 for ‘Alternative Healthcare’ which includes
holistic disease prevention, health/wellness solutions and complementary
therapies, was US$30.7 billion.2
· 20% of the UK population was
estimated to use CoT in 1999, spending c£1.6 billion1
· A BBC survey
in 1999 established the main reasons why UK citizens used CoT and their
percentages: 25% used CoT to help
relieve pain; 21% just because they liked it; 19% because it was relaxing; 12%
as a preventative measure; 11% on a
doctor’s referral. 1
· Growth in CoT in the USA between 1990
and 1997 increased from 4.2% to 7% (up 66%) for healing, and from 13.1% to
16.3% (up 24%) for relaxation techniques; the number of visits to complementary
and alternative practitioners increased during the period by 43.7%.1
· The House of Lords report stated that
“CoT use in the United Kingdom is high and is increasing. This conclusion
is supported by anecdotal evidence received from many of the report’s witnesses
including the Foundation for Integrated Medicine (FIM), the NHS Alliance and
the Department of Health, confirming that the public are very interested in
this area”. 1
Sources
1 House of Lords Science &
Technology – 6th Report (11/2000) http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199900/ldselect/ldsctech/123/12301.htm
2 Lifestyles of Health &
Sustainability conference (LOHAS) – California USA, April 2005
3 PTP Training & Marketing survey,
April 2005;
4 The Samaritans Survey (www.bbc.co.uk, www.samaritans.org.uk, www.scotsman.com)
5 UK Health & Safety Executive Statistics 2004/05
With the
above in mind, is it surprising many of us succumb to stress from time to time
in both our home and working lives? If
ever we felt ‘alone’ in struggling to balance our lives, I feel the above can
give us comfort!
With regular
Reiki treatments, unhealthy build-ups of stress can be addressed to benefit the
individual both in the home and/or work environments. By taking responsibility for our own health and adopting a
‘prevention rather than cure’ stance, and not looking to medication alone for
all the answers, gradually the body’s reaction to stress can be readjusted
through non-invasive methods. Stress
drains the body’s natural harmony and balance – by dedicating time for deep
relaxation through enjoyable and peaceful therapies, we nourish the ‘you’ deep
within, which in turn encourages our body to resist dis-harmony positively.
In my
opinion, in an increasingly fast-paced business world, organisations can ill
afford short or long-term sickness in their staff. Companies who ‘look after’ their teams are, in my opinion, more
likely to retain a competitive edge because the workforce feel valued and protected,
which in turn may lead to greater degrees of loyalty, a mindset that will ‘go
the extra mile’ when under pressure, increased productivity, and a team that
are healthy and happy with reduced sick leave.
With the huge financial toll that stress-related illness costs UK
employers (>£350 million a year), can we afford to ignore our
corporate and individual responsibility to protect our well being?
The Prince’s
Foundation for Integrated Health – healing research
A
contributor to the “Searching for Evidence” report by The Prince’s Foundation
for Integrated Health was St Martin’s College Lancaster’s Clare Weze (BSc, MSc)
who conducted research into the “Evaluation of healing by gentle touch”. Collected from data from 76 patients with
musculoskeletal disorders, each individual received four treatment
sessions. The study’s conclusions
indicated:
· healing was associated with
statistically significant improvements in physical and psychological functioning
and health-related quality of life in the majority of subjects
· those with
the most severe symptoms showed the most substantial improvement
· the Wilcoxon
Signed Ranks tests showed statistically significant reductions in stress, increased
ability to cope, improved relaxation levels, reduced medication use, increased
health-related qualify of life ratings, striking reduction in pain levels
(median change 3 VAS points on a scale of 0-10, P<0.0004), decreased
disability
· an exploration of the likely
processes that may contribute to the healing action revealed that both stress
and pain pathways may be modified by the psychological and physiological
aspects of healing, which may result in facilitation of endogenous healing
mechanisms
· no adverse effects of treatment were
observed
· the ability of healing to provide
substantial pain relief is an important finding.
Note: Polycontrast Interference Photograph (PIP)
provided courtesy of The Centre for Human Energy Field Research
Thinking outside the square with reiki - a few examples.
During a treatment your body will guide
Reiki energy to where it’s needed…not necessarily to where we ‘think’ it’s needed,
as sometimes a symptom is a reflection of dis-ease or dis-harmony
elsewhere. Naturally there are no hard
and fast rules but from my experience, thinking laterally can sometimes
offer new insights. There are books on
the subject if you wish to make further investigations.
· Neck
problems - whilst it might just be that we are not moving it enough hence it
gets stiff, it could also be connected to our status in our daily lives…..are
we struggling to hold our head above the waters of everyday life, are we able
to cope with the pressure we’re currently under? Or perhaps we have pain in our
· right
shoulder…again there is very likely a medical reason for this ‘stiffness or
pain’ but might we be uncertain about where we are going in life, about our immediate
future path? Sometimes the body
reflects this kind of un-ease down the right side of the body and quite often
in the shoulder. And
· skin
issues, I believe they sometimes reflect inner sadness that has been
suppressed….so the pressure of what we’re hiding is literally ‘breaking
out’.
With Reiki treating ‘the whole body’ at both
physical and spiritual levels, sometimes sessions can highlight what our body
in its ‘mute state’ is really telling us.
Then with this new awareness we can accept the ‘insight’ and make
changes or adapt our lives to bring about a better inner balance. However, Reiki treatments should not be
‘instead’ of traditional medicine but rather as a complementary ‘tool’ for
enhancing our physical and mental state in addition to the usual nurturing we
seek through R&R, food, holidays, the gym etc,.
A few observations – some feedback
“I never
would have believed I could become so relaxed in a 50 minute Reiki
session….whilst immediately afterwards I felt absolutely calm and ‘rested’,
after about 10 minutes I felt completely energised. It’s like lying on a lilo on a gentle sea…you drift away, you
float with the flow of the water, you absorb all the wonderful sounds around
you, you feel peaceful. But when the
session ends, you feel invigorated.”
“With Reiki
it’s like I become a feather…drifting slowly from side to side, gently
downwards towards true relaxation.”
“Coming out
of a relationship had dominated my thoughts whilst having to remain
professional at work by burying my emotional side; with Reiki I found a new set of thoughts and a calmness.”
As Rachel
Remen once said “Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about
letting go of everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the
beliefs – and becoming who you are.”
‘Windows of calm’ for every day – meditating
with flowers and nature.
I used to
find it pretty hard to sit still and/or meditate to give my mind a break from
the freneticism of life. I found it
easy to ‘do’ but virtually impossible to ‘be’.
But I have found a mechanism that I mention here in case it helps you access
instant and/or everyday ‘windows of calm’.
Method
1. I pick a flower from the garden or
even just find a close-up picture in a book or magazine of a flower I like and
then by deeply focussing on the image and all its intricacies, the ‘normal noise’
of my mind disappears whilst I’m truly looking at the flower. The first time I tried this I was amazed how
long I’d been sitting still…..and it was so enjoyable rather than the usual
battle I had to quieten my mind! I try
to fit in a 15 minute window each day which I find is short enough to ‘make
time for’ and sufficiently refreshing to encourage me to do it frequently. And if you put an inspiring picture in your
wallet, then whenever you have a few moments to ‘chill out’ and recharge a
little, you can focus on that image.
Method
2. I sit beside my favourite window and
observe the birds, or the wind on the barley field, or a variety of flowers and
leaves in my garden. By really
watching what is going on in nature, I have found my mind stops ‘stressing’
and afterwards I feel refreshed. And if
my mind wanders onto a topic that I don’t want, then I just focus especially
hard on one part of the garden, until the natural calm is regained.
The moment
one gives close attention to anything,
even a blade
of grass,
it becomes a mysterious, awesome,
indescribably magnificent world in itself.
Henry Miller
PIP polycontrast interference
photography – for humans and animals
In 1989 Dr Harry Oldfield
pioneered energy field imaging using Polycontrast Interference Photography
(PIP) and alongside Dr Thornton Streeter, they have trialled and developed this
exciting technology.
By using an ordinary video camera linked to an ordinary computer
loaded with PIP software, the resultant images show the human energy field
(HEF), chakra and meridian systems of humans and animals highlighting areas of
well-being and dis-ease using clear patterns and colours. But perhaps its most exciting feature is its
ability to highlight potential and developing issues within the energetic
field, BEFORE they manifest. PIP also
identifies the damaging effects of electromagnetic frequencies (EMF waves) from
equipment such as computers, mobile phones, and microwaves. And, the images can show the effects and
benefits of varying treatments from healing and homeopathy to meditation, yoga
and massage.
By placing the subject against a white background and using full
spectrum lighting, it’s possible to interpret the multi layered lattice of
radiations and emissions of energy (through observation of the interference and
transference of light patterns at and beyond the visible spectrum) and view
these interpretational images ‘live’ in real-time. PIP images clearly show a trained practitioner where stress
exists and where issues could develop as well as highlighting healthy and pain
free areas. PIP is a safe and
non-invasive assessment system.
PIP is used by a wide range of scientific researchers, medical
institutions and complementary health practitioners including Harvard
University, the University of Greece, Zoroastrian College, the Centre for Human
Energy Field Research as well as being used on a regular basis in an 800 bed
hospital in India. Whilst it is still
relatively unrecognised here in the UK, its reputation overseas amongst the
medical and scientific communities is significantly advanced. With research funding scarce in this
country, the Rest of the World will continue to lead the UK on gaining a
greater understanding into measuring the HEF in a scientifically objective way,
alongside an appreciation of the preventative nature of working with the
HEF. At the risk of being repetitive
(for which I apologise!), if as mentioned above you would like to discuss
contributing to vital research projects, please contact me using the link in
the orange bars at the top and bottom of all pages…..
With practitioners and their patients being able to clearly see
the PIP images either as static photographs or as ‘live’ video, slowly the
‘sceptic’ within us has the choice of reconsidering our beliefs on the
existence of the human energy field!
If you are interested in the availability of this
technology and its diverse applications (teaching colleges, research units,
hospitals and medical facilities, veterinary surgeries and hospitals,
complementary therapy centres etc,.), please contact me.
Note: Polycontrast
Interference Photograph (PIP) provided courtesy of The Centre for Human Energy
Field Research
All
photography is the copyright of Karen Ruggles (unless
indicated otherwise).
For
the gallery and options please click the photography
icon atop all pages