The act of giving Reiki remotely is a hard concept to fathom, and it’s not until one has their own experience of it that the penny might drop.
Reiki practitioners learn the technique in the second degree of study, and the classes around this are truly fascinating. I remember them well as the experience was profound.
When I first learnt how to perform remotely, I sent a treatment to my mother as a test case. What I didn’t tell her was that I sent the treatment a week in advance, and so at the time of her receiving it, I was elsewhere doing other things. She nevertheless felt it quite strongly.
My father is a complete and utter sceptic and had looked upon me with dismay when I mentioned learning such a woo-woo practice. That was until he took ill and was in hospital awaiting an operation on his stomach. He called me from his ward late one night ahead of his scheduled surgery the following day and asked for Reiki. I sent it straight away, and the next morning he walked out of hospital and has not needed the operation since.
He was utterly stunned and wrote to the Chief Executive of the hospital to tell them all about the Reiki he had. It’s quite amusing, as he’s still very sheepish about discussing it in detail, but he knows the connection is real and that’s hopefully given him a better outlook and expanded his understanding of what life might be about!
As for any client, it’s all about the intention of the practitioner to help the recipient. Some Reiki associations ask for photographs of the person, their name, date of birth and even address. But for me the only thing I need is the intention to form a close bond. When being taught the technique, students learn a mantra and special symbols to enact, but I’ve realised that this is unnecessary too.
You may hear people talk nowadays of quantum physics, which has a place, especially the theory behind Schrödinger’s Cat (see link). I think this is the best description for those new to Reiki, but it still doesn’t quite fit for me, especially when you start to bend the time Reiki is received (forwards like my mother, or backwards!).
My Reiki teacher, Frans Stiene, is quite unique in his approach, as he’s trying to understand the concepts from a traditional Japanese perspective. This involves him learning more about Japanese spirituality, especially Buddhist traditions. He aims to teach his students to let go of all expectations and experiences; ultimately reaching the goal of oneness. He would often say there is no giver and receiver of Reiki, and the idea of remote Reiki is something he dismisses as this goes against oneness, as it points to separation.
I’m not quite there yet with oneness, so for me I set an intention for the healing to take place and enter a state of meditation for this to happen. I’m still aware of the connection of two individuals whether in-person or remote.
I’d also point out that I have more of a belief that helpful forces are assisting with the energy, which I think explains the Reiki being sent ahead of time.
Since Covid, some Reiki practitioners have been involved in a clinical study on the effectiveness of remote Reiki for frontline NHS staff. Our paper has just been published this month and is well worth reading. What makes it more fascinating is that the recipients were all NHS professionals, such as nurses and doctors who had experienced stress in the workplace during the pandemic.
The main thing is to try not to overthink or complicate the theory behind Reiki, and especially remote treatments as it can send you into a spin. A quote I told my students is from the founder of the system itself, Mikao Usui, who said….
“Even though I am the founder of this method, I find it hard to explain it clearly”.
Cat Video:
NHS Study: