Editor’s Note: No website is designed to, and can not be construed to, provide actual medical advice, professional diagnosis or treatment to you or anyone. Elephant is not intended as a substitute for medical or professional advice, care or treatment.
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Reiki is a beautiful, transforming and empowering form of healing.

Reiki can change lives through the power of love. It gives the recipient the opportunity to be at one with themselves, on all levels, promoting the body’s natural healing responses. Reiki is very hard to describe. It is an experience that is very subjective and unique to each person.

However, here are 11 key observations that I have made about Reiki, since starting my journey:

1. Reiki can be incredibly relaxing! The large majority of clients will report a deep sense of relaxation, which stays with them for a long time after the treatment. This is perfect for those experiencing stress, insomnia, anxiety, etc.

2. Reiki is very gentle and will sometimes make changes in such a subtle way, that clients are suddenly surprised to see old emotional challenges or physical complaints transform, or even disappear completely!

3. Reiki always works for the recipients “highest good.” There may be karmic reasons why a person is experiencing a particular challenge. Sometimes Reiki will highlight the cause of the challenge, rather than fix the symptom, in order for a complete healing to take place.

4. Reiki is completely safe. Nothing happens which the recipient isn’t ready for, or couldn’t cope with. The recipient has to be open and ready for everything that happens, and allow the process to take place.

5. Reiki is a journey. Once one area in your life has been worked on, it will then guide you to the next area. Our journeys are never over. There is always some aspect of our being that we can look to develop.

6. Reiki promotes our inner wisdom and intuition. It empowers us to take responsibility for our own lives and experiences, in a loving and compassionate way. Reiki will not fix our problems without some effort on our own part. It will guide, enlighten and assist, but it will not do the work for us. Unless you are committed to acting on Reiki’s guidance, Reiki will simply (and patiently) continue to guide you until you are ready.

7. There are no guarantees with Reiki. I have seen Reiki help people with a huge array of different challenges, whether physical or emotional, yet we never know as practitioners, how Reiki will help or when! The very nature of expecting Reiki to help in a particular way or time-frame, causes a resistance, and can in fact hinder the treatment. It is important to keep an open mind and surrender to the knowledge that Reiki knows how to help you, and that it will help in whatever way it knows best.

This can be a challenge for many people, but I have seen time and time again that the more someone surrenders their expectations, the more Reiki will help them! I have many clients who come who simply want their challenges “fixed” and “fixed now.” This is entirely understandable, and in some cases it is as simple as that, and Reiki can offer quick relief to a physical or emotional issue. However, these expectations are frequently realised to be a barrier to their healing and they do not see any major improvement until they let go, as there may be other factors at play that we may not be seeing, which need addressing.

8. Reiki is the greatest teacher. It will patiently guide you and lead you toward greater understanding about yourself and how you interact in the world. I can most definitely say that I have become much wiser since Reiki has been introduced to my life, and I can see the same effect in all of my clients.

9. Reiki does not judge. Reiki is always on our side and always wants what is best for us. Reiki will not push us or force us to be a particular way. Reiki will help us to love ourselves for whoever we are and will encourage us to sing our own beautiful song. If we are internally unhappy with certain aspects of ourselves, Reiki will not change that aspect, if it is something that is inherently who we are. Instead, Reiki will help us to see how beautiful we are and to love all parts of our being.

10. Reiki is powerful. This may seem contradictory to point two, where I describe Reiki as very gentle! Reiki is both very gentle and powerful at the same time. Reiki is gentle in the fact that is coming from a place of love and will not force or push you in any way. However, when you are ready for change, Reiki can sometimes provide immediate results which, when witnessed, can be incredibly powerful.

It is known that people who have been through years (or even decades) of psychotherapy or counseling with no major breakthroughs, can experience a breakthrough in a very short amount of time with Reiki. I am not in any way suggesting that Reiki is better than counseling or psychotherapy, nor am I saying that Reiki will always cure a person’s emotional challenges immediately, or completely. What I am saying though, is that Reiki can be extremely powerful in regard to the positive effects it can have on its recipient.

11. Last, but most definitely not least: Reiki is love. Reiki can be described in many different ways, but if you have to define Reiki in one word, it would most definitely be love. Reiki is pure, unconditional love, which is the source of everything we know. When you receive Reiki for the first time, it is hard not to notice the love that is flowing through you, which provides the feelings of well-being and relaxation throughout the treatment. Reiki loves everybody equally and only wants what is best for us all. The more we trust and allow Reiki to help us, the more powerful results we will witness.

I hope that you have found this interesting, and that it has given you a deeper insight, and a chance to reflect on what Reiki is all about. I want to note here that these are my personal observations of Reiki, and as I explained before, Reiki is unique to everyone, and touches people in different ways. As living humans, we will never completely know what Reiki actually is, and how it goes about helping us, but celebrating its power and beauty surely helps us to build a greater connection to its wonderful offerings.

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Author: Joseph Whyles

Editor: Travis May

Image: Christopher Soghian/Flickr