What is Reiki?

If you're new to healing, you've probably heard about Reiki but are unsure exactly what it is.

You've met people who have raved about it. You’ve chatted briefly to your New Age friend who told you how much it's helped them, but just what it is and how it works has never been clear.

So in this video, I'm going to pull back the curtain and give you a clear explanation of both what Reiki is and how it can help you.

If you don't know me, my name is Jeremy O'Carroll, and I'm the founder of the Om Reiki Center in Victoria, Australia. I run the country's largest Reiki practice group, and am the author of two Amazon bestselling Reiki books: "The Perfect Reiki Course" and "Reiki Flow."

So what I'm about to tell you is based on personal experience, not something I read in a book, and I'll do my best to be objective so you'll get a fair assessment of what Reiki can and can't do.

Let’s begin with the basics, and the most fundamental question of all: What is Reiki?

Reiki is often described as a ‘relaxation and meditation method that promotes healing’.

This is accurate as far as it goes, but it's also a rather nervy and vague definition.

Of course, the reason we get definitions like this is because of the influence traditional Western medicine and Big Pharma have on government legislation.

So at least when it comes to using Reiki to heal physical things, you can't legally say much without having the medical Gestapo banging on your door.

To save me from that fate, therefore, let it be known that I'm not making any Reiki medical claims. I’m simply sharing my personal experience, gained from working professionally with Reiki for the past 18+ years.

But with that caveat in place, let’s continue to explore what Reiki is.

Now, perhaps the best place to begin is by looking at the word Reiki itself, because it's made up of two parts: Rei and Ki.

Rei means spirit or, in our context, spiritual.

Ki is the Japanese word for chi or energy.

At its heart, therefore, Reiki is a modality that teaches us to tap into this spiritual energy to heal ourselves and others.

But how does this ki energy work? And what can it do?

To begin with, we can use this energy to replenish parts of our body that have become energetically depleted.

This might be our organs or our chakras, and when they’re low in energy, we often feel flat, unenthusiastic, stressed, or uninspired.

But when we top up these areas, when we fill them with chi, then it can be as if we've got a whole new lease of life.

We feel vibrant, energized, and optimistic.

Next, we can use the Reiki energy to clear energetic blockages in our body.

In some ways, this is like what acupuncture does. Unlike Reiki, acupuncture doesn’t actually give a client more energy. All it does is get the energy that already exists in someone to flow properly.

Because even just doing that will very often mean the body can heal itself.

Reiki can also bring the body back into energetic balance. Sometimes, our chakras or different parts of our body (for instance, our organs) are energetically out of whack.

Different parts of our body have a healthy vibrational frequency range, and when they vibrate within this range, all is well. But when they vibrate outside of it, physical and emotional issues can follow.

So we can use Reiki as a balancing force to help restore healthy vibrational frequencies in our body.

Beyond that, Reiki can also help you:

Stay safe, strong and grounded in the face of negative energy. If you're watching this video, then you're probably sensitive to the energy of other people and places. If that's the case, it can be easy to take on negative energy or to be drained by your environment. But if you learn a classical, Japanese form of Reiki, i.e., the original version that was taught in Japan, you'll learn ways to energetically ground yourself, something that will keep you energetically safe in challenging environments. You’ll become like a mountain that doesn't need to fear the storm. A tree with deep roots. Someone who remains energetically and emotionally stable, even when the world around them is chaotic.

So if you're the kind of person that doesn't like crowds, shopping centers and the like, then learning a classical form of Reiki will definitely help.

Reiki is also great for helping you get more from other spiritual and healing modalities, for instance, yoga, meditation, t’ai chi, qigong and the like.

Because it teaches you to connect so strongly to chi, you’ll naturally feel more energy when you practise them, and as a result, you’ll not only be better at them, you’ll enjoy them more.

Next, Reiki can be wonderful for greater clarity and enhanced intuition. As a result, it can also help connect you to what you might call your true path, to a path that's more in alignment with who you are, to a life that’s more fulfilling.

Reiki is also fabulous for enhanced emotional balance. So if you have a busy work life, or are a parent with little kids, or find yourself stressed or anxious, then Reiki can be a big help. It's not a magic pill. If you learn Reiki and don't practice it, it's only going to do minimal good. But if you use it consistently, you'll typically find it can greatly enhance your emotional state.

Finally, Reiki is great for a general sense of well-being. Give yourself some Reiki in the morning, and you'll find that your entire day flows better. You'll be more balanced and less reactive. You'll be more positive. And you'll be more energized. Naturally, giving yourself Reiki doesn't make you a saint. But you will be more saintly than you would be without it. The same with your energy levels and everything else. Reiki isn’t a magic pill that will fix all of your problems right away, but work with it consistently, and you'll definitely find that it makes a difference in your life.

Okay, so we've talked quite a bit about how Reiki can help you, but another question that often comes up is, "Where does this energy come from?"

And can a Reiki healer get drained by giving too much energy?

Can a Reiki healer ever take on the negative energy of a client?

The good news is that a Reiki healer can never become depleted by giving Reiki healing. The reason for this is simple: When you use Reiki, you're not using your own energy; rather, you're using what we might call universal energy. As healers, we tap into the energy of the universe, which is infinite. So you never get drained when you give Reiki energy. In fact, if anything, you gain energy because the Reiki energy flows through you before it flows into a client.

So, you could give a hundred Reiki sessions in a row, and while your legs might grow tired from standing or you might feel tired from a lack of sleep, you wouldn't be energetically drained. In fact, you'd have a lot more energy than when you started.

What's more, you’ll never take on the negative energy of a client. Reiki works in complete safety. It's a little bit like pumping air into a football. You push the needle through a valve, and the air can go in, but it can't get back out. Similarly with Reiki, it's one-way energetic traffic.

In this way, giving Reiki is actually safer than everyday life. For we've all had those times when we've spoken to a needy friend and felt drained afterwards. But so long as you're giving Reiki, this shouldn’t ever happen to you.

Finally, it should be mentioned that while we've talked a lot about how Reiki can help us in our daily life and help us with health issues, it was originally conceived of as a spiritual path.

In fact, it was meant to be a practice that led us towards enlightenment. The founder of Reiki, Mikao Usui, never claimed to be enlightened. But enlightenment was nevertheless the ultimate aim.

And while enlightenment is a lofty goal, practicing Reiki will make us feel more connected to our true self, to our essence, to the part of us that lies deep within.

For many people, this is even more valuable than all the other Reiki benefits.

So if you have an intuitive nudge to learn Reiki or get a healing session, or if you feel a buzz of excitement at the idea of doing so, then I'd recommend giving it a go because I think you'd be surprised by the results.

Conclusion

For millennia, the hara has helped people in all walks of life to feel calmer, more centered, and energetically charged.

And today, in an increasingly busy world full of distractions, we likely need the hara’s energy more than ever.

Due to the grounding nature of ‘haric’ energy, it is robust enough to help us stay centered even under duress, and with practice, maintaining a connection to it only requires minimal effort. And that means we can stay anchored in its energy, even as we work, rest, and play.

It is therefore an ideal tool to help us bridge the gap between the ‘spiritual’ and the ‘non-spiritual’.

It's a way to stay plugged into our spiritual side even as we go about our regular day.

So let’s learn from the many traditions that emphasize the value of the hara.

Let’s meditate on it.

Let’s strengthen it.

And then let's enjoy the energy, harmony, and balance it bestows on our life.

— Article by Om Reiki Founder, Jeremy O'Carroll