So what is the deal with Reiki…really

It seems like more and more people are talking about Reiki these days. Which, ultimately, I think is AMAZING. We need a freaking consciousness overhaul ASAP.

But the flip side to a modality becoming popular, is the endless opportunities for misinformation. I will state straight off the bat, if you ever meet a Reiki Practitioner who claims they can cure whatever ails you…run, run far far away. Because as a healer, and especially with Reiki, we can only do as much as you are willing to. A truly destructive trend in the healing world was when “those in charge” repossessed the sovereignty of our healing processes and power. We are taught to blindly outsource our wellness and take the word of the authority figure as law. But with Reiki, this energy works through the Practitioner and WITH the client. All parties are responsible for their part. So please please be wary of grand promises of quick fixes.

With that under our belts, let’s dive in.

I have always been a sensitive person. Growing up it always felt like this was a bad thing, and in fact I had many many people explicitly tell me so. I was always too emotional or too excited or too sad or don’t be so sensitive. I was an energetic sponge and always felt just a little (read: TOTALLY) unhinged after leaving a group gathering. I thought I was crazy for many years, honestly. But when I met Reiki things started to shift. My draw towards it was one that I couldn’t rationally explain. It was like this flash in my gut that I knew I had to listen to. And as I learned more and more, that nudge/full body SHOVE started to make more and more sense. This was like a language I had been speaking my whole life, in isolation, and finally I had others to pick up the other side of the conversation.

And what started to become clear was that this sensitivity to energy was not a fault, but actually a superpower. I truly believe that we all have access to this power. Because energy is literally everywhere. Everything is made of it. Everything is vibrating at a frequency, in the same way your ears pick up sound waves, a Reiki Healer can pick up and work with those waves with their hands.

If that feels still really out there. Think about the last time you met a new person. Did you get a feeling or a vibe from them? That’s it. That’s your energy interacting with theirs.

Let’s try another one: hold your hands up in front of you like you’re holding an invisible basketball. Close your eyes (once you’re done reading this) and notice all the sensations in your palms. Start to slowly move your palms towards each other and see if those sensations change at all. You may notice tingling, temperature changes, pressure like a magnet push or pull. You’ve just met your own energy field.

There is a whole unseen world existing alongside our experience of perceived reality. For many many reasons (maybe another blog posts worth) we have been taught to fear what we cannot see. So if you are wary of Reiki, you come by it naturally. BUT, from my experience, one of the most powerful results of receiving energy healing is an interaction with the unknown. Let’s face it, there are so so many parts of this life that we cannot control. How many times have you held yourself back from something you knew would benefit you, because it was new? Or you couldn’t guarantee the outcome? My guess is many many times. Another welcome byproduct of this is when you co-create with the unknown, life seems less lonely. All of a sudden you don’t have to do it all on your own.

You do not need to be a spiritual person to appreciate Reiki. But it is an inherently spiritual practice (note: it is NOT a religion). Its’ foundations are laid on the understanding of and connection to a source energy. How that shows up can be different for everyone, but that intrinsic understanding is a building block of this practice. But remember, it’s all about energy.

If you’re a “why” person like I am, you may be equally disappointed in the materials that currently exist regarding what’s actually happening during a Reiki session. Even the basic definition has a thousand different variations, depending on who’s offering it. To me, the most simplified description of this practice is: the use of source energy to release any stuck or constricted energy in the physical, mental or emotional being. Further from there a google search into its’ benefits gives you grocery lists of vague and often unhelpful results…but how, why, do they happen!?

I will offer you what I have discovered through my experience and personal research.

The more I learn about true healing, and the nervous system, and stress and their relationship with each other the more I can make sense of what happens in a Reiki session.

Reiki universal energy is a current of unconditional love. Receiving unconditional love, in most people results in a felt experience of safety. And this is the magic. Because if you do not feel safe you will not heal. I don’t usually like to offer up non-negotiable statements, but I truly stand behind this one. When we are stressed (especially chronically) we do not feel safe. And from my experience, we are all stressed. We are anxious, or depressed, or lonely, or hopeless or worried, and with great reason. But most of us have been convinced that this is normal, or we have been convinced there’s no way that will change. All of this equals stress which equals major dysfunction in our bodies stress response systems, which can lead to all kinds of obstacles.

Notice I said FEEL safe, not think you are safe. True, lasting healing, happens when we experience a felt sense of safety. This is when your systems can start to return to balance.

You may have had the experience of understanding something intellectually, but then it lands in an experiential way, and from then on you KNOW it. You have a clearer full body understanding. To me, this is what the practice of Reiki allows in terms of healing.

For example, on a personal note, deep loneliness is something that I’ve always navigated. I allowed myself to be convinced that my voice and presence and contribution to this earth was negotiable. That no one really cared. This belief system set me up to constantly be on guard, constantly protecting myself, hiding myself from the world and resulting in decades of chronic stress. Which resulted in cellular inflammation, which resulted in an auto-immune condition. And it was through my Reiki training and opening to the reminders of what wellness really feels like that allowed me to navigate that rollercoaster. Through giving and receiving healings, I had a touchpoint, that my body understood. I had interacted with what my highest health and well-being could feel like, and when that was not occurring, I knew it was time to seek help.

I feel like I should take the time and follow that up by saying I don’t encourage you in any way to use Reiki as your only treatment source. Without my naturopath things would be way different for me today.

BUT, for me it was the honing of my intuition that gave me the foundation and strength to keep trudging through the mud of true healing. Because I had a cellular knowledge that I was not stuck. None of us are. Yes, there are absolutely factors that contribute to the resources we have access to. Yes, our privilege heavily dictates how we are treated in this world. But if you are interested in working with your internal stuck-ness, there is no better modality than Reiki.

So. While you may have heard of Reiki as a kinda woo woo way to relax a bit, hopefully now you have a deeper understanding of the multi-faceted power of this modality. It is still there for you if you need an hour of quiet chill time, but it’s also there for you if you are looking for something more.

Thank you, truly, if you’ve made it this far. Being able to share in this way means a lot to me.

If you have any questions about what you’ve read, or are wondering if Reiki might be right for you, please please reach out.

Sending you peace, in light and shadow,

Emily Opal

P.S. It feels important to leave a reminder that this is written from my own lived experience and years of research and learning. If you experience energy healing differently than me, that does not mean you are wrong, or I am wrong, it’s just different. And there is plenty of space for different.