REIKI. Is it a load of bollocks

[Fashio]

It sounds it. But I’m a sucker for all that.

@LookslovelyinSpringtime

Are you seriously suggesting the NHS pays for something which is a placebo effect? Really?

Yes.

There are reports that explain this fully - Google is your friend.

The problem with much of energy medicine is that it doesn't lend itself to the gold standard of double-blind placebo controlled trials. Because clearly the practitioner knows what they are doing (or not doing).

However, the same applies to surgery, and single-blinded trials on, for example, knee surgery, have found it's entirely placebo. Yet those knee procedures are still offered on the NHS. Ditto the likes of Prozac, which actually is out-performed by placebo in some groups, such as young adults.

But because science has not yet been able to adequately explain what goes on with these types of therapy, it's assumed to be bollocks. Just like handwashing between dissecting a cadaver and attending a woman in childbirth once was.

Reiki is one of those things that is at worst harmless, and that I actually think we will find the science behind one day. Unlike chiropractic, which is dangerous, even though it is fully accepted in the US.

@LookslovelyinSpringtime

Are you seriously suggesting the NHS pays for something which is a placebo effect? Really?

Are you seriously suggesting that waving your hands over someone can actually have an effect on structural cell mutations in the body? Really?

Of course it's placebo effect. It was offered to me when I had cancer treatment in the NHS, at no point did they sell it as anything other than a nice relaxing experience for me.

It’s not waving your hands over someone. Why don’t you actually try it instead of sneering?

It wouldn't be for me, but I have a friend who loves it and who says she has felt the benefits.

I mean, if people like it what's the harm? Obviously if the person is a total rip off chancer that's annoying. But if someone is shit you just don't go back to them.

I've had psychotherapy before and the therapist was terrible, made me feel so uncomfortable that after a few sessions I didn't go back. And she charged a fortune!

There are people who believe in lots of things, if it helps them in their lives who am I to tell them they are wrong, People believe that God exists and aren't called 'quacks'. Their belief is protected in law. And yes, there are dodgy people who make money off religion too.

Reiki is just another form of what used to be known as Spiritual Healing, but is now more commonly termed just 'healing'.

Registered healers do work with patients in the NHS, and healing is widely used in palliative care settings worldwide. Healing is an instinctive human ability as old as we are - it is in our ancient history and in our very essence.

Here is a link to evidence based research carried out in a hospital setting: www.thehealingtrust.org.uk/contact-us/research/

The main problem I have with Reiki is the very short training (just a couple of days) and the (to my mind) unnecessary use of symbols which add to the general sense of 'wooo'.

Training to be a registered healer takes place over several years, and requires a mentor and many case histories, as well as regular assessment at every stage of the four stages of training before you can become a 'registered healer' within the recognised body of the Healing Trust (formerly NFSH - National Federation of Spiritual Healers.)

Reiki uses the same energy which surrounds us all. It is a dramatic shortcut though, and there is no screening for suitability which worries me. Basically anyone could do it and could then go on to exploit the vulnerable.

I am a qualified complimentary therapist and became aware of clients' energies many years ago in my work. I embarked on the NFSH training years ago up to stage 3. If I continue at all I will complete the final stage 4 of the training required to become a registered healer. I won't be waving any symbols around, which seems to be what Reiki mainly is about.

If any Reiki Masters would like to put me straight about Reiki I'd be interested to hear.

@ChristmasFluff
Reiki is one of those things that is at worst harmless,

I disagree. You do realise that most people pay to be 'treated' - it's often £40-£50 a session. That's money that could be going towards something that actually works.
It also premotes crackpot thinking. Here is a random example from the internet of the type of claim that I think is harmful. It has also been observed that the amount of chemotherapy administered can be reduced by up to 50% when patients receive Reiki treatments complementarily
So some poor person with cancer is going to try and stump up enough cash to pay for reiki to reduce how much chemotherapy they need. That's harmful and sinister.

Agree @Uninterested - that claim is shocking and completely false:
It has also been observed that the amount of chemotherapy administered can be reduced by up to 50% when patients receive Reiki treatments complementarily
So some poor person with cancer is going to try and stump up enough cash to pay for reiki to reduce how much chemotherapy they need. That's harmful and sinister.

Reiki or any other form of 'healing' or complementary therapy does not reduce the need for mainstream medical treatment.

It is called 'complementary therapy' because it complements mainstream medicine, but does not replace it. Complementary therapies can help people feel better, both emotionally and physically, but it should not claim to cure or indeed reduce the need for life-saving medication like chemotherapy.

Didn't Nasty Nick out of Big Brother do reiki?

@Mysticguru

It's noticeable that the anti brigade are projecting negative energy and the pro Reiki element are projecting positive energy.

Energy says a lot if you're in tune with it!!

A very astute observation

@thisgardenlife

Reiki is just another form of what used to be known as Spiritual Healing, but is now more commonly termed just 'healing'.

Registered healers do work with patients in the NHS, and healing is widely used in palliative care settings worldwide. Healing is an instinctive human ability as old as we are - it is in our ancient history and in our very essence.

Here is a link to evidence based research carried out in a hospital setting: www.thehealingtrust.org.uk/contact-us/research/

The main problem I have with Reiki is the very short training (just a couple of days) and the (to my mind) unnecessary use of symbols which add to the general sense of 'wooo'.

Training to be a registered healer takes place over several years, and requires a mentor and many case histories, as well as regular assessment at every stage of the four stages of training before you can become a 'registered healer' within the recognised body of the Healing Trust (formerly NFSH - National Federation of Spiritual Healers.)

Reiki uses the same energy which surrounds us all. It is a dramatic shortcut though, and there is no screening for suitability which worries me. Basically anyone could do it and could then go on to exploit the vulnerable.

I am a qualified complimentary therapist and became aware of clients' energies many years ago in my work. I embarked on the NFSH training years ago up to stage 3. If I continue at all I will complete the final stage 4 of the training required to become a registered healer. I won't be waving any symbols around, which seems to be what Reiki mainly is about.

If any Reiki Masters would like to put me straight about Reiki I'd be interested to hear.

You can’t be a Reiki Master in two days. Reiki 1 is two days and then practise. Reiki 2 is also At least two days and then lots of practise. Reiki Master is more involved. There are also ethics and precepts to adhere to if you do it properly. I see it as a great responsibility. It isn’t me who is doing the healing. I am a conduit for universal energy which I see as life force energy. You are right it is a form of spiritual healing.

If you're not in tune with cosmic energy because the cosmic energy is veiled by the egoic mind then in reality it is pointless arguing the case to those that have no conception.

Having said that most people have felt this cosmic energy. It is spoken about in general terms in daily life!

"i walked in the room and you could the atmosphere with a knife"

"we has immense chemistry when we met"

"I felt like I had known them all my life"

" I felt their negativity towards me"

To give but a few.

Yes but what got me with it I was on a course once and a hospice nurse demonstrated it to us as part of a teaching session. It was a nice enough way of concentrating thoughts and relaxing. My child was struggling with stress at the time so I asked for tips and said we could have a go and she really arsily snapped at me say "YOU can't do it him, you aren't trained", like I would cause some harm trying to wield this untutored power

I'm all for giving the hospice patients whatever helps them but a) I hope she doesn't present it as some kind of actual treatment and b) doesn't speak to them or their families the way she spoke to me!!

Goodness knows what training she to make her a"master".

@LookslovelyinSpringtime You are right that it takes more than 2 days to become a Reiki Master. Reiki 1 & 2 are usually two days for each level, with some practice in between. Reiki Master is then another 2 days, and as you say, some Reiki case studies. I have done all the levels.

But people can practise Reiki after just the one 2 day course, and can charge a fee after Reiki level 2, and even obtain insurance to practice.

As you say, it is a great responsibility but as it is so easy and quick to 'qualify' I feel it is rather too easy for those with questionable motives to exploit vulnerable people.

Moreover, everybody at some point is aware of the energies that surround us all.

Empathy, compassion, love - they are all conduits of healing energies. The main requirement is being able to entirely let go of ego and attune to the other person's energies. This allow the healer to become a conduit for positive energy to pass through to the other person. Focussed intention is key.

It happens naturally when you care for a young child who is poorly, or a sick animal, or someone who is grieving. The focussed act of directing love towards the recipient allows the energy to flow to them and calm them, or soothe them. It exists, it just can't be seen. But it is definitely felt.

So @Rainartist - you were acting on instinct that you could have a go on your stressed out child. I hope you did, and even if you didn't consciously try Reiki, your child would have responded to your loving intention, and be soothed and calmed. :)

Also, whoever mentioned ASMR has a very good point. There is so much yet to discover about the benefits of ASMR which I am sure will soon become more widely known and understood. I was aware of it myself as a child, and it brought me great comfort.

No one is arguing that helping people feel relaxed and loved or important aren't helpful. I feel much better if someone cares for me lovingly when I'm ill, that's obvious. It's bollux that's it's anything to do with 'cosmic energy' though.
I can't be bothered looking at the study mentioned earlier in the thread but the participants were required to give up to 5 hours a week to being treated by either reiki or the placebo. Were they paid? If they were volunteers then it would be a very unrepresentative group probably comprising only of people who think reiki is potentially useful.

I wouldn't volunteer to do anything to do with reiki.

If you believe it works then it does

Where’s all the ‘good energy’ when reiki masters are charging so much money for a session? My electrician who has taken years to train and has proper qualifications and skills doesn't charge much more.

It’s telling how all this type of spiritual healing stuff is so expensive and it shows what the type of people involved in it are really like. It’s all a charade to separate people from their hard earned cash.

@Heatherjayne1972

If you believe it works then it does

Are you channeling 'Peter Pan'?

Even the Reiki websites all say it was created in 1914 ...

I think try it before you diss it.

My sister's a practitioner and offered me a session. It did nothing for me. But it works for my brother and he finds it helpful. Is it bollocks? I'm not quite convinced one way or the other. I might add that my sister is the least exploitative person you can imagine. She has a proper job and doesn't charge people for reiki. It's something she does as a hobby. She just has a deep interest in yoga and reiki and stuff like that.