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Philosophy/religion

Join our Philosophy forum to discuss religion and spirituality.

Reiki

542 replies

Fanatic · 06/06/2012 15:30

Has anyone tried Reiki? Could you tell me a little bit about it?

OP posts:
LeBFG · 12/06/2012 10:33

Love the idea seeker, though disappointingly the people who would understand the messages are not the same as the people who need to apply these concepts to their lives.

Having taught these concepts to 11-18 year olds, I'm still completely miffed that grown adults have never come to terms with what they mean or why they are important.

comfortmewithapples · 12/06/2012 11:37

I'd say if you stick to talking down to children, it'd be better all round. Grin

comfortmewithapples · 12/06/2012 11:44

At ds' (top performing) school, the teachers are very frank with their pupils that the "science" taught for GCSEs is not accurate.

Once they get to A level, they have to start un-learning it. It's just crap taught to fit the curriculum.

LeBFG · 12/06/2012 11:49

Not sure what you're getting at, comfort - are you suggesting that correlation IS causation? I don't remember un-learning concepts like this.

comfortmewithapples · 12/06/2012 11:52

I'm saying that maybe many kids don't mind being patronised.

And that maybe not all teachers are as honest as ds', sadly.

entropygirl · 12/06/2012 12:00

Not sure it counts as patronising to explain a simple concept to someone who doesn't understand it, what ever their age.

comfort the fact you said So a dozen people on this thread have experienced positive results from reiki demonstrates that you do not understand that correlation does not imply causation.

Would you like me to try and explain it to you again?

comfortmewithapples · 12/06/2012 12:01

So rude.

comfortmewithapples · 12/06/2012 12:01

Do your pupils really put up with that attitude?

entropygirl · 12/06/2012 12:06

what attitude?

I can tell from what you say that you don't understand - because if you did you wouldn't say it.

Why is an offer to explain rude?

Are you that afraid of understanding?

entropygirl · 12/06/2012 12:07

and yes my 'pupils' (grad students and undergrads) do put up with me rudely offering to educate them because they are interested in learning.

seeker · 12/06/2012 12:08

Which bit of GCSE science is not accurate? The stuff about fair tests? The experimental method? The laws of thermodynmics? How motors work?

entropygirl · 12/06/2012 12:09

seeker the bit where they say to look at the evidence must be wrong...coz everyone know Reiki works and the evidence says it doesnt.

angelicstar · 12/06/2012 13:11

entrophygirl

Firstly I read the studies you linked too. They were interesting but I feel that they do have some flaws. As I've tried to explain before Reiki works on many levels - not just the physical so for example a survey to see if peoples pain was reduced would not include asking people about their emotional health, energy levels etc which can all be effected by reiki.

Also in answer to your points above:

  1. Yes money has gone into clinical trials but that does not oblige anyone to use the product? Also if someone uses Reiki or another therapy to either help them on its own or to complement medicine would that not save the NHS money in treatment and drugs expenditure.
  1. Honestly I don't understand this at all. How can quantaum mechanics be abused? Is it not just a hypothesis? TBH I never know or care anything about quantum mechanics but not sure physics is really a place for morality
  1. As I've explained many therapists would encourage clients to seek medical advice as well. Reiki and medicine are not mutually exclusive. Also Reiki and other therapies can be effective where medicine might have failed i.e. treatment of PMT, infertility, migranes etc
  1. You shouldn't be jealous, you want proof and evidence before you belive and that is fine no one wants to force you to belive. But why do you want everyone to be like you? I'm happy living my life, I'm happy with my belief system so why are you so bothered about what other people do or belive. Also how do you know that you are the final authority on what is right and wrong or true and untrue. If you want to find a bit of belief I think you need to spend some time mediating and see what happens. Also please spend some time outdoors, nature is a great teacher.
  1. If everyone met every claim with "show me the evidence" the world would be a much sadder and less magical place. Are your children not going to have the pleasure of believing in fairies or the excitement of waiting for Father Christmas??
angelicstar · 12/06/2012 13:13

I did GCSE science and did very well in it....but it didn't prevent me from becoming a Reiki Master though Grin

Hullygully · 12/06/2012 13:26

How weird - holding your hand near your face DOES feel warm.

entropygirl · 12/06/2012 13:35

angel its entropy not entrophy....

Having a phd in physics hasn't stopped me from becoming a Reiki master either! I have made myself a badge.

To the more serious point of measuring the right thing. Reiki has been claimed to help with pain, and therefore it should be proved to do so....but instead it was found not to. It has been claimed that it helps with depression and shown not to. The list goes on.

If you personally would like to claim that it helps raise your energy levels, then you need to devise a test to show that. A persons perception of their energy levels is a pretty hard thing to measure though....so you will have a job on.

If you were to perform such a test I will personally come and be your control (sham) Reiki master. We will see which of us produces the larger differences in energy levels.

Do you genuinely believe that you would get better results than me?

entropygirl · 12/06/2012 13:36

I have really warm hands....this makes me all the more confident that I can our-Reiki angel!

Better still I often have one very cold hand and one warm (don't ask) which I think will be very useful for convincing people they have a chakra imbalance!

entropygirl · 12/06/2012 13:38

hmm will I deprive my DD of fairies? This is a damn good question. She currently entranced with both birds and the concept (although not actuality) of mice.

Isn't the real world wonderful enough?

LeBFG · 12/06/2012 13:44

So, angelicstar, once-upon-a-time you probably were able to demonstrate understanding of the scientific method. Unfortunately, years of woo-wisperers have worn this away...Too common a problem IMO. This is why the entropy girls of the world must carry on spreading the message.

genug · 12/06/2012 13:48

Doctors tell a lot of people that there is nothing more that can be done for them. Over the years, I've seen people who all the technology and scans and proven treatments have left semi-functional with permanent damage, recover neural function after alternative treatments. I've seen remission from conditions which we deem irretrievable. Because I know there is a lot there are no answers for, and the whole point is to improve patient outcomes [and not compete over who is better], I do not deny that alternative and complementary therapies give a lot of relief to those who have exhausted all 'proven' treatment pathways. Sure there are a lot of charlatans about, maybe even more in other countries, but you could argue that a doctor can do no more for some than they can. Reflexology, homeopathy, aromatherapy, reiki - all these provide comfort and, yes, healing for many people who nothing more can be offered by allopathic medicine.

On anecdote, will one of the knowledgeable people here show me the evidence that my DCs love me? I don't just believe they do, I know they do. The 'evidence' and 'data' are however equivocal. Your hardness and shield of proof mentality is not just irrelevant, it is worthless, for those things that matter deeply for everyday people. Most ordinary people are too wise to lose sight of the point of it all for the false god of an analytical tool.

I think the thread has now probably been spun well enough for most readers to work out where they wish to be.

garlicfanjo · 12/06/2012 13:53

Right, I'm a committed cynic. I have been Reiki 'attuned' by some very famous person so, theoretically, I'm qualified to treat others. I don't mind doing it if somebody wants it. What I do mind is the cod science we were taught during the attunement workshop, alongside the claims that reiki can cure illnesses as effectively as traditional medicine.

As a cynic, I can't say with certainty there's no such thing as 'universal love' - indeed, I think I see some possible evidence for it - neither can I dispute that living creatures give off electromagnetic energy (I mean static, not mystery forces!) I highly doubt that three days of quasi-spiritual psychobabble and some bell-ringing made me any better at conveying energy to others.

I'd like to ask those who benefit from reiki to see a really good hypnotherapist and compare their outcomes :)

entropygirl · 12/06/2012 13:55

Am starting to feel like I just killed a fairy.

Maybe science IS a big fat dream trampling machine...but it has brought us things like computers!

I think I can cope with people believing in the scientifically disproved, but only if they are going to reject all the wonderful things that the scientific method has given them!

We would not have computers if the scientists had taken the attitude of "well I don't care what the evidence says - it's enough that I believe in it." that has been put forward multiple times on this thread.

It is, I think, hypocritical in the extreme to say your beliefs matter more than evidence on an internet forum using a computer powered by electricity.

It's like having contempt for the sewage system and the people that run it, all the while flushing your loo with glee.

seeker · 12/06/2012 13:56

"I've seen people who all the technology and scans and proven treatments have left semi-functional with permanent damage, recover neural function after alternative treatments"

Could you tell us some more about these people?

entropygirl · 12/06/2012 13:57

genug do not worry! Science can prove your children love you. There is a chemical/electrical definition of love with in the brain and we could almost certainly show that when your kids are shown your picture the right areas of the brain light up and the right chemicals are generated.

entropygirl · 12/06/2012 13:59

seeker noooooooooo

please do not tell us about these people. It will achieve nothing. CORRELATION DOES NOT EQUAL CAUSALITY.

Some people recover after conventional treatment is stopped REGARDLESS of their use of alternative 'medicine'. It happens! It doesn't mean Reiki works...