A serious question around 'healing' ie reiki, spiritual, anything like that

[IndigoBarbie]

Now, believe me when I say I know how controversial the whole energy healing/spiritual healing/reiki etc is - But I seriously would like to know if those who have tried it, found it beneficial?
OK, I know there will be lots who either don't believe in it, or wish to call people scammers, or those who perhaps didn't feel that reiki or equivalent helped them - but I have a genuine and very serious interest in this.
I am not writing a paper, or anything like that - I am just keenly interested as I would be interested in knowing what might attract you to going to receive a session, and what might put you off. I'm personally not into the whole marketing side where people make very big claims of cures, but I do know of some folks who have been helped whilst receiving energy work treatments.
Just thought I'd ask on here.
Also - for you lovely scientist folks - what do you know about getting tested for energy levels whilst activating the vibes?
Much love my fellow mumsnetters xx

It's not worth paying because it's a con. I refuse to give money to someone who waves their arms around and claims to be sending me positive energy because it's bollocks.

You can get exactly the same results from someone with zero training if you believe that they are actually doing the same thing. There are much better ways of 'feeling better' than wasting money on these people.

In fact, you could draw the conclusion that it's actually bad for the cancer patients because they are missing out on getting some proper physiological treatments.

I see the point that if it helps you personally on an emotional level then why not, right? The problem is that it's not going to work for everyone because it's entirely psychological, there's no actual medical benefit and the people performing the 'treatments' are witch doctors, frauds and con artists. These are not people I think should be preying on the vulnerable.

Thanks Pedro I know you've given me a lot here, but do you mind me asking how you have come to hold these views?

Hi Indigo.

The Reiki practitioner acts as a conduit for positive "divine" energy. (I can't think of another word for it). The healing energy of the universe flows through and is channelled by the practitioner. They focus on your chakras, the 7 energy points in your body, each point representing a different area, eg, head, heart, throat. A practitioner should be able to tell you the areas they feel the need to focus on in order to provide healing. IME it is more emotional healing but that was my reason for seeing them. They shouldn't have to touch you. The idea is to "clean" your energy centres so you feel more balanced and of course more energetic.
I have also had psychic healing (I love the woo, so sue me) and wasn't expecting much but it was amazing. I think it was one of my first woo experiences, which is why I'm a believer. It was like going into a trance, or a really deep sleep, I felt so refreshed. Also, it depends where the person has trained as to whether they are hands on or not.
I agree there are people out there who are happy and willing to exploit peoples beliefs as a way of making some quick cash, which is why if you want a treatment, I would advise contacting a local spiritual centre as they probably have reliable contacts.

HTH

goodjambadjar Thank you! I love what you said about your experience and why you are now a believer. Pretty much sums it up :)

These types of treatments can be relaxing but any talk of channeling energy etc etc is an absolute load of rubbish.

Smudging- the only complementary therapy that has ever shown measurable benefits is acupuncture- as acknowledged by the Cochrane Report in (I think) 2009. Further trials since then have even less convincing- the more accurate and properly blinded the trias are he less effective acupuncture becomes. There is a recent paper by Ickers that shows a 5% better pain relief between sham and real acupuncture, which even the reports writer says could easily be explained away by experimental bias.

Reiki is simply a pyramid selling scam.

Good morning dontshout can I ask why you feel this way?

Don't want to answer for dontshout, but the reason I feel the same way is summed up by the fact that a 9 year old girl devised an experiment for a science project that proved that there is no "energy" detectable. Have a look at this

There's a good example of the placebo effect at the end of that video too. Take particular note of the woman at the end with the tingling hands.

I think Steve Jobs (Apple Computers) used it instead of real medicine. It seemed to work out well for him...

As with all alternative medicine, if it is proven to work, like Willow bark (aka "Asprin") it is called medicine, otherwise it remains "alternative medicine" which in its best use can be a placebo and at worst is deadly.

Some might argue that alternative medicine is beneficial for the wider human population, because it is natural selection in action!

I am attuned for reiki healing, all 3 levels. It changed me. I don't think it "cures" physical ailments but I definitely believe it is a fantastic therapy for running alongside traditional medicines. It's great for emotional disorders and for minor ailments.

Before reiki I would suffer from terrible colds/sore throats if anyone so much as sniffed next to me, I've never had a cold since my attunement, years ago now.

I also use it for parking spaces, which can be like gold dust, it's never failed to get me a space!

Did you do it online?

If it is so powerful that it can magic you a car park space, have you ever thought of not being so selfish and using it to cure sick African babies?

Or claiming James Randi's million bucks and doing good with it?

Anyone watched my Emily Rosa video yet?

interesting, video there. If that happened to me, I might start to question my sense of what I actually was able to sense or feel. Considering that they were more able to discern which hand didn't have the girls hand over - I'd start there and continue to test myself in an attempt to see just exactly what was being discerned.

But, seeker, there are just as many other types of videos on line which appear to show evidence of either proof or not proof. In such aspects like these: what constitutes a proof that ie reiki or other forms of energy work is actually real, or that it has an effect?

For example, I had no clue about energy fields before I had a reiki session, and when I did I was able to feel what must have been the effects of this 'reiki' energy. I'd never felt anything like it in my life before. So, does this mean it doesn't exist? does this mean my senses are askew because there is no such thing? Does this mean I paid money to have a sensation?

I've known those who 'real medicine' hasn't and cannot seem to help, and it leaves them in a state of limbo. No where to turn. It means they start to search for something else, another way to cope perhaps.

There's one big difference between real medicine and fake treatment. That is that regardless of whether you believe it works or not, real medicine will have an effect on you. Of course not everyone responds to medicine in the same way because we are all different, so a paracetamol may stops one persons headache bit not another's, but I'll he pill will still be having a physiological effect on the patient.

For fake treatment, there's overwhelming evidence that people who believe it works or want to believe it works or are trying to prove that it works are far more likely to feel an effect than those who don't believe it works. This in itself is fairly conclusive to me that it doesn't do anything.

I had no clue about energy fields before I had a reiki session

What is it that you know about energy fields now then? Does it tie in with what science knows about energy fields?

You still have no clue about "energy fields" they don't exist and are utter bollox.

Indigo, did you watch as far as the placebo effect test at the end? The woman continuing to say she had had side effects even after she was told she had taken a placebo?

Pedro not sure, I am learning things for myself and checking in with my science friends at intervals to share learnings.

Technodad do we know each other? Your heart doesn't emit electrical pulses through your body? Is that energy?

seeker yes, I did. It made me think that everyone perceives their experiences in a different way. However, the power of suggestion has a part to play in it too? Do you think this too?

I might not be explaining myself very well - so what I mean is that we each experience things in a different way so that's more qualitative and not easy to 'measure' but, some of them had a great experience, and some didn't.

But none of them should have had "an experience" at all.

What do you mean by that? Isn't everything we do an experience?

Do you mean they should have a particular repeatable and expected outcome? Therefore, everyone gets the same?

I see, so sugar pills wouldn't have been expected to have a particular effect, yet some did report differing points of experience. But, sugar does have an affect on our bodies??