I think people should be careful doing Reiki

[lottieandmia22]

This post assumes a belief in spirituality so I'm not interested in debating that specifically. If you want to please start your own thread.

From what I can see, reiki is channeling occult energy through people's bodies and is therefore potentially risky. It seems to me that new age practitioners will repeatedly say they don't believe in malevolent entities but I think this is naive.

One of my friends told me that his dad was never the same after he became involved with reiki.

And also nearly everyone I've met who has done it was told by the reiki practitioner that they are 'special' have a 'gift' or could easily become a reiki master.

I think the thing is, Empiricism is not the be all and end all. It works at a societal level. What works at an individual level can fly in the face of the Empirical data. However when advising or treating others the Empirical data cannot be ignored. When regarding yourself it is quite possible your experiences are unusual even highly so.

The thing is, if something works for somebody, then fine, it works if they say it did

Of course that is not how it works! If someone says their cancer was cured by holding a pink crystal and eating peas, would you say "oh thats great, well done, you should tell everyone to try it"? Only if you were a dangerous looper.

Scoffing at them from on high just makes you sound arrogant and thick tbh

No, it makes you an averagely intelligent person with a grasp of basic science. That lofty position can be yours too with just a few books and a little effort. Try it.

What is your take on Einstein's initial reservations regarding the early discoveries in quantum physics then meta?
(NB this is not an exam. You don't get to give me marks out of 10 for answering your questions in the way you would like me to.)

meta you are sounding thicker and more arrogant with every post you make,
I can assure you that I have read many books and have been to university! amazing ! you are not the only person in the world to have read a few books and anyway frankly I have met smarter people than you flogging lighters in Brixton market.

meta you are sounding thicker and more arrogant with every post you make

No dear, I'm not. You're just angry because you know I am right
.

What is your take on Einstein's initial reservations regarding the early discoveries in quantum physics then meta?

What's yours? You quoted it as a defence of woo, so why not tell us what you meant by that?

Metacrisis - why are being so rude and aggressive to everyone? This is meant to be bit of discussion, a debate. But you slap everyone down.

I am not 'angry' at all, it is just obvious that you don't read other people's posts and that you must be a bit thick.
Calling someone 'dear' really isn't a trump card.

Metacrisis - why are being so rude and aggressive to everyone? This is meant to be bit of discussion, a debate. But you slap everyone down

Hey, I started off polite and people were very rude. So I will be back.

Either way, I'm talking sense and you know it. .

Gosh, it’s getting personal now, eh Dull? Have to say the same suits you judging by your comments. This wins for stupidest comment on mumsnet today: “The thing is, if something works for somebody, then fine, it works if they say it did.” Seriously?????? I think you need to take about 30 seconds on google to see how stupid that statement really is. Do you know how many people make dumb claims about things every day? All the time? There are not enough palms to smack my face with.

Magpie, what are you even trying to say? That when quantum physics was in its infancy one of the greatest minds didn’t yet understand it? Well duh. Things need to be studied to be understood. Or do you also go along with “if that guy said stuff then it must be true” like Dull?

Please stop going on about the arnica. The placebo effect is very impressive and your dentist would be well aware of this. Ethical? No. But not an idiot perhaps.

“What is your take on Einstein's initial reservations regarding the early discoveries in quantum physics then meta?”
I don’t understand. It’s right to have reservations until you are given evidence. That’s what the scientific method is all about.

Same = name autocorrect bastard.

look if someone takes sugar pills and it makes them feel better then fine, leave them to it. It works for them if they say it does .

Why would it make you want to slap your face?

meta I did not quote Einstein's reaction as a defence of woo. It was just an illustration that scientists can be surprised. This debates that he had with Bohr and Planck are well documented. The fact that there is even room for debate in science shows that not all is so straight forward and irrefutable as you are suggesting.

Magpie, what are you even trying to say? That when quantum physics was in its infancy one of the greatest minds didn’t yet understand it? Well duh. Things need to be studied to be understood. Or do you also go along with “if that guy said stuff then it must be true” like Dull?

Are you suggesting science is completely understood now. We actually have an universal theory? Wow.

I’d love Magpie to tell us a bit more about “the early discoveries in quantum physics”. Bet you’re all over that, Magpie. 😂

you know I had to watch my mother take communion and tell me she was going to heaven the day before she died.
Complete woo but if it made her journey towards death easier and more comfortable then it would have been really rude and arrogant of me to argue wouldn't it?

“The fact that there is even room for debate in science shows that not all is so straight forward and irrefutable as you are suggesting.”

Nobody is suggesting that “all is straightforward and irrefutable”

BUT when something has been properly tested under scientific conditions and the test results peer reviewed, then it becomes “straightforward and irrefutable”. Homeopathy, acupuncture and reiki do not work. And any perceived benefit is placebo.

Are you suggesting science is completely understood now. We actually have an universal theory? Wow

No, we are saying that we understand that many things claimed to be true by woo mongerers is against basic science. Its not about "ooh it could be true, you don't know, science doesn't know everything" as the guff goes. It's that we know this shit cannot be true.

Why is that so hard?

I’d love Magpie to tell us a bit more about “the early discoveries in quantum physics”. Bet you’re all over that, Magpie. 😂

Sorry to disappoint but that would be a whole other thread, now wouldn't it. Anyway why reinvent the wheel? The information is freely available.

Complete woo but if it made her journey towards death easier and more comfortable then it would have been really rude and arrogant of me to argue wouldn't it?

Yes, it would. But of your mother decided not to take medicine that could cure her and instead take woo shit that you know would not do anything, would you not argue then? Would you say "Oh people say it works so it must work, go ahead"?

You know, it’s a very common tactic when someone is losing an argument to divert the conversation... The fact that you refer to anything unknown as “science” shows that you have no understanding of the scientific method at all.

tbh most of the medicines she was given were woo shit anyway...but yeh I see what you mean.

"Are you suggesting science is completely understood now. We actually have an universal theory? Wow"
Nope. Not doing that.

BUT when something has been properly tested under scientific conditions and the test results peer reviewed, then it becomes “straightforward and irrefutable”. Homeopathy, acupuncture and reiki do not work. And any perceived benefit is placebo.

It doesn't become wholly irrefutable on an individual level. There are exceptions. Not much Empirical data has a 100% result. There are nearly always exceptions. Even when there aren't the data set does not include all. The testing also cannot cancel out all the priors which might influence the result.

Yes, a result on something which is unproven by science may well be elusive and somewhat rare but that does not mean it is impossible. Science only shows what happens in most cases. Not saying that science is not an extremely useful way of understanding the world about us. However it cannot explain everything (yet).