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Philosophy/religion

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Is reiki a bad idea when pregnant?

16 replies

jojochanel · 01/10/2009 21:45

Done a bit of Reiki in the past and I like it. Went to see spiritual Reiki master prior to conception (she's also a medium and tells you who is in the room, etc) and wanted to go back as I found it very calming. However I'm now 14 weeks pregnant. I'm not sure if it would be a bad idea (the reiki bit - not the spiritual bit) and wonder is there any way it could harm or upset the baby. It's my choice to do the Reiki but baby wouldn't be given a choice - is that fair for him? What do you think?

OP posts:
hanaflower · 01/10/2009 21:47

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

applestrudel · 01/10/2009 23:19

I gave my DS reiki throughout my pregnancy and, as far as I understand, there is no way reiki could ever harm anything. It is a loving, healing energy. My own experience, once I could feel DS kick, was that he became very active whenever I gave him reiki. He is a very joyful little boy now he's here!

TAFKAtheUrbanDryad · 01/10/2009 23:22

Reiki is a bad idea whenever. What with it being a load of cobblers.

Same as praying for your baby, or doing a sort of joyful dance of Woot won't do it any harm.

So, if you want to do your moojoo to your baby, go right ahead. It won't make the blindest bit of difference one way or t'other!

jojochanel · 02/10/2009 21:11

TAFKAtheUrbanDryad - thanks for your thoughts. I'm presuming you've never tried it? I know some of my more 'rationale' friends agree with your moojoo philosophy but I have actually found it very relaxing. Each to their own I suppose!

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TAFKAtheUrbanDryad · 03/10/2009 15:25

This is for you.

jojochanel · 03/10/2009 19:13

Thanks TAFKA - I enjoyed that . Can I just ask out of interest why you lurk on the spiritual/philosophy page when you're such a realist?

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TAFKAtheUrbanDryad · 03/10/2009 19:21

I don't - I saw this in Active Convos and thought I'd stick my oar in add my two pence worth!

Reiki gets my goat more than most "spiritual" or "healing" arts, because people get so ripped off by it. There's no flippin proof that Reiki works - but it costs So Much More than faith healing or homeopathy or any of the other make believe crap that people get sucked into. My friend just went for some Reikie healing, and paid £80, for someone to tell her, "Oh, you feel better now, don't you?" WTF?!?

Tim Minchin rocks - I just bought all his albums!

ConFuschias · 03/10/2009 19:39

I had my one and only reiki session whilst pregnant.

Agree with UrbanDryad that it's a load of cobblers. And I usually am into anything spiritual.

I don't think it could harm your baby (mostly because I don't think it does anything ), so if it "works" for you, then go ahead

jojochanel · 03/10/2009 19:51

forty quid round my way - does your pal live in London TAFKA? I honestly feel like there's a pinball rushing round my body and it gets all warm and I usually have a cry afterwards and then feel loads better -it's cathartic for me. OK forty quid for a cry is alot of money but I'm not great at relaxing normally. Glad you don't normally lurk here TAFKA - was thinking you may have some sort of vendetta against people who liked anything a bit alternative. My hubby thinks it's a load of old cobblers too by the way but hey it's my money and I'm pregnant so I can't spend it on nice clothes anymore

OP posts:
TAFKAtheUrbanDryad · 03/10/2009 20:08

Heh - I've never had the money to splash on bollocks Reiki or nice clothes! We don't live far from London, that might be why it was more expensive - but even forty quid is a lot to spend IMO. But if it works for you then fine.

I think as long as people go into it with their eyes open and knowing they're being fleeced then y'know, fine. It's the wide-eyed innocents who have something missing in their lives so they feel the need to believe in Reiki and angels and fairies and whatever else.

Sometimes I wish I didn't have a conscience. I could make a fortune peddling shite. Oh well.

TAFKAtheUrbanDryad · 03/10/2009 20:09

PS: - I have nothing against anything alternative. Philosophy and spirituality doesn't need to be bollocks, which I think is why Reiki offends me on so many levels.

DippyDino · 04/10/2009 00:16

Sounds like you / your friend had a really bad experience. For what it's worth, I promise you that there are some very good Reiki practitioners out there. I don't usually charge people, if I do it will be around £10 to £20 max, depending on how far I have to travel, length of treatment. I never ever charge people who are wanting to have Reiki for helping them through chemotherapy or through serious illness.

Reiki is totally illogical and shouldn't work.

But in my experience it is the dogs bollocks, not bollocks.

However there are lunatics with zero ability in any line of this sort of 'alternative health' stuff.

MisterAlestorm · 05/10/2009 12:53

Yes. On balance, Reiki is dangerous.

Not just for a baby, but for anyone.

Why?

Okay, the fact is, it does nothing. There is no evidence of any kind to show it works. There is nothing there. Nothing is working. If you can prove to me that Reiki works, I will give you my house, my car, my children, my feet, my kidneys and my eyeballs. It doesn't matter if you believe it works or not, in any and every test, it hasn't.

But then, surely, it's harmless, right?

No.

Because it's expensive, but in some countries, it's less expensive than conventional medicine. Or, it's easier to access than a regular GP, so it is actually seen as an 'alternative'.

But, it does nothing, right?

So what happens? If there was nothing wrong in the first place, then you're worse off for having paid for it or wasted time on it.

If there was something wrong, that gets better on its own, you're also worse off for having paid for it or wasted time on it.

If there's something wrong that gets better because you've chosen conventional medicine alongside Reiki, then you're worse off because you've paid for it or wasted time on it.

If there's something wrong that you've chosen Reiki (or any faith-based healing method) to treat, instead of conventional medicine, that could have been cured by seeing a proper doctor, then harm is being caused by this choice.

If you are paying to 'learn' Reiki, you're not actually learning anything. You get 'attuned' to it, basically by someone drawing squiggles over your head with their fingers. But they also are taught that some kind of 'energy transfer' which can be in the form of money or other services, has to take place for this to happen. But nothing detectable is happening.

The con trick is that once you've paid for this, you're invested in it working, so you try to convince yourself that it does.

It's like giving the 'Imaginary Friend Bodyguard Service' money and having them tell you that an imaginary friend is going to be your bodyguard for the day to stop you getting mugged. The chances are, you won't get mugged anyway, so hey! The imaginary friend bodyguard protected you! Until you do run into a real and serious problem, and the imaginary friend does nothing and can't help. That's Reiki, that is.

So, yeah, for these reasons and more, Reiki is not harmless and on balance, does more harm than good.

And before you slate me as someone that's 'closed minded' or not open to alternative culture, I've taken part in Witchcraft rituals in the New Forest and Druidic ones at Stonehenge and Avebury. The owners of the oldest occult bookshop in the world know me by name and make me cups of tea when I drop by. My children have been breastfed in Aleister Crowley's old armchair. I can identify and tell you how to use a dozen different plants for healing purposes.

And I still think that Reiki is a dangerous con trick.

MisterAlestorm · 05/10/2009 15:17

...it's all gone quiet.

DippyDino · 14/10/2009 19:58

Killing it softly with your post, Mister!

I do understand where you are coming from, however my personal experience is very different. I also understood that reiki had been shown to be effective in pain management - however without googling I have no details and the memory of a fruit fly... don't think I imagined it though...

[shrugs] Each to their own!

muli · 03/12/2009 16:32

my sister had reiki all through her pregnancy ,she prepared for a reiki birth at home and every thing went well, it also works wonders with children,animals and mother inlaws!!!

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