Health From a Reiki Practitioner's Perspective
(continued)
Anthropological Perspectives On Healing
In the United States, the term "health care system" may conjure up scenes from popular prime time dramas or lengthy political debates. These scenes focus on hospitals, doctors, scientifically valid studies, and government regulation. All of these images fall into what Arthur Kleinman would refer to as "the professional sector" of the health care system. In his book Patients and Healers in the Context of Culture Kleinman argues that it is useful to study the health care system of any country as a cultural system. To do so, he defines three categories that can be applied universally to the study of the health care system. The categories are: the popular sector, the professional sector, and the folk sector.
The popular sector is usually the largest part of this system. It is based on the family, but encompasses the general public. Every country has some widely held beliefs about how to maintain health or treat illness. In the United States, a few of these are- a glass of red wine lowers one's risk of heart disease, exercising is a good way to lose weight and live longer, low-fat diets are good for you, milk will help prevent osteoporosis and too much stress can make you sick. It is not important whether any of these beliefs are "true" or not. Many people believe that they are true, and that is what creates the cultural context. If someone is tired and congested, he may conclude that he has a cold, eat some chicken soup and rest until he recovers. He has diagnosed and treated an illness within the popular sector of the health care system. If his symptoms persist, he may decide to see his family doctor. At this point he enters the professional sector.
Kleinman defines the professional sector as "the organized healing professions". In most countries this would refer to established Western medicine. The professional sector in the United States is extensive. The most obvious members of this sector are participants in allopathic medicine: medical doctors, the American Medical Association, the Food and Drug Administration, hospitals, medical schools and pharmaceutical companies. While allopathic medicine is the largest and most powerful piece of the professional sector, in recent years some alternative practices have gained enough recognition to be considered part of the "organized healing professions". The following practices have schools for training new members of their professions and require licensing to practice in most states: chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture and naturopathic medicine.
The final piece of the health care-as-cultural system is the folk sector. Kleinman defines this sector as "non-professional, non-bureaucratic, specialist". Those people who engage in some sort of healing practice that is not part of an organized profession or subject to government regulation are part of the folk sector. In this sense the popular and folk sectors have a great deal in common. Eating chicken soup when one has a cold is not professional or regulated by the government. It does not, however, require any special training or technique. Activities such as Reiki fall into the folk sector because they require training, even if it is informal or unregulated.
Reiki and the Folk Sector
In placing Reiki in the category of the folk sector, I encounter a few contradictions. First, let us note that the popular, professional and folk sectors overlap. Our separation of them is somewhat arbitrary and the boundaries that we draw between them could be debated at great length. A debate of this nature would be a distraction from the focus of this paper, so I will simply address Reiki's role in the three sectors and state my reasons for placing Reiki in the folk sector.
Reiki certainly has a presence in the popular sector. Some people use Reiki primarily within their own families, Amazon.com has about 100 books listed under that title, and, in my experience, most people who work with any form of "complementary medicine" have at least heard of Reiki. On the other hand, an estimated ten million Americans are involved in some form of "psychic healing". While this is a significant number, it is less than 5% of the U.S. population. As Reiki is only one form of psychic healing, the percentage of the U.S population involved in Reiki is even lower than 5%. This hardly constitutes "the general public".
Kleinman's second category, the professional sector, is somewhat problematic as well. He defines this sector loosely as "the organized healing professions". Reiki has some local, national and international organizations. Many people have devoted their lives to teaching and healing with Reiki, thus making it their profession. Under this broad definition, any activity that has some organization, pertains to health, and has some people who make their living engaging in this activity, falls into the professional sector. However, Kleinman goes on to state that, in most countries, the professional sector is simply "modern scientific medicine". This description excludes Reiki from the professional sector.
Kleinman's definition of the folk sector as "non-professional, non-bureaucratic, specialist" seems to describe Reiki more accurately than the other two definitions. While it is true that some people have made Reiki their profession, it is also true that health care professionals such as nurses, massage therapists, or acupuncturists will have Reiki as a complement to their main profession. It would be unusual for someone to go through medical school only to use her training to complement some other work that she considered to be her primary profession, and even more unusual to use it only on her family friends, as some Reiki practitioners choose to do. Without detracting from those people who feel called to practice Reiki as their life's work, I argue that Reiki fits Kleinman's criterion of "non-professional."
The second criterion for belonging to the folk sector is that the healing practice be non-bureaucratic. In the U.S., no local, state or federal licensing exists for Reiki practitioners. Generally speaking, the government does not recognize that metaphysical healing energies exist, so it is somewhat difficult for them to regulate such activities. The non-governmental Reiki organizations that have formed over the years do not have authority over Reiki practitioners. Membership in such organizations is voluntary and many people choose to practice independently. In fact, one of the basic tenets of Reiki is that clients are capable of choosing which practitioners are best for them. Thus, attempting to make that decision for the client by controlling or outlawing certain Reiki practitioners would contradict the essence of Reiki. Compared with the extensive authority of the AMA, the FDA, and other regulatory agencies that oversee doctors, nurses and chiropractors, Reiki activities can be accurately described as non-bureaucratic.
The third criterion, that of specialist, also applies to Reiki. Healing is a spontaneous, universal, innate ability available to all forms of life. Reiki is one specific form of healing. Many forms of metaphysical healing exist. Some people are born with such abilities while others discover them later on in life. These energies are not better or worse than Reiki, but they are different. Reiki vibrates at a specific frequency and one does not practice Reiki until he or she has received an attunement from a Reiki Master. Thus, Reiki meets Kleinman's third and final criterion for membership in the folk sector, that of specialist.
Reiki, Past and Present
All accounts I have heard or read of the history of Reiki state that Dr. Mikao Usui rediscovered it in the early 20th century. I have never been able to find specific dates or even ballpark estimates about when it was practiced prior to the 1900's. Vague references to "ancient times" and discussions with other practitioners have led me to understand that the term "rediscover" simply means that hands on healing is as old as humanity. This specific form of healing we know as Reiki may be different or "new" compared to other healing methods, but stems from a wisdom that is eternal.
Many different stories have been written or told about how Dr. Usui rediscovered Reiki. Author and Reiki Master William Lee Rand has made a considerable effort to substantiate conflicting accounts of this history. His version has more concrete evidence than others I have found.
Dr. Usui was born in 1865 in Japan. Throughout his life he studied many healing arts and religions, including Buddhism. He traveled to China and Europe as part of his studies. In 1914 he entered a Buddhist training course on Mt. Kurama. During the twenty-one day course, he fasted and meditated. Through this process he received the Reiki energy into his body and spirit. Dr. Usui combined this energy, his knowledge of Sanskrit symbols and Buddhism to create the Usui System of Natural Healing.
Dr. Usui devoted the remainder of his life to healing with Reiki and training other Reiki Masters to carry on the work. It is not clear how Dr. Usui originally transferred the Reiki energy and trained his students. As Reiki is currently practiced, there are three levels. They are Reiki 1, Reiki 11, and Reiki Master. Each level must be obtained from a Reiki Master.
The first level of Reiki opens a person up to the flow of the energy and allows the student to channel it by placing her hands on herself or others. This is done with one or more attunements from the Reiki Master. During an attunement, the students close their eyes, and the Reiki Master stands over each student, and I believe, traces a symbol over the person's head (or into her hands) with the intention of initiating the student into the first level of Reiki. Because Reiki has a consciousness of its own, the Master acts as a channel and the energy itself does the work of attuning the student to the first level.
The word "Reiki" is Japanese for "universal life energy". The philosophy is that everything in the universe exists with some degree of connection to this universal life energy, and a Reiki "attunement" helps a person to become more in tune with this life energy. Once someone has received an attunement, the ability to channel Reiki will stay with him for his entire life and will grow stronger each time he uses it.
The second level of Reiki has a similar attunement process and increases the strength of the energy. At the second level, students learn symbols that allow them to send the energy through time and space. This way, a practitioner can send healing to a person who is at another location. A student can also send Reiki to a past or future event for healing. The symbols taught in Reiki are sacred and are intended to be shown or spoken only to other people who have also obtained the second level. They have been published in books and on the internet. Reiki activates and guides the symbols, so if one has not had an attunement the symbols will not be useful.
K. M. is one Reiki Master who requires her students to wait a minimum of two months between the first and second levels of Reiki. During these two months it is important for them to use the energy. They may use it on themselves, their family, friends, pets or plants. Some students may be content to simply continue with the first level and not obtain any more levels of Reiki. Others may wait much longer than two months or pursue Reiki with another Master.
The philosophy behind requiring students to wait at least two months before continuing is that Reiki facilitates personal growth and healing. This is a process that requires time, patience, work and love. As people use Reiki on themselves or others, they will experience and observe the healing that takes place. A Reiki practitioner increases the amount of energy she can channel every time she uses the energy. As she increases her ability to channel a more powerful flow, she gains the experience necessary for reaching the next level.
While the classes for the first or second level of Reiki can each be taught in one weekend, the process of becoming a Master is more involved. K. M. teaches her Master class as an apprenticeship which can take several months to over a year. A Reiki Master has the ability to initiate others into Reiki. K. M. believes that with this ability comes greater responsibility and commitment to her own and others' healing. She requires these students to have done several hundred treatments, and to assist with her Reiki classes so that they can learn to teach as well. She offers guidance and feedback as the apprentice does her own healing and learns to support others with theirs.
It is important to note that it is not necessary for one to believe in Reiki in order for a treatment to be effective, or even to become initiated into the first level. The energy will provide whatever healing is appropriate no matter what one believes. It may also be possible for one to achieve higher levels of Reiki without believing in it, but I cannot imagine that someone would choose to pursue them if he or she was firmly convinced that the energy did not exist.
Another key facet of Reiki is that the practitioner or Master does not control the energy. He simply chooses to act as a channel. Reiki is a loving energy that is infinitely available and will go to the root of the problem to heal the person physically, emotionally or spiritually. Often neither the client nor the practitioner knows what the cause of the problem is, but the energy has a consciousness of its own that knows what to heal. For this reason, practitioners cannot guarantee outcomes such as "your cancer will be cured", "you will never crave a cigarette again" or "your depression will evaporate". People do use Reiki to treat serious illnesses, addictions and depression, but no one can guarantee a "cure" to an individual for a specific ailment. The practitioner can only offer herself as a channel for whatever healing will take place.