"Kindly and gently place the hands"*

When those we love are ill or in trouble we can feel helpless and upset.  Whether it’s a temporary illness like the flu, an accidental injury like a cut hand or a more chronic illness like arthritis, there’s a natural human desire to offer kindness.   When friends suffer serious illness like cancer or a bereavement, we often yearn to help, but don't know the right words to give comfort.  When children are ill or injured it can be particularly heart-rending.  What can we do?

Those of us fortunate enough to have learned Reiki can 'kindly and gently apply our hands' and offer this wonderful healing of life energy.  No words are needed to give and receive comfort.   

In the Reiki story we learn that, after discovering that he could heal himself, founder Mikao Usui was presented with the opportunity to give help young woman suffering with a tooth abscess.  Kindly and gently placing his hands on her face he found that the healing energy that filled those hands was

also beneficial for others, as her pain quickly eased.  So began the healing art of Reiki treatments for other people.    

Shortly after this he was able to treat his friend the abbot of the monastery where he had been studying.  The abbot had arthritis and this time the healing took longer, but was still effective.  Thus Dr Usui learned the difference between treating acute and chronic conditions.

In a similar way my first experiences of how Reiki works was with friends.  The first people I treated were those in the same Reiki class as me.  We met up every Sunday for several months to practice with each other, sharing experiences and reminding each other of the hand positions.  This was my first experience of Reiki community.

I also began to offer Reiki to my family, some of whom were not interested in receiving treatment.  This was disappointing, but a good lesson in the need to respect people's individual choices and not be pushy about what I think is best for them!  Other family members were more open to offer of treatment and I have a particularly vivid memory of the first time I treated my mother.

I didn't have a treatment couch yet, so treated her sitting on her bed.  It wasn't very comfortable, but I was keen to share my new skill with her.  She had a surprising experience because she hadn't told me about her back ache, but felt sensations in her body, after which the pain was gone.  Of course I was delighted that the Reiki treatment helped her feel better.

Simply giving kind attention and placing hands gently where it hurts can bring comfort, but Reiki healing does more than this as we connect that person to an infinite source of life energy through us.  The treatment ritual is also a way of accepting what is, of acknowledging this person in whatever state of being they are in at this moment.  This is a wonderful message to offer, especially if a relationship is strained, as can happen in families. It is also a comfort for us to see the person we care about relax as their suffering eases and possibly drifting off into a healing sleep.

So it is a comfort to me that I have Reiki in my hands so I can place them kindly and gently on family and friends to ease their pain.

*I believe these are words Hawayo Takata used about giving Reiki treatment

Reiki Sharing Groups

At the end of the First degree Reiki class our Reiki master Martha encouraged us to meet with our classmates to exchange Reiki treatments.  For some time after that a group of us would meet every Sunday to share Reiki.  This is something that Reiki students all over the world do and that I continue to offer to my Reiki students.

Not everyone was able to attend each session, but there would always be enough of us to make it worthwhile.  It was lovely to meet my class-mates again; who I had shared the excitement of learning Reiki with, and to take our first steps in giving treatment to others together.

It was helpful in those first months to have each other to remind ourselves of the hand positions and of course we all remembered slightly different things about the class, so it was great to be able to compare notes.

Some of my students also get together in this way and I also run monthly Reiki Shares in Ludlow and Birmingham to offer a space for Reiki students to come together, give each other treatments, be reminded of hand positions and also have time to chat about their Reiki experiences.  I’m always happy to answer questions and share my own experience if this is helpful.

These monthly meetings are open to people who aren’t my students too: either because they have not yet learned Reiki or because they have learned with another master.  People who haven’t learned Reiki clearly can’t participate in the treatments like those initiated into Reiki, but we have a way of including them and they also get a turn on the couch to receive a treatment.  It’s often the first time they have experienced Reiki treatment and it can be quite an amazing experience for people who have not had Reiki before.

Some Reiki students come regularly to the Sharing Group, which creates a feeling of community.  Many people don’t find it easy to talk about Reiki to their friends and family, so it can feel good to be with a group of people who understand and share similar experiences.  Sometimes students feel a bit doubtful about their Reiki ability and by the end of the evening they have usually had an experience that reassures them.

During my Reiki Shares we usually treat in silence.  This can be a welcome rest from the busyness of modern life and gives time for a deeper awareness to arise.  This, I feel, contributes to the sense of connection that many people experience.

In the end the Reiki Shares of my class fizzled out as people got busy with other things.  This often happens with Share Groups because it does require some dedication to keep practising when there are so many other things going on.  This is why I am committed to keeping the Shares going as long as people keep turning up: to create a space that is reliably there for people to connect or re-connect with their Reiki practice.  If you’re in the area you would be welcome!

Have you ever been to a Reiki Share?  Perhaps you go regularly?  What are your experiences?  Please share your comments