Monday, September 22, 2014

Catholic bishops

Reiki students are still discovering and puzzling over the Catholic bishops' denouncement of Reiki. Old news to some, new news to others. A student found mention of it in an old newspaper article. Here's my response to the student's post.

I went to the source you cited, and found a newspaper article with lots of errors about Reiki. Some of the Reiki errors, and my responses:
1) "There are zones, according to Reiki, known in Sanskrit, as Chakras" (Leggett, 2009).

Chakras are yoga, not Reiki.
2) "Reiki means Universal Life Force Energy. That energy supposedly passes from Master to Student and from Master to Patient, " (Leggtt, 2009). 
I don't believe the energy passes from teacher to student, I believe the energy is everywhere, all around us, and the teacher helps the student identify and access the energy. I believe the same re energy between practitioner and client. 

3) "It is known as Energy Healing for the life force within you. If your life force is out of balance, the life force needs to be balanced." (Leggett, 2009).

I don't understand how that means, as you concluded, "I find it interesting that if ones 'life force' was out of balance that they wouldn't be able to have Reiki done on them."   I don't think that's what the writer was trying to convey.
4) I do agree with the writer (Leggett, 2009), that there are many confusing websites and much misinformation about Reiki. That's one reason I teach this class. I want to teach you how to discern what is a reputable source and what is not. Was this newspaper article a reputable source?

I want to teach you about the Reiki myths, and how to separate truth from fiction. I want to teach you how to do plain simple Reiki, and not Reiki mixed with other modalities. 
As you research Reiki, try to tell the difference between a good source and a source full of errors. 

5) You're confused about the term, "lifesource." Do you think "lifesource" could mean something like "spirit" or "soul?"
Thank you.
Reference
Leggett, M. (2009, June 24). The Reiki Controversy with The US Roman Catholic Bishops. examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/article/the-reiki-controversy-with-the-us-roman-catholic-bishops