Certified Reiki Master

Fyxe wrote: I just wanted to know if reike [sic] was like force healing...

At least in terms of how real each is, there is pretty much no difference between the two.

... and if so can we use it to learn force healing?

Seeing as there is no independent standard by which skillfulness in either can be verified or compared, I'd say that there isn't a way of learning Force healing from practicing Reiki that can be actually identified as such. By that same token of course, there is also no way of telling that someone is not or has not become proficient in one from attempting the other, for what it's worth.

and i was wondering if anyone here could teach it?

Well, seeing again as there is neither a central authority controlling Reiki degrees or certificate giveaway, it's not a matter of who is technically able to teach it but who thinks they are or more importantly is willing to. You can just buy the certificate or make a "weekend course" or what ever else you feel is like an appropriate investment. In the end it is only a matter of whether you can convince yourself that you are a master, not a matter of any verifiable skill.
That being said, while I'm sure one could find a few people here who think themselves able and perhaps even willing to teach it, officially TOTJO so far does not teach mystical powers, as Brick quoted from the FAQ in another thread recently.

Sounds like anyone coujld just align with the force and learn this on their own. Not sure a teacher is even required. I see that the guy that started reike leaned it this way so why cant anyone do it that way?

They can. That's the point. In fact, you could come back tomorrow and say that you are a Reiki master now and your qualifications would be more or less the same as anyone's who spent some thirty years on it, because aside from maybe some vocabulary and jaron, there is no verifiable skill there in the first place. If there was, then it would be fraudulent to lie about it as it is with trade skill ranks or academic degrees, and there would be such a thing as educational accreditation for Reiki, as there is for master tradesmen who seek to train apprentices, or colleges that offer out degree programmes.

I shall explore this possibility in my meditations this week!!

Fyxe wrote: No I dont think I saw anything? it looks like a bunch of crabby people got in here after us. do every thread here talk like this?

OK, sorry about that. Operator error probably ... at any rate, I'll repeat the post here.

Before answering your original questions, I'll take a slight detour to share some facts that are relevant to more recent dialogue in this thread since it's headed in a different direction that lends skepticism to the subject:

1. Those who claim that Reiki has not been confirmed by mainstream research to be effective are correct. There has been minimal
research performed on Reiki, and that which I've encountered has tended to focus only on its effects to reduce stress. Quite
arguably, that effect could be as much due to human touch as anything else.
2. The scientific method of controlled investigation is a really, really helpful process. It has contributed quite a bit to human welfare.
3. Just because a claim has not been tested by the scientific method does not mean that claim is false.
4. Even by practitioners, Reiki is considered a complement to traditional medicine, not a replacement for it.
5. Years ago, I was diagnosed by a licensed physician with a condition that he deemed incurable. My only course of treatment after his
diagnosis was to undergo a number of sessions with a Reiki practitioner. My condition was cured and has not returned.
6. While it's a subjective assessment, I do not believe I am delusional.
7. Others have reported similar experiences to mine.
8. The literature on Reiki notes that people receiving Reiki treatments often feel their practitioners hands get hot. I felt that from
my practitioner. Now, when I apply it myself, my hands get hot.
9. I do not care that some object that Reiki is not to date validated by science. I was in pain, I received Reiki, and now that pain is gone.
That is a bigger deal to me personally than the existence or non-existence of double-blind controlled studies or allegations about the
placebo effect.

Anyone reading can may take from that what you will.

Now regarding your specific questions -

I am not unfortunately a Reiki master. I am a Level 2 practitioner, and Reiki mastery is attainment of level 3. I'll be honest - while someone may have made some discovery of which I am unaware, I would be suspect of an online course teaching Reiki. In my experience, a proper Reiki attunement requires the physical presence of a Reiki master. Also, in-person classes involve some cross-treatment among the participating students, so you get some experience during the class; I can't imagine how that would work online.

That said, I think there are other healing modalities that could be more effectively learned online. I took a look at some of the energy healing classes offered on the Udemy website on Sunday evening, and found a mix of offerings, some looking to me to be probably useful and some not. None I saw cost more than $30, and most were less. If you'd like some specific recommendations, send me a friend request and I'll put some in a PM. (I don't want to turn the forum into a commercial.)

Finally, a note about energy healing in general. Whether it's referred to as force healing, Reiki healing, Pranic healing, Huna healing, or some other term (usually reflective of a spiritual tradition from which it emerged), the essence underlying each technique is the same - though procedures and processes may be different. Energy is energy, no matter what it's called. I suggest being less concerned about the name or cultural source of a particular method than how strongly it calls to you, and - after you've experimented with it - how effective you personally have found it to be.

Best wishes on your journey!

Fyxe wrote: Sounds like anyone coujld just align with the force and learn this on their own. Not sure a teacher is even required. I see that the guy that started reike leaned it this way so why cant anyone do it that way?

Because that's a legend.

Omhu Cuspor wrote: I'll be honest - while someone may have made some discovery of which I am unaware, I would be suspect of an online course teaching Reiki. In my experience, a proper Reiki attunement requires the physical presence of a Reiki master.

I've been doing energy-work for twenty years, and Reiki is Mickey Mouse compared to some of the more complex modalities out there, or even my experiential understanding of general energy-work, and I could teach anything I know via distance. Online Reiki training isn't any more suspect than distance Reiki sessions, and the only people peddling that load of nonsense are people who can make $200 more per person teaching in person than they can online, and people who paid that extra $200.

Omhu Cuspor wrote: Anyone reading can may take from that what you will.

Thanks! So let's.

Just because a claim has not been tested by the scientific method does not mean that claim is false.

No, it just means that we have nothing to point to in an effort to justify it, and that to assert that the claim is accurate is grossly dishonest in light of that profound lack of justification we can offer for it.

Even by practitioners, Reiki is considered a complement to traditional medicine, not a replacement for it.

First of all, I'm pretty sure I could find you practitioners who would say otherwise - in fact some service offerers have been getting in quite some trouble over this. But secondly, to say that it is complementary in any sense that implies that it is effective to some degree is also a claim that has failed so far to be backed up by anything more than anecdotes, so it too ought be made with caution, if at all.

The literature on Reiki notes that people receiving Reiki treatments often feel their practitioners hands get hot. I felt that from my practitioner. Now, when I apply it myself, my hands get hot.

Human bodies radiate waste heat from pretty much anywhere, though hand palms are particularly strong at that. If in addition to that one isolates the patch of sensitive surface from outside air, preventing heat convection, that the surface senses an increase in temperature is expected. But we know this because we can measure the local temperatures, not just because a hand's touch "feels hot" by some unspecified amount.
Speaking of the amount: If, of course, this was some magical power, we would not expect there to be a limit to the rate of heat transfer and the inexperienced practitioner would run a serious risk of burning their patient. But Reiki is about as safe as any touch would be, because that's as much as there is to it.

I do not care that some object that Reiki is not to date validated by science. I was in pain, I received Reiki, and now that pain is gone. That is a bigger deal to me personally than the existence or non-existence of double-blind controlled studies or allegations about the placebo effect.

Oh, so when you said in the second point that "The scientific method of controlled investigation is a really, really helpful process. It has contributed quite a bit to human welfare." what you omitted was "... but I just happen to find that completely unimportant and am happy to throw it out like the trash it is once my feelings inevitably trump it."

Finally, a note about energy healing in general. Whether it's referred to as force healing, Reiki healing, Pranic healing, Huna healing, or some other term (usually reflective of a spiritual tradition from which it emerged), the essence underlying each technique is the same - though procedures and processes may be different.

Is it, though? How do we know? I mean, I don't disagree, it's all almost equally ineffective, but I wouldn't necessarily say that a unicorn is the same as a fairy just because both of them equally don't exist. Maybe they all try to tap into the same... "thing", but shy of actually having anything to point at, shy of any indication that there is a "there" there at all, how do you come to make a claim like that about them?

Energy is energy, no matter what it's called.

Except energy is of course measurable and with some superb accuracy even with amateurish equipment. But this woo-woo "energy" is nothing like actual energy, is it? Rather it is some unspecified mystical thing that has yet to manifest in reality but which savvy sharlatans and some point began calling energy because the greek term happened to have found some adoption in scientific contexts and thus makes their woo sound that little more credible.

I suggest being less concerned about the name or cultural source of a particular method than how strongly it calls to you, and - after you've experimented with it - how effective you personally have found it to be.

Just imagine hearing your physician say it like that. "Here is a selection of medicines with fancy latino-greek (as opposed to far eastern) names. Don't be concerned about what any of them are composed of or where they are manufactured. Just try which ever you feel most connected with and go with that." If that is how a number of vials of medication worked, what else could there possibly be in them but water? Or worse yet, just some mystery goo your licensed physician was not only entirely unaware of the effects of but also negligent enough to recommend to you regardless...
The mere fact that statements like this can be made and not cause much of a fuss with the practitioner community or their "patients" is already a strong indication that we are talking about something completely vacuous. The instant we replace the woo terms with matching ones from disciplines we have any substantive expectations from, the statement becomes so absurd as to be straight out of a Monty Python sketch! Something that operates like this is even by the sound of it alone pretty much the opposite of something that can possibly work.


May I just say, too, and please don't take this as a personal jab, Omhu, I'm just using the opportunity to release a sigh of mild frustration grown over some years.
How anyone can willingly "overlook" this and still say that one lives placing knowledge over ignorance and reason over passion? We only waste any time debating this magical woo because some believe it is a particularly Jedi-y thing to train in, but when even a cursory investigation returns how nonsensical it is - or at best fails to return that there is any substance to it - how is it not a direct opposition to the Code to keep turning away from insight in favour of obliviousness, and from reason in favour of feelings? What day was it when superstition and impulsivity and open, unapologetic irrationality became the Jedi thing to embrace?

Reike is legend? I thought he was a real man from Japan?

I get what you are saying about energy omhu. So what you mean is that reike and force healing use the same energy right? so that makes sense! I found a really interesting course on reike at the udemy site. You can get all three levels for only 12 dollars. sounds interesting but if we can tap into force energy then I think we might be able to develop force healing like reike only with the Force! I experiements with this last night and really had a strange experience, I felt like I was falling though all these layers of reality until I stopped at this level that just sort of... vibrated? felt like that. I think it was the force layer. Im going back there tonight and to see if maybe I can get some healing energy started!

If you can get three levels of force healing for a single easy payment $12 and achieve the vibration levels you want elsewhere, why are you here?
We don't larp as a group, and Reiki is an unrelated practice. As much as people who doubt that Reiki works have been accused of "derailing this thread" at least they know what Reiki is and are authentically discussing it.