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Reiki - A Gentle Touch of Prayer
I first experienced Reiki in 1979 when a friend placed her hands on my shoulder and my pain disappeared. As I began to explore Reiki, my congregation encouraged me to take the First Degree class. Over four days I learned a system of hands-on healing touch. During class people reported feeling sensations of heat, tingling and energy in their hands. I experienced nothing -- no warmth, no energy, not even an itch!
When I returned home, I shared my experience with the congregation. They, too, felt energy and physical sensations when I placed my hands on them. My mind yearned to understand. I wanted to know, to be able to explain what was happening. I practiced. I questioned. I wrestled. As time passed, I realized Reiki was another dimension of my faith journey. I yielded my need to know. I practiced Reiki daily. I gave myself to this unknown path -- walking in faith; trusting God as healer and teacher.
It was a delight months later when I began to experience energy flowing in my hands. I took the Second Degree Reiki class and learned to deepen the power of Reiki, send energy into time/space and do mental healing. Finally, in 1984, I accepted the call of my heart to teach this beautiful gift and Phyllis Furumoto initiated me as a Reiki Master. Teaching and practicing Reiki became one way for me to share the power of God’s Love. Reiki became a spiritual discipline which connects me to the Divine Mystery of Life I call God.
When my heart said “Yes!” I had no idea of the journey I began. To this day, it is a challenge to share the essence of Reiki in words. Reiki speaks to my heart and calls to my soul as I walk a consciously chosen path of personal healing and spiritual transformation. Each time I place my hands upon my own body, I move into a place of prayer. Each time I share Reiki with another person, plant or animal, I connect to God as Divine Love and Healer.
I have come to know that Reiki is not about information and knowledge. It is about me loving others as deeply as I can, opening myself and watching as God does the healing. In a Reiki class God invites all of us to open our minds, hands and hearts to a deeper knowing of God. Reiki is a process, a life walk. It takes time and practice to understand this gentle gift of hands-on prayer. It is my honor and privilege to be a conduit of God’s healing energy and to participate with those who seek healing for body, mind and soul through classes and/or personal sessions.
The longer I hold Reiki in my hands and practice the discipline daily, the deeper into my own healing God invites me. Through this gentle art of hands-on prayer, God continues to heal and transform my life as I share it with others.
Elaine Andres is a Reiki Master and spiritual director at Sacred Path Ministry, and a minister at First Christian Church, Eugene. This column is coordinated by Two Rivers Interfaith Ministries, a network of more than 35 religious and spiritual traditions in the Eugene-Springfield area. For more information, call 344-3693 or visit www.interfaitheugene.org
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