The Committee on Doctrine, of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a document called
"Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy"
As a Roman Catholic, myself, and a Reiki Master/Teacher I was quite disturbed when I first read the document, Upon reflection, prayer, and meditation about the issue it became really quite interesting to me, rather than a cause for upset.
The first interesting thing I found was that Reiki must be seen as an awful threat to the Catholic church. And I find that a very sad thing. For such a gentle, beautiful practice as Reiki to be viewed as a threat to anyone, or anything is really quite sad. So my heart goes out to my religion of birth. The Reiki Master in me reaches out to all of the church members who are now in conflict and wishes that only the "highest healing" take place.
The document is very stern and makes a number of assertions that I believe are flawed. The very premise of the document is flawed, in my opinion. It states,
“The Church recognizes two kinds of healing: healing by divine grace and healing that
utilizes the powers of nature…Reiki practitioners claim that their training
allows one to channel the "universal life energy" that is present in all things. This "universal life energy," however, is unknown to natural science. As the presence of such energy has not been
observed by means of natural science, the justification for these therapies necessarily must come
from something other than science."
This is where the document runs afoul. Reiki is recognized as one of several " bio-field energy" therapies by the American Holistic Nursing Association. Reiki is one of the modalities recognized by the National Institutes for Health Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine. Reiki is most certainly recognized by the scientific community as a very effective modality and has been studied extensively. Yes, there has been a lot of debate on this subject very recently, and debate is always a good and healthy way to arrive at the truth of any matter. It is a well known fact that the instrumentation for measuring all " bio-field energy" is a developing field and continues to advance, as does all medical research. Debate and research will continue and those who need scientific evidence will be satisfied over time that Reiki is a legitimate natural healing modality.
Reiki is a very real part of natural healing, it is NOT religious in nature.
I believe that we have a very large population in the United States, and elsewhere, that feel either left out, or disenfranchised by their religions of birth and many have added some elements to the practice of Reiki that augment the natural healing process of Reiki to fill their spiritual needs. Perhaps the Catholic Church should get back to "tending it's flock" and leave science to the scientists.
Please add your comments to this page and pass this along to anyone that you feel would want to engage in the debate.
Namaste,
JoAnne Robinson
PS - You can also add your comments to my blog at: http://newsinalthealth.blogspot.com/
Comments
I was brought up Roman Catholic as well (went to private cath. sch, etc. .), now I'm a Universal Life Church Minister and also practice Reiki. This actually doesn't come as a shock to me. I think the church has been feeling the awakening that has been taking place within the minds and hearts of the world, and many people are finding other ways of expressing their faith rather than through the Catholic Church and they're afraid they are losing their congregations. It's too bad they have to put others down to buoy themselves up. I will pray for them all.
I am a Level II Reiki Practitioner and Certified Chakra Balancer. In all fairness, it's not just the Roman Catholic Church and it's not just Reiki. I'm reading and hearing more and more fear (disguised as teachings) arising about the dangers of "worshipping" [read: showing a loyalty to] President Obama, alternative healing modalities, the development of higher consciousness and other schools of independent thoughts. Very sad to see people shut off their critical thinking rather than seek truth or form their own opinion.
I read the Bishop's document and found no element of fear expressed or implied. It would seem that an investigation into the nature and structure of the "universal life force" is required. If secrecy is a portion of the practice, it becomes, by definition, outside the normal scientific method.
One could draw an analogy to electrostatic attraction. It was observed for many centuries and active investigation allowed people to learn more about its nature and origin.
I've never heard of this technique so I can comment little more than that.
Times are changing. More and more people are realizing that they do not need another person to tell them what is spiritual and what is holy. Jesus Christ was this type of messenger , using healing powers and speaking up against the powers that had become more focused on money, control and power than on basic goodness and love.
The catholic church leaders are disconnected from reality. They continue to prove this time and time again. One catholic priest even went so far as to deny the holocaust ever happened. The churchs handling of the abuse cases is an embarrassment to it's followers. But more and more people are realizing they can access divinity directly. This has always been the case. You do not need to rely on the church to give you access to the universal life healing force.
WWJR "Whom Would Jesus Reiki"
HWJH "How Would Jesus Heal"
As a current devoted Catholic and an Energy Healer who is developing an organization to do more research; with the aim of having Energy Healing not only being accepted but also being taught to main stream Medical Practitioners, I view this as good.
Let me explain as we focus on something we create discussion and begin to attract what we focus upon. As we focus we learn and as we learn the truth will be observed. Gone are the days of destroying the knowledge and eliminating the people generating this information. The internet has changes all this for the good.
Embrace this and with joy and the misguided opinions of a few will be changed by the grace of God The Creator of All That Is
With Love for I Love You
Ian Stone – Metaphysician & Founder of HEART Energy Healing System
Human Energy Assessment Release Treatments,
Metaphysical Institute - www.metaphysicalinstitute.org
Metaphysical Institute Blog - metaphysicalinstitute.blogspot.com
i have read this thogh not completely..just feel like to say my love n prayers to thm may reiki flow in their hearts n heel thm. nothing change the truth if somone is aware of it or not.being a reiki master i have seen miracles .reiki do exsist somone beleive it or not.i will pray for thm.reiki is very intelligent energy lets pray for thm..reiki be with thm.
Hello,
I have never blogged but I will at least say my thoughts...I am a Reiki III, after being inducted into Reiki it has brought me closer to God. Before Reiki, I never went to church, didn't pray, now I find myself talking to Jesus and his Angels. I pray to Jesus for healings as I do reiki, I have become more spiritual since I have been inducted into Reiki. I can not see how they feel that Reiki is a superstition. I was taught in Reiki, that you do not have to believe in any type of christianity as there are many different beliefs, only that there is a suprememe being and energy source. We all know comes from God. Reiki is a channel of his healing power. It was given to us, it is free, and God is great. He put it there for all of us to access. God wants us all to be able to access his healing power whether it is through prayer, reiki or what ever means. There isn't a strict and only way to access God. ok..thats my peace.....Randal C.
All I can say is I will hold this in the Light. As a Reiki Master/Teacher I know that is all that's needed.
Unfortunately the Catholic Church has historically been a political organization and instrument of empire, operating within the outer facade of a Christ-based religion and spiritual practices. Informed scientists are very much aware of subtle energies and how spiritual healing is one way to influence these energies for health benefits.
Christians have traditionally practiced laying on of hands healing as have people in every culture going back tens of thousands of years all the way back to ancient Shamanic traditions. The Universal Life Force Energy is from the Ultimate Source Creator - God, and no religion owns or controls it. The Church leaders are apparently more concerned with keeping people from independent thought and exploration [which might lead some to stray from the church and reduce the power and wealth of the church] than with fostering healing. I know a number of Catholics who disagree with the Vatican and church leadership and have their own way of looking at God and spirituality even though many remain involved in the church as a matter of tradition and community. I serve as a Reiki Master and I seek truth and the highest Source - religion and human egos get in the way of that, so I learn from many sources and find my own way of aligning my consciousness with its spiritual source and the Creator of All. I have taught Reiki to people of varying faiths and backgrounds and it only serves to assist healing... people can have any belief system they like and practice Reiki healing.
www.phinsights.com
I have long described myself as a recovering Catholic. I too said my prayers every night kneeling by my bedside asking God to guide me and bring peace and happiness to me and my family. Long story short, I left home at 15 yrs. of age, watched my father (a Catholic convert from Anglican faith) attempt suicide as my mother drank herself into a rage most days before I returned home from school. Yes, in my Catholic family I was subject to constant physical and emotional abuse and quite often received physical abuse from the Nun who was the principal of the Catholic school I attended as a child (St. Francis Xavier Elementary School) When I heard that people were burned at the stake and boiled alive in the Vatican Plaza for writing books not approved by the Church, then hearing that young boys were being sexually abused by Priests, I had no choice but to denounce my religion of birth. I am not surprised in the least that the practice of Reiki has been banned by the Church.
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