Recently, one of my Reiki Level II students experienced a devastating house fire and suffered serious burns on his feet. One of the fabulous aspects of Reiki is the ability to have emergency treatment at your fingertips, literally.
My husband and I sent Reiki, and after only a few minutes, we all felt some of the energetic intensity of the trauma begin to lessen.
Of course, along with receiving appropriate medical care, I encouraged him to continue giving himself Reiki as often as possible.
But a few days later, another healer told him that he should not be doing Reiki on himself.
I have heard this before, and I get really irked when healers spread the misconception that you should not use Reiki on yourself when you are sick or injured.
So, I decided to channel my frustration into something useful: a bit of a Reiki rant in the form of this month’s blog!
The belief that Reiki will drain you when you are already unwell reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of Reiki itself. In fact, self-Reiki can be one of the most supportive gifts you offer yourself when your body, mind, and spirit need it most.
What Makes Reiki Unique
In my 38 years of teaching and practicing Reiki, I have shared the many reasons Reiki is unique among energy-healing modalities.
One of the most important is that, with Reiki, you are opening your channels to receive and flow more Universal Energy—rather than trying to access, build, or strengthen your own personal life-force energy, or chi, to accomplish the healing.
Reiki is commonly translated as “Universal Life Force Energy.”
Unlike energy-healing practices that rely primarily upon the practitioner’s personal chi or ki—and therefore may potentially leave the practitioner feeling depleted—Reiki draws upon Universal Energy.
When I first learned Reiki, I distinctly remember feeling energy pouring into my crown at the top of my head, flowing all the way down into my heart space, filling me up, and then flowing through my arms and hands to the recipient.
It was as if a tiny trickle of a stream had suddenly become a river within me.
The experience was so different from anything I could personally muster that it allowed me to surrender completely and let the Universal Energy flow through me.
And here is the beautiful part: I was receiving the energy as I was giving it.
This is not simply book knowledge or the repetition of a phrase such as “Universal Life Force Energy.” It is my direct and personal experience as both a healer and a Reiki Master Teacher.
Instead of depletion, the opposite can occur: You are in the stream of receiving even as you offer Reiki to your own injury or illness—or share it with someone else.
It is a win-win situation and quite unique to Reiki.
Contemplating Universal Energy
In recent years, I have contemplated this even more deeply.
The word Reiki, as used by Mikao Usui, the founder of the Usui System of Reiki, is frequently translated as “Universal Life Force Energy.” Yet I find myself using the broader phrase Universal Energy more and more.
Why?
Because I have successfully applied Reiki to far more than living beings.
I have offered Reiki to my finances, checkbook, business and bank accounts, grant proposals, food, water, cars, electronics, and all kinds of situations.
Again and again, I have experienced the coherent, high frequency harmonizing energy of Reiki bringing greater balance to both the animate and the inanimate.
Quantum science reminds us that what appears to be solid and separate is, at its most fundamental level, composed of dynamic energy and interconnected fields. While quantum physics does not scientifically prove how Reiki works, it does invite us beyond the old idea that reality consists only of separate, solid objects—and into a much larger contemplation of energy, relationship, and possibility.
Quantum science may eventually have a better explanation for some of my experiences than I do. I simply know that many of those experiences have been magical.
The Grant Proposals That Received Reiki
For years, I gave Reiki to every grant proposal I prepared for the AIDS hospice where I worked. We received a remarkably high percentage of the grants we applied for—far better than the organization had experienced in the past.
As I prepared to send off each application, I could feel the same flow of Reiki moving into the envelope that I felt when offering Reiki to a person.
Was Reiki doing the grant writing for me? Of course not!
I still had to read the guidelines, write a strong proposal, complete the forms, meet the requirements, and take all the necessary aligned actions.
But Reiki seemed to add another layer of harmony and coherence to the entire process.
The Car That Ran on Reiki
I once had an older car that would simply stop in the middle of the highway. No mechanic could diagnose the problem. Since there was nothing else I could do while sitting on the side of the road, I would give the car Reiki.
I received the impression that the car was simply exhausted. It was quite old, after all! Within 15 or 20 minutes, it would start again—and no mechanic ever figured out why.
I literally had a car that ran on Reiki!
Reiki for Food and Water
For many years, I have also given Reiki to my food and water. Over time, I became so subtle and sensitive that I could often tell whether food carried high vibrations or was depleted—especially when eating out.
My husband and I would compare notes. We would ask each other whether the food already felt full of vibrant life-force energy or was depleted and therefore was drawing more Reiki energy through us until it was full of higher vibes.
Our impressions were almost always comparable. It offered an interesting window into the atmosphere of the kitchen and the energy of the people preparing and handling the food—because that energy goes into the food they are preparing.
You Are Not Emptying Your Cup
So, let us return to where this Reiki rant began.
When you practice self-Reiki while you are sick or injured, you are not being asked to empty an already-depleted personal cup.
You are opening more fully to the stream.
My student did not need to stop Reiki because his body was injured. That was precisely when he needed every available source of loving support—including the Reiki flowing through his own being and hands. Of course, self-Reiki belongs alongside appropriate medical treatment, not in place of it.
Perhaps that is one of Reiki’s most beautiful teachings:
The Universal Energy flowing through you is not diminished by being shared. You receive as you give, and you are held within the same healing stream you offer to others.
And that, my friends, is why I will continue to give Reiki to myself, my students, my plants, my food, my finances, my grant proposals—and, when necessary, even my car.
Reiki rant complete. 💜
If you’d like to go deeper into your healing, manifesting and awakening journey, I’d love to help, 
