Reiki is an increasingly popular 'therapy' recommended for a variety of acute and chronic conditions. It was developed by Mikao Usui (and is more often than not called Usui Reiki) in the 19th Century. It is characterised by the laying on of hands or placing the hands a couple of inches above the body, and is based on an ancient Buddhist healing technique. Like other alternative therapies with 'New Age' associations, it involves belief in an invisible life force that generates self-healing. Reiki has no credible scientific basis.  Reiki has been taught in the West since the 1970s and it has been presented rather like an oriental version of spiritual healing, though in its original Japanese form the emphasis was very much on self-healing and spiritual development.

Reiki is based on working with, and channelling energy, or a spiritual energy. The is energy can be referred to as "chi" which you may have heard of. When you visit an acupuncturist they use needles to encourage energy to flow through a series of meridians or energy channels that run the length of your body; that energy is called "chi".

You may also have heard of a Japanese massage technique called Shiatsu, which uses finger pressure on the acupuncture points to achieve a similar effect; the Japanese adopted the Chinese view of the body's energy system. You have probably heard of Tai Chi and Qi Gong (also known as Chi Kung/Chi Gung), a graceful system of exercises that are designed to build up, or cultivate, your personal reserves of this energy...and the graceful movements that you make serve to circulate this energy smoothly throughout your body, breaking down any blockages and bringing things into balance on all levels. The energy is seen as animating all living things.

This same energy in India is referred to as "Prana" and breathing exercises and yoga techniques have been developed to again bring your energy system into balance. In India they do not think in terms of meridians, but of Chakras: energy centres running the length of your body from the base of your spine to the crown of your head. There are seven main Chakras and further subsidiary ones in other locations.

The intention with all these energy techniques is that if you can harmonise your energy system, you are putting your body in the best possible position to heal itself on all levels: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. In fact, the Chinese view is that chi not only flows through your body, but surrounds and engulfs you, too.

For example, Feng Shui has been developed as a way or arranging your living environment to allow for the smooth flow of chi around you, eliminating areas where stagnant chi might accumulate, for example.

Reiki deals with this same energy, to an extent; you can focus the energy on yourself, and you can use the energy to treat others.

Reiki can be used on almost anything. You can Reiki your food to make it more healthy, Reiki your plants, heal your pets, cleanse your crystals.

When you practice Reiki you're not just dealing with cold, clinical energy, the same energy that is manipulated by acupuncturists or controlled by practitioners of Yoga or Tai Chi. There is more to Reiki than that. When you channel Reiki, it does not feel like a neutral energy that you are dealing with, it feels beautiful, and the more you practice Reiki, the more beautiful it becomes.

Reiki has important similarities to conventional spiritual healing, particularly in terms of the things that people feel when they are having a Reiki treatment. Many people see the Reiki energy as having divine origins, and interpret the energy as divine love or divine light. Reiki opens you up to the divine, however you wish to interpret that; Reiki reinforces your individual connection to your deity, and it feels beautiful. Because Reiki is not attached to any religion or belief system, though, it does not conflict with an individual's beliefs, or lack of beliefs, so Reiki is acceptable to atheists and believers alike, agnostics and Catholics, Moslems and Pagans.

The word 'Reiki' derives from Rei - invisible and universal source of all being and Ki - life force or energy.

There is at last one hospital in china that prescribes Qi Gong exercises to treat a variety of ailments, and has a team of Qi Gong Masters who treat people by directing chi externally, aiming the energy at and channelling it into various acupuncture points on the patient's body. this ability is way beyond the reach of most individuals and the Qi Gong practitioner has to continually practice the technique to build up energy reserves that are depleted in treating others: it is the Qi Gong Master's personal energy that is given out in treating others.

Since I have been attuned to Reiki I have become very spiritually aware. I began to see and hear spirit and my spirit guides after my attunement and my psychic abilities have gone from strength to strength.

Anyone can be attuned to Reiki, it is not something you are born with as in most 'spiritual healing'. It is something that can be passed on and learned. It is very powerful and your life is not the same after you have been given the Reiki secrets and power.

BELIEVE IN SECOND CHANCES!