I’ve always had a semi-negative opinion of this system of energy healing called Reiki. Partly is was this whole thing about people calling themselves a “Certified Reiki Master” - as though something as subtle as healing someone with energy could be granted by a certificate. The idea is worse than laughable. But I thought that was the worst it got. I thought otherwise it was mainly well-meaning New Agers who were looking for alternative/complementary approaches to health.

But it turns out there is something at the core of the teaching which I find personally detestable. It is this idea of “energy exchange.” Wikipedia describes the dubious origin of this concept:

Hawayo Takata claimed that after developing the Reiki methodology as well as receiving the spiritual ability to practice it, Usui went to the slums of Tokyo to attempt the healing of beggars. However, after several years he claimed that it is their mindset that keeps them ill even when they were “treated” by him time after time. This gave rise to the principle that there should be an “energy exchange” in return for a Reiki treatment. This may take the form of payment or a trade of some sort. The idea is that the patient regards the treatment as having a value and is prepared to invest himself/herself in the healing process.

So this principle essentially says that Reiki healing may not be received without some kind of payment. All the sources I’ve seen seem to claim that it doesn’t have to be monetary, but of course that seems to be the only method in practice. Anyway, I couldn’t think of anything which could possibly be MORE bullshit than this to have as the core principle of a system of healing. The whole fucking point of healing is that is a completely selfless act done out of love, and not the expectation of reward. Mercy and compassion if they are to be given at all must be granted unconditionally. The healer is completely at the service of something beyond themselves which they are merely a conduit for - they are not it, and they are not responsible for it. You don’t become a healer because you want money or reward or power - it is a calling in which everything you have and are is sacrificed.

Of course, Western medicine doesn’t abide by this idea either. But neither does Western medicine pretend to be a mystical/spiritual practice which taps into the intrinsic energy of the universe - like Reiki. Admittedly, not all practitioners of Reiki today agree with the concept of energy exchange, and I’ve read some accounts of people outlining much the same position as I did above. But at the same time, the only people I see around calling themselves “Certified Reiki Masters” are those who charge for their services.

In fact, the whole system of becoming a “master” is actually a clever decentralized pyramid scheme. There seem to be three stages of Reiki training. In the first stage, the person being healed is also supposedly initiated into the tradition. This means that their energy field is opened up by the master in order to allow them to more freely accept the universal Reiki life force. If you want to heal other people with Reiki though, its recommended that you take the second level course, which of course costs a great deal more than the first level. And at the third and final level, you may pay up to $10,000 to receive the training which makes you a “Certified Reiki Master” and which allows you then to set up courses to certify other masters. It’s really kind of a brilliant marketing scheme, but it also happens to make my blood boil to no end.

In any event, I’m glad that my negative hunches turned out to be very well founded. But then, maybe the problem is that I need to receive a first degree initiation so that my energy field is more conducive to people selling each other bullshit.

PS. Before you New Agers storm off in a huff, bear in mind that I’m not saying it doesn’t work. I have no evidence to speak in either direction on that, although I do think energy healing in general is possible. Also, I do agree with the idea stated in the quote above, which says that people who are personally invested in their own healing process are more likely to heal. I just think this word “invested” doesn’t need to be taken so fucking literally.