The Reiki Cafe 

Hi everyone,

Any opinions on whether learning and practicing Reiki will foster more 'mature' and less neurotic behavior? Which, of course, probably implies that Reiki would need to be able to be used to affect our Psyche and Personality structure.

:)

Cheers,

RC

I haven't noticed that the rate of immaturity and neurosis is any lower among reiki practitioners than it is in the general population. So I vote "no, unfortunately."

Bruce

reikicurmudgeon said on

>Hi everyone,
>
>Any opinions on whether learning and practicing Reiki will foster more 'mature' and less neurotic behavior? Which, of course, probably implies that Reiki would need to be able to be used to affect our Psyche and Personality structure.
>
>:)
>
>Cheers,
>
>RC

Namaste RC

In my family, each of us seemed to have made phenomenal growth after reiki: more self control, anger management, stillness of the mind etc. I dont know if this is entirely due to reiki or just the growing old process, because I do know RMs that have exhibited petty behaviors.

Mal

Dear Reikicurmudgeon,
It is up to the individual... how one uses Reiki determines the progress and the outcome. Have seen tremendous personal progress in others. However, have witnessed two who became fixated upon directing or controlling the lives of others. One had an underlying medical condition perhaps not adequately treated. We all have issues and Reiki, as any intensive healing interaction, can bring those issues to the surface.
When psychotherapy brings issues to the surface, this is considered to be a good thing. The guidance & direction of a trained & licensed therapist is key. Some can handle the issues that surface in Reiki without professional guidance, some cant. Which is one reason I do not agree with the statement that Reiki can do no harm. So much psychobabble goes on in Reiki. Is that neurotic? I'll have to ask a therapist I suppose....:)

peace & joy,
holobon

holobon,

Hi,

Oh, I agree. How one makes use of the energy has a lot to do with one's "progress". Yet, growth, and change if needed, in personality dynamics requires insight.

:)

Cheers,

RC

Otoharo!

Hooray for saying all this so well, so clearly. I second all you say.

finality

Hello RC, *hugs**

I like your question.

My opinion is yes. Reiki and healing in general has helped me tremendously to grow as a spiritual human being. Of course there has been lots of other tools I"ve utilized as well but Reiki-healing works has been my main focal point to help energize my desires to heal the unconsious pain within me.
If I had no focal point I might have lost my driving force that help move me along path and drifted away.
There is so much information & possible offshoots of this topic that I couldn't possibly get bored and that helps too.
We have, the chakras, guides, angels, tao, layers of the aura, past lives, etc.. that we can process and look into and see what fits into our lives at the time of inquiry. They are all interrelated at the most basic level I feel.

How beautiful this all is that we can have so many avenues to see ourselves and heal what we came here to heal.

Thanks for the question and bright blessings on your sacred path.

Jahnavi

I think what reiki does well is it unfreezes emotional trauma.

Trauma is a state in which emotional pain is so great that it is overwhelming and it cannot be adequately processed by the mind and so the person becomes frozen, unable to heal and move on from the experience.

But I think reiki somehow makes pain more manageable / bearable so a person is able to deal with it and process it in the usual way. Don't ask me how it does this, I don't know, but it does.

So I think reiki is very good in this way for emotional and psychological blocks. Of course I would always recommend that someone seeks counselling and other forms of professional support too when going through any sort of psychological upheaval.

I think people who are reiki attuned tend to show signs of spontaneously working through their 'issues' because this unfreezing effect enables them to do so.

Neurosis is a form of psychological illness originating from your fears and complexes so I would say that reiki is helpful in resolving this too for the above mentioned reasons. Always in conjunction with a trained professional etc. etc.

As for affecting our personality I'm not sure about that. Reiki seems to encourage people to be happier and to live in a more positive way. It seems to give you good self-esteem [this is listed in my reiki one manual as one of the benefits]. So I suppose someone who is reiki attuned may appear to behave in a more mature and responsible way.

But I guess if someone is not naturally pre-disposed to be self-questioning and eager to learn then reiki can't change as basic a personality trait as that.

Hope this isn't too long and complicated. Very interesting question though.

By the way, how on earth does reiki give you good self-esteem? Anyone got an answer to that?

Blessings to you,

Nelys.

Otoharo!

I am revisiting this post and decided to say more. In my case, which may not be similar to others, I don't know. Reiki did not bring up my past outright, but I experienced that day by day, memories or feelings or hunches would spring up. They would stay around long enough for me to feel them, work with them, deal with them in some new way until there has been constant resolution of things not solved before. That process still continues, but there seems hardly anything is left to deal with. My observation is that reiki does not bring resolution but brings up what is not resolved so that I do something with it. It is my choice that is required. Even from the person who I pay for weekly distance reiki in addition to my own daily reiki, she calls me when something rises that she does not readily see resolve and I have a chance then to talk about it and bring my personal tools to bear on it so to speak. For instance, one day, she called me to ask about whether I was feeling anxious or fearful. I was not. But as she continued to describe what she had picked up, I realized that she was getting my trip down the road on the bank of the creek I live on. Since my fall months ago, I am wary of where I put my feet. That fall was so tramatic that a residue of dread of being tripped continues. Even that has lessened week by week. I would not want to be without reiki's help to clear all these things out of me. But I still have to make the choice, one by one.

finality

Reiki makes your feelings stronger so you notice them more. Or is it that it makes you more aware of your feelings?

Whatever way, if you're reiki attuned you are more likely to pay attention to your feelings and change your life accordingly.

Nelys.