More on Reiki and Ethics

  REIKI AND ETHICS

                                    Patricia Penner, Usui & Karuna Reiki® Master Teacher

So you are probably asking yourself, what ethics?   Well how about the fact that a Reiki practitioner AND their client are required by law to be fully clothed throughout a Reiki treatment or that is unethical for someone who is Reiki Level  One or Two to treat the public and charge for it, for starters.

Clothing – unless a Reiki Practitioner is also a licensed massage therapist and is giving someone a massage and has their permission to also “run” or “channel” Reiki during the massage, then it is illegal for the client to be in any state of undress. 

If a Reiki practitioner, who is not a licensed massage therapist, asked you to undress, get out of their office immediately and report them to the authorities.  If they aren’t fully clothed or come on to you sexually in any way, again, get out of their office and report them.   They’re a sexual predator!

Treating the public with Reiki having only the lower levels of training: Reiki Level One is all about your own self-healing.  It does not authorize or certify you  to go out and practice Reiki on the public and charge for it  in anyway.  A  Level One Practitioner is only channeling one third of the amount of Reiki energy that a Reiki Master Practitioner can channel and, unless they have been practicing non-stop on their family, friends, co-workers and neighbors for quite awhile (something you can do at Reiki One but only for free or for barter), then they are also grossly under experienced to handle giving the public Reiki sessions and charging for it.

Reiki Level Two is what as known as the “Distant Healing” level, where the Reiki practitioner is given the Reiki Distant Healing symbol (a symbol that opens a doorway for the energy to be able to be sent out to any place, person, or thing -  past, present or future) along with several other symbols that all have different focuses or healing purposes.  They are also opened up to another one third of the amount of Reiki energy they can channel, but are still not considered qualified nor certified to go out and treat the public.

At Reiki Level IIIa (Reiki Master Practitioner)  one is opened up to channel the full flow of the Reiki energy one can channel and are now certified and qualified to go out and open up a Reiki business and  treat the public.  (The lineage of Reiki that I am from (how we trace back our connection to the creator of Reiki, Dr. Makao Usui) breaks Reiki training up into four levels,  Reiki I, Reiki II, Reiki IIIa (Master Practitioner) and Reiki Level IIIb (Reiki Master Teacher).  Some lineages group the IIIa and IIIb together.)

Unfortunately, there are people working on the public at the lower levels of training and charging if not very close to , exactly what an experienced Reiki Master charges, which is, in my book, VERY unethical. 

Another unethical practice in Reiki is people claiming to be Reiki Master Teachers and giving very poor classes:  little or no manuals, and little or no “ hands on” training, still spreading the old story of the origins of Reiki (the Christian version), not giving out certificates, etc.  Many students come to me from other teachers who have done all the above and worse.  If you’re thinking of taking a Reiki class and becoming attuned to Reiki (connected to the energy) I highly advise that you interview several teachers in your area and ask them the following questions:  Do they provide an adequate manual that includes the history of Reiki (not the old Christian version, the newer version, the truth – Usui  was a Buddhist, from a Samurai background), What Reiki is and what it does, What are the health benefits of Reiki, The Reiki Precepts, How to give yourself a full Reiki self-treatment, How to give someone else a short Reiki treatment in a chair, and How to give someone else a full Reiki session and so on.

Does it have a bibliography, suggested reading list, music list, website list, and much more.   Do they hold monthly Reiki shares for their students? 

I also highly suggest that you have a Reiki session with your perspective teacher prior to signing up for a class also, to see if you feel comfortable with them.  When you’re connected to the Reiki energy, you are connected for life.  Make sure that the person who connects you is someone you feel is trustworthy and knows their stuff.  

This article is intended to educate the public on these issues.  I recommend that you ask what level  of training your Reiki practitioner is before scheduling an appointment and/or ask to see their certification. 

REIKI AND ETHICS

I understand that in massage school, there are hours and hours of class time spent on talking about ethical practices while performing massage.  There are ethical practices involved in doing Reiki also, although I would make a bet that very few Reiki Master Teachers are actually giving much class time to this topic or even bringing it up or so I've heard through the grapevine.  

So what are the ethical practices involved in being Reiki Practitioners?  Going back to the five Reiki Precepts "Just for today, do your work honestly" (depending on which translation you're reading".  One unethical practice involving Reiki would be for a Level I  or Level II Reiki Practitioner to, first all do Reiki on the public and charge for it at all, but if they do, to charge the public the same amount for their doing a Reiki session on someone that a Level IIIa (Reiki Master - the level at which you are certified to actually treat the public) or a Reiki Master Teacher would charge (Level IIIb). Because you are not opened up to the full flow of Reiki energy at the levels below IIIa and because of lack of experience, it is unethical for you to do Reiki on the public and to charge what someone who is fully open and experienced would charge.

Other ethical practices include never treating someone who is not fully clothed.  Why?  Unless you are licensed massage therapist, acupuncturist, or doctor, it is illegal for you to be working on someone who is not fully clothed.  Wisconsin is a "no touch" state therefore as Reiki practitioners, we cannot touch another persons naked body.  If you plan on doing Reiki on the public and are not a licensed massage therapist, etc., you would be wise to become a minister as Wisconsin allows you to "touch" under the heading of "spiritual healing" if you are.

There are many people out there practicing "Reiki" who have never taken a class and have no certification.  The claim they have been "self-attuned" (not possible) or that they just it naturally, so make sure when you go to someone for Reiki that their certificates are displayed out in the open where the public can see them (another requirement by the State of Wisconsin).

One last obvious ethically topic, if a Reiki practitioner comes on to you in a sexual way RUN and report them!  If your client asks you to perform sexual services during a Reiki session - boot him/her out and report them to police. This occurs more often with massage therapists (I've heard many stories from my massage therapist friends about this) because prostitutes often advertise under the guise of massage therapist so the public has some misconceptions about massage therapy.  Working in a spa or wellness center gives you more protection especially if you're female.  

We need the public to know that Reiki is an ethical, safe, service, just like all the other healing modalities our there, so educate the public by your actions and behavior and if you know someone who is not acting in these ethical ways and doing Reiki either talk to them, or report them.  

Massage VS Reiki

I have worked in several "spas" or wellness centers over the past few years and find that they tend to be very much more centered around massage and either acupuncture or skin work then Reiki.  It is hard for massage therapists or acupuncturists to understand that Reiki  is as equal in value to someone sufferings as what they do. I've had tons of massage and acupuncture and, obviously, tons of Reiki.  I am here to tell you that Reiki works just as good or better in some cases, than both.

The massage therapy world touts that we need a massage every week or twice a month or monthly, cajoling their clients  to book their next appointment, convincing them that continued massage  is just a given.

What massage therapists and other healing modalities and the public don't understand is that Reiki should be done weekly, biweekly or once a month also just like a massage, unless you have a chronic or severe condition which should treated more aggressively - like 3 treatments a week for two weeks, tapering down to two a week for 2-3 weeks, then once a week, etc and then maintenance treatments until the condition is gone or greatly reduced and manageable.

We need to educate the public and the massage therapists and other alternative healing professionals that Reiki is just as valuable, just as effective (if not more so) as what they do - hey we're already charging what they do.  I find that there is a belief out there by these professionals that because Reiki training is quick, easy and relatively inexpensive compared to the time and money one has to spend to becoming a massage therapist or acupuncturist, etc., that they equate that to the efficacy of Reiki treatments or the efficacy or abilities of Reiki Practitioners.   You can spend $10,000 on massage school and still come out a poor massage therapist or a egotistical, "bad bed side mannered" acupuncturist - believe me - I know from experience.

So the answer is to blog, write articles and educate the public about the benefits and healing properties of Reiki.