Reiki means "Universal Life Energy" in Japanese, and moves subtly and quietly through the body, healing and balancing.

"This power (Reiki) is unfathomable, immeasurable, and being a universal life force, it is incomprehensible to man. Yet, every single living being is receiving its blessings daily, awake and asleep." H. Takata

Reiki is a gentle, noninvasive practice which brings an acceleration of mental, emotional, and physical healing, as well as spiritual growth. It is transmitted from one being to another locally through touch, or is transmitted as a distant treatment through one's intentions. The body's innate desire to heal causes it to use the Reiki energy in whatever way its intuitive intelligence directs it to. Anyone and anything can receive the uplifting, nurturing, and regenerating effects experienced from a Reiki healing treatment. It is harmless, has no side effects, and works much the same as prayer; as Divine Intelligence directs it to.

"It is the intention of Reiki to create harmony through the love of All Beings,
and establish health, happiness, and longevity for All who desire it." The Reiki Alliance

Reiki discriminates against no life form and is effective with humans, animals, insects, birds, fish, reptiles, emotions, thought forms, life situations, and is only limited by ones imagination. It is simply directing the Infinity of Love, and trusting in the healing and balancing qualities of the Universal Life Force.

It can relieve pain, speed the healing of wounds, stop blood flow from an open wound, open energy blocks, rebalance organs, reduce swelling, increase circulation, relieve stress, stimulate intestinal function, release adhesions in tissue, stimulate toxic elimination, re-energize all glands and organs, and produce mental clearing and balance.

This quality of general overhaul makes the body become active. With new blood and increased circulation, nerves and glands restored, Reiki adds years of longevity to our lives, and improves the quality of our life experience.

This is a particularly gentle and noninvasive technique which is well suited for animals, elderly people, and children. Reiki can be done just as effectively with the hands off of the body in cases of extreme pain, and open wounds, or from a distance in the case of wild animals or remote healing.

Reiki combined with sensible diet, sensible exercise,
and sincere gratitude is a beautiful adventure to health.

Reiki can successfully be applied in the following situations:

• As a gentle complimentary therapy in holistic medicine.
• Support the whole Being, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
• Relax muscles.
• Still the mind.
• Ease pain.
• Accelerate healing time of bones and wounds.
• Diminish damage from burns, bruises, and open wounds.
• In any setting where stressed muscles, accidents, exhaustion, or personal trauma have occurred.
• On a mental and emotional level it can reduce anxiety, and give a sense of well being.
• Provide a level of deep relaxation so natural healing can occur.
• On a spiritual level people are revitalized and newly awakened.

Reiki Stories
Some things are best conveyed through storytelling. The most real way to get a feel for Reiki is through its stories. Here are a few personal experiences I have had when using Reiki.

The Butterfly
One day I was on the beach on Maui with my family at dusk. I was sitting on the sand enjoying the last of the sun's presence before it dipped below the surface of the horizon. As I felt the warm sand penetrating up through the soles of my feet I drank in the orange and golden colors climbing from the horizon into the heavens like angels in transition. I was only vaguely aware of my children running and playing at the waters edge.

Suddenly they were right in front of me enthusiastically calling for my attention, "Mataji, Mataji, look what we found in the water." They handed me a dead Monarch butterfly. I asked them where they found it. They said it had been burried in the sand and they saw the water washing up over it. "Can you help it?" they asked me.

"I'm not sure, but I can try". I answered them, as I took the frail drenched and salty creature into the palm of my hand. I closed my other palm over the top of it and held the butterfly, lying on its side, between my two palms. I went back to meditating on the sunset and including the butterfly in the meditation by focusing some life force between my palms. After about 10 minutes I felt a very light breath of movement on my palm. I opened my hands and found the butterfly had tried to move. Miracle; it was alive, it had regained life force. I noticed the wings were not in the proper places, so I gently rearranged her wings and brushed the sand off of them, then I went back to meditating.

The sun had retired for the day, and light was dim now. We left the beach and returned to our bungalow. I gave the butterfly an opportunity to fly away, but it just stood on my finger with no apparent desire to fly, so we took it with us. Not knowing how to care for a butterfly I put it on a plate with water and fruit. It stayed in one place, not even moving on the plate for five days. Every time I walked past the counter I stopped and gave a little Reiki to the butterfly, which was many times in the period of a day.

One evening we were discussing that the following day we would be leaving and the butterfly was still on the plate. I told the butterfly it had better decide to fly if it wanted to be safe because we wouldn't be there to protect it any longer. Then we went out to enjoy one last evening with the ocean tides. When we returned to our bungalow the butterfly was no longer on the plate. I thought a gecko had eaten her. We looked around and found her on the curtain rod looking outside. She was telling me she could fly, and that she was ready to go out now. So the next morning we placed her on a plant, told her "thank you'" for sharing herself with us and drove away.

Now we take that butterfly with us in the richness of our memories and experience.

Stepping on a Nail.
I was in massage school. A friend arrived late to class one morning. When I asked her what was up she said she had stepped on a nail that morning, and was going to the doctor for a tetanus shot during lunch.

I offered to Reiki the foot, which had a good sized nail hole in it. I held her foot for about 10 minutes and then we rejoined the class activities. Later that morning she went to the doctor for her shot.

When the doctor looked at her foot he said "What nail hole? I don't see anything here." Needless to say the foot was totally healed and the doctor refused to give her a tetanus shot.

It doesn't have to take a long amount of time to accomplish a noticeable amount of healing when using Reiki.

ROMEO
I was in Hawaii and I had promised myself that I would ride horses every day. I started going to a ranch where we pay to go on a walk along the ridge which has a beautiful view of the distant ocean in a string of horses for about 45 minutes. Then we come back to the hitching post, go away, and another group of people get on the horses and go out for a ride along the ridge.

After my third day in a row of riding the string horses the ranch hands recognized me and made more than casual conversation. They were willing to get to know more about me, and let me know more about them. I was given a horse that day which they warned me would stomp alot to keep the flies off because he couldn't swing his tail to brush the flies away. If you've ever been on a horse you know how anoying it can be to have the horse stomping continually in an effort to rid himself of big biting horse flies, and little aggrivating tickly flies.

When we returned to the hitching post I asked if they would allow me to do some work with the horses tail. They allowed me to explore the tail some. I used Reiki and Tellington Touch and within fifteen minutes the horse was able to move its tail. From that day on the horse never had a problem with its tail, and this had been a lifelong problem for him.

The following day when I showed up to ride they said I didn't have to do the string horses any more and offered me the managers personal horse, Romeo. Of course I accepted. They said "He's right over there tied to the tree." He was a big black thouroughbred tied to the tree with about two feet of rope. I asked why he was tied so short. They said he had come to them six months earlier and was so high strung they kept him tied short and away from the other horses to teach him to settle down. It was a little intimidating for me to be offered a huge, high strung thoroughbred, but I went through with it. They said he is nice to ride but he carries his head high and nose tilted up all the time as if he is looking way into the horizon.

I mounted and off we went with one of the wranglers who worked there. We walked for a distance to get used to eachother. As we walked the wrangler began spilling her story out to me about her boyfriend and their relationship problems and such. I listened and occasionally relpied. As we walked I touched Romeo's neck. He really did hold his nose tiped up into the air. As we continued walking the head began to lower. Gradually it got lower and lower until before long Romeo's nose was almost touching the ground. The girl couldn't believe it! She said he had never done that before. Even when I encouraged Romeo to raise his head he didn't want to. He was more relaxed than any horse I have ever ridden, and enjoying the feeling of it. We did canter some, and afterwards he went right back to relaxing.

Back at the hitching post it was a story to be told! They told me I could come back any time and ride any horse I wanted. They also offered me a job. I told them that the next morning we were going to be moving on to another island. Very early the next morning our phone rang and it was the young wrangler I had been riding with the day before. "What did you do?" she asked me. I didn't know what she was refering to so I asked her. She said, "Yesterday when we were riding and I was talking. What were you doing?" I said, "I was just doing Reiki. Why?"

She said that when she got home her boyfriend offered her money for the first time ever, and that everything she had told me about their problems had totally turned around, and he was being very kind and respectful to her. She was so excited and deeply moved by the change in him, and it was sincere. She expressed how grateful she was, and she had called so early because she hadn't wanted to miss me. She assured me that if I ever wanted a job one would be waiting for me there.

It wasn't I who did anything. I remained neutral and the Reiki transformed and released all imbalances. I didn't ask for anything or even think anything, I simply allowed the Reiki energy to come through. That is how it works best. We all have this ability.

I musn't leave out The Cricket.
I was living in New Mexico in a tiny guest house/ bungalow which we fondly referred to as "the hut". There was a big gap under the door where it missed meeting the floor by at least an inch. Needless to say I couldn't keep the crickets out. Being from Alaska crickets were a novelty so I didn't mind the company of their songs at night in the kitchen.

One night I was wandering around in the dark and stepped on one of those kitchen crickets. I felt and heard it go crunch under my foot. I recoiled my foot and didn't put my full weight on it, but upon inspection I saw a hind leg was missing, and green stuff was coming out of the back end. I thought too much internal damage had been done to save the cricket, but I gave it Reiki anyway. After thirty minutes of Reiki the cricket seemed to be just fine, except for missing one leg, but the remaining legs seemed to compensate well enough.

After that I could always recognize the five legged cricket, and he lived in the kitchen for some time. Never give up hope. If there is a thread of a possibility for change, recovery, renewal, rebalance, Reiki will set it into motion and you will see results.

One last story to honor The Duck.
This is an Alaskan story. We are very fortunate to enjoy the migration of thousands of birds in the spring and fall. They come to the North Slope of Alaska to breed and nest because the food supply is so abundant.

One fall I was working with special ed children using my yoga skills with them. We had a water table in our room for water play. One morning the director of the school came into our classroom saying "Devta, there is a duck frozen into a puddle out in the parking lot." It was late September and the last of the birds had flown south weeks ago. I went out and pried the unfortunate young duck out of the puddle. I went into the closet where we could have privacy and did Reiki while singing a healing chant for the duck, who was on his last breath, and too weak to even move. I stayed in the closet with the duck, continuing the chant and Reiki until there was evidence that the duck was responding.

I left the duck in the closet, and returned to him periodically throughout the day to administer a fresh infusion of Reiki.

Within two days the duck was beginning to realize who he was, and we let him begin swimming in the water table to bring him to full realization of his identity. Before long he was ready to be integrated in with a group of ducks who were being wintered over in a barn.

Reiki does not discriminate against anyone. It is versatile and noninvasive. Remember to use it for every life situation that needs a little boost. Intention and focus is all you need to add. You can begin to build your own repertoire of Reiki stories.

Click HERE to access more articles about self healing.