Following is an explanation/definition of Reiki that I found in the "Reiki News", Spring 1999, a newsletter I receive from a large organization of Reiki healers in Michigan. I really like how the person who wrote this expressed, in simple words and ideas, what this great healing modality is all about:

"Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by 'laying on hands' and is based on the idea that an unseen 'life force energy' flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's 'life force energy' is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei, which means 'God's Wisdom or the Higher Power'and Ki, which is 'life force energy'. So Reiki is actually 'spiritually guided life force energy'. A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit and creates many beneficial effects including relaxation and feelings of peace, security and well-being. Many have reported miraculous results."

It is because Reiki promotes such a lovely sense of well-being that I have chosen to combine it with hypnosis in almost all of my sessions with clients. No matter what the issue/problem is, I know that the client's subconscious mind can, with assistance, find the solution that is best for that person at that time and that Reiki will help them to feel good along the way!

Some of my hypnosis clients have even gone so far as to ask for a FULL Reiki treatment during some of their sessions (meaning I put them on the Reiki table and activate Reiki at all the key positions versus just activating it at a few places during the course of the hypnosis session). Clients often experience major shifts in beliefs, attitude, feelings and perceptions when they have a full Reiki treatment as part of their hypnotherapy. The only reason I don't do it all the time is that not everyone is open to it or open to it every session. I just go with what the client knows is right for them at that time.

And, from my perspective, I love combing the therapies because when a person "gives" Reiki, they get it. I can't express to you how energized and yet peaceful I feel after a day of hypno-Reiki sessions! I fairly float through the rest of the day/evening! Most importantly, however, is that I believe (though I have not done any studies yet) clients make more rapid progress when I use Reiki along with hypnotherapy. And to be honest, I use another modality that I will address in another article that ALSO speeds up the progress of breaking though old mind-sets and embracing a new, brighter viewpoint.

Please feel free to e-mail me with questions you may have about the process of hypno-Reiki or just hypnosis or just Reiki! I love to serve as a resource for people to learn more about the wonderful healing potential of their own minds and bodies. And look for my next article on "hypno-tapping" soon!

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