People new to Reiki often ask if I “catch” their “negative” energy, their problems, or their stress. Each time I’m asked this question, I wholeheartedly reassure my clients that Reiki is a one-way street. As the Reiki practitioner, I’m offering Reiki to the recipient. She then draws in that energy as needed by her body, mind, and spirit for her highest healing good. I do not control the Reiki. I offer it and the recipient is in charge.
The offering, however, is not of my personal physical, emotional, or spiritual energy; rather I am offering the energy of the universe. Reiki is the universal spiritual energy that is in us and all around us. When I, as a Reiki practitioner, offer it to another energized being, I am offering that universal spiritual energy — not my personal energy.
Some recipients, who are obviously concerned that I may have picked up their anxiety, grief, or anger, find this difficult to understand. Indeed, I may have noticed the grief they held in their chest, the anxiety in their shoulders, or the anger in their stomach; but I am just offering and noticing. I am not controlling and I am not using my personal energy.
Perhaps this is a barrier, but it is the way Reiki works. It is a one-way street. The practitioner offers and the recipient pulls in the energy and that’s it. There is no flowing of the energy back to the practitioner. In the same way that I don’t “catch” another person’s emotions, they don’t catch mine either. Again, Reiki is a different type of energy than emotional energy. If I arrive at a Reiki session angry or stressed, the recipient does not receive that energy from me during the session. He receives the energy of the universe which is offered through my Reiki hands.
What are your experiences with the one-way street of Reiki? Please share in the comments your experiences offering and receiving Reiki!
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