Reiki and Permission
Reiki and Permission
by
James Deacon
[See foot of document for further details re: Use of Materials from this E-book]
THANK YOU
[Version 1.00]
Copyright © 2007 James Deacon
http://www.aetw.org
REIKI TREATMENT & THE NEED FOR PERMISSION
[Copyright © 2005/7 James Deacon]
[For: "'sending' them Reiki", I feel we should read: "giving them a distant Reiki
treatment" - afterall, that's what it is]
Well, would you grab hold of someone and give them a hands-on Reiki treatment
with out asking (and getting) their permission?
[NOTE: here I am specifically talking about situations in which the individual is capable of
giving a response to an offer of Distance/Absent Reiki Treatment. I will leave situations where
the individual is incapable of response to another article]
And why would you want to treat an individual without asking their permission first?
Are you perhaps embarrassed in case they think you some sort of 'new age weirdo'
Are you afraid to ask because you already know they will refuse?
Do you think that you know best - that you have the right to decide for them?
Many people seem take the stance that it is OK to 'send' Reiki ( - give an absent
Reiki Treatment) without the individual's permission, so long as it is done with the
intention that the individual's 'higher self' only accept it if it is for that individual's
'higher good'.
IMO sending without permission to an individual's '"higher self' should only be even
considered - let alone acted upon - as a very last possible resort.
OK, so the thinking seems to be that the individual's 'higher self' knows what's best
for them, and will only accept the Reiki on these terms. But even if the 'higher self'
does indeed know what's best for them, does this justify your intervention?
We all (well, almost all) consciously know what is best for us - not drinking alcohol,
not smoking, not eating too many cream cakes, etc. Making sure we get plenty of
sleep, exercise, water, and so on.
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What if I choose to compromise between what is ultimately 'for my higher good' and
what makes me happy - in the 'here-and-now'?
What if I don't want someone to Reiki away every little ache or pain that lets me know
I'm alive?
What if 'just for today' I want to feel a little miserable - want to be childish and wallow
in a little self-pity concerning how ill I feel cos I got some itsy bitsy complaint (well, it
is the prerogative of the 'male of the species', after all!).
Now (and I know this is almost certainly an Urban Myth, but), to give a drastic
example of the consequences of not respecting an individual's conscious choice to
refuse Reiki:
I'd like to share with you the following story, about an unnamed guy who used to live
in New York.
One night he came home feeling really unwell - wasn't sure if it was due to flu or
something he ate at lunch - but either way, he felt rotten.
His wife was a Reiki practitioner, but (as was his right) the husband, as he put it,
"didn't really go for all that alternative therapies stuff"
Of course, his wife knew what his response would be if she suggested a Reiki
session to him - he would say no. Then he'd probably just take a few asprin - go to
bed, take the following day off work and go see his doctor. That was his usual routine
when he felt this way.
So, being a Reiki practitioner - which of course meant that she knew best - she
decided to just go ahead and treat him anyway (even though she knew he would not
want her to, and would have refused if she had asked him).
As soon as the husband went to bed, she sat down in a comfortable chair in their
lounge-room and began to carry out an absent treatment for him.
As expected, the 'secret' Reiki treatment worked, and the next morning, when the
husband got up he felt fully recovered
.
But he couldn't understand it. He knew his own body - usually when he had been hit
that badly by a flu or stomach bug, it lasted a couple of days at least.
Surprised at his own recovery, he decided not to bother with the usual visit to his
doctor. He had planned to phone his office and inform them he was taking a day or
two 'sick leave' - but there was no point now.
So, as usual that morning, the couple - hand in hand - left their apartment to catch a
shared taxi to their respective places of work.
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As the cab crawled its way from one red traffic light to the next, the husband
commented that he was really amazed how well he felt. Even the grime and fumes of
the rush-hour traffic couldn't dampen his spirits that morning.
The taxi drew up to the kerb to let him out (before taking his wife on across town to
her place of work); and his wife watched as, with a spring in his step, he walked
towards the tall building which housed his office.
She smiled a knowing smile and shook her head - "If only he wasn't so foolish", she
thought to herself "then I wouldn't have to treat him with Reiki without his agreement."
As the cab pulled out into the traffic, she just knew that, thanks to her intervention, he
would have a wonderful day.
She thought she caught a final glimpse of him as he entered 'Tower 2' at the World
Trade Centre where his office was situated.
*****
In my personal experience, I have come across more people who are consciously
willing to accept Reiki when it is offered than people who choose not to accept it.
So, if someone refuses Reiki, I honour their right to do so - and move on.
- no belief (conscious or otherwise) that being a Reiki practitioner means you know
what is best (or even simply what is timely*) for another sentient life-form
- no belief (conscious or otherwise) that being a Reiki practitioner gives you the right
to dishonour another by imposing your will on them
[* just because someone chooses to reject your offer of Reiki now, doesn't mean they might
not choose to accept it at a later time]
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One of the greatest lessons that Reiki can teach us is the power of letting go - the
power of learning to transcend the need to interfere: the need to 'do something' - to
attempt to 'fix' things
- the realisation that sometimes, much as it may pain us ourselves, the greatest help
we can be to the particular individual, lies, not in intervention, but in honouring the
divinity of their existence by accepting their right to live through the experience of
their unwellness/injury/dis-ease, rather than attempting to 'heal it all away'
[a desire that - if we are true to ourselves - may be perceived on occasion to have as
much to do with liberating us from their suffering as it does with liberating them]
*****
One of the points raised in support of the 'not acceptable' stance, is that on becoming
aware, after the event, that someone had been 'sending' Reiki, [even I, suppose if
there was an improvement in their condition as a result of the intervention] the
recipient might well be upset that their permission had not been sought - and for that
matter, that they had not even been made aware that someone was intending to
intervene in their health-related situation.
beyond what may be considered the issue of ethicality (or even simply politeness /
courteousness), what other possible down-side could there be to sending Reiki
without the intended recipient's permission, or more specifically
What if...
Rather than asking this person's permission, or even informing them of my intention
to 'distants Reiki' them, I simply go ahead and do so.
And even afterwards, I do not inform them that I have been sending them Reiki (well
they do say "What you don't know can't hurt you.")
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Now, whether or not it is down to their 'Higher Self' (or their 'Lower Self' for that
matter) - the Reiki is accepted - the person's symptoms are relieved and the
underlying cause of the symptoms resolved, i.e.:
All is well.
Of those who have, how different might things have turned out
- if your presenting health problems (be they physical, emotional or otherwise) had -
as far as you were concerned - simply 'gone into remission', for no obvious reason?
- if you had no idea that it was Reiki that had played such an important part in your
healing?
What if…
Rather than asking this person's permission, or even informing them of my intention
to 'distance Reiki' them, I simply go ahead and do so.
And even afterwards, I do not inform them that I have been sending them Reiki (well
they do say "What you don't know can't hurt you.")
Now, whether or not it is down to their 'Higher Self' (or their 'Lower Self' for that
matter) - the Reiki is accepted - the person's symptoms are relieved and the
underlying cause of the symptoms resolved, i.e.:
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They can go get on with their lives....
All is well….
- and the person in question, one 'Hawayo Takata' goes home to Hawaii, never
having even heard of 'Usui Reiki Ryoho', let alone realising that Reiki has been
instrumental in her healing…
*****
Whether we see our role (as Reiki practitioners) as being about 'making' someone
well, or 'healing them into a state of acceptance of their unwellness', or simply,
facilitating the 'space' in which the individual can come to 'heal' themselves (on
whatever level), the individual still has a right to know in advance that this is our
intention
They may prefer to participate in this self-change (with or without outside 'help') at a
time more convenient to their Lower Self
The notion that we can circumvent openness and honesty as to our intentions by
"mentally asking permission of the person's Higher Self" is little more than an
avoidance-strategy born out fear.
In 'sneaking around behind the person's back', we only serve to dishonour their
Spiritual nature - and our own.
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You may freely publish the material contained in this e-book on your own website,
or in your Reiki Manuals*, newsletter*, or other 'not-for-profit'* publication
( - you may also translate it into other languages )
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and:
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THANK YOU
The contents of this E-book may be updated from time to time.
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