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Pamela Miles: I think of the Precepts as ‘mind-Reiki’ in that they uplift my awareness. The mind easily runs after this or that, but remembering and practicing the Precepts returns the mind to balance, to the present moment, preventing it from dwelling on negativity. The Precepts also guide my actions, supporting me to stay focused on what I can do rather than being frustrated by what I cannot. Pamela Miles: I was in the first trimester of pregnancy and feeling a bit low. A friend had just started practicing Reiki and offered me a treatment. Within moments, I was experiencing cascades of pulsations that relaxed my body and drew my mind into my centre, much like the experience of deep meditation. I called her Reiki master and learned to practice Reiki the next week. I’ve been practicing on myself every day since then. I was already a professional healer, so I also started offering Reiki to my clients. InnerSelf: What actually is Reiki? Pamela Miles: Reiki is a spiritual or vibrational healing practice that gently encourages a person’s overall system toward balance. Reiki does not treat conditions, but rather balances people, so it can be beneficial in a wide range of situations, both to speed recovery from illness/accident/surgery, or to strengthen well-being. Used with common sense, Reiki is safe, and can be combined with any medical intervention or other complementary therapy. Reiki can be received in treatment from a friend or a professional or, with about ten hours of training, Reiki can be practiced on oneself. Pamela Miles: The practice of Reiki has come to us from Mikao Usui, a householder and lifelong spiritual aspirant who lived in Japan from 1865-1926. One of his senior students, Chujiro Hayashi, was a retired medical doctor and naval officer who founded a Reiki clinic in Tokyo. A first-generation Japanese-American woman, Hawayo Takata, came to Hayashi’s clinic in 1936 with serious health problems. She regained her health by receiving daily Reiki treatment for four months, and became Hayashi’s student. Hayashi spent six months in Hawaii helping Takata establish Reiki in its new home and declared her to be a fully accredited Reiki master when he returned to Japan in February 1938. Pamela Miles: Reiki influences the individual toward his/her own unique balance. In medical terms, Reiki restores homoeostasis. The mechanism of action is not yet understood, but in view of the rapid response time in patients and the shifts observed in various body systems (such as lower heart and breathing rates, reduced stress hormones, and raised immune indicators), it is likely that there is an overall systemic response to Reiki that takes place on many levels simultaneously. InnerSelf: Reiki involves touching the person’s body so, how is distant healing possible? Pamela Miles: The essence of Reiki practice is connecting to primordial consciousness so that healing pulsations can flow according to the recipient’s need. In first degree, or entry level, Reiki practice, the connection to primordial consciousness is done through light touch. Because touch itself is beneficial (scientific studies support this, notably papers published by the Touch Research Institute of the University of Miami medical school), we use touch whenever possible. However, the connection to primordial consciousness can also be made in the mind, without touch. InnerSelf: You are in a unique position as a healer building bridges into hospitals and the mainstream health system in the US. What sort of challenges have you faced and what successes have you experienced? Pamela Miles: The main challenge when approaching any new situation is to learn as much as one can about what the needs and constraints of the particular situation are. I have found that successful collaboration with conventional medicine needs to be built on a sincere respect for and understanding of medical practice and a willingness to support both patients and health care professionals. My collaboration with mainstream medicine has inspired me to look at Reiki in a very grounded way and to express Reiki clearly, without making claims. I’ve seen that physicians are very interested in Reiki once they understand that it is safe and especially when they witness the profound and often immediate benefits it provides their patients. Pamela Miles: Reiki is being used in every conceivable medical setting, from infertility treatment and neonatal ICU to end of life care. Reiki may be offered throughout the hospital or in a specific department through a dedicated Reiki program or Reiki may be available through the integrative medicine service or the palliative care service. Reiki-trained physicians, nurses and other health care staff integrate moments of Reiki informally into routine hospital care. Doctors report that even moments of Reiki touch can greatly reduce a patient’s acute pain, anxiety and distress, making it easier to administer any needed medical treatment. This is particularly valuable when people are very ill or traumatized. InnerSelf: How has Reiki helped HIV AIDS sufferers? Pamela Miles: My first medical collaborations were with inner city HIV clinics where I trained outpatients to practice Reiki on themselves. The doctors were impressed with the improvements they were observing in their patients, such as relief from pain and anxiety, reduced side effects of meds, improved sleep and digestion, enhanced overall functioning and well-being, and increased self-awareness. Some patients who wanted to reduce their psychotropic medications were able to do so, with the supervision of their psychiatrist. Research done as part of a program evaluation showed a significant reduction in anxiety and pain with 20 minutes of Reiki either self-administered or received from another student in the class. Several clinic physicians came to study Reiki themselves as a result of the benefits they saw to their patients. Pamela Miles: Reducing stress is an important part of Reiki’s benefit, and there is emerging research evidence for this. For many people, the body’s innate ability to heal is constantly stretched just coping with daily stress. Returning to balance regularly either by receiving Reiki treatment from someone else or through daily self-treatment, reduces the levels of stress and supports the body’s healing mechanisms, enhancing the ability to heal on all levels. Pamela Miles: Anyone can learn to practice Reiki, no matter what that person’s state of health or mind is. People who are ill can learn to practice Reiki on themselves, and they can practice as often as they like, for as long as they like. So in that sense, the state of consciousness doesn’t matter; what matters is the balancing effect of daily self-treatment over time. That said, when we are deciding whether to receive Reiki or any other treatment from a practitioner, it seems natural to gravitate towards those who are steady and clear, and with whom we feel a rapport. A practitioner may be able to be a conduit for Reiki pulsations but have a personality that we find toxic. Common sense would suggest we go elsewhere. InnerSelf: What role does the Reiki healer play in the healing process? Pamela Miles: The Reiki practitioner is simply a conduit for the healing pulsations that are drawn by the person receiving treatment, so his/her role is very passive. It is often misunderstood just how passive a Reiki practitioner’s role is. Reiki is subtle, and Reiki students who don’t understand or have not yet experienced how powerful this gentle practice can be may feel that they should be doing more. This is why it is important not only to have thorough training, but also to continue to practice regularly and to observe your practice. In this way, one’s confidence in Reiki develops and the student is content to simply place hands and allow Reiki to do what needs to be done and what can be done in the most gentle way possible. Pamela Miles: Because Reiki can be so easily learned and incorporated into a contemporary lifestyle, and because its effects can be so dramatic, Reiki will continue to be used in more and more settings, both medical and non-medical. People who learn to practice Reiki on themselves are often enthusiastic to share Reiki with their friends, family and co-workers. As Reiki touches the lives of people who make decisions that affect the lives of other people, such as hospital administrators and government officials, Reiki will become increasingly visible and accessible. The health care crisis will also help catapult Reiki into the public’s awareness. Conventional medicine needs less-invasive and less-expensive care interventions, and increasing research evidence shows that non-physical interventions such as Reiki can create measurable, healthful physiological changes. People are beginning to realize the inherent costs of constantly escalating contemporary lifestyle and are looking for ways to find peace in the midst of their often overwhelming lives. The world itself is in need of peace, and each time we practice Reiki and feel peaceful within ourselves, we are contributing to the goal of world peace.
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