When Reiki Diversity Becomes Reiki Adversity
Unaccustomed as I am to starting and ending the day amidst so much natural beauty, I quickly became enamored of Argentina, its people, its varied landscapes—and its pace. Life is so very different here than where I live, on the concrete island of Manhattan, in New York City.
Yet as different as Argentine lifestyle is, the Reiki community here reveals the same diversity that I find elsewhere. We are truly a richly diverse global community.
The challenges of Reiki diversity
Living with rich diversity is not always easy. Although practitioners like the idea of Reiki practice becoming more popular (which increases diversity), they often settle into their own view of Reiki with all the comfort of an overstuffed armchair, loathe to consider options or even admit other approaches have validity, and sometimes feeling enmity toward colleagues with different practice styles.
The issues of diversity are highlighted as Reiki practice is integrated into health care, where the credibility of our practice is easily undermined by practitioners who cannot work together with respect and professionalism. The distrust we have for one another inclines those outside the practice to distrust all of us.
That’s why one of the points I make repeatedly in medical Reiki seminars is the need to manage our reactions, to rely on our practice when the going gets tough. And the going does get tough.
Two emails following the medical Reiki seminar in Buenos Aires typified the polarized responses practitioners have when asked to consider a different approach.
The first came from a nurse. She wrote immediately to let me know I am a complete fraud. I wrote back asking why she felt that way, but received no response.
That’s unfortunate. While I don’t savor being personally attacked–I much prefer to discuss points–I am genuinely interested in her perspective. Since my goal is to communicate, I need to know what’s not working in order to refine my understanding and improve my communication skills. I value relationship, but how can I develop relationship with someone who vacates?
The other practitioner wrote, “…it’s the first time as a Reiki Master that someone who wasn’t my personal master leaves me thinking so deeply.”
Embodying a thoughtful approach to Reiki practice
The second email is the kind that sustains me. My goal is to stimulate Reiki practitioners to think about what we are doing, because that’s part of what health care professionals and the public will look for when we speak to them. They want to see that we are thoughtful about what we are doing, and that we are sensitive to what our practice looks like to them.
As the credibility of Reiki practice is becoming established in medicine and the mainstream public, professional Reiki practice is becoming a more viable career choice. This is a positive development which is threatened by the lack of respect for diversity in our community. We need to carry our practice, and ourselves, with professionalism and Reiki poise.
Let our practice support us to maintain contact when diversity becomes adversity. There is no need for us to agree. By practicing the Precepts–especially “today only, do not anger” and “be kind to others”–we can transform a moment of adversity into an opening; we can create deeper understanding and harmony, within us and between us.
Have you been attacked for your Reiki approach? Did it change the way you view other practitioners? What do you do when Reiki diversity feels like Reiki adversity? Please leave a comment below.
Click here for information about the Medical Reiki seminar in New York City October 15/16.
Related reading:
What Peas Taught Me about Changing Behavior
Reiki Precepts and Effort
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One of the beauties of Reiki as we settle into regular practice is what it teaches us about ourselves, our world, our potential. Any firmly held dogma can interfere with receptivity to new information and understanding. As with any art, a good foundation gives us techniques to help us take the initial steps down a path. Practicing those techniques, integrating them into our sessions, experimenting and interpreting them in new ways takes us to a higher level of artistry and perhaps a new opening for healing to occur. When we close our minds, we automatically close part of ourselves off to the infinite source and may lose an opportunity to learn and grow from it.
Thank you for taking the time to comment, Eileen. What a pleasure to read your wisdom expressed so beautifully!
Pamela, I love the topics you bring to light. They often give me something to reflect on, and reflecting has often brought me greater clarity about questions I or my students have raised about the practice of Reiki. Thank you for what you do each day.
I live in a community of people who typically don’t “get” what Reiki is or why you would choose to practice such a thing. I love when I can share a Reiki experience with someone and I see the look on their faces at the end. Usually a peaceful and relaxed quiet moment followed by a “What WAS that?” I have never come across someone who tried it and didn’t enjoy the experience. However, I do come across a lot of people who have never tried it and look at me with two heads as I do my best to relay not what is Reiki but rather what Reiki feels like, as simply as possible. I try to not take things personally when they occasionally roll their eyes. Most people want to feel better and are interested in trying Reiki! This article will help me remeber that an eye roll has nothing to do with me or Reiki but about that person and where they are. I am so fortunate to have been able to take the Medical Reiki class this weekend. Being able to communicate Reiki not only with the medical community, but any intelligent person who has never heard or experienced Reiki and would love to hear more about a simple way to bring more balance to your life. Thank you Pamela.