Balanced journalism covering Reiki is hard to come by. There are many reasons for this, including the lack of cultural understanding of healing practices in the US, the scarcity of credible information on Reiki, and a journalist’s duty to be skeptical.
This week, the Syracuse Post-Standard published a piece we can work with. Let me be clear: I don’t agree with everything in this article.
It’s still a good article, and I encourage the Reiki community to rally behind it. Please click here, read the article carefully, and post an intelligent comment (you’ll know why I specify intelligent when you see some of what’s been posted). When media about Reiki draws an unusual number of hits and thoughtful dialogue, it signals the media that the public is interested in Reiki, and that encourages more coverage.
What do I like about this article?
I like that in the photo, the Reiki practitioners are actually touching the patient.
I like that the human story is told, both by the patients and by some hospital personnel.
I like that opposition to Reiki was reported without going tabloid, and I commend both the writer and the paper for this (journalists are sometimes pressured by their editors to rev up the masses with a sensationalist slant).
And I like that the journalist spelled complementary correctly, even though this Reiki program is actually complimentary, given by unpaid Reiki professionals (more about that soon). For now, let us seize the moment, and vote with our clicks.
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A few letters to the editor responding to this article have been posted. I encourage Reiki practitioners who want to practice Reiki in mainstream health care settings to read the criticisms carefully, strategize how you would address them, and share thoughtful ideas/questions in comments. Please no ragging on docs! :-) Let’s do some problem-solving https://bit.ly/c30OCv