Reiki: An Ancient Approach to Healing

By Larry Hanover

(A wonderful overview of Reiki as a healing art which quotes from and uses illustrations from my book!).

     "As described in Reiki: The Healer's Touch, by Elizabeth Severino, reiki (pronounced ray-key) is a Japanese word meaning "vital life force energy directed by universal spiritual guidance" - - the energy of living.
      Reiki is closely related to Indian medicine in that it focuses on seven major energy centers, known as "chakras."
      Like its Eastern cousins and other forms of alternative medicine, its basis is not grounded in experiments you can look up in scientific journals and replicate. Its unique aspect is in how its history can be traced. Though its origins date back more than 2,500 years to Sanskrit writings from Tibet, the book explains, it was Mikao Usui, a Christian monk, who earned his doctorate at the University of Chicago, who rediscovered this forgotten healing discipline in the late 1800s. The Japanese native's reiki technique is known as the Usui System of Natural Healing."
     The article goes on to describe techniques of Reiki and opinions on the effectiveness of Reiki treatments according to various health professionals and Reiki clients. Reproduced with permission. This article was first published on July 18, 1996,

Back to In the News Main Page