healthy spirit

Reiki is a spiritual healing practice originating from Japan. It has been around for ages, but it was Dr Mikao Usui, who rediscovered this work with energy in 1922. Reiki is a universal, inexhaustible energy. Reiki practitioners are able to connect to that energy and work as a channel to transfer this healing energy through their palms into the body of their patients. “We are connecting to the universal energy to give healing. We cannot give away our healing energy. That would be possible, but then we practitioners would be lying on the floor after the session,” explains Elisabeth Patsch.

But what exactly does Reiki do? Can it cure illnesses such as cancer? Well, Reiki is said to encourage the self-healing forces and to activate the immune system. It should also balance you. Elisabeth Patsch explains that when we are feeling out of balance, we often experience pain or illnesses.

For example, when you suffer from pain in your knee, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have physical problems with your knee. It could also be that you are blocked from taking the next step on a much more metaphorical level. So, you might be scared to advance further with your career or are blocked to do so. That’s when a pain in the knee might kick in to tell you within your body what is wrong. In a way, Reiki can fix this, because it is getting your energy into balance again so that you can take the next step – physically and mentally.

“A Reiki practitioner will not be able to ‘witch away’ a bone fracture however,” Elisabeth Patsch emphasizes. “But Reiki can activate the self-healing forces, so that the healing will be quicker and more successful.”

Now, skeptics might argue now that this is all some sort of placebo effect. When you believe in it, it does have an effect. Is it really just a placebo effect?
Elisabeth Patsch argues: “Not at all. You don’t have to believe in it to make Reiki work. I work a lot with children. They do not know the concept of Reiki. I have worked with many hyperactive children and they are much calmer now in general. I do not tend to tell them what I am doing and how they should feel like afterwards. But the effects are remarkable. I can see the difference, the parents can and even the teachers see it.”

Even when you are very ambitious and hang in there, it takes years to become a Reiki master and teacher. It is rather surprising that Elisabeth Patsch is only 23 years old, but is already working in that field very successfully. What is more, she has been Germany’s youngest author when she published her first fantasy novel when she was 13. Her fifth novel will be published in February. She has completed her course in animal psychology last year and is currently being trained as a natural health practitioner. An extraordinary woman, who seems to be so full of energy herself.

“I started working with Reiki about eight years ago. I was using my hands for healing since my early childhood, but I often experienced that I was in pain after I had helped my patients. The teaching of Reiki gave me protection. I learned not to give away my own energy and it also gave me a good explanation for what I was doing intuitively all my life,” she says.

Recently, Reiki has got quite a bad reputation. I suspect that is because Reiki has become such a trend, everyone wanted to learn it, everyone wanted to practice it, that somehow some people started making a good fortune with teaching very little. So, obviously, with everything else in the spiritual area, you have to be really careful about who to trust, because some people really just want your money, or they might think they do you good, but had bad teaching and are not very helpful at all.

Healthy Spirit author Wendy Kwaks herself is a Reiki master and talks about the difficulties one has to face to find the right Reiki practitioner: “Reiki energy is very subtle and works on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual level. The energy is intelligent and will find its way to where it is needed; the practioner does not have to add anything. It takes confidence in the Reiki to let it be, and to know that everyone will get healing, even if a client does not immediately feel anything.”

Wendy Kwaks

“But it seems to be human that people want the energy to be stonger and better. This is probably why, over the years, many subsets of Reiki have come into being,” Wendy continues. “People will say that they they teach a stronger form of Reiki, or even that they have received an extra symbol in meditation, that they have added for more strength. But that has nothing to do with the Reiki as dr. Usui taught it. It is a human element that takes the attention of the Reiki. Unfortunately, Reiki has indeed got a bit of a bad reputation because of this.”

As another confusing element in choosing the right Reiki master, prices of the three different Reiki degrees that can be obtained, can differ enormously. Wendy says she has come across every amount between 100 and 10.000 euro’s. “Practitioners can ask what they want for a session or a course. Some Reiki masters claim that Reiki does not work if you do not pay 10.000 euro’s. This is not true. It can be difficult to figure out where to go.” To people that are interested, Wendy suggests to ask around and look for recommendations. “A teacher should be there for you, to help you with your spiritual growth. It has to click. As with everything, if a person does not feel right, do not go to him or her but look for somebody else”. It is wortwile. When you end up with the right teacher, Reiki will be a beautiful gift to your own well-being and spiritual development.