Eyes Wide Open offers Reiki sessions, Reiki classes and Reiki circles.  Please take a look at our calendar, to see upcoming Reiki events.

Click here to go back to the main page

What is Reiki?

By Silvia Casabianca MA, MHC, BCPC, RM, MQP, LMT

Reiki is a natural healing method that everybody can learn. It's never harmful and helps to balance the body, boosting the body's capacity to heal itself.

A Japanese monk, Mikao Usui, is the founder of the Reiki system of healing. He rediscovered the healing method in ancient books but didn't know how to apply it until he had a mystical experience while meditating and fasting on Mount Kurama, a sacred mountain of Japan, in 1922.

The word REIKI comes from two Japanese words: Rei, meaning universal energy and Ki, meaning the energy that animates all living beings (equivalent to the Chinese word Qi, and the word Prana for Hindus). When Rei and Ki flow harmoniously together, we are in optimal physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

REIKI restores our connection with the universe, and healing is our restitution to the whole. Blockages to the flow of energy at any one level of our being manifest as symptoms or disease.

What does a Reiki practitioner do?

In REIKI, the practitioner funnels universal energy to her or himself, other person, a pet or a plant with the intention of supporting healing. Healing is not solely the disappearance of a symptom, but a complete resolution of the causes of disease. In the case of people, this implies a process of personal evolution and the restoration of the memory of our wholeness.

It is a principle of REIKI, common to other energy healing modalities, that vital energy nourishes the organs and cells and when this energy is blocked or impeded, the body cannot continue to work well. A similar concept is found in traditional Chinese medicine, some Japanese healing practices, pranic healing, esoteric healing and Ayurveda.

REIKI practitioners can place their hands over the aura of the person who is receiving the treatment or directly over their body to help restore the ki flow, bring about a deep relaxation and regain body's lost balance.

What are the effects of Reiki?

The effects of REIKI are not limited to the physical body. We are multidimensional beings (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) and REIKI affects us at every level of our being.

Everything is connected. Our genes, inside the cell, command the production of peptides, substances ithat mediate the communication between cells, and thus, between organs. This process of communication has a correspondence at the subtle levels or energetic levels (emotional, mental, spiritual).

REIKI has lasting effects, especially when the receiver is committed to a process of evolution, of transformation.

What to expect in a Reiki session?

A REIKI session is a pleasant and relaxing experience, very helpful in emergencies as it alleviates pain, sedates and helps to stop the bleeding. Notwithstanding, a transformational process is our sole responsibility. If I have a headache, REIKI will help to alleviate it, but if it's caused, for example, by the excess of caffeine I put into my body, the headache will continue to bother me until I turn into healthier habits.

Some people want to experience REIKI with the expectation of a miracle. Miracles occur, that's true, but the person must arrive first at a point where a qualitative change may happen. The person must have experienced a series of minor changes in their attitude, thoughts, behavior, that have accumulated over time to prelude a climax. When this moment arrives, the person will be open to the energies surrounding them and will allow for a miracle to happen. In these cases, REIKI and the guidance of a master, facilitate the process. In most cases, the miracle is a change in perspective. From abusing the body to starting to love it. From living in a frenzy to finding joy in quietness. From being unaware of other human beings to starting to appreciate their value.

For many years, I have invited relatives, friends an clients, an especially REIKI students to examine their beliefs towards health and illness and how those ideas frame their relationship with their bodies. I insist not to seek for a miracle, because no change is going to happen until the recipient is ready. Either a will for transformation is needed - sometimes a will that transcends our consciousness - or the strength to accept what we cannot bring about change.

Even when we express our desire to introduce changes in our habits and attitudes, sometimes circumsatances interfere. The opposite being also true, sometimes we express resistance and skepticism but our soul is ready for the necessary changes that allow our progress.

Call to know more about REIKI SESSIONS, CLASSES, CLINIC, AND GATHERINGS: (239) 948-9444

Research on Reiki:

A large percentage of cancer patients use Complementary and Alternative Medicines, including Reiki, during radiation and chemo. They usually do not disclose the use of CAMP to their doctors. Even though healthcare professionals have become increasingly aware and accepting of the benefits of CAM, patients seem afraid to discuss these options with their providers.

Reiki improves mood
Reiki training for families of hospitalized pediatric patients
Various articles on Reiki and therapeutic touch

How do you learn REIKI?

1. You take a level I class with a Reiki Master. Eyes Wide Open offers intensive Reiki level I classes almost every month. Check the calender of events often for upcoming classes. Once you receive the "attunment" you start giving Reiki to yourself.

2. You practice with friends and family. You can also become a volunteer at the Eyes Wide Open center and participate in the Reiki clinics and the Reiki circles. Your practice is supported by the Reiki Master and peer volunteers.

3. You develop the capacity to feel the energy by giving sessions to others. The more you give, the more intuition you develop and the more you trust the intelligence of the energy and how it supports the intelligence of the body.