Reiki - life force energy and how it works

The life force energy which I wrote about in my last article needs to be enlarged upon so that you have a grasp of the process. All major religions speak of this life force. In Japan it's Ki, in China it's Chi, in India it's Prana and in the West it is known as the Vital Life Force (or VLF). All living things need this VLF to exist and for the majority of human beings it is accessed through the air we breathe. Immediately the word "oxygen" comes to mind, however, vital though it may be, it is not "oxygen." The air we breathe contains approximately 20% oxygen and the air we breathe out contains 16%, therefore, generally we utilise only 4% of the available oxygen. This is because our blood and tissues are saturated so there is plenty available to spare. Now a person can live for some weeks only without food, only days without water and only a few minutes without air, yet there is plenty of reserve oxygen in our blood and tissue. Serious distance runners frequently report getting a "buzz" however, as the blood and tissue are already saturated with oxygen it cannot be this that causes "the buzz." It is, in fact, the VLF or Ki that has built up to excess and so causes a "buzz."

There is, however, another form of Ki that can be accessed and it is this that we use in Reiki. Because the life force has its own intelligence it tends to go to where it is most needed irrespective of where the client, or practitioner, thinks it should go. Therefore, if stress is making you ill then the Reiki will go to those glands in the body that are releasing the stress hormones and calm them bringing them back to normal functioning and helping the client cope with the causes of the stress and enableing them to make informed decisions. The long-term benefits of this are clear and it has been noted that side-effects and symptoms of stress, ie. poor sleep patterns, rashes, aches, tension headaches etc. diminish.

Next month I will talk about the energy systems of the body and treatment patterns.

Bernard McAuliffe
Reiki Master

bernard.mcauliffe@hotmail.co.uk