Is reiki same as chi, if so please explain

Hi Mr Ace,

Without getting too drawn into the semantics of the word Reiki, suffice to say that the Ki part is about energy. My view has always been that Ki, Chi, Prana, Mana, and life force are all words for the same thing.

Personally I don't see any reason why a Muslim cannot use reiki and have attuned Muslims in the past. I don't know enough about the Muslim religion to be able to be an authority on this, but Reiki is not another type of religion, for me it is about channelling healing energy to help people re-balance, heal themselves, and move along their evolutionary path. And, yes, you do need an attunement to connect and channel reiki energy.

As for attracting Djinns and evil spirits.... now that's a thread (!), but the reiki in itself will not, I don't believe, attract such entities. Having said that, it is important whilst practising reiki to keep one's self protected, and grounded. These things are normally taught by the reiki master at the first attunement.

Reiki can be channelled to people when they are in the room with you, and when they are at a distance. As for "curing" someone - it is my view that the reiki helps to rebalance energy and help the person heal him/herself - the reiki doesn't actually do the curing per se. A person needs to want to heal before healing will take place.

I hope this helps 🙂

MrAce

hello there everyone. Just wondering if reiki the same as chi. chi is the special life force within, is reiki the universal (outside of the body force)????

Visit

Just wondering if reiki the same as chi. chi is the special life force within, is reiki the universal (outside of the body force)????

If I may get into the semantics... 😉

Chi is an energy that is understood to be the life force of everything. i.e. everything in the universe has Chi. It is not just something that is "within".

The Ki in Reiki represents the same as Chi. The only difference is that Chi is the Chinese name for it and Ki is the Japanese name for it.

With exercises such as Tai Chi and Chi Kung (a.k.a. Qigong; Qi being another variant name of Chi) the person brings the Chi of the Universe into focus within themselves, storing the Chi to be used for themselves or others i.e. to give healing. With Reiki, an attunement is given to 'connect' the person to the source of Universal energy, whether you believe that to be scientific energy, God, Gods, spirit beings or whatever (belief is a matter for the individual as Reiki is non religious) and then the person can utilise the Universal energy directly without having to build it up through exercises as with Tai Chi etc.

When using the Chi exercises to build up energy, subsequently using that energy will deplete it from within yourself meaning that further exercises will be required to build it up again. With Reiki, the connection is direct to source and, when used properly, will not deplete the energy of the person using it.

Also i wanna know if it is ok for a muslim to use chi/reiki. does one have to get attunement for whateva reason?

Of course it's ok for a muslim to use Reiki. Anybody can do Reiki if they choose to. It is only the enforced negative beliefs of others that prevent people from doing it just as some Christian sectors believe that Reiki is 'evil' even though they then go off and do hands on spiritual healing themselves. :rolleyes:

As explained above, you can use the Chi of Tai Chi/Chi Kung exercises or you can get attuned to Reiki, the choice is yours. There is also a method within Reiki, called Empowerments, that are believed to be the original way in which Usui sensei (the founder of Reiki) taught his students. Empowerments were used to strengthen a persons natural connection to Universal energy (something we all have anyway) and through regular empowerments and practice, the students would build up their own permanent connection to the Universal energy. Attunements were developed later on as a quick means of making a connection for those students who didn't have the time to attend regular teachings.

one guy said that he used to do qi gong (chi stuff) and he was possessed by jinns, this dude is totally convinced that chi = jinn. what do you muslims have to say about this??:confused:

I can't speak for muslims on this as it's not my area, but I would say that if he believes that chi = jinns then that is what he will bring upon himself. If you consider that Chi is "Universal" i.e. the energy of everything in the universe it would be a little worrying if it were jinns as this would mean the whole universe is possessed by them. I think a little logical reasoning and research on your own part will give you the answer to this. 😉

Can someone kind enough please explain what sorts of stuff one can do with chi/reiki. i remember reading that you can do some crazy stuff like send your reiki to protect or cure a friend whos in another place.

Not sure I'd call it "crazy stuff" although I can understand people do see it as odd when they first find out you can send Reiki over a distance. Personally (being an atheist) I understand how this works from a scientific basis in my own mind (although putting it into words is difficult).
Reiki can be used in various ways to give healing to people. Some practice by giving a treatment to others using set hand positions and others practice by working directly on the area that needs it. There are various 'techniques' used by Reiki practitioners to locate and treat issues, whether they are your own issues or another person and whether that person is in your presence or somewhere distant. Details of these are things that you would learn on Reiki courses.

I hope that has added to Illumes answer and given you a better insight into Chi/Ki and how they can be used.

Love and Reiki Hugs

Hi ya Mr. Ace

Reiki is a healing system based on the eastern philosophy of compassion. But it amazes me how many people ask me: "...does it attract evil spirits?" I always answer that it doesn't, I have never a problem in 11 years of Reiki, and it has been nothing but a loving force within my own life. Why do people ask this: it's to do with superstitious mumbo jumbo!

If I had a compliant about Reiki it would be that there's too much politics. But that isn't Reiki's fault, just people's.

The great thing about Reiki is that it is very universal and is practising by many people from many walks of life.

As for Qigong (Chi Kung) and jinns, I think that may be to do with bad obsessive practice and mental health issues. Qigong practised properly is safe and wholesome.

If there is anything in life that is evil it would be: the (so called) war on terror (and the big corperations that profit from it) , sexy clothing for young children (have no problem with adults), the mass slaughter of badly kept animals for christmas dinners, suppressive goverments like in Burma, junk food, starving children in a world of plenty, and 1000's of other issues.

Best Wishes

Reiki Pixie

Reiki questions

Asalaamaleikum

hello there everyone. Just wondering if reiki the same as chi. chi is the special life force within, is reiki the universal (outside of the body force)????

Hi Mr Ace
Yes that's right - "Rei" means universal, "ki" is life force in Japanese.

"Also i wanna know if it is ok for a muslim to use chi/reiki. does one have to get attunement for whateva reason? "

Reiki is not a religion. I liken it to electricity: you don't have to be a special kind of person to use electricity, you just have to have the right plug to put in the socket. Attunements are the way in which you are given the right plug to access Reiki energy.

"one guy said that he used to do qi gong (chi stuff) and he was possessed by jinns, this dude is totally convinced that chi = jinn. what do you muslims have to say about this??:confused:"

I studied the Buddhist origins of Reiki, and have come to the conclusion that Reiki cannot be used for evil, nor can it attract evil, because in the Buddhist tradition, it is the gift of a Buddha who is pledged to only do good for mankind. However I'm not a Muslim and maybe you need a Muslim to answer your question.

"Can someone kind enough please explain what sorts of stuff one can do with chi/reiki. i remember reading that you can do some crazy stuff like send your reiki to protect or cure a friend whos in another place."

Yes, Reiki can do some pretty mind-blowing stuff! I get results when I send healing to people who aren't there with me, which are equal to the results I get when I actually lay my hands on people and do Reiki on them! If you believe in past lives, it can help heal past lives. It can start cars: I have used it to extend petrol, start stuck lifts. Cats love Reiki - and the Prophet also loved cats! (pbuh)

"thank you very much, i would appreciate it if anyone kind enough, answers these questions:o

Salaam!

Salaam! Good luck with your search.

Illumine, energylyz, healistic, reikipixie and ChrisRams have helped me alot, i thank you alot for explaining all of this.
(hey chris are you a muslim?).

now lets see if i have a better understanding, CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG! 🙂

Reiki means spiritual energy, (basically the same as chi)

doing all the tai chi and regular meditation, builds this ki, or you can simply get atunement, ( i will understand it better after i get reiki level 1)

and about all the amazing feats you can do with chi or reiki, i will have to experience it to believe it. it is too much for my mind to imagine.

the un-Islamic bit about this may be the use of symbols, why are we using them symbols, it could be magic, and who are we calling upon? i mean im a solid believer, and this stuff is alittle dodgy. never mind.

heys guys what was it like when you got your reiki attuned by a master? what did it feel like, could you control your chi straight away, what sorts of stuff could one do, and how much time or what else needed to be done before level2?

thanks alot for your advice guys.

Asalaamaliekum.

sorry for the crazy amounts of questions.
one last.

do the people who Islamically heal other people, no matter where there client is, use reiki? we call these people sheiykhs. obviously they must read duas and that, but they may use reiki to find a person who they havent ever seen, just by their and their parents name, and then they can tell whats wrong with the person who may be a 1000 miles away.

Hi MrAce

Don't apologise for the questions - this is a good place to ask them 🙂

the un-Islamic bit about this may be the use of symbols, why are we using them symbols, it could be magic, and who are we calling upon? i mean im a solid believer, and this stuff is alittle dodgy. never mind.

Hmm - not sure I would call it magic, but I can see why some people might. The symbols are just ways of helping to channel the energy in specific ways, i.e. balance, better connection when distance healing, cleansing etc. For me it's a bit like using the dimmer switch to up the amount of energy going into the light bulb, or adding a new light shade to make the light do something slightly different. Hope that's making sense.

heys guys what was it like when you got your reiki attuned by a master? what did it feel like, could you control your chi straight away, what sorts of stuff could one do, and how much time or what else needed to be done before level2?

I think it's different for different people so I'll let others here explain their journey. My own reiki I attunement was lovely. Quite emotional and it felt like coming home - I did have a tear in my eye. My Reiki II and Reiki III were quite perfunctory and felt like logical steps. I know that people I've attuned to all three levels have nicer experiences than I had at Reiki II and III! As I progressively went through the attunements I definitely felt more energy running through me and found that treating others became more effective - I also found I got hotter with each attunement.

In terms of controlling chi, when giving a reiki treatment you don't really control the energy per se, I don't believe. It's my view that we hold our hands in various places over a person's body to direct the flow, but the reiki knows what it's doing and what it needs to do without control from me.

As for what can be done with reiki - hmmm - some examples I've used it for.... treating clients with emotional and physical symptoms/situations, helping people relax and heal themselves. I've used reiki on plants to help them grow and improve their health, I've used it on batteries to get them going! I've used it on my pc when it was playing up (might just be a fluke but it stopped my computer being a pain! 😆 ) I've sent reiki to stressful situations I'm dealing with to help smooth them out. There are loads of things you can do with reiki and a reiki master will be able to help you with these during an attunement.

As for timings between attunements and what you need to do between each - again I think this can depend upon the reiki master attuning you. Some Reiki Masters will do both reiki I and reiki II in one weekend. Personally I don't agree with this. I won't attune someone to reiki II or Reiki Master unless they've had a gap of at least 3 months since their last attunement. That's the way I feel guided to work. I also encourage those who come to me for attunements to speak to other Reiki Masters before, just to make sure that they're comfortable and sure that I'm the right person for them.

In terms of what you need to do... that's part of what the gap is about for me. I suggest my clients self heal for life (i.e. spend around 30 minutes per day doing a self treatment, every day). Reiki is part of a way of life for me. I suggest to my clients try to work on themselves to release negative behavioural patterns and be the best person they can be. The reiki will help to raise things that we need to look at and let go of. Between a reiki II and Reiki III attunement, I recommend my clients to practise working with the symbols to get them used to drawing them.

Longer post than I'd anticipated and I don't think I've covered everything in full detail, but I hope this helps 🙂

the un-Islamic bit about this may be the use of symbols, why are we using them symbols, it could be magic, and who are we calling upon? i mean im a solid believer, and this stuff is alittle dodgy. never mind.

IMO and in my teaching of reiki, the symbols are not a requirement to be attuned or to use reiki.

Also IMO The key to the symbols for me are Usui's martial arts training.

If you want to look at loads of info and some down to earth facts check out.

hello there everyone. Just wondering if reiki the same as chi. chi is the special life force within, is reiki the universal (outside of the body force)????

You can check

There is some information on there.

Reiki means spiritual energy, (basically the same as chi)

Reiki = universal energy. Chi/ki = energy.

Reiki is a specific type of ki/chi.

FYI Reiki in Chinese is Ling Chi.

When a reiki practitioner works with a client, he/she channels reiki (universal energy) through himself/herself into the client. A chi/ki healer just transmits his/her own energy built up through energy meditation (chi kung etc).

I'm not sure I quite agree with that, Darren. I see reiki healers more as conduits to channel the healing energy (like jump leads between two batteries) rather than actually sending energy that I've built up. At the end of a treatment, a reiki healer shouldn't really feel like their energy has been depleted by sending it to someone else.....

I'm not sure I quite agree with that, Darren. I see reiki healers more as conduits to channel the healing energy (like jump leads between two batteries) rather than actually sending energy that I've built up. At the end of a treatment, a reiki healer shouldn't really feel like their energy has been depleted by sending it to someone else.....

I am not sure, but I do not think that darren actually said that about reiki?

I thought he said that reiki was channelled energy and that Chi/Ki was the healers own energy.

Hi ya

I think Darren is talking about two different issues, so you are right Healistic. And Darren is right about the Chinese for Reiki is Ling Qi.

Mr. Ace, the symbols used in Reiki were orginally used by Dr. Usui to help some of his students make a better mental connection to the Reiki energy. It is considered more and more in the Reiki scene as "training wheels" which one day may be seen as unnecessary. You can work with Reiki perfectly OK without them. I dumped the symbols from my personal practice about 2 years ago, they get in the way of personal and spiritual development. Unfortunately we in the west became a bit obsessive about them.

I was talking to a Japanese gentleman last December in Thailand who is a Reiki practitioner. From his tradition, the mantras (chants) of the symbols were far more important than the symbols themselves.

The symbols themselves have Oriental meanings and may be related to dieties or for some people they have different qualities of energy in them. A bit like different colours having different attributes and wavelengths. The interesting thing about Reiki symbols is seen by each practitioner differently according to their point of view. You will have to develop your own.

As for magic, not sure what you mean? Isn't life itself magical and a gift?

When I received my Reiki level 1 and 2 attunements, I didn't feel much but the energy was emitting from my palms. When I received my Reiki 3 (so called masters*) attunement I burst out crying as a realised the profound divine gift that was buzzing through my body. Every Reiki practitioner has their own story.

Best Wishes

Reiki Pixie

*I say so-called masters as we can only be a master to ourself. Reiki mastery is really self-mastery or at least having the tools to achieve this.

Hi ya MR. Ace again

Just to add,

there are 3 symbols taught at level 2.

The first is the Power symbol which has more the quality of red/orange.

Second symbol, yellow/green

Third symbol, blue/violet.

Cheers

RP

I'm not sure I quite agree with that, Darren. I see reiki healers more as conduits to channel the healing energy (like jump leads between two batteries) rather than actually sending energy that I've built up. At the end of a treatment, a reiki healer shouldn't really feel like their energy has been depleted by sending it to someone else.....

That's what I said. I do admit I overused the slashes and brackets which may have made what I wrote slightly confusing.

Reiki

Sorry I haven't got the hang of the quotes yet!

"Illumine, energylyz, healistic, reikipixie and ChrisRams have helped me alot, i thank you alot for explaining all of this.
(hey chris are you a muslim?)."

Hiya Mr Ace - no I'm not a muslim but I have a lot of respect for the religion, just as I have for other religions.

"now lets see if i have a better understanding, CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG! 🙂

Reiki means spiritual energy, (basically the same as chi)"

Well yes but the difference is that Reiki is universal, and chi or ki is personal - your own.

"doing all the tai chi and regular meditation, builds this ki, or you can simply get atunement, ( i will understand it better after i get reiki level 1)"

You can build your own personal chi by tai chi and meditation, yes: but Reiki is different, and you need to be attuned by a master to receive it.

"and about all the amazing feats you can do with chi or reiki, i will have to experience it to believe it. it is too much for my mind to imagine. "

It's good you have an open mind! Yes, experience is what will teach you most about Reiki.

"the un-Islamic bit about this may be the use of symbols, why are we using them symbols, it could be magic, and who are we calling upon? i mean im a solid believer, and this stuff is alittle dodgy. never mind."

Hm. As I said before, Reiki is not a religion. People bring their own backgrounds to Reiki so someone who is pagan, or Christian, or muslim, or a witch, will bring their religion with them. To a wiccan Reiki may well be magickal. To a Christian Reiki may be the way Jesus healed, and one of the gifts promised to Christians in the New Testament. So magic is seen in Reiki by people who believe in magic.

The symbols are, as has already been explained, "training wheels" devised by Usui sensei so that everyone can experience and use Reiki. One way of looking at them is that they represent different ways Reiki can be used: for physical healing, for mental healing, and for healing the world at a distance (which includes distance of time, by the way).

"heys guys what was it like when you got your reiki attuned by a master? what did it feel like, could you control your chi straight away, what sorts of stuff could one do, and how much time or what else needed to be done before level2?"

What did it feel like? Well, I felt I'd come home, as someone else has already said. The reason you are attuned to Reiki in three stages is so that your being can become accustomed to the new levels of energy.

What sort of stuff could I do? I think I could do the same things as before! The difference is that the Reiki can do things I can't.

How much time before level 2? You need to do a Reiki self-healing session every day. I still do (although I do different things now to heal myself). You also need to be open to what Reiki will bring you, which could be anything. It will never take you outside where you want to be, though, so don't worry about it taking you away from Islam: it won't.

"thanks alot for your advice guys." It's a pleasure - if you want to discuss more send me a personal message.

Mr Ace - the following thread discusses Reiki symbols a little.

Reiki = universal energy. Chi/ki = energy.

If I may correct.

"Rei" translates as spiritual/ghostly/unseen

"Ki" is identical to Chi and roughly translates as life force energy. This is the energy that is believed to be in everything and therefore is by it's very nature Universal.

When Reiki came to the West the correct translation for Rei was left out as it is believed that it was likely to have put westerners (mainly with Christian beliefs) off doing Reiki. Even in Japan the term Rei is not used widely as it is seen as somewhat "spooky". Thus in the west the tranlation for Reiki was just given as Universal Life Force Energy and, through lack of understanding, many have taken the Rei part to mean "Universal" which is not the case.

now lets see if i have a better understanding, CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG! 🙂

Reiki means spiritual energy, (basically the same as chi)

Well yes but the difference is that Reiki is universal, and chi or ki is personal - your own.

Please see my explanation above. Chi or Ki is Universal. It is the life force of everything.

Love and Reiki Hugs

I think Energylz has made some valid points. It is easy to think self-cultivation of Qi (Chi) in Qi Gong (Chi Kung) is somehow different from Reiki. It's all energy at the end of the day, but energy may have (using a metaphor) different wavelengths or if you prefer different applications or just different ways of cultivation.

As for the meaning of the term Reiki, has anyone read pages 43 to 51 of The Spirit of Reiki by Lubeck et al? Far too complicated for me to type out. 🙁

Best Wishes

Reiki Pixie

"Rei" translates as spiritual/ghostly/unseen

"Ki" is identical to Chi and roughly translates as life force energy. This is the energy that is believed to be in everything and therefore is by it's very nature Universal.

When Reiki came to the West the correct translation for Rei was left out as it is believed that it was likely to have put westerners (mainly with Christian beliefs) off doing Reiki. Even in Japan the term Rei is not used widely as it is seen as somewhat "spooky". Thus in the west the tranlation for Reiki was just given as Universal Life Force Energy and, through lack of understanding, many have taken the Rei part to mean "Universal" which is not the case.

I'll have to accept your explanation of "reiki" although I haven't come across that before. Chi, on the other hand, means "energy" and is not really a reference to "universal" energy; there is Earth Chi, Human Chi and the Heavenly Chi according to Chinese medicine.

As for the meaning of the term Reiki, has anyone read pages 43 to 51 of The Spirit of Reiki by Lubeck et al? Far too complicated for me to type out. 🙁

An excellent book and one I have in front of me at this very minute (although all my other books are only a short stretch away).

I love to use the old kanji for Reiki myself as I prefer the fact that there is more meaning in the characters than the modern kanji.

Love and Reiki Hugs

Hi ya

Energylz: Totally agree with you, the old kanji is far more meanful.

Darren: Heavenly, earthly, and human Qi (chi) is just one way of looking at energy. It's a basic Taoist model. Don't forget that the Chinese for Rei Ki is Ling Qi. And Energylz's explanation of the term Rei (spirit/ghost/unseen) I have also come across.

Best wishes

Reiki Pixie

And Energylz's explanation of the term Rei (spirit/ghost/unseen) I have also come across.

It's more than just 'come across'. It's in the Japanese/English dictionary. 😉

Love and Reiki Hugs

Don't forget that the Chinese for Rei Ki is Ling Qi.

That's what I said!