What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

[sm=wave.gif]Caroline
Certainly not a silly question, but I reckon you will get a varied response.

My personal opinon is that there is NO difference in what the energies do. I base this on being a Reiki practionner and also being involved in Spiritual healing in our Spiritualist church, so I have seen it on two sides.

In both instances you are calling in an outside source, whether you call it a helper, guide, universal life energy or whatever - we are asking for the healing to come from somewhere other than our own personal energy.

Both tend to use their hands to transmit the energies if the person iswith them. This can, in both instances but hands on or hands off.

To me, the main differences seem to be in using symbols or how we set out our intent.

I am sure there is more to add... . brain just going fuddled! [:o]

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

Hi Dedwydd[sm=wave.gif]
Thank you for your response and i'm glad you didn't think it was a silly question as i have been wondering about it for a while!

ORIGINAL: Dedwydd
To me, the main differences seem to be in using symbols or how we set out our intent. 

Please if you have time would you explain to me what you mean by using symbols or intent? I would really appreciate it.
Thank you

Love and light
Caroline:D

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

As already mentioned, you will get varied responses depending on who you talk to.

I agree that, as far as the energy is concerned, both things are channelling the energy to the person to allow them to heal themselves.

The main differences as far as I'm aware are:
1) Spiritual healers go through a (sometimes) long training process to allow them to perform their healing, whereas Reiki practitioners mostly become connected with the energy through attunments which instantly gives them the ability to channel the energy. Some Reiki practitioners receive reiju empowerments which are, roughly speaking, along the lines of building up the connection, a bit like I believe is done with the spiritual healing.

2) Spiritual healers, as far as I know, do not use any symbols as part of their treatment. Reiki practitioners taught up to level 2 or above (or occasionaly at level 1) are able to use several symbols to assist with their healing. The three symbols traditionally taught in western reiki are the power symbol, the emotional symbol and the distance symbol. Reiki practitioners taught up to level 3 are given a further symbol which allows them to carry out reiki attunements on others.

3) Intention. This is a little more sketchy as it depends what is meant by intention. For some it can be stating how you want the energy to be of benefit to the person who is receiving the energy, whilst for others it can be as simple as saying a prayer or asking for assistance from their god(s). Also intention can be used by Reiki practitioners in place of using the symbols. Rather than draw the symbols, if the practitioner sets their intention to be that of the meaning behind the symbol then the same effect can be concluded from it.

Love and Reiki Hugs

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

Same tree, just branches, different apples, all the healing comes from one place. ;)lyn

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

Hi Giles[sm=wave.gif]
Thanks for your reply. It is all a lot more clearer to me now!
Its very interesting to me but i have another question! Are the Reiki symbols the same for all practitioners?
love and light
caroline:D

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

Hiya Caroline.. you would think that the Reiki Symbols would be the same for everyone attuned to Reiki however thisis not the case. There are also many offshoots of Reiki.

Let me start by saying that I think it is marvelous, great, fantastic etc, that more and more people are finding that they have ability to channel healing on themselves and for others, however a flip side is that so many people think the route to enlightenment is to Get from Reiki 1 to Reiki 3 as quick as possible. It seems more and more that it gets a bit like Chinese Whispers and what may have early on been the symbols or chants have evolved/changed based on peoples understandings and remembering how they were written as initially students were not allowed to copy them and take them away.

I read so much information that differed depending on the author etc that I soon came to realise that for me, it has to remain as pure as it can be. In fact (contraverasl this may be) I no longer use the Symbols and find my channeling seems stronger and more to the point. For me, they were mainly to focus and yet had the reverse effect.

if you are attuned, or thinking of being attuned, the best advice I can give is just follow the symbols etc as you are shown them. If this is how our Reiki Master attunes you, then they should work.

Yes, Healing in the church is often 2 years of being observed.
To think you can be attuned to Reiki and out there working with others is IMO very worrying. Healing can, as I am sure you know, release many emotions and being attuned to Reiki does not give you the tools to deal with that.

I think Lyn said it perfectly......

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

I have been an NFSH Healer member for ten years, and I had to be a probationer for 2 years before that. After the 2 years you sit an exam to become a healer member. You also had to do four NFSH courses in between.

I love it and it helps many people, but a lot of people are suspicious of the words "Spiritual Healing"

Some think it is mumbo - jumbo, some people think it some sort of faith healing, and others just think it is weird. This is very sad, but a cross which we have to bear.

HOWEVER........This suspicious attitude doesn't apply to Reiki. Joe public accepts this much more easily. It is trendy and everybody has heard of it now.

Because of this, I have just completed Reiki 1, and next year I will do Reiki 2. It is exactly the same in my opinion, but it doesn't have the "weirdo" stigma of Spiritual Healing. This means I can help more people, so that has to be a good thing. If having a Reiki Certificate brings more people to my door, then fine! I don't charge them anyway, and it means more people can experience healing.

After all, What's in a name?

Much Love
Angela xxx

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

HOWEVER........This suspicious attitude doesn't apply to Reiki. Joe public accepts this much more easily. It is trendy and everybody has heard of it now.

Whooooooooo not entirely sure about that, it is hard to "sell" for want of a better word more so in villages. I have advertised in our Parish mag for three years now, not a snifter have I had from that and it is distributed all around the village.

I had a client with mental problems , had been on a wild and wonderful amount of drugs for it, church goer never away from the place, told the lay preacher "I'm going to try that reiki", the lay preacher, reacted with questions about what reiki is,God,Jesus,and the occult and Devils work. I still went to do the session, I can tell you my hub was a bit worried about leaving me actually,but I said I'd be fine, we sat and talked for over an hour, she told me about the drugs she'd had, the church, lay preacher etc,finally got her on my couch and then she was in the baby position, I had to ask her to lay flat several times but she always ended up curled up. I was with this lady 4 hours for £20 not that that mattered really. I left her with Positive affirmations to say each day to help her, she also phoned me at ALL times day or night as her concept of time had gone. I see her now and she is fine, 1 month after having reiki she went abroad by her self,she does not shake and curl now,she is more presentable too, when I ask her how she is, she says " i'm fine, my faith and my church got me through," Reiki hadn't had any impact on this persons life at all, it was her church and faith in the church that did it, so it really doesn't matter what you name it does it.
People just want a name for something, I found this with the healing with Angels that I also do, but they want it naming, i surpose my doing reiki was also to get a foot on the recognised ladder but it hasn't really happened.
A regular of mine was very sceptic, but she comes back for more, she says "I don't know how it does it, but it does", I could try explain till cows come home with their own bottles,but at the end of the day its Weird stuff, voodoo, mumbo jumbo to any one who hasn't nor will try it.
But we need to do ,what we need to do, to bring the healing to people,however its not our job to convince them. ;)lyn

hope i'm not off topic.

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

Hi Dedwydd, Lyn and Ange[sm=wave.gif]
Thank you for spending the time writing your insightful posts. I knew nothing about healing before and now i am a little more enlightened!
Keep up the good work!

Love and light
Caroline:D

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

Hi Lyn
Simply but beautifully put -thank you for your clarity .
Exatly the kind of thinking thats works well within the NHS trust that I work in .
Kind regards
Zack

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

;)Thank you so much Zack and Carloine. Don't find a need to spend too much energy explaining and arguing the toss, simple is, as simple does. ;)lyn

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

Hi Lyn
Hooray for simple cause that is what it truly is once you strip away all of the frills and window dressing. The energy SHOULD come from one source but then humans have other ideas.

Difficult to sell yup i hear you loud and clear. But here's a thought if you provide an authentic means for the energy to flow and it is totally accepted by the person you are treating the wellness that results can be difficult to explain by the person you treated. Hay you look well who did you see ? what pills did you take? eeerr um.

What became known as reiki was actually true spiritual healing, ie energy direct from the highest source through the 'healer' to the client.

The trick has always been to allow yourself to be totally used by the very highest level of Spirit without putting
desires and intentions (however well meaning ) and therefore personal energy into the mix and changing the potential outcome.

RE: What's the difference between Spiritual healing and Reiki?

Thank you all for your thoughts on this.It has been on my mind for some time whether to do Reiki Masters or not - I am currentlyprogressing through the 2 year minimun NFSH training and have Reiki II.

The thing is, I have always been aware of the healing energies right since I was a child. What occurs to me is that I was open to them in a very natural way because I grew up in a very peaceful area on the west coast of Scotland, living very close to nature. There wasn't the noise and fast pace of life today, and so there were less distractions and I just felt the energies in a completely natural way.

Then life became really chaotic (parents splitting up, move to the south of England etc) and I had to get on and adapt to life inour hecticworld, which I just about managed to do but it wasn't easy.

Now, after many years, I have the peace of a more tranquil lifeand the energies have been coming through again loud and clear, especially in the last8yearsor so sinceI trained as a therapist andhave lots of quiet time on my own in my garden.

Mymain questionabout Reiki was - why do I need the symbols? And this question hasheld me backfrom doing the Reiki III/Masters level, because to do that honorably I feel I would need to believe in the symbols, but to me I have just found them an unnecessary distraction and I don't use them.

Not sure how to edit, but here goes:
I just want to add that I do honour the symbols in the same way that I honour all spiritual / religious symbols (like, for example, the Cross), it's just that I don't personally feela needto visulalise or focus onthem.

On the other handReiki is a form of healing that seems to be more widely accepted by the 'public', and so if by having Reiki III it means I can teach and offer support to others on this path, making 'healing' more widely available, maybe the fact that I personally don'tfeel a need for the symbols is unimportant - they are there and available to Reiki trainee practitioners who wish to use them.

I think I know which way I'll go but I'm interested in your opinions on this dilemma.

Thank you with love
epinay

There is no difference, infact Reiki is a form of spiritual healing

Reiki v spiritual healing

Don´t know enough to say anything about the difference between Reiki and Spiritual healing but just wanted to say a bit about the symbols.

I am a Reiki Master and both practice and teach Reiki. When I am working with Reiki with clients and when self healing I do not always use the symbols. I find I often begin with them (but again not always) and how much I use them during a treatment depends on whether or not I am guided to use them( though intuition and experience). I also sometimes use the mantra but not the symbol.

When I am teaching Reiki 2 and Masters I spend time with my students working with and connecting them with the energy of each symbol. This helps to give a sense of the different elements that are part of the channelled energy. If you already have Reiki 2 then try the following:

1.Draw one of the the symbols in the air and let it float over and into your crown. Sit quietly and see what you can feel. Let words, images, clours associated with it float into your mind.

2. Repeat this without the symbol but just using the mantra.

3.Repeat again using both symbol and mantra.

I would say that whaever you decide to do, the symbols are only a small part of the decision. Just because they are there you do not have to use them or feel that you do. I understand that Usui only worked with the different energies and only gave symbols to those who were struggling with the different energies. I hope this is of use.

The difference between Spiritual Healing and Reiki

Hi there

I'm a Reiki master and also a spiritual healer. Let me outline my thoughts on this.

Yes I do both and I find they are qualitatively different as energies, in a way I can't really explain although I've been trying for some time.

My mentor as a spiritual healer advises me that the difference to her is that, in spiritual healing you attune to the client, and that attunement is something you do at the start of each session. Whereas in Reiki, attunement is a one-off connection with the Powers that Be which is hardwired into your energy system: once you are attuned to Reiki you can use the energy to heal.

I prefer using Reiki energy because I feel very vulnerable giving spiritual healing. Reiki, because of where it comes from in Buddhist thought, can only do good and will not attract negative energy. I was taught how to protect myself and my client when training as a spiritual healer. Now I do do this while giving Reiki, but more because I find it useful to remind myself of the protection Reiki gives.

I also find Reiki more powerful - almost instant - whereas the spiritual healing is more subtle.

In spiritual healing you attune to the client and also to those in Spirit.

I find it interesting that you feel 'vulnerable' giving spiritual healing. Why?

I ask for protection and don't feel vulnerable in the slightest.

I prefer using Reiki energy because I feel very vulnerable giving spiritual healing. Reiki, because of where it comes from in Buddhist thought, can only do good and will not attract negative energy.

Are you suggesting that with spiritual healing you will attract negative energy?

Hi all:)

Quite interesting reading & beautiful to see how each person presents their view.
A lot of compassion and love flowing in the words.

I started off in Spiritual healing many years ago. Since being guided to Reiki quite some time ago, I still use both for different reasons.

Spiritual Healing & Reiki are both beautiful, both bringing good to everyone, .

I still use both, i cannot give you the reason why?,I suppose its being guided to do both still.

Reiki is a powerful and lovely flow of energy and must be respected for what it is and not to defer from the original teachings, & its wonderful how many are being guided to Reiki.

However,in my experience Spiritual Healing is immensely powerful , i know everyone is different in how they are used as a channel, I am guided to use spiritual healing for the very sick .
The healing begins to vibrate so strong it often feels like an all over tremor, once hands are laid upon an area guided to its like someone opens the flood gates and can last from 30 seconds to a few minutes.
Spiritual healing channeling maybe experienced differently by others, I'm not sure?.

I have never felt the need to protect myself as i have always felt this is a mind set we create ,we are protected!..just know it!, therefore do not set a limit upon ourselves.

Nothing wrong in wanting to protect yourself if you wish, protecting is still calling upon the light. each person preference.

But i find the change in a person the next day from spiritual healing is amazing, thats why i am guided to keep both healing types . both are powerful in their own way and in my opinion different only as i have described!.

Each person is used and guided in their own way and to channel, which ever way is beautiful.

blessings:nature-smiley-008:

sacrel

I feel maybe it work this way.....

In spiritual healing - one need to belief in Him - then the healing can be very effective, He can give and remove energy that will help or effect you while you are doing the healing.

Reiki - i am not very sure .

Spiritual Healing vs Reiki

Are you suggesting that with spiritual healing you will attract negative energy?

Well, when I trained my mentors warned me about the negative energy that is around in the Universe and that it was a danger, and especially when I was giving healing that I should ask for protection.

To me, although there are some differences ie; the way you are trained or the symbols of reiki, they are essentially one and the same thing - universal energy that you channel to heal yourself/client etc.

The different names for it ie; reiki, hand healing, spiritual healing and others that i'm afraid I can't remember of the top of my head are essentially just differnt forms of branding or have come from different places all with the same.

Cx

There is no difference, infact Reiki is a form of spiritual healing

Yes I agree with you. If you look at the definition of reiki you will see that it is spiritual guided energy.

Apologies if this is no longer relevant, as this discussion seems to have ended awhile back ago. But I’m a newbie, and thought this was an interesting topic…

I think that there’s quite a substantial amount of difference between not only Reiki and other forms of Spiritual Healing, but also between the various branches of Reiki itself. Perhaps the energy behind all healing traditions is the same, but the teachings that comprise the various systems, and the many techniques that practitioners use are often unique.

Because of the popularity of Reiki in recent years, the term, which is Japanese in origin, has become something of a catch- all phrase for energy work of any variety. But Reiki is not just an energy: it is a unique system of healing and spiritual development that was developed by Mikao Usui (1865-1926).

I think confusion comes into play when people begin to confuse “Reiki” the energy
with “Reiki” the system. Or more accurately, “systems”, as there are many today, some of which have no relation whatsoever to the teachings of Usui, other than that they work with spiritually guided energy for the purposes of healing.

Many traditional Japanese branches of Reiki, such as Usui Reiki Ryoho and Jikiden Reiki, as well as modern ones such as Gendai Reiki Ho, bear only slight resemblance to what is generally taught as Reiki in the West. I initially learned Reiki from the Western-Takata perspective in 1998, which was radically different from what I learned when I retrained in Usui Reiki Ryoho (a traditional form taught by Hiroshi Doi). There were some similarities between the two, but those were far outnumbered by the differences.

I think that it’s possible to honour the spiritual truth behind all healing work, while at the same time respecting the differences between the various traditions that practitioners work with. Just to say, “it’s all the same”, feels like a bit of an oversimplification in my opinion.

Again, don’t know if this is still relevant, but found it an interesting discussion. Thanks for listening!

Allison xx

There was a letter raising this same question in the last issue of "Healing Today"....does anyone else get this magazine? It always has some interesting articles.

Hello Ahurra

Is there an online version? If so, could you possibly post a link for us? Thanks 🙂

Holistic

There doesn't seem to be an online version...there's a web link here about the magazine, but site hasn't been updated recently (last issue was May 08):

Look around - as its often available free at health food shops. I get mine on subscription...if I find online link to articles will post!

Difference between spritiual healing and reiki

It is important to draw a distinction between the word religious and spiritual. People of all religious persuasions and belief systems practise this healing art. Reiki has some of its roots in Japan, but it is not tied to Buddhism. Reiki helps people to touch base with who they are on a deep level. In this way it is spiritual, linking a person to their core essence and desires.

for more knowledge about reiki and its practices please visit;
[url]Reiki Courses | Reiki Classes | Dublin | Angela Gorman[/url]