Reiki – What It All Be Like

An article in yesterday’s Grand Rapids Press caught my attention and so naturally I thought I’d bring it to yours.

It seems a Reiki practitioner was forced to resign from the Grand Rapids Dominicans Spirituality Center after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told Catholic institutions they should not be practicing Reiki. I find this type of ignorance quite disturbing, although misleading comments made by the Reiki practitioner no doubt led to such a decision.

Here is the article in question <available online here> followed by my comments.

Reiki teacher resigns from Dominican Center after bishops tell Catholic institutions they should not be practicing healing technique

by Charles Honey | The Grand Rapids Press

Saturday April 25, 2009, 5:48 AM

GRAND RAPIDS — To Jan Atwood, Reiki is all about healing, not theological battles.

That is why the teacher and practitioner of the Japanese healing technique has resigned from the Dominican Center at Marywood, after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told Catholic institutions they should not be practicing it.

Atwood will step down Friday as coordinator of bodywork at the Grand Rapids Dominicans spirituality center, 2025 E. Fulton St. She says she does not want to fight the bishops’ claim that Reiki is incompatible with Christian teaching.

“It was a difficult decision to make, but I just felt everything was telling me to move on,” said Atwood, who has been providing Reiki therapy at Marywood since the late 1990s. “I don’t want to be a part of something that’s political. I just want to do the work.”

Her departure leaves the Dominicans uncertain whether to continue offering Reiki as an alternative healing therapy. Sisters say they were surprised by the bishops’ recently released guidelines.

“This protest against Reiki is puzzling to me,” said Sister Mary Navarre, a member of the Dominican leadership team. “It’s not hurt anybody as far as we know, and it seems to have helped a lot of people.”

Proponents say Reiki reduces stress and promotes healing by laying hands on or near the body. Trained practitioners say they can free blocked energy points by channeling “life-force energy.”

The bishops counter Reiki lacks Christian or scientific support. The USCCB Committee on Doctrine said it is “inappropriate” for Catholic retreats or health care centers to practice Reiki.

“(A) Catholic who puts his or her trust in Reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no-man’s land that is neither faith nor science,” the report states.

It is up to local bishops whether or not to enforce the guidelines, said the USCCB’s Rev. Tom Weinandy. Grand Rapids Bishop Walter Hurley did not return calls, but spokeswoman Mary Haarman said he shared the report with the Dominicans “for their review and action as appropriate.”

Reiki attributes to humans healing power only available to Jesus, Weinandy said.

Dominicans say they see no conflict with Christian teaching in the kind of Reiki they offer, which sees the life-force energy coming from God.

“It’s very Christian, and we’re not using witchcraft or anything of that nature,” said Sister Nathalie Meyer, prioress of the Dominicans. “We certainly are not out to do something that isn’t good for the church.”

She said Hurley “put no pressure on me,” and her congregation will study the issue along with other Dominican communities before deciding on a future course.

Atwood, a Reformed Church in America member, is moving her practice to an office on Broadway Avenue NW.

She said she averages about 15 Reiki sessions a month and has trained about 300 people in the technique.

Atwood said she is being part of Christ’s body by helping people heal, adding, “I believe so strongly what I’m doing is from God.”

First of all, comments like “I believe so strongly what I’m doing is from God” give the practice much more religious significance than it should have. Technically, everything is from God (of course depending on your interpretation of the divine) but comments like that are, of course, looking for trouble. Claiming to be “part of Christ’s body” is obviously gonna ruffle some feathers, and when dealing with bishops (and other assorted administrators) it would be advisable to keep such claims under wraps.

It is all to easy for practices like Reiki to be misinterpreted by people who do not know the details, and since so much Reiki in America is so questionable (as in borderline Reiki) anyway, it is understandable that the church protect its turf. I think the whole situation was handled very poorly… by both the Church and those involved and think there is an important lesson here to be learned by all.

Comments like those made by the Church seem to indicate that there is something wrong with practicing Reiki, and that is definitely coloring outside the lines, and I would encourage all churchgoers to take this up with their church leaders… because it was exactly a spark like this that led to a certain hunting of Wiccans in Salem, Massachusetts not so very long ago. If the Church wants to disallow Reiki from its institutions, that is fine, but labeling it as superstitions or otherwise abnormal is just plain irresponsible.

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!