Words carry power. The way we speak sets up a mindset. It’s easy to be lazy with language, speak in all the familiar patterns. How we describe something or speak about it defines it.
In the world of Reiki it’s so easy to say to someone in need, “I’ll send you Reiki.” Or write the same in the comments of someone’s update on Facebook. People even ask directly, “Send me healing.” We all know what is needed of course and what must be done. We just need to stop pretending we’re at the post office!
When “sending” is used to refer to something non-material, it keeps us in material consciousness. Sending implies there’s a physical object that needs to be transported. When it comes to Remote Reiki there isn’t. Sending implies distance. Even though it’s nonlocal Reiki, distance is nonexistent. It just means the recipient isn’t right under your hands. Sending also anchors the process in time, whereas in fact it’s timeless.
When language is used unconsciously like this, an incorrect mindset is set up and with each repetition this mindset is reinforced. Healing, whether in-person or otherwise, only occurs in the present. When there’s “sending” it isn’t in the present because it implies travel.
Healing is an original state available to everyone. We don’t possess it and thus can’t send it. When we presence Reiki through a process like nonlocal Reiki, the recipient is simply there with the practitioner. Nonlocal Reiki takes place in the now which is timeless and without spatial parameters.
We have to use the right language to describe a process, to ensure we’re not changing the accuracy of the process. If you have a recipe that’s for grilling vegetables, it’s not going to describe it as “steaming” them.
Along those lines, why are we constantly “sending” and “doing” Reiki?! Reiki flows from practitioner to target. The practitioner is an a state of being as Reiki flows. There isn’t any doing involved and if there is, it either isn’t Reiki or it’s ineffective Reiki.
Reiki flows from practitioner to targets, not only individuals but groups, creatures, places, global situations, environmental concerns, and personal aspirations.
We don’t possess healing. When we make an online purchase the item becomes ours and the company ships it to us. Healing isn’t like that. It isn’t material and neither is it a possession. Healing is like a field in the wilderness. When it’s the right season and all the conditions are ripe, wildflowers simply bloom.
The Reiki practitioner is always in season and is able to coalesce the right conditions because of the training elements of Reiki, their own continued practice, and the nature of how Reiki works. Just as a passerby can enjoy wildflowers in the field even though they had nothing to do with their blooming, so too can a recipient partake of Reiki healing by showing up and being present.
No one sends anything to the field in the wilderness. The blooming of wildflowers is a confluence of conditions.
The word Reiki is a noun and a verb. You can comment with “I’ll Reiki you” to an update on Facebook about personal difficulties. You can say, “I’ll give you Reiki” to someone sharing their difficulties with you on the phone. The practice of Reiki is never a verb, however. We need to stop doing Reiki and start living Reiki!
Related:
Reiki Semantics: Are You on Autopilot?
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Authentic Japanese Reiki Master Teacher / Healer at my Oasis Reiki Dojo – Available globally. Meditation, Healing, and Spirituality training and services. Meditation Guide. Intuitive Coach. Spirituality Writer. Photographer. Poet. Artist. Dad. Plant-based.
I agree with you on word usage. But I have to ask then what’s your word suggestion when someone does ask “will you *send* Reiki?” or “I’m *doing/practicing* Reiki.” As a writer, I definitely understand needing to use the proper words to correctly explain something… but I’ve always used these words because there aren’t others that I feel would be commonly understand to most. ‘Send’ and ‘Do’ are recognized. The non-practicitioner might not understand the true system/process of Reiki. And these words simplify for the layman. For those within the community… we seem to use the word ‘give’ a lot also… but we’re not ‘giving’ it either. So how would you suggest we change the verbiage?
Thanks for commenting. I actually talk about this when teaching Reiki, so it’s not only when writing. I feel “give” is a perfect word to describe making Reiki available to someone. As the post says so is, “I’ll Reiki you.” Lately I’ve been using “provide” and “supply” Reiki as well. Take a look at the much earlier post about Reiki semantics that’s linked at the end of this one.
I also like to say ‘chanel Reiki’ to you/for you because it is not coming from me just through me.
The *through* me can’t be emphasized enough. Channel or conduit works, perhaps for not every audience, but that’s what’s happening!