The NCCAM, an agency which receives grant money from the National Institutes of Health, classifies Reiki Therapy as a form of Complementary and Alternative therapy, just as they do with chiropractic care, Acupuncture, and massage therapy. As such, why would someone continue to have a negative perception about Reiki Therapy?
Firstly I believe that people tend to be afraid of what they don’t know or understand. That’s the beginning of the problem. In addition, in most countries, reiki is still relatively unregulated. This means that anyone can call themselves a reiki practitioner/master/teacher with no knowledge or understanding with very little legal repercussions. I personally know people who insist they are bonafide reiki practitioners who were trained and attuned while they slept from some guy they paid $60 to overseas. I tried explaining that they were scammed, and that you cannot be trained and attuned while you sleep, but because they’ve paid out their money, they feel they can legitimately make that claim. So what happens from here? those people go out and advertise themselves. Any clients they do see would very quickly come to realize that this person is full of crap and knows nothing.
The problem with that is that often Reiki gets the blame rather then the person who made false claims. And thus the gossip spreads.
In addition, some people do not really understand how the body works, and therefore put far more trust in pills and western medicine then they should. Most western people also have a disconnect between what they eat, exercise, sleep and how they feel on a day to day basis. So these people are never going to accept reiki no matter what others say.
But times are changing. Reiki is becoming more mainstream as people become more educated on it. There are associations out there that work to regulate the industry and who advocate for the government to take a bigger role in monitoring claims and education. This will help hugely.
In the meantime, as a Reiki Master myself, I don’t worry about the nay sayers. I put my energy towards work to help educate those who are interested in learning, and providing treatments for those who want it.
Just my thoughts.
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