I took Reiki level 1 mainly to be able to help my husband, who has been suffering for many years with degenerative discs and fibromyalgia, and more recently depression. I wanted to be able help to relieve the pain he suffers every day, and to find a way to support our family. I found that I really enjoyed Reiki and wanted to learn more so I could help others.
I was attuned to Usui level 2 Reiki on the 9th April 2014. I was treating my husband as usual, a weekly treatment I started when I was Level 1, nine days after this. I felt I had prepared everything, cleared the room, grounded well, attuned, asked permissions and set up protection. I cleansed and balanced his chakras and moved onto the hand positions. I was feeling good and the energy felt very strong. He had been complaining of pain in his hips and lower back, more than usual. I drew the distant healing symbol and the power symbol, placed one hand on his hip and the other on his knee. The buzzing that I usually get in my head whilst doing Reiki, or Spirit work, intensified significantly and I felt incredibly hot. I remember thinking that when I had finished this side of his body, I would open a window before continuing down the other side.
Image by wolfgangfoto
The next thing I knew I came too, lying on the floor, being shaken awake and having my name called. I had passed out, and had been out for a couple of minutes. I had also hit my face and head several times on the way down. Amazingly though I felt no pain whatsoever, I had a drink of water and some fresh air for 10 minutes, and despite my husband being very shaken up, I insisted on continuing the healing. My husband checked me over and except for a small bruise on my upper arm I had no swelling or other bruising. As my husband traced the bruise with his little finger he received an electric shock from me.
All flowed well until I got to the same position on the other side, the same sensations started, I finished up quickly before I fainted again. I thanked my guides and sealed the room.
I then contacted my Reiki Master to see if this had happened to anyone else. At the time she had not had anyone experience this. She asked me if I had grounded properly, which I had, whether I felt there was an outside force trying to come in, I just felt like it was a surge of power and it was benign, she said she would do some research and see if anyone else had experienced this. She said that her guides were telling her that it was a Reiki Power surge, that the Universe felt I was able to handle it, but being a mere human I wasn’t quite ready to experience it. My Master then suggested I take a few days off from Reiki, practise grounding meditations, eat bananas and to walk on the Earth with bare feet. She also suggested that I ask my guides, the Universe or whoever I called on before giving Reiki, to increase the power only when I felt I was ready, and in graduations, because it certainly wouldn’t have looked very good had I been practising on a client, it was bad enough having my husband witness it. During my meditations I asked my guides and they confirmed what my Master had told me. The power of Reiki can be so strong.
Image by brewbooks
Since then I have not fainted again, I still have the buzzing and get very warm though. I also carry grounding crystals, hematite and tiger’s eye, in my pocket when giving treatments and I ask my guides to increase the power when they need to, but at least I am now aware of the awesome power of Reiki, and it really works.
Recently my Master had another Level 2 student who almost passed out whilst dealing with a client with massive emotional trauma, perhaps there is a link? Perhaps it is on the increase? I feel very blessed to be able to work in this manner, and to be able tell my story, in the hope that anyone else who experiences this can feel that they are not alone, that they can ask for help, and it won’t stop them from practising. It would be very interesting to hear from anyone else who has similar experiences.
Blessings and light.
Article by Helen Chapman
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Helen Chapman
Helen Chapman lives in Cornwall, UK with her husband and two grown boys. She has always followed her intuition and had numerous psychic experiences over the years. She has recently been exploring her psychic abilities in more depth, mediumship and Tarot, and making strong connections with her guides. Along this path, Helen also discovered Reiki, and her life now feels complete. “It’s like I was searching for something but didn’t quite know what, and now that I have found it I feel like I have come home. I have so much more yet to learn, but the adventure is only just beginning.”
When I had my first level attunement, I felt a rush of energy that basically knocked me to the ground with nausea and lightheadedness. Higher power was showing me to trust that the energy was very real.
Trust is of the utmost importance Sandi, Reiki is awesome 🙂
Thank you Helen. Lately, I have been noticing buzzing energy in my root chakra.
I’m qualified to Masters level, living in Dorset. After having read your piece, I realise that I may have been having ‘power surges’ whilst treating people. I get very hot as if I am having a hot flush of the menopausal type but I know they are not as I only have these at night now and fairly infrequently. I have a friend who comes to me who is suffering from MS, these ‘power surges’ seem to occur more often when I am with her than anyone else. Also, I have started sitting in a newly formed meditation group and I had a similar experience this week as did the girl sitting next to me who also practices Reiki, we both felt extremely hot although nobody else in the room did. I’ll mention this at our next Reiki share and see if anyone else has experienced what I have or more intensely as you have.
Thank you for your insights Carol. I still believe they are “power surges” and since asking my guides to intervene I still experience them but not to the extent of fainting, thank goodness 🙂 I wrote this article purely to reassure others or to see if others had similar experiences. Thank you for sharing 🙂
Hi, Thank you so much for sharing this, This happened to me recently, I am a Level 2 Reiki practioner and I nearly fainted while working on a client, I was sweating, hot and felt dizzy. I later meditated on it and got the same reply, very strong energy at work. I am so grateful that I read this as I was concerned and wasn’t sure what happened. I thought I was the only one
Thanks again for sharing
Kind Regards,
Sharon
I am attuned to level 3 Reiki. I have had a similar experience as this twice now. Thank you for sharing your story as I thought I was doing something wrong and have been reluctant to give treatments for dear if it happening again.
Hi, I’m a master level 3 and have experienced this twice also…both times I knew if I didn’t lie down I would pass out. I got very hot, sweaty and nauseous. Luckily I was giving a session to a friend and my own reiki master. But for me it came about when I was treating an area that seemed to require healing because of negative entities being attached. Even though I had protected myself it clearly wasn’t enough. And my own reiki master agreed that it was as a result of ‘picking up’ something off her because on those two occasions both her and my friend felt amazing when I was lying on the ground. Since then I protect myself when ever I feel even slightly off during a session and haven’t had it since.
I’m a level 2 and have had a similar experience to Carita – close to passing out. In my last session where I was dealing with an attachment I had to continuously protect myself through the entire session and that helped.
I too had a similar situation occur. I was working on a client and could hear buzzing and then the room started to go black … I quickly got a stool and sat down. I too had grounded properly, asked for protection etc
Hi, I have recently become a level 2 and have experienced the ‘power surges’ (hot and sweaty) as well as ‘chills’ sensation rising up my body and for a while I was unsure of what it meant. I am aware now, for me, they are my guides communicating with me and I acknowledge them. When I’m treating a certain area on a person, on occasions my hands will feel unbearable ‘burning’ sensation. I request for the heat to be turned down. I’m still discovering ways of communicating with my guides. It’s all an ongoing learning process. I haven’t passed out but have come close to fainting and falling. I carry a smokey quartz for grounding. I believe these are all signs of communication with my spirit guides for me. I’m not afraid and I know I’m looked after. I trust them.
Hello, it’s June 2021 and I just did a Reiki session which I cut short due to faint like sensations. I am SO very grateful to know many of us experience similar episodes. Wonderful to know it’s just energy. Blessings Liz
Hi there, I would just like to say that I also experienced nearly passing out whilst giving a friend reiki. I had to leave the room and cool myself down with cold water, when I returned and started again I felt the same so finished off quickly. I did not use reiki for a while incase it happened again. So good to know now what might have caused it as I could not explain why it had happened. Thank you ~Namaste
Why do you have your hand on the knee and one on the spot that needed healing? I am very new to Reiki and reaching out wherever i can for help in doing better all the time. Thank you
Wow, thanks everyone for your lovely comments and clarification that I wasn’t alone it what I felt. I have since taken my Master level and have had no further incidents to report. I am pleased that the article has given so many of you some comfort than you are not “the only ones” to have experienced similar things.
I certainly agree that for each of us it may have been something different each time, however just by being able to say “me too” is so reassuring.
Val, if you don’t ask the question you will never know the answer. I was taught certain hand positions during my Reiki, the one I happened to be using was one hand on the hip the other on the knee, I find it easier to detect if the energy is flowing between two points ie/ my hands, or whether there are further blockages that need working on. Some people who practise Reiki do not even lay their hands on the person receiving Reiki, it is all a matter of a) how you have been taught and b) what your intuition guides you to do. Reiki energy is intelligent and knows where it needs to go and can do no harm, so be reassured that however you practise Reiki, as long as it is with pure intention, it will be fantastic 🙂
Love and light everyone xx
I am level 1 and have experienced the “power rush” phenomena whenever I am dealing with a person with an illness concentrated in a certain part of the body, such as tumors in the lungs or ovaries. I feel so hot -from the “inside out”, like the menopausal flashes referred to above–that I can barely hold my position for 3 minutes. I feel like an electrical wire with too much power running through it. While uncomfortable, I look as these incidents as proof that the reiki energy knows where it needs to go and that extra energy is needed at that location.
I used to black out a lot doing reiki..wake up 20 mins later or more not knowing where time went..When I wake up I feel awesome..
This just recently happened to me. I was performing Reiki on a dear friend who has brain cancer. I was performing Reiki along with my Reiki master. Currently I am trained in Reiki II. About 10 min into the session my core became incredible hot and I became so lightheaded that I knew if I did not stop and sit down I would have fainted. Quite honestly I became afraid. My question is why did this happen? It never had before. Was it a good thing? A bad thing? Is there some underlying problem with me? I love and believe in Reiki with all my heart. I just don’t understand. Please, please if someone can answer my questions I would be so grateful.
Again, please advise me
Hi Leigh Thank you for posting. I think first and foremost – it is not an issue with you. Reiki is a wonderful thing.
As you have probably gathered from the previous discussions it seems to be different for each person. All I can say is that for me personally it happens when something negative and/or large leaves your client but some others here have expressed that its a surge of energy. I think it all depends on if you scared/threatened. For me general encounters with spirits etc despite being a bit of a fright don’t feel bad – there is loving feeling around them. So go with your gut.
Calling on angels has not been enough protection for me in some cases. What I have found works better during a reiki sessions is to draw Dai Ko Myo around myself (the spiral variety – spiral it upwards and around yourself if a clockwise direction). The best thing I’ve found is to imagine a sacred geometric shape around me and fill it with white light.
Not sure if that is of any help to you. Maybe someone else here can also assist???
X
Thank you for your advice. I appreciate it. We are going to be doing a hour Reiki session on my friend tomorrow. I will let you know how I make out. Thanks again!!!
I am RELIEVED to read this !! I’ve been a little intimidated to Reiki again after giving a treatment (thank goodness on my Mother In Law and not a client!) and having the same effect. I didn’t quite pass out, but if I stood upright for any longer I would’ve as I blacked out, and my vision returned quickly after I pulled my hands away, ran outside, and began retching !
I ‘called’ upon help to get me through this, and I felt an extremely powerful force working through my hands, telling me exactly what to do, and to keep my eyes open and just focus on things around the room.
This force did all the work as I felt like such a novice as I was only meant to ‘concentrate on standing upright whilst the work was done’. But the details of my mum in law explained how the effects were obviously still in motion. She explained “I felt an incredible force pouring into me, and I was thirsty for it so I continued to pull it in!”
I honestly had to dash outside after EVERY hand position to sit down and ground myself whilst the sick & dizzy feeling passed. This voice told me to do so as well, and even when I tried to ignore it and say back ‘no it’s ok, I can handle another hand position’ I felt my hands fly backwards !
Absolutely amazing, but was really concerning me at the time. I asked this power before it left why this was happening, he said “you have access to the Spiritual Plain on a very strong level, but your physical body cannot handle it right now. Do not worry, it will pass with time and practice.”
I was Reiki Level 2 certified 7 days prior to this event.
Thank you for speaking up about this article, as it’s so reassuring to know this can be quite “normal” in certain circumstances.
Huge huge love & light to all readers Xx Xx Xx
I previously posted about what I felt that one time I was giving Reiki to my dear friend. Sadly she has since passed away. I recently experienced this same thing again…… There was a little boy who was dying of cancer. I did not know him or his family but volunteered to do Reiki on him to make him more comfortable and relaxed. His family was amazing at the connection the two of us had. His father told me that he didn’t like to be touched not even by him, only on rare occasions. He truly enjoyed Reiki and would say he felt better. When my Reiki master went one day when I was unable to go the little boy wouldn’t let him touch him. Sadly this past Saturday he passed on. I went to the hospital and gave him Reiki as he passed away. His father asked me yesterday if I would give Reiki to him. He wondered if he would be able to feel his son through me because the two of us had such a connection. I told him I would as I felt Reiki would be good for him after all that he has been through. While giving Reiki to the father my intuition kept telling me to “hover” above his heart. This is when it happened to me again. My core on fire, nausea, lightheaded and knew if I didn’t move to another area I would pass out. The father told me that while he had his eyes closed and knew my hands weren’t touching him he felt waves through him. He felt that his son was with him.
So my question again is why did this happen? What do you all think about this experience? Why would I have such a connection with this boy but yet he wouldn’t let my Reiki master touch him? Please tell me your thoughts!!!
Another question…….. When you talk about your “spirits” who are these spirits?
Hi Helen, thank you so much for sharing. I’m still learning Reiki and haven’t had my first attunement yet. Last night was the first time our class of 15 got to practice on each other. As I put my hands on the client, I felt SUPER hot, nausea and dizzy. I had to leave the client and go sit down. I had some water, and then tried again. The SAME thing happened. I found it strange that I was the only one in the class experiencing this. My teacher didn’t make much of it and just said I’m not used to channeling the universal energy. But it really was not a pleasant experience, and I’m reluctant to have my first attunement and have even more energy flowing through…
I have literally just had this experience with a new client! Very hot,dizzy,blurry vision, nauseous and felt like I was going to pass out. Thank you for the post…I’m reiki 2 attuned x
I, on the other hand, just today, met a lady in a park who asked if she could sit next to me. I was reading a Reiki book and she asked about it. She had recently broken her arm in two places, so I offered to do reiki on her arm and wrist. After about 7 mins she said she felt lightheaded and could not hear the creek in front of us, was dizzy and nauseated. She put her head between her legs as I fanned her. She tried sitting up but same thing. After 3 tries to get upright, her head went back, eyes rolled up into her head, turned white and went limp. I slapped her, shook her and nothing. I yelled for help from a stranger and when I went to go for help, she woke up, all confused. Said she had never passed out in her life. I am Level 3 and have done TONS of reiki, and never had this happen. Was that a power surge from me to her? Now she wants to pay me to do reiki on her as she feels something must be out of place in her body to react that way. Any ideas???
I am new to Reiki, I received level one in July this year. I have a friend that I have treated twice, the first time on a certain area, i felt sick. The second time I treated her, i nearly fainted and had to sit down, I was very hot, sweaty, my hands were on exactly the same place as when I had treated her the first time. A couple of months have gone by now, I have asked the question many time about this experience with nothing in response, until I read this today, thank you so much. I feel that my friend has something going on in that particular area, but being new, I didnt know how to handle this. Love Reiki 💖
This happened to me for the first time 2 days ago. I am reiki 2. I felt severe nausea and dizziness. Had to sit for a few minutes. Tried to continue, and walked away to throw up. Horrible feeling. Thank goodness I was giving reiki to a friend. I’ve been researching all weekend. I’m so happy I found this. Thank you.
i am at level 2. i felt some near-black out experience especially during the self-healing. i felt out of eneryg and dizyness. i dont know why but it scares me a lot. i dont want to do reiki anymore.
Hi Shaban. I bought a proper massage bed, I have it on the highest setting, so I don’t have to bend over too much. I have learnt to separate my own energies from reiki. If I start to get hot or feel sick etc, I divert my attention to something else, still keeping the intention of the reiki treatment. It works for me. Good luck, you will find a way.
thank you for fast reply. i was actually beginnig to worry. i have just read some atricles about the Level 2. The symbol initiations. Article says tahat the symbols which we initiated are occult symbols and they can suck our energy without out permission. is that true?
I’ve had sessions where the energy was so much I thought o was going to pass out since my first session. Starts with feeling warm, flush and light headed. I’m usually able to ground and get blood flow back to my head. Until Last night it finally happened I fainted while giving a session. I actually tried to walk to the couch before but I didn’t make it on time.
Hi Helen Fascinating to read this.
Years ago I was doing a Reiki treatment on my Father who was very ill with cancer and when I reached a certain point I was literally pushed off It was as if a force field was pushing me away and I just couldn’t touch him. If I tried again the same thing happened and I felt very nauseous. It was very strange. I thought perhaps it was because we were too connected emotionally but can’t be sure.
So happy to see this article. Today I passed out while giving reiki. I was working with a regular client when I got a sudden rush of heat very similar to the hot flashes I’ve been having only much more intense and all over my body not just my head and shoulders. I moved to her feet and did a quick grounding for both of us. After feeling a little relief I moved to the crown. I looked up at the wall and the next thing I remember was my client kneeling over me asking if I was ok. I am relieved that I’m not the only one. I am a reiki master and have not heard of this before.
Hi Helen, thank you for your share and everyone else. I had this happen to me twice in front of alot of people. It is embarrassing. I thought one reason this happen because I was doing energy work on an empty stomach. Definitely like advice to make sure I’m grounded and to ask my guides Angelic beings to increase energy only when I ask for it. One thing I notice is I had my eyes closed when I passed out and starting shaking. Another day I felt a strong energy surge and I opened my eyes I felt an intense energy felt it was to much but I was able to stay grounded with my eyes open. Thanks again for sharing your experience 🙏
I’m currently studying Reiki level 3, saw a client today, half way through the session I started feeling nauseous and light headed, I felt really unwell and had to stop otherwise I was going to faint. It took me a few minutes to start feeling better. I hope it worked for the good.
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My opinion is that people passing out while giving Reiki to a client should see a medical professional.
I have been considering the possibility of teaching Reiki for free as a novice level 3/ tai chi practitioner, but hearing very rare anecdotes in the alternative/ complementary/ spiritual healing community about a small number of people having concerns about potentially passing out has been a reasons for reconsidering and not teaching. I’ve never heard of or seen anyone actually pass out in person, so this idea only comes to me when reading about others’ experiences. The closest experience I had was when I was standing in a church for a funeral service, had some social anxiety, and simply began deep abdominal breathing to try to relax myself, but the person standing behind me said she saw my shoulders relax/ lower at the same time as she felt a descent of peaceful energy come over her, and she had a concern about potentially passing out. So that made me feel uncomfortable. At best, I’d hypothesize that maybe she had an active mind and wasn’t used to feeling it become quieter with an emotional peaceful energy coming over her, but was in no danger of actually passing out. Her standing behind me in the church pews and seeing my shoulders relax at the same time as her experience, caused her to make some kind of connection between the two, rather than only being aware of her own experience. I’ve explored various energy work practices over time. In my daily life, deep abdominal breathing by itself doesn’t cause anyone around me to verbally say they noticed anything different about how they feel, and while it helps me to physically relax, I don’t feel the energetic descent of peace much or at all, so it’s weaker to me. If I practice tai chi daily for at least 2 to 3 weeks outdoors, 20 mins daily in first week then plateau at 40 minutes daily after, then random people start to notice feeling more peaceful in public if/ when I start abdominal breathing instead of breathing from the chest, but usually only if they’re within a few feet of me, having to do with their degree of sensitivity, like walking past someone in a grocery store, and I’ll feel the descent of peace as being stronger. When I stop practicing every day, it just goes back to a baseline level instead of staying at the plateau level. The effect on others is not intentional, it just appears to be a side effect.
As for researching these anecdotes of some Reiki practitioners actually passing out when working on family members/ clients, I’ve read about people taking a purely spiritual approach to trying to explain this problem and manage it, but I’d prefer to consider other potential possibilities within science and medicine and save the leap of faith for a last resort… I realize this phenomenon isn’t a well-studied or understood topic, and there are variations in different individual experiences that I haven’t experienced myself, so there’s room for potential confusion. Generally, people advise seeing a medical professional to try to rule out the possibility of medical causes first. I am not a licensed medical professional, so I am not attempting to diagnose, treat, prevent, etc. what might be going on here. Just suggest my personal untested hypothesis/ belief/ opinion, assuming that there is no medical cause outside of just Reiki practice. I suspect that something might be going on related to magnet therapy or a bio-magnetic resonance between the practitioner and client, where the Reiki Master has a stronger bioelectromagnetic field (via Reiki “attunements” in training and other energy work/ Qigong, etc.) being used to help strengthen the lower energy field of the client. A simple Google search “alleged” that magnet therapy might be able to reduce blood viscosity and might be able to cause blood vessel dilation or constriction, suggesting an increase in blood circulation. Increased blood circulation in these conditions might occur with a drop in blood pressure; however, Reiki practice show warmer hands rather than cooler hands, and the National Institutes of Health has an online article from 2001 (now 2021) in the Journal of Athletic Training claiming that “therapeutic magnets do not affect tissue temperatures” despite manufacturer claims to sell their products. I’ve thought that maybe the iron in blood could be influenced by the biomagnetism, leading to transient beneficial effects depending on its strength. Here’s another study but in a physics journal on magnetic fields increasing blood viscosity and lowering blood pressure for cardiac patients with depts at Temple University. https://www.aps.org/ It mentions that applying the magnetic field perpendicular to the blood flow produced the strongest effect at organizing the red cells in chains that increase their oxygen function and can last about 24 hours, instead of the red cells being randomly distributed resulting in turbulence/ slowed flow. It took 4 seconds for the RBC effect to happen, which coincides with the delay experienced when starting to receive a Reiki attunement during a class. The peaceful energy descent starting at the top of the head going internally through the upper body doesn’t occur right away, but after a delay, so there’s a short wait while the instructor has their hands just resting on the top of your head not feeling anything yet, since it takes some time for the energy to build to start noticing something definitely going on inside your body. Then there’s the part where they tap and blow on your hands, causing blood to rush there making them hot temporarily, and causing a rise in heart rate during the initiation / ceremony. As I went from level 1 to level 3, the physical and emotional effects decreased, suggesting that the magnetic field of the student is getting stronger via a resonance effect to match the instructor’s energy field strength by the end of the third attunement, and then they say you can start giving them to others after finishing level 3.
Back to the topic of some people passing out. Maybe in some situations the relative difference between the practitioner and the client in magnetic field strength is too large, causing too much increased blood viscosity (enhanced blood flow), blood pressure dropping too low, and the side effects of some people hearing “buzzing” (maybe it’s tinnitus? medical, not spiritual in origin), “power surges” described as unusually strong heat in their own body probably focused in the hands of the practitioner, dizziness, blacking out. So, rather than prayer as a solution, I’d suggest something else, maybe examine your technique and see how it may be modified to prevent side effects for the practitioner. Related, sometimes when a new tai chi student is learning abdominal breathing, they use an incorrect method, such as by forcing the deeper breathing too much and breathing too fast and the body not adjusting to the new activity immediately, which can cause temporary dizziness, but that goes away by not overdoing the deeper breathing (take breaks to breathe from chest), and continuing the practice so that the body can relax and get used to the new physiological changes so that the dizziness never happens again with continued practice and proper breathing technique, while getting increased benefits from it over time via better relaxation, etc. So, maybe some Reiki practitioners could practice in a way that doesn’t fully strengthen or fully use their energy field, such as by either not deep breathing as much as they used to, increasing distance from the client, and regular practice (not seldom or off an on so the body can manage the stronger relaxation response it causes)/ proper breathing technique to prevent dizziness just from the breathing technique itself. I realize there can be situations where the magnetic energy seems to flow from the practitioner’s hands towards the client on it’s own without having to do anything during a session, and at certain areas of the client’s body it may be felt stronger than in other areas, requiring feedback from the client to find out why that might be going on in that area. In my personal experience, I feel that Reiki isn’t strong enough for any therapeutic effect on a client during a regular session, with the exception of an “attunement” given during a class to learn it but that’s usually not done in client session if at all. So, I view Reiki as a relaxation tool for clients, like a meditation class, rather than something stronger than that. I have experienced a stronger technique of “energy transmission” used on clients during regular sessions, but that hasn’t been studied in a clinical environment to examine it’s therapeutic efficacy/ effects on specific medical situations. In KAP, kundalini activation process, the enhanced blood circulation/ temporarily strengthened bio-magnetic effects/ etc. from a facilitator can be strong to intense as a client, putting most people into altered states of relaxed consciousness, and the enhanced blood circulation going on in my body was felt just by being in the same room with a facilitator pointing at me lol from a distance across the room, not having to be right next to me like in a Reiki session, but they’re able to work on multiple people simultaneously instead of one on one. Getting touched in certain areas like the brow (“third eye”) and crown (top of head) areas produced different temporary effects, along with the improved blood circulation. Peace, dissolving of anxiety/ fear, clearer/ faster thought process, feeling blood flowing close to the skin towards the third eye area in places where I didn’t know there were blood vessels, sense of an expanding magnetic field extending from the temples/ sides of forehead, etc. The crown/ top of head produced a different emotional state: joy/ bliss, which I suspect has something to do with certain areas of the brain getting improved blood flow. While I lean towards a more scientific than spiritual approach to try explaining these phenomenon, I learned in KAP that they believe certain lifestyle practices can help to improve one’s “healing” ability. Such as: raw food diet in KAP but veganism in Pranic Healing/ Arhatic Yoga, but a lifestyle change is not necessary or recommended for Reiki, and the hypothesis that those with an increased sensitivity/ awareness of/ reactivity to the “energy” would be better energy transmitters or “healers” contrasted to someone who would otherwise embody the energy/ peace by retaining it in their energy field instead of being able to transmit it better to others at the same time. KAP claims to transmit “raw” energy, while pranic healing claims to modulate/ modify the energy for specific effects symbolized with various colors/ intent/ techniques, (and Reiki only uses violet and white light, not other options) which I suspect might have something to do with altering the magnetic field in some way, like comparing white sunlight to the color spectrum in a prism, allegedly to help the body to naturally heal itself as a complementary approach used with traditional western medicine. Unfortunately, the Pranic Healing community seems to teach the energy development practices last rather than first, and immerses it in various spiritual teachings in Arhatic Yoga, rather than leaving it independent of that. Whereas Reiki requires some energy work (attunement) prior to learning the healing techniques to help enhance your natural transmission ability, instead of learning the techniques before learning how to strengthen the aura/ body’s electromagnetic field. So, then there’s the issue of how does one enhance their transmission ability IF there is a correlation to enhanced sensitivity/ awareness of the bio-magnetic flow/ energy? That appears to venture out of the scientific realm and into things that might get closer to the occult/ spiritual / psychic development exercises, rather than being limited to just energy enhancement practices to improve sensitivity/ awareness of “something” happening, unless another hypothesis comes up to bring a spiritual theory closer to a materialist paradigm: such as by noticing parallels to every day technology we use, like anything that requires invisible energy to transmit information: radio, wi-fi, etc. and maybe some objects or people can absorb and retain energy / information to varying degrees with prolonged exposure and then be received by increasing sensitivity to become consciously aware of that information rather than leaving it in the subconscious/ with filters always on to limit what we’re placing our attention on, such as not being aware of internal biological processes except via increased proprioception, or not being able to intuitively pick up information from sources outside the body (subconscious to conscious awareness), which would have to be independently verified for accuracy since people make bad guesses as part of being human, and to rule out % probability for true/ false guesses. There are some doctors/ engineers/ physicists and other clinical researchers who delve into parapsychology/ consciousness studies, but due to the nature of the topic, they have more rigorous standards than in other fields of research (if you look in the right places) to have any credibility. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.
Some places that come up off the top of my head:
1. skin electrical conductivity changes at acupuncture points already established in research. reminded me of biofeedback “aura”/ mood imaging devices with hand/finger sensors and a computer program for interpretation
2. Richard Gerber MD wrote updated editions of his original book on vibrational medicine to try applying science……. If I’m not mistaken, I think it mentions something about the therapeutic touch healing technique being studied and some people having magnetic fields measured coming from the hands, differing from non practitioners/ those not trained.
3. NIH has NCCAM exploring complementary/ alternative approaches to explore if therapeutic or not, but if / how something can be explained and still called therapeutic is another story, maybe more dots would have to be connected to form a complete picture in certain instances
4. Jeffrey Mishlove PhD (Univ. of California, Berkeley) interviews various people in various fields of research on YouTube channel New Thinking Allowed
5. IONS (institute for noetic science, Dean Radin, MS, PhD)
6. I got the idea of a magnetic field resonance going on between practitioner and client from watching a YouTube video by a Qigong instructor with an international school: Damo Mitchell / Lotus Nei Gong. It might have been the “Qi Emission Quackery” hour long video lecture, but I’m not sure if it was that one or a different video of his.
Unfortunately, traditional Reiki classes typically don’t teach that anything could possibly go wrong by learning and giving Reiki. Maybe that should change? it’s taught as a spiritual practice… that the energy comes from an infinite spiritual source… that you allow it to flow through you as a channel, not the source. Maybe that has some degree/ grain of truth, but not the entire truth, since we live in a physical universe… spiritual beings inhabiting a physical body, both imperfect with room to grow. I think calling some people “psychic empaths” means that they have a heightened neurological sensitivity to the electromagnetic information radiating from the brain/ heart, such as when people talk about feeling “vibes” from another person, or walking through a cloud of their emotional energy when walking past them within a certain distance, instead of being unaware of others’ emotional feelings except through visual cues, rather than literally feeling another person’s feelings when walking past them like walking through a cloud of their energy field, sensing where it begins and ends as you approach and leave their location depending on sensitivity level at that time. Considering a different perspective helps to make it appear more “normalized”, rather than not having an explanation and trying to use spirituality to fill in the gaps in scientific understanding. Carl Jung’s “collective unconscious” regarding archetypes/ symbols/ humanity makes me wonder about what we call “intuition”, reminds me of the psychological symbolism in tarot cards, and related concepts trying to involve theories in quantum physics/ quantum mechanics with subatomic particles / electrons. The “quantum computer” appears to still be in the research and development stage.
My opinion is that people passing out while giving Reiki to a client should see a medical professional.
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Thank you for sharing this. I did reiki last night and for the first time felt like I was going to faint and I thankfully stopped prior to and being able to get some cool water on my face and away from the energy of the room. My client has a lot of emotional trauma and is extremely unbalanced and for me it started at the hips as well when I felt the sensation I was going to pass out. Thank you for sharing and for the tips. I will in increase my crystal coverage for myself and speak with my guides💙✨
Thank you for reading this article and hope all the insights shared will help you develop your Reiki practice! Many blessings 🙏
It’s December 2023 and the exact same thing happened to me yesterday.
I am a level 3 practitioner and was about to faint during a session.
I felt a surge of energy and heat going up towards my head and tingling all over my body, had to sit down.
Was also grounded and protected, as usual, and I also felt there were some very negative entities with the client as someone mentioned, but over all wasn’t scared as I trust my guides and my team.
Had to cut the session short because each time my hands came close to the client I would get the same sensations. I’ve been practicing for a few years and nothing like this ever happened.
I am so happy to have found all of these comments sharing the same experience..!
Thank you
Thank you for sharing this! I too have experienced this several times, one was today 15.1.24. I have been quite confused about why it happens to me, and it seems to be with only about 3 people. On one person when it happened, I moved on to another position it settled, then as I carried on 2 hand positions later, it started again. My Reiki Master has said that it is a reaction with something that is happening within the client’s energy. It feels like the Reiki can’t get out of my body fast enough, I feel light headed, sick, really hot and sweat starts pouring. It is reassuring to know that it isn’t just me that it happens to! Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences.
As someone that came out of the “new age” practices such as reiki, etc and the occult to born again Christian and having delt with the demonic realm, Reiki is a demonic practice and invites demons into you. Please research it and the eastern culture history. I’m saying this out of love because I was unknowingly practicing things invoking demons and it wrecked my life until I went through deliverance.