Making the Connection for Distance Reiki

Article by Tracie (Eaves) Talbott

Distance Reiki is really not an accurate term. I believe it would be more accurate to call it Connection Reiki. When a practitioner “sends distance Reiki” what they are actually doing is tapping into their connection with a person or situation despite the physical distance and/or linear time.

As a Unitarian Universalist, the seventh principle of my faith is a respect for the interconnectedness of the web of existence. This is the idea that all things are connected. We are all one. When we embrace this, there is no separation between you and me. There is no distance between us. We are always connected with one another and with all time; past, present, and future.

If you think about this, it can bring up some very good questions. Why can’t everyone heal and communicate from a distance? Why do we use symbols in distance healing? Why do some practitioners use surrogates when sending distance healing?

I believe that we can all send healing and communicate from a distance. I believe that the potential is there but is dormant in most of us. We have been conditioned not to believe in it and we have lost the skill. With enough hard work, I think we can all re-learn this. Reiki is just one of many systems of healing that is helping people to rediscover this ability.

A Second-Degree Reiki practitioner has been trained to use symbols healing. The primary symbol used when healing from a distance is the Connection Symbol. Drawing the symbol and chanting its proper name helps us to go within ourselves and feel that connection we have with our intended recipient. The Connection Symbol is a tool to help us to focus in on that connection and use it to send healing.

That connection happens within us, so why do so many practitioners use surrogates when doing distance healing? We often choose to use a picture, doll, teddy bear, or even our own leg as a surrogate to perform a Reiki session for a recipient who is not physically present. If the connection is within us, is there a point to using a surrogate? I believe so, if the practitioner feels moved to use one. Yes, the connection is within us. It is always there. But just as the symbols work as a tool to help us to feel that connection and focus in on it use it, so can surrogates.

We have become accustomed to using our hands to heal. When we heal in the absence of physical presence, we do so with our minds and our intent. Using our hands is not necessary, but it can be easier to open ourselves as a Reiki Channel and focus when we allow ourselves to continue to go through the motions we are used to when performing a Reiki session.

But doesn’t this focus the energy outward and didn’t we just agree the connection is within? The connection is within, but it is also without. It is everywhere. Separation is an illusion. Using a surrogate will not direct the energy away from the inner connection with the recipient, it is only a tool to help keep our intent focused.

I think we all have it in us to heal and to heal at a distance. Reiki gives us a system with which to do that. Whether you were trained to go within to send distance Reiki or to use a surrogate, do what feels right to you. Do what works for you and helps you feel in touch with the energy and connected with the recipient.

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Tracie (Eaves) Talbott is certified as both an Usui and Crystal Reiki Master. She specializes in Reiki and Crystal Energy Work, but also has experience with other holistic modalities as well certification in spiritual and life coaching. She offers guidance in life and spiritual matters using a variety of methods and natural intuition. Her goal is to generate as much light and love and positive vibrations as possible to add to the quality of the interconnected web of existence. You can find more information on her website, www.crystalreikiwellness.com or on her Facebook page at facebook.com/reikitracie1111/.