Reiki In An Emergency: How Will You Self Treat?

Article by Carrie Anderson

After this past weekend, I have a new mantra, “Practice self-Reiki so much, that it becomes like breathing.”. I have a nightly ritual of doing a self-Reiki session. However, it’s no second nature, it’s still a process that I think about and plan. This weekend, I learned the importance of being able to give yourself a treatment in the face of a crisis. Trust me, you’ll just need to be able to do the Reiki without thinking about it. Daily self-Reiki is wonderful, but also practice in case you find yourself in an urgent situation.

I was driving through the city and felt fine. All of a sudden, I saw triple of everything. I couldn’t tell which cars were real, because there were three of each car. Same for traffic lights, I couldn’t discern the real from distorted vision. Then my head got heavy and sunk towards the steering wheel. Fortunately, I had the wherewithal to pull out of traffic.

A few moments later, I was able to drive home. Once there, I started to experience heaviness on the left side of my face and tingling in my left arm. I was sent to the emergency room.

After several visits from nurses, nurse practitioners, and a doctor, it was determined that I was having a migraine. I was given several medications and a CT scan. Unfortunately, I was allergic to the one medication. Under normal circumstances, I would have begun practicing deep breathing and started a self-Reiki session. However, this was far from normal.

Blind panic set in. One moment, I was talking and feeling fine, the next moment, I was desperately trying to get out of the room. It felt like the walls were caving in. Sounds were louder, the lights were much brighter. I begged for medication to reverse what was happening. I could feel fire coursing through my body to my feet. I couldn’t cool down and my throat started to close up. Where I had been still, I was suddenly rocking back and forth, pacing the floor and making nonsensical remarks.

My blood pressure went to 177/90 and the heart monitor alarm went off several times due to how fast my heart was racing. I kept thinking about Reiki, but then other, jumbled panicked thoughts would invade my mind and held me captive. A few times, I tried to place my hands and begged for the Reiki, but my skin felt too tight and I was too scared to think clearly.

My husband kept telling me to breathe, but I felt that I couldn’t. I did not think that I was going to survive the trip to the emergency room. Hours passed and the symptoms did not get better. I was released and sent home. I was told that some people react this way.

I didn’t sleep that night. Instead, I kept getting showers and pacing the floors. I couldn’t watch television, read, or even eat. In the morning, we went directly to my regular physician who immediately diagnosed a severe adverse reaction to the medication I had received in the ER. My doctor warned me that it could take up to three days before I felt like myself. She was right. Little by little, I could feel bits of my personality returning. Now that I’m better, I’m still consumed with the fear of what happened that night in the emergency room.

Despite all of my Reiki training, my Reiki practice, and my love for Reiki, I couldn’t access that part of myself when I needed it. Despite practicing a daily self-Reiki session, I hadn’t taken the time to make it like breathing. Reiki as a second nature. I know Reiki goes where you need it, but that night the parts of my brain that are rational were shut off and the parts that are usually never awakened were in control.

Practice your Reiki daily, but also let it become second nature. Not for the treatment of others, but should you ever find yourself in an emergency, you might not have the ability to calmly practice Gassho, Byosen, and hand placements. You might find yourself needing to use Reiki as a rote memorized skill.

Free eBook download: We’ve created an eBook with our best articles on this topic, and offer it for free to all our newsletter subscribers.

Carrie earned her Ph.D in Metaphysics and Energy Healing through World Metaphysical Institutes. She is a Reiki Master Teacher, Animal Reiki Master Teacher and holds degrees in several types of Reiki. Her focus is on Distance Reiki. Carrie is a Master Level Psychic Intuitive and gives daily readings. She combines Reiki and Divination to create unique readings. She is accredited through World Metaphysical Association and Council of Holistic Healers. She also has certifcations in Teen Guided Meditation,. Additionally, she is a Professional Yoga Facilitator with a focus on Gentle Yoga, Restorative Yoga, and Yoga Nidra. Carrie is a co-author with Mellisa Dormoy for the book, “Easy Mindfulness for Today’s Teens”. She is an active member of the Natural Healer Society and may be reached at www.caresreiki.com