Medicine and Reiki are Great Partners! No Divide Necessary!

There has come to be an unfortunate divide – almost a war of opposing sides – in the minds of those who choose to use supportive methods of care, such as Reiki, and those who use medical treatment. I say this is unfortunate because most of us don’t realize how much we rely on modern medicine.

Although it has its flaws, and those practicing it are human beings with healing needs themselves, we have all needed help from medicine, and we all know family and friends who have as well.

I admit, I have bought into this mental divide myself, feeling a huge pushback against a medical system I felt had been cold-hearted and had let me down at times. It took me many years of healing work within myself to realize that this was trauma in me that needed my care and attention. I have spent much of my life facing health challenges and, of course, those were not easy to deal with. Some of the situations, procedures, and doctors I dealt with over the years were beyond unpleasant. In fact, I can honestly say that a few of the doctors I have encountered were actually abusive and traumatizing.

And yet, as I began healing those wounds, I saw that I had only been punishing myself by pushing the medical community away, refusing to go to the doctor for preventative care or treatment. My chronic health conditions worsened, I ignored new issues that may have received better care if treated sooner and remained ignorant of treatment options for a longstanding illness that kept me sick no matter how healthy I ate, how much meditation and yoga I did, or how much Reiki I practiced.

On a mental and spiritual level, I was blind to how much anger and resentment I carried. I used that anger to justify my position and to remain self-righteous about using only alternative methods. I was sure that the medical community was bad and that I had to choose one side or the other.

I think there are many of you out there who can relate to this. I told myself I could do it on my own, if I just ate right, meditated enough, did enough yoga, enough self-Reiki. I was actually becoming very UN-healthy through this thought process.

Slowly, it dawned on me that it wasn’t really true – I didn’t have to choose between medical care and supportive practices like Reiki. I had been fooling myself with my trauma and anger, and once I saw that, the scaffolding of my self-righteousness began to crumble away. All those years, I had still required a pill every day to control seizures. And even though I justified this by telling myself that it was less than I had needed in years past, I still very much needed the medication in order to function.

Using the Reiki principles, I worked with my anger, my fear & worry about doctors, and I was very honest with myself. You know, once I did this, I began to realize that there is no way I can ever say that I reject doctors or medicine. Being an older person, I went to school with people who were disabled because of things that there was no vaccine for, or no medical treatment for yet. It was pretty common to see lots of different children who had to live short and painful lives due to conditions that can be prevented or treated now. That is rare now.

Myself and all the children my age benefitted from the available vaccines for polio, smallpox, measles, and mumps. We couldn’t go to school without them, in order to protect each other and those whose immune system might not be able to respond as well to the vaccines. We had antibiotics if we developed a bacterial infection. These saved my foot, and possibly my life, when I was four and developed an infection from stepping on a broken soda bottle. Not to mention the two times I had pneumonia before that, as an infant and again at three-years-old.

None of us can truly imagine a world without medicine, because medicine has been helping to improve our world and our quality of life for well over a century. It’s also true that science and modern medicine have worked together to teach us better nutrition and how much we benefit from exercise and even from meditation. And none of us would turn away life-saving emergency medicine if we became seriously ill or injured. Many of those serious illnesses can be prevented if we befriend modern medicine and allow Reiki to work alongside it.

While medicine knows very little about Reiki and many other common supportive practices, that doesn’t mean we can’t use them or that we should pit one against the other. Why not allow Reiki to support your medical care? They can be wonderful partners, I have found! In fact, it really helps to remember that since Reiki is Universal Life Force, Reiki is already present in the minds of those who created these tools, medications, and healing methods. It is present in the medications and the medical centers we may go to for treatments and consultations. All we need to do is invite Reiki to flow with us into these places and to the medication or vaccines we will receive. We already understand and have seen that Reiki will help to bring balance and will support us, so we can feel good about having it by our side in all we do.

Here are a few ways to practice inviting Reiki into healthcare settings:

• Invite Reiki into chemo or infusion medicines & to infusion center itself. During Covid times, many people have received monoclonal antibody infusion treatments to help them fight the illness. This would be a great time to invite Reiki. I receive immunoglobulins each month because my body doesn’t make enough on its own to help me fight infections, so I pray and invite Reiki to flow to the center and the infusion bottles, as well as treating myself.
• Invite into the surgery suite and into the tools and medications that will be used, as well as into the hands, hearts, and minds of those who will be working with you that day. I did this the day my husband received a pacemaker this summer.
• Invite Reiki into your medications at home and send a blessing of thanks out to those who created them, the pharmacist who filled them, and the doctor who discovered you needed them. I do this when I fill my pill strips each week. It becomes like a little meditative practice.
• Invite Reiki into vaccinations and inoculations you receive and send a blessing of thanks out to the Universe for guiding and inspiring the minds of humans to create these lifesaving tools. I have done this with each Covid-19 shot I have received and with my yearly flu shot.
• Invite Reiki into the hospital, nursing home, or physical therapy center where you or a loved one receive care. Send a blessing of love and gratitude out to all those who work there, often under very challenging and even dangerous circumstances to care for us and our dearest ones. I do this each week when I go to visit my mother-in-law at the memory care center she lives in. You’d be surprised what a difference a boost of good energy can make!
• Invite Reiki into the massage room and table, as well as to the session you are about to receive. Simply sit quietly on the table for a moment and take a deep breath before you settle in on the massage table. Be grateful for your session and ask Reiki to flow for the best outcome.
• Invite Reiki into your home, and especially into your bed, your food, and your bath. These are the spaces that nourish, cleanse, and renew you to help maintain and rebuild your health. I like to do this every day, or at least several times a week.

Always remember that Reiki is a meditative spiritual practice. We are not doing anything. Rather, we are reminding ourselves that Universal Life Force is all around us, in us, and in all things. We are inviting ourselves to remember that and to experience the flow of that energy and renew that flow in all things around us by doing so.

It is important to heal our medical trauma. I think many of us carry this with us. Work with Reiki to heal yourself and also spend some time working with the principles to send healing back to your former self and to those who have harmed you. This is important work. We can’t see clearly and honestly until we acknowledge where we are hurting and allow it to be tended to.

Medicine isn’t our enemy, but our friend. Like most humans, you will possibly encounter some doctors who are not good at their job or who are not kind. Keep in mind they are people and try to let yourself heal from it, rather than see it as a reflection on you.

We can try to heal these wounds and seek to learn with clarity what the medical community has to offer that can help us. But we can only do that after we are able to set aside prejudices and learn for ourselves, with an open mind and the Reiki principles as our guide.

Article by Angie Webster

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Angie Webster made a significant contribution to the Reiki community, with a particular focus on Animal Reiki, which she had a deep affection for. As a knowledgeable Reiki Master Teacher and Author, she conducted online courses on energy healing, herbalism, flower essences, and personal growth.
She is the author of “Animal Reiki: How it Heals, Teaches & Reconnects Us with Nature” and “Reiki from A to Z”. Currently, Angie has decided to retire from her professional life to devote more time to her health, family, and the little joys of life.