I was recently contacted by a lady who wanted a Reiki treatment and she was asking my rates. I responded and she came back with a very angry and venomous reply, stating that “all you Reiki and so called spiritual people charge way too much. I would never pay more than $70 for a treatment.”
Not to long after this, a spiritual friend of mine who ‘reads’ for a living, wrote on her business page about how ridiculously expensive another ‘reader’ is and she would never ever pay such a price and feels its daylight robbery.
Both these events have prompted me to write this article.
Who has the right to judge another on their prices? No-one is forcing a client to pay a fee they are not comfortable with because if the price isn’t right the client won’t attend.
I find practitioners who undercut and undercharge quite frustrating, however I don’t know their motivation and who am I to judge them? One of my Reiki students has opened up her own Reiki practice right around the corner from me and is charging so much less then she could be (and under cutting all other Reiki Practitioners in the area) and yes I have an opinion on this but do not judge because my clients and those people right for me will come despite cheap services being close by.
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The fear of not having enough enthusiastic people to pay our fees will stop a flow of clients. Voicing that someone else is charging way too much for their service is also fear – its fear that perhaps we are not good enough to charge that price.
I charge what I charge because Dr Usui feels there should be an energy exchange of some type so the Reiki energy is appreciated so much more. Also, with charging my fees, I am able to pay my bills and feed my family and live in my house. As spiritual as I feel I am, I am living a human existence and this means bills and money is a necessity in my world. If I am not in a position to help myself, then I certainly won’t be in a position to help anyone else.
Also, my motivation for my prices is one of giving back. I have enough clients paying my fees that I am able to give many free sessions to charities for fundraising. This year I have donated to the cancer council, to breast cancer, to canteen, to Autism NT, to the leukaemia foundation and the list goes on and on. I do this because I am more than happy to assist a charity to raise money. I donate my services and someone pays a price, and that money goes to the charity. I get no monetary gain from this at all. What I get is the satisfaction on helping the community.
Please never judge someone on their prices and speak negatively of it, because you don’t know the motivation or what they do behind the scenes with their money or what they give away for free because they are able to do so.
I trust this helps you to understand that fees are something that MAY determines which clients go to which practitioner. Some will go to the most expensive and some will go the one who is cheapest… however it’s not something you or I have the right to judge.
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Lovely article on a subject which has always been an issue not only with reiki practioners but also with those seeking reiki healings. Thankyou so much.
Another way to look at it is that the practitioner is charging for his/her time; not for Reiki treatment. How can one determine the true value of universal energy exchange for the purpose of market pricing? How could the source of Reiki be subject to capitalism laws of supply and demand?
Hi Suchitra thanks for your feedback. Robert yes charging for one’s time is another great way at looking at payment. Love light and harmony. Tammy
Great artcle Tammy love your paasion and your work. This is something I struggle with as I genuinely want to help people . I have come to the realization that my time and skills are valuable and worth paying for. I just have to stop feeling sorry for people. Work in progress.
Hi Hypnotherapymurcia, there is nothing wrong with feeling sorry for people, however it’s my belief that feeling sorry doesn’t help anyone in the long term. What we do in reiki or hypnotherapy or any other modality is give people tools to help themselves move on in life and that is most definitely worth paying for. So you go from feeling sorry for them to giving them tools that empower them. I agree wholeheartedly that you time is valuable and worth charging. I’m sure you’ll work through the ‘payment’ block. Thanks for commenting. with love, light and harmony. Tammy xxx
Hi Tammy 🙂 wonderful article i must say . Recently learnt Reiki 1 and after a few weeks level 2 . Also done Crystal Therapy. Love Reiki. Although its not my profession yet i feel nothing should be given for free on this earth always unless one is a needy person and that too helping some one in need is a person’s personal choice without being paid. i have a wonderful way to sort this out is by asking the ones who seek my help to help others. For example not to pay me but within their capacity to help those in need like donating for mid day meals in NGO schools. Lovely to come across you. And yes, in our world, there is no judgement. Only Love and Light. Merry Christmas.
Nabnitta Ghosh , Kolkata, India .
Hi Nabnitta, thanks for your message and I love how you ask others to help those in need… what a wonderful idea to ‘pay it forward’. I see you are from India. Hubby and I have been to India and Kolkata, and one day we’ll get back to visit again. We love it over there. A country rich with history. Amazing. Thanks for taking the time to comment on my article. With love, light and harmony. Tammy xx
Hi Tammy very nicely spoken about the issue. I am have completed first and second degree of traditional reiki and I remember my guruji telling us about Dr usui statement of charging for energy given in cash or kind. I have been thinking of going professional but am stopped by the just thing about the payment issues and you did clarified that it could also mean that I don’t find my self deserving enough. This article cleared up a lot for me
Hi Minakshi thanks for taking the time to comment. I am so pleased the article helped clarify things for you and all the very best in opening up your professional Reiki business. Love, light and harmony. Tammy xxx