Charging for Reiki is one of those controversial things that each practitioner will have to form their own opinion on, especially if starting a thriving Reiki business is on their life goal list. So is it okay to charge for Reiki or do you rather feel uncomfortable about this idea of exchanging cash for your healing services?
Don’t let this question holding you back from what you wish to achieve in life when it comes to your Reiki practice. Read on the following perspectives provided by our Ask RMT guests and feel free to share your own thoughts on charging for Reiki. We would love to read your thoughtful comments.
Question from Kristin –
“Isn’t it wrong to “charge” for Reiki, since the energy is not “mine” but flows through me freely?”
Answer from Ashwita Goel, www.reiki-bangalore.com
We shouldn’t charge for Reiki – it flows all the time, when we speak kindly to the salesgirl it flows, when we lend an ear to a distressed friend, it flows, when we do gardening it flows, when we wish well for someone, it flows. I’ve even found it flowing sometimes to strangers nearby who might be distressed, I wouldn’t turn around to someone behind me and say hey, you owe me something!
Is it the energy we are charging for? Because by that logic, truffles should have been free, not one of the most expensive food items, considering they grow in the wild. And water should have been free – unless someone was creating it in some way. Why aren’t they free? Because it is not the truffles or the water we are paying for, it is the effort involved.
If you aren’t putting in any effort, if you just casually heal someone or if it flows on its own, yes there is no need to charge anything. But if you’re dedicating time – you’re giving something that is yours which hopefully does have some value. If you’re using your space and you pay rent, you are providing a space which is yours. If you are contributing in any other way – record-keeping, follow-ups, a website, anything else, again those are things that are yours that you are making available as a part of the process. So do we charge for the energy? Rarely ever. But when we offer something like this for free, especially if it is offered beautifully, I think we send out a message to the universe that our time, effort and space have no value or meaning.
Answer from Andrea Kennedy, www.mainstreamreiki.com
There is not one single thing wrong with charging money for Reiki sessions. While the energy is free for us and is not ours alone to offer, we have chosen to invest our time and resources into learning Reiki and to practicing it. A practitioner has spent many hours in building a relationship with and understanding the energy; therefore, a Reiki session is the outcome of much preparation on the part of the practitioner. Furthermore, our time is also valuable because there are endless possibilities on how we may use our time. In our culture, exchanging money for goods and services we want is one of the basic principles. We understand that if something has value, we pay for the opportunity to own it or partake in the experience. Why should Reiki be different? We do not question having to buy a ticket to see a gifted child prodigy sing beautifully at an event. Obviously, these young ones have a gift they did not create on their own. Their voices are used similarly to the Reiki practitioner’s hands to deliver a gift that flows freely from them. However, these children invest in practice, focus and dedication in order to offer a valuable experience to others. If Reiki practitioners feel wrong about charging or judge other practitioners who do charge, they are also adding strength to the false belief Reiki is not a worthy service. This keeps Reiki from becoming more widely used. Instead, if all practitioners agreed charging for sessions was appropriate the public would more easily accept that Reiki has value. Certainly, a practitioner may choose to volunteer Reiki or charge for sessions or both. The point is that Reiki is a worthy and valuable service. As practitioners, it is up to us to promote that truth. When more people view it as valuable and truly beneficial its popularity will increase and more people may be helped. And isn’t that why we were first drawn to Reiki?
Answer from Phillip Hawkins, www.philliphawkinsreiki.wordpress.com
Dear Kristin,
The problem we have is people doing spiritual stuff and imposing their values on all manner of spiritual topics, which tends to become very un-spiritual when other people don’t agree with their opinions or values. From my own experience I have found some spiritual people tend to gravitate to a moral high ground from which they tend to look down on those they consider less enlightened than themselves. Having spent a short period of time up there many years ago I can say without fear of contradiction it’s not a nice place to be. Good place to learn humility and a few other life lessons, but can become a very cold and lonely place if you spend too much time there.
A short answer would be do what feels right for you, but let me expand on that a little more in order to help you understand. I have never allowed myself to get into a position where I needed to rely on payment from clients or students to make a living. Obviously if it is your livelihood you don’t have a choice in the matter, the only decision you have to make is to ensure you provide a quality service and value for money. This has nothing to do with Reiki, it’s purely a reflection of you as a person of character and personal standards. Your circumstances and personal values will determine if your approach is that of high throughput to generate as much income as possible, or a more customised approach to your treatments or teaching, and only you can make those decisions. My advice is it’s healthier to appease your conscience than your critics.
You must also factor in your reasons for doing what you do and the influences of your self worth, selling yourself cheap is usually an indication of poor self esteem and low self worth. If this is the case, dealing with the underlying issues first will automatically resolve the issue of what to charge, or at least make it a whole lot easier to come to a decision. The bottom line is be guided by your conscience and personal values but if you do choose to charge for your services please be honest about it. Don’t fall into the trap of calling your fees an “energy exchange” as if to imply you are now so spiritual you no longer deal with anything so base as money, your currency is “spiritual energy”. When I see this I usually allocate it to my “spiritual bullshit and bollocks bin”. People aren’t stupid and respond positively to those who are genuine, honest open and up front, which to me is what Reiki personal development is all about.
Hope this helps.
Phillip
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