New website

I got through the semester, though, and in the process Dr. Krieger performed the procedure on me. It was then I knew something very real was going on, so I continued to learn about it, and practice it.15

Like the others, she attributes this power to “the individual Higher Self”16 and feels that this type of healing is not just for the body, but is also “very spiritual.”17
Hands of Light
In her highly acclaimed book, Hands of Light, healer Barbara Ann Brennan lays out the dynamics of such practices as Reiki and therapeutic touch.

A color photo in her book shows a drawn picture of a woman doing energy healing on another woman. On each side of the healer are two faceless figures that fit the description of the beings of light spoken of in my first chapter. The picture reveals that the power is coming from the two “entities” whom Brennan describes as “the guides.”18 Brennan explains that:

The healer must first open and align herself with the cosmic forces. This means not only just before the healing, but in her life in general.19

These “cosmic forces” also have names. Brennan tells of an exchange between herself and a spirit being (who calls himself “Heyoan”) who reveals to her: “Enlightenment is the goal; healing is a by-product.”20 What he meant by this is that the forces behind energy healing are really pushing the man-is-God view and any physical benefits are just the bait.

Anyone considering undergoing any chakra-based energy therapy should first seriously consider Brennan’s sobering revelation that “I and Heyoan are one.”21
Conclusion
Christians need to be aware for the sake of their families that this is something that poses the potential to greatly impact anyone in their circle of friends or loved ones. In one Reiki magazine, I found an advertisement for a Reiki teddy bear, which said: “This teddy bear can be infused with Reiki energy and given to a child.”48 This is a stunning illustration that New Age influence should not be dismissed as mere silliness. It is anything but silly!

 To order copies of The Truth about Energy Healing, click here.

By Anna Abbott, April 18, 2011

In a Napa Valley pharmacy, I came upon 10 people in a circle listening to a woman instruct them on Reiki, a therapy based upon “universal energy.” She walked around them, resting her hands on their shoulders as they sat with their eyes closed. Afterwards, some said they felt warmth; others, “tingling.”

The demonstration seemed in a way innocuous, yet I sensed something awry and opted out, retreating to the herbal tea samples section. A few years before, that same Reiki practitioner had offered me a free “sample” of her work; I declined then as well. Somehow Reiki didn’t strike me as harmless meditation or healing.

Nevertheless, Reiki has gone from the fringes of the New Age to the cultural mainstream. Newsweek has highlighted it with acupuncture and other methods. It is offered at hotels and spas. In the Napa Valley Register in November 2005, a woman credited Reiki with curing her of pancreatic cancer, claiming she visualized God as golden energy flowing through her body. Reiki also enjoys the favor of celebrities such as Prince Charles.

Reiki now enjoys favor among some Catholics. Some dioceses offer classes on it; some religious orders practice it according to a “Christian attunement.” At the website christianreiki.org, Sr. Mary Mebane says, “Laying on of hands is a gift of God and was used extensively by Jesus and his followers and still is!” St. Celestine Catholic Church in Elmwood Park, Illinois has a “Reiki Wellness Clinic” run by Sr. Terri Grasso. The Sisters of Mercy in Cincinnati and the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose also offer Reiki as “ministries.”
What exactly is Reiki?

It can resemble massage, except the client is fully clothed. Some practitioners place their hands on the client’s body; others do not. The practitioners are “manipulating” the person’s “energy flow.” Most of the time, a sheet covers the client while the practitioner moves his hands in different positions around him.

There is also “long distance healing” where clients can e-mail or phone in their illnesses. Some Reiki practitioners claim to heal plants and, on one website, a woman is thanked for healing family pets.

Reiki is often advertised as a “rediscovery” of an ancient healing method. Some claim it originated in Tibet centuries ago. But it actually began in 20th century Japan. In 1922, Mikao Usui claimed to have a mystical experience after going on retreat to Mt. Kurama. He started the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Usui Reiki Healing Society), saying his methods led to “spiritual and bodily evolution.” Reiki practitioners interpret this “evolution” as healing not only the physical body, but the soul and the world as well. When Usui died in 1926 in Fukuyama at the age of 62 of a stroke, his students numbered in the thousands.

His successor, Chujiro Hayashi, started his own association. Hayashi’s student, Hawayo Takata, is credited with bringing Reiki to the United States. She emphasized that Reiki wasn’t for free, that people should pay for the teachings and healings. Takata said that she learned this lesson in Hawaii after she performed a free Reiki session for a neighbor, who remained ill. But when she charged for a session for another friend, that one recovered. The lesson Takata culled from this experience was that clients must perceive the “value” of the healing.

Not long before she died in 1979, Takata formed the American Reiki Association with Dr. Barbara Ray. Many current Reiki practitioners credit Ray as their mentor. The American Reiki Association is now called the Radiance Technique International Association.

Furbush says, “I felt a strange vibration down my spine, and the woman said she was a Reiki master.” She explains Reiki’s growing popularity by saying, “It’s accessible because it’s not part of any religion. It’s about focusing love and compassion on your target. It’s a very meditative practice; I serve as a conduit for life force energy. It feels soothing, like waves of energy.”

Furbush says, “Some people aren’t aware of the energy. Some feel clarity and are more peaceful. Some see images, past memories; some become agitated and cry. Reiki is bliss and relaxation.”

Connee Pike, chaplain and spiritual care manager for Hospice of Napa Valley, discovered Reiki a dozen years ago in Klamath Falls, Oregon. She says, “I met a Reiki master from Germany who trained me . . . I first experienced Reiki during a tragic time in my personal life. I felt a spiritual presence, offering healing. There had been a death in my life. Reiki gave me a way to grieve and feel comforted.” She uses Reiki with her “spiritual midwifery” for dying clients as well as those going through childbirth. Pike says that Reiki “gives us a sense of love, returns us to our natural state. It can feel like a waterfall, a sense of oneness, and it works well with other therapies. There are no side-effects.”
But what are the spiritual side-effects?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2117) teaches,

All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others—even if this were for the sake of restoring their health—are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another’s credulity.

With its “life force energy,” and practitioners presenting themselves as conduits of this “force,” Reiki raises serious questions.

126.

Reiki appears to be a form of Gnosticism. Its practitioners assert “secret” knowledge, despite the fact one can find the symbols of it on the Internet with a few clicks. A Reiki practitioner in Calistoga, California reported to me that when she looked at one of the “power symbols”—which bears an uncanny resemblance to the musical treble clef—she perceived it differently than I did because she’s initiated.

Reiki practitioners charge for their healings or teachings. One practitioner based in Sebastopol, California charges $35 per “long distance” session; another, based in nearby Santa Rosa, has a “deal” of $75 for a series of five daily half-hour sessions.

Since Reiki dubiously invokes a nameless “life force,” why is Reiki popular among Catholics? A look at the International Center for Reiki Training website suggests one reason: practitioners are taught how to make their practices palatable to Christian audiences. Jesus is called a “Reiki master.” Some claim Jesus acquired his healing powers through secret initiations in Asia. The archangels and Mother Teresa of Calcutta are “spirit guides.” The anonymous “life energy” is renamed the Holy Spirit.

This site also gives guidance on how to perform Reiki “healing services” in churches, offering such suggestions as having participants visualize the Reiki symbols rather than drawing them and using hymns to give the service a Christian aura. While some Reiki practitioners claim they heal “in the name of Jesus,” others invoke the Buddha or Kuan Yin (the Chinese Buddhist goddess of compassion) as “spirit guides.” (I have seen an altar adorned with a laughing Buddha and the San Damiano crucifix in the “home office” of a Northern California practitioner.)

The Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose promote Reiki at their community retreats, according to an April article at the website California Catholic Daily. These sisters, in contrast to other modernized orders, are clad in their traditional habits. At a summer retreat on the Beatitudes, I learned that Sr. Cheryl Holyk, a second-level Reiki practitioner and nurse, would be giving her “healings.”

Attempts to contact Holyk were unsuccessful, but I was directed to Sr. Joan Prohaska and informed that she practices Reiki. According to the order’s website, Sr. Joan practices “energy healing” at St. Simon’s Convent in Los Altos Hills, California. I asked her if she practices Reiki, but she said the California Catholic Daily article misrepresented her. Though the receptionist said that Sr. Joan practices Reiki, she would only admit to the practice of “energy healing.”

Conroy describes her practice as “Jesus-based.” She teaches Reiki workshops at various Catholic retreat centers around the United States; the workshops range in cost from $150 to $270.

She believes that Reiki has a scientific basis. “Everything moves. Everything vibrates. The life force is the vibration of life. All life, all energy comes from God,” she says. As a Reiki practitioner, she believes she is “connecting with Jesus’ healing ministry.”

Questionable practices passed off as a new spirituality flourish in an atmosphere that lacks faith, and Reiki is a vivid case in point. It has become one more substitute for faith. But the real healers of modern times—such as Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Padre Pio—illustrate that power lies not in magic; it lies in the simple words, “Thy will be done.”

By Anna Abbott, May 06, 2011

Last May, the United States Conference of Catholic bishops issued a statement condemning the occult practice of Reiki. That statement has had an ambiguous impact on religious orders, convents, retreat houses, and hospitals.

In the May statement, the bishops warned that Reiki blurs the line between science and superstition. Yet Reiki is still being practiced at some Catholic facilities, sometimes under aliases. The bishops’ statement is viewed in many quarters as an “opinion” rather than an authoritative condemnation.

Lauri Lumby Schmidt, who runs Authentic Freedom Ministries in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, openly champions Reiki and has defended it in publications such as the National Catholic Reporter. In a phone interview with CWR, Schmidt said Authentic Freedom Ministries provides “support for the spiritual journey” and caters to Catholics, but is not connected with any diocese. “I offer Reiki as part of my spiritual ministry,” she said.

Schmidt considers herself Catholic, saying that she learned Reiki from Franciscan sisters and the Sisters of Mercy. “I disagree with the bishops’ document. I believe as Christians, we’re called to follow Jesus’ example through compassion and healing. Jesus healed through touch. Many (scientific) studies have shown that Reiki supports relaxation, healing, stress relief…. The Mayo Clinic uses Reiki.”

The bishops’ document “saddens” Schmidt because “people won’t be able to share Reiki as part of their ministry.” She adds, “God has led me to Reiki as a spiritual tool. I’ve had nothing but grace. I can’t abide by the bishops’ prohibition as a matter of conscience.” Schmidt wonders why the bishops have targeted Reiki in particular, since “there are tons of hands-on healing modalities.”

The Living Water Spiritual Center in Winslow, Maine, is run by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Lyon. Barbara Joseph provides Reiki as one of her many services at the retreat center. In a phone interview, Joseph said, “I have a variety of skills. I am a healing arts practitioner; I’ve done Cranio-sacral, energy-based body work since 1990. I also do whole food organic nutrition. I give private Reiki sessions and always offer Reiki training. Yes, I still do Reiki there [the Living Water Spiritual Center]. I enjoy going over there.”

According to the website of Villa Maria, a retreat center run by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary in Villa Maria, Pennsylvania, Reiki has been offered there. But that mention was removed from the site after this writer brought it to the center’s attention. James Merhaut, the CEO of the retreat center, said in an e-mail, “We stopped offering Reiki for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, we stopped because the bishops’ document called us to discontinue the offering. Secondly, we probably would have stopped anyway because we were getting few registrants for Reiki.” Merhaut said that Villa Maria now offers “therapeutic massage” as an alternative, because it has “scientifically verifiable benefits.” He said that massage is a “common practice in Catholic parishes, Catholic retreat centers, and Catholic health care facilities.”

At the Christine Center in Willard, Wisconsin, which was founded by the Wheaton Franciscans in 1980, Roberta Hodges offers “quantum touch.” Hodges calls it “revved-up, amplified Reiki; energy is energy.” She said that it’s superior to Reiki because it has yoga breathing. In a phone interview, Hodges said, “Quantum touch raises life-force energy. It’s beneficial on the emotional level. Our emotional traumas that are buried can come to the surface…. It’s a mysterious thing.” Sr. Cecilia Corcoran, who heads the Board of Directors at the Christine Center, discussed the bishops’ prohibition in a phone interview. Corcoran said, “We don’t do Reiki here. We don’t advertise it. We support bodywork like massage…. Personally, I don’t have problems with Reiki and Healing Touch therapy.” It is important to note that Sr. Cecilia links Reiki with “Healing Touch,” illustrating how similar these practices are in the view of their adherents.

Healing Touch is also popular at Catholic hospitals. Tammy Dragel, a Healing Touch coordinator at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida, defines it as an “energy-based modality that complements conventional therapies.” She said that she hasn’t taken any Reiki classes. Like Reiki, Healing Touch claims to be “energy-based.”

Healing Touch is also available at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, run by the Sisters of Mercy. Coordinator Marcia Gill declined to comment, as did Barbara Stanivuk of St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, Indiana, managed by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ.

Smith defined Healing Touch further. “We’re scripturally-based, not denominationally based. I go to Methodists, Lutherans, and Episcopalians. We’re not talking dogma and theology, but Scripture.” Smith said that Healing Touch works with “therapeutic-grade essential oils like hyssop and cedar wood.” She describes Healing Touch as “vibrational healing: laying on of hands, prayer, and anointing with oil.” Clinical aromatherapy is another component.

Smith thinks it is biblical. “In the Old Testament, God gave Moses the formula for anointing oil. He had to anoint the tabernacle, the cups, and sacrificial animals.” Smith used the example of the healing of lepers, saying, “The priests were putt ing oil on the crown chakra to restore the leprous person.” She considers essential oils as providers of physical, emotional, and spiritual health.

Reiki, Quantum Touch, and Healing Touch are part of a spectrum of occult practices offered to Catholics, often by Catholics, frequently at Catholic institutions.

At the Christine Center, vision quests, Mahamudra (a Tibetan Buddhist meditation practice), full moon yoga and kirtan (Hindu devotional song) retreats are offered. The Living Water Spiritual Center has programs on New Age author Eckhart Tolle’s books, such as The New Earth, and on the Enneagram. There are labyrinths at the Franciscan Retreat Center at Mount St. Francis in Colorado and the Holy Family Passionist Retreat Center in Connecticut.

New Age practices have seeped into religious orders and institutions; Reiki is merely one example in this constellation. Fr. Thomas Weinandy, executive director of the Secretariat for Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a phone interview that it is up to individual dioceses to discipline these orders. It is the responsibility of local bishops to enforce the guidelines concerning Reiki, he said.

“New Age practices have become prevalent within some religious orders because they are considered to be more relevant and beneficial than the traditional Gospel,” he said. “It is hard to conceive why anyone would think that the Gospel as lived and taught by the Catholic Church for over 2,000 years could be improved upon by employing New Age tenets, especially when these tenets are pantheistic and Gnostic in nature. Such New Age beliefs distort the truth of the Gospel, and instead of being beneficial actually harm the lives of those who hold such beliefs. Instead of living in the light and the truth o the Gospel, they have entered into the darkness of error.”