Reiki, pronounced ray-kee is a lovely, ancient healing art that originated centuries ago in Tibet. As you probably already know, Tibet is located in what is now China. You also know that acupuncture began in China, and that acupuncture is centered about the concept of a life-force energy called chi. So we are talking about ancient cultures that regarded disruptions in the body’s chi as a source of dis-ease. Today this concept is being given more attention, as science begins to accept the idea that there is more to physical disfunction than just germs and broken bones.
About a century ago, the precepts of Reiki were re-discovered by a Japanese Christian monk, physician and teacher named Dr. Mikao Usui. He gave the healing system, which he found after many years of study of the ancient Tibetan Buddhist sutras, the Japanese name of “Reiki”. The word rei means “spirit” or “soul”, and ki is the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese chi. The term Reiki, therefore, embodies the concept of a universal life force appropriate to healing the all-enveloping energy of body, soul and spirit.