Reflecting on the many thousands of hours of hands-on treatments I’ve conducted over my career, I find it fascinating to recall some of the many incredible results which have occurred as a part of hands-on treatments. In a lay sense, those results could be thought of as miracles of some kind: areas of muscles which have been excruciatingly spasmed for days, for example, instantly releasing and becoming jelly-like (using the Silver Violet Flame reiki symbol), all of the pain associated with the spasm disappearing instantly.
The sad irony of those direct clinical experiences, however, is that in strict scientific terms, they are considered almost irrelevant to any form of evidence-based record-keeping, upon which future treatments may be conducted. That is largely due to the normal and necessary rigors of scientific methodology, specifically Randomized Controlled Trials.
The definition of a Randomized Controlled Trial is: A study design that randomly assigns participants into an experimental group or a control group. As the study is conducted, the only expected difference between the control and experimental groups in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is the outcome variable being studied.
Unfortunately, the wonderful results that can occur during hands-on therapies are not able to be critically validated via the Randomized Controlled Trial method. Yet that does not reduce their actual validity.
- I have personally witnessed a patient who is in an extremely deep state of relaxation, suddenly open their eyes and ask, “Who turned the lights on?” coinciding with me introducing the reiki master symbol, the cause of them becoming acutely alert and aware.
- I have used the Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen distance symbol (with a client who I felt needed to be more calm and grounded) to connect them to violet flowers growing on long stalks and connecting to roots in the earth [unknown to the patient], only to have the patient describe the stalks and flowers in precise detail once the treatment was over.
But there are numerous scientifically sound experiments which have validated the astoundingly positive benefits of reiki treatments. This is something all reiki practitioners look forward to increasing in the future.
Let the truth be known.
