Reiki & Human Open Energy System

People are always asking me how Reiki works. There is a lot of information out there on the internet about what Reiki is and what it isn't, but I have yet to come across resource that explains how it works in a way that lay people can understand. So bear with me as I try to explain my understanding of Reiki and the human open energy system.

Open energy system

Let's start with the basics. I first heard of the theory called "The Wellness Energy System" in one of my courses at Clayton College. Dr. John W Travis, M.D. writes about it in his text Wellness Workbook. He explains the scientific concept of a dissipative structure - an open system in which energy comes in, becomes modified, and then is dissipated back to the environment. One example of this concept is a seed which builds a plant from the environmental resources around it - air, sunlight, water, minerals - and then dissipates oxygen, pollen, fruit, or scent back to the environment, including it's own materials as fertilizer for the soil it came from when it dies.

Travis theorizes that a person is also an open energy system. We take in energy from our environment in the form of information, food, noise, air, relationships, the work we do, etc.. We then go on to organize and transform what we take in to feed our bodies, minds and spirits, and then return the energy in some form back to the environment. We grow, live, and die as part of a perpetual cycle of input, transformation, and dissipation.

"The Wellness Energy System" put forth by Travis, and corroborated by the concept of life-force energy in Traditional Chinese Medicine, theorizies that when the flow of energy through our human open system is strong and free flowing we are in an optimal state of wellness, and when the flow is impeded or weak in any way than symptoms of imbalance and disease may manifest.


How does this relate to Reiki?

My theory is that the universal life force energy (Reiki) is the fuel and intelligence that creates and inspires all open systems. I think of Reiki as the source of the mystery behind a seed becoming a plant or two merged cells becoming a human being. Each of us is a unique conduit for energy - our conditioning, habits, patterns and lifestyle choices determine how much energy we take in, how we use the energy, and how we release it back to our environment. An experienced Reiki practitioner, in particular, is skilled at directly connecting to the source energy that's available in the open systems of our earth and universe, and in conducting this available energy into his or her own open system, and in assisting other open systems to connect as well. By consciously connecting to and drawing upon Reiki, our open systems are able to recharge when they are depleted, dissolve and break up stagnation and blockages, and optimize our open system's ability to flow freely and strongly.