醫院裡的靈氣應用 Reiki In Hospitals
醫院裡的靈氣應用 Reiki In Hospitals
在美國各地的醫院和診所，靈氣開始被接納為一種能夠改善患者狀況的照護方式，且被認為是有意義且具有價值與治療效果的。在與醫療專業人士進行的個人訪談後證實了這一個觀點。(1) “靈氣療法可以使患者癒合得更快，疼痛更少。”紐約曼哈頓眼耳喉科醫院的私人護士瑪麗蓮·維加 (Marilyn Vega) 說。 [靈氣] 可以加速手術恢復，改善心理狀態並減少藥物和其他醫療程序的負面影響。
Vega 是一位靈氣大師，她將靈氣含括在她的常規照護程序中。因為患者喜歡靈氣，她通過口耳相傳吸引了其他患者以及醫院工作人員的大量關注。患者要求她在手術室和康復室為他們做靈氣。她還被要求為斯隆凱特琳紀念醫院（Memorial Sloane Kettering Hospital）的癌症患者進行靈氣治療，包括接受骨髓移植的患者。由於認知到靈氣在病患照護中的價值，共有6 名醫生和 25 名護士與她一起接受了靈氣的培訓。
美國民眾對補充醫療保健感興趣 America's Interest in Complementary Health Care
大眾對包括靈氣在內的補充醫療保健越來越感到興趣。事實上，在波士頓貝斯以色列醫院(Beth Israel Hospital)的 David M. Eisenberg 博士進行的一項研究中發現，三分之一的美國人使用過這種照護服務，而 1990 年在替代醫療保健上的花費了就超過 140 億美元！(2)
2007 年進行的一項調查表示，在前一年，美國有 120 萬成年人和 161,000 名兒童接受了一次或多次的能量治療，例如靈氣。(3)
靈氣在醫療機構中也得到了更廣泛的認可。許多醫院將他們自己受過靈氣培訓的醫生、護士和相關援護人員一起將其納入他們的患者服務名冊中。早在 90 年代中期，靈氣就已在醫院手術室中使用。(4) 從那時起，靈氣在醫學上的接受度便不斷的提高。它現在被列為照護“實踐的範圍和標準”出版品中被認為是一種可接納的照護形式，(5) 和 2008 年《今日美國》的一篇文章報導說，2007 年，15% 的美國醫院（超過 800 家）提供靈氣作為常規服務(6) 有關 64 項靈氣醫院計劃的詳細說明，請訪問下面的網站： www.centerforreikiresearch.org
科學驗證 Scientific Validation
康涅狄格州哈特福德醫院(Hartford Hospital)的一項研究表示，靈氣使患者的睡眠改善了 86%，疼痛減少了 78%，噁心減少了 80%，懷孕期間的焦慮減少了 94%。 (7)
2009 年，靈氣研究中心完成了試金石研究計畫，該項目總結了發表在同行評審期刊上的相關靈氣研究。 進一步評估了總共 25 項研究，以確定靈氣的有效性。 結論指出：“總體而言，根據科學的嚴謹性被至少一位評論者評為“非常好”或“優秀”且未被任何評論者評為弱的研究總結，83% 的研究顯示 中等 至 強而有力的評價 證據支持靈氣作為一種治療方式。”(8)
為什麼醫院喜歡靈氣 Why Hospitals Like Reiki
醫院內部正在發生重大變化。他們需要降低成本，同時改善患者的照護方式。在基於昂貴的藥物和技術的舊醫療模式下，這帶來了一些無法解決的困境。但靈氣和其他補充方式並非如此。靈氣根本不需要困難的技術，並有許多靈氣的從業者免費提供他們的服務。因此，靈氣是一種降低成本且同時改善照護方式的好方法。
受過靈氣訓練的治療師 Julie Motz 曾與紐約哥倫比亞長老會醫學中心(Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York)著名的胸腔外科醫生 Mehmet Oz 博士合作。 Motz 使用靈氣和其他治療精微體的能量技術來平衡患者在手術過程中所需的能量。在開心手術和心臟移植手術期間，她曾在手術室協助 Oz 醫生。 Motz 報告說，接受治療的 11 名心臟病患者中沒有一人出現術後常見的抑鬱症，而心臟繞道手術的患者沒有術後疼痛或腿部無力；並且移植患者沒有經歷器官排斥的問題。(9)
Marin Independent 期刊上的一篇文章講述了 Motz 在加利福尼亞州馬林縣馬林綜合醫院(Marin General Hospital )的工作，在舊金山北部。(10) 在那裡，Motz 對手術室中的患者使用了能量治療技術。 她特別注重向患者傳達關懷的感覺和正面積極的想法，並特別獲得了贊助與乳房切除術患者一起工作。
Marin General 的腫瘤學家 David Guillion 博士表示：“我覺得我們需要盡我們所能來幫助患者。我們在辦公室提供最先進的藥物，但治愈是一個多層面的過程......我支持 有一種潛在的治療可以利用能量進行的想法。”
朴茨茅斯地區醫院的靈氣 Reiki at Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Patricia Alandydy 是一名註冊的護士與靈氣大師。 她是新罕布什爾州朴茨茅斯地區醫院( Portsmouth Regional Hospital )的外科服務助理主任。 在她的主任 Jocclyn King 和執行首席 William Schuler 的支持下，她為外科服務部門的患者提供了靈氣服務。 這是醫院最大的部門之一，包括手術室、中央供應部、麻醉後監護室、門診監護室和手術後收治患者的四樓。 在與術前患者的電話採訪中，靈氣與許多其他服務一起被提供。 如果患者要求，靈氣會在手術當天早上納入他們的入院程序，並在他們被送往手術室之前額外進行 15-20 分鐘的治療。 一些靈氣的服務也在朴茨茅斯地區的手術室裡完成。
這些靈氣治療由接受過 Patricia 靈氣培訓的 20 名醫院工作人員提供。 其中包括註冊的護士、物理治療師、技術人員以及醫療記錄和相關援護人員。 靈氣服務於 1997 年 4 月開始，截至 2008 年已提供 8000 次靈氣治療。
“這是一次非常有益的經歷，”Alandydy 說，“看到靈氣被如此多樣化的人群所接受並以積極的方式通過口耳相傳傳播到如此遠的地方。患者會根據他們朋友的正面經驗多次要求靈氣 [治療] 。看到老年患者群體嘗試靈氣的思想開放程度也非常具有啟發性。在醫院環境中，靈氣被呈現為一種減輕壓力和促進放鬆的技術，從而 增強身體的自然自愈能力。”
靈氣從業者不會在靈氣治療中添加通靈或其他新時代的技巧，而只是直接給與靈氣。由於這些限制，以及已證明的正面結果，靈氣在醫生和其他工作人員中贏得了信譽。現在，醫院的其他照護區正在要求使用它來治療焦慮症、慢性疼痛、癌症和其他疾病。
Alandydy 和她的搭檔 Greda Cocco 還通過他們的公司 Seacoast Complementary Care, Inc. 管理一家醫院支持的靈氣診所。該診所每週開放兩天，配備 50 名經過培訓的靈氣志願者，其中一半來自醫院工作人員而其餘來自當地的靈氣社群。他們通常在診所使用 13-17 張靈氣桌子，每張桌子有 1-2 名靈氣志願者。該診所治療多種疾病，包括 HIV、疼痛以及化療和放療的副作用。有些病人是由醫院醫生轉診，有些病人是通過當地社區的口耳相傳來的。他們收取每節 10.00 美元的象徵性費用。診所每晚都滿員，而且經常有等候的名單。
加州太平洋醫療中心的靈氣計劃 The California Pacific Medical Center's Reiki Program
加州太平洋醫療中心是北加州最大的醫院之一。 其診所是健康與康復研究所的一個分支機構，為急性和慢性疾病提供靈氣、中醫、催眠、生物反饋、針灸、順勢療法、草藥療法、營養療法和芳香療法。 該診所有六個治療室，目前配備兩名醫生，分別是 Mike Cantwell 醫生和 Amy Saltzman 醫生。 Cantwell 是一位專門研究傳染病的兒科醫生，同時也是一位接受過營養治療培訓的靈氣大師。 Saltzman 專攻內科，還接受過正念冥想、針灸和營養療法方面的培訓。 其他專業人士正在等待加入工作人員，包括幾名醫生。
診所的醫生與患者及其轉診醫生會一起確認適合患者的補充治療方式。 他們會使用詳細的問卷以提供患者狀況的整體概覽，用於幫助並決定治療過程。 問卷涉及廣泛的主題，包括個人對人際關係、朋友和家人、身體形像以及工作、職業和精神的滿意度。 該診所非常受歡迎，目前有 100 多名患者的等候名單。
Cantwell 醫生提供 1-3 小時的靈氣課程，之後他將患者分配給靈氣 II 階的內科醫生，該內科醫生繼續在診所外提供靈氣課程。 對靈氣治療反應良好的患者會繼續被轉介進行靈氣訓練，以便他們可以繼續進行靈氣自我治療。
Cantwell 醫生說：“我發現靈氣可用於治療急性疾病，如肌肉骨骼損傷/疼痛、頭痛、急性感染和哮喘。靈氣對慢性疾病患者也很有用，尤其是那些與慢性疼痛相關的患者 .”
在這一點上，靈氣不在診所的保險範圍內，但 Cantwell 博士正在進行臨床研究，希望讓保險公司相信這些補充治療是可行的，並能為他們省錢。
更多的醫學博士和護士練習靈氣 More MD's and Nurses Practicing Reiki
Mary Lee Radka 是靈氣大師和 R.N. 因為她的靈氣技能而同時擁有護士與治療師的職業。 她在安娜堡密歇根大學醫院(Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor)為護士和其他醫院工作人員教授靈氣課程。 她還對大多數患者使用靈氣。 她發現靈氣在減輕疼痛和壓力、改善血液循環和消除神經阻滯方面能產生最佳效果。
靈氣大師 Nancy Eos，醫學博士，是密歇根大學醫學院的教職員工。 作為急診室的醫生，她使用靈氣治療患者並遵循標準醫療程序。
“我無法想像沒有靈氣就行醫，”Eos 說。 “有了靈氣，我所要做的就是觸摸一個人。通常不會發生的事情會發生。疼痛的強度減輕。皮疹消退。喘息讓位於呼吸清晰。憤怒的人會開始跟我開玩笑。”
在她的《靈氣與醫學(Reiki and Medicine)》一書中，她描述了使用靈氣治療創傷、心臟病、呼吸系統問題、心肺復蘇、受虐兒童、過敏反應和其他的急診室情況。 Eos 博士現在在 Grass Lake 醫療中心持續家醫的執業，並且是密歇根州傑克遜富特醫院(Foote Hospital )的住院醫師，在那裡她繼續將靈氣與標準醫療程序結合使用。 根據 Eos 博士的說法，Foote 醫院至少還有 5 名其他醫生和許多護士一起接受了靈氣訓練。 (11)
Libby Barnett 和 Maggie Chambers 都是靈氣大師，他們曾為新英格蘭十多家醫院的工作人員治療患者並為他們提供靈氣培訓。他們教授靈氣作為補充照護技術，他們培訓的醫院工作人員將靈氣添加到他們為患者管理的常規醫療程序中。他們的書《靈氣能量醫學(Reiki Energy Medicine)》描述了他們的經歷。(12) 他們推薦的一項有趣的事情是創建了醫院中的“靈氣室”，由一些志願者組成，患者和醫院工作人員可以來這裡接受靈氣治療。 Bettina Peyton, M.D. 是 Libby 和 Maggie 訓練過的醫生之一，他說：“靈氣極其簡單，加上其潛在的強大效果，迫使我們承認普遍治療能量的概念。”
我們鼓勵任何有興趣將靈氣帶入醫院的人這樣做。醫院環境是提供靈氣的好地方，因為有這麼多真正需要的人在這裡。本文中的經驗和建議應該可以為您所在地區的靈氣開發提供一個良好的起點。
*編者註：在醫院或以其他方式進行靈氣治療時，重要的是請確認患者了解靈氣是什麼並且僅在患者要求時才提供靈氣治療。 此外，如果出現了一些提問，重要的是要說明雖然靈氣本質上是靈性的，因為愛和同情是其實踐的重要組成部分，它不是一種宗教，許多宗教團體的成員，包括許多基督徒， 穆斯林、印度教徒和猶太人都會使用靈氣並發現它可以符合他們的宗教信仰。
參考文獻 References
1 The comments that follow were part of an interview I did with each person either in person or by telephone and were first published in my article, "Reiki In Hospitals," which appeared in the Winter 1997 issue of the Reiki Newsletter (precursor to Reiki News Magazine).
2 Eisenberg, David, et al. "Unconventional Medicine in the United States", New England Journal of Medicine 328, no. 4 (1993), 246-52.
2 Beth Ashley, "Healing hands", Marin Independent Journal, May 11, 1997.
3 P. M. Barnes, B. Bloom, and R. Nahin, CDC National Health Statistics Report #12. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children, United States, 2007. (December 2008).
4 Chip Brown, "The Experiments of Dr. Oz,"The New York Times Magazine, July 30, 1995, 20-23.
5 American Holistic Nurses Association and American Nurses Association (2007), Holistic Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (Silver Spring, MD: Nursesbooks.org.)
6 L. Gill, "More hospitals offer alternative therapies for mind, body, spirit," USA Today, September 15, 2008 (Online) http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-14-alternative-therapies_N.htm.
7 Hartford Hospital, Integrative Medicine, Outcomes, https://hartfordhospital.org/services/integrative-medicine/patient-support/outcomes. Measurements cited were obtained during the initial pilot phase of the study, December 1999 - December 2000.
8 The Center for Reiki Research, Touchstone Project, Conclusion, http://www.centerforreikiresearch.org.
9 Julie Motz, Hands of Life, Bantam Books, New York, 1998
10 Beth Ashley, "Healing hands", Marin Independent Journal, May 11, 1997.
11 Nancy Eos, M.D., Reiki and Medicine (Eos, 1995).
12 Libby Barnett and Maggie Chambers, with Susan Davidson, Reiki Energy Medicine, Healing Arts Press, Rochester, Vermont, 1996.
延伸閱讀：
Reiki In Hospitals
by William Lee Rand
At hospitals and clinics across America, Reiki is beginning to gain acceptance as a meaningful and cost-effective way to improve patient care. Personal interviews conducted with medical professionals corroborate this view.(1) "Reiki sessions cause patients to heal faster with less pain," says Marilyn Vega, RN, a private-duty nurse at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital in New York. [Reiki] accelerates recovery from surgery, improves mental attitude and reduces the negative effects of medication and other medical procedures.
Vega, a Reiki master, includes Reiki with her regular nursing procedures. Because the patients like Reiki, she has attracted a lot of attention from other patients through word of mouth, as well as from members of the hospital staff. Patients have asked her to do Reiki on them in the operating and recovery rooms. She has also been asked to do Reiki sessions on cancer patients at Memorial Sloane Kettering Hospital, including patients with bone marrow transplants. Recognizing the value of Reiki in patient care, 6 doctors and 25 nurses have taken Reiki training with her.
America's Interest in Complementary Health Care
The general public is turning with ever-increasing interest to complementary health care, including Reiki. In fact, a study conducted by Dr. David M. Eisenberg of Boston's Beth Israel Hospital found that one in every three Americans has used such care, spending over 14 billion out-of-pocket dollars on alternative health care in 1990 alone!(2)
A survey conducted in 2007 indicates that in the previous year 1.2 million adults and 161,000 children in the U.S. received one or more energy healing sessions such as Reiki.(3)
Reiki is also gaining wider acceptance in the medical establishment. Hospitals are incorporating it into their roster of patient services, often with their own Reiki-trained physicians, nurses and support staff. Reiki was in use in hospital operating rooms as early as the mid-90's.(4) Since then its acceptance in medicine has grown. It is now listed in a nursing "scope and standards of practice" publication as an accepted form of care,(5) and a 2008 USA Today article reported that in 2007 15% of U.S. hospitals (over 800) offered Reiki as a regular part of patient services.(6) For a detailed description of 64 Reiki hospital programs, please go to www.centerforreikiresearch.org
Scientific Validation
A research study at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut indicates that Reiki improved patient sleep by 86 percent, reduced pain by 78 percent, reduced nausea by 80 percent, and reduced anxiety during pregnancy by 94 percent.(7)
In 2009, The Center for Reiki Research completed the Touchstone Project, which summarized Reiki studies published in peer-reviewed journals. The 25 studies examined were further evaluated to determine the effectiveness of Reiki. The conclusion states: "Overall, based on the summaries of those studies that were rated according to scientific rigor as "Very Good" or "Excellent" by at least one reviewer and were not rated as weak by any reviewer, 83 percent show moderate to strong evidence in support of Reiki as a therapeutic modality."(8)
Why Hospitals Like Reiki
Hospitals are undergoing major changes. They are experiencing a need to reduce costs and at the same time improve patient care. Under the old medical model based on expensive medication and technology this posed an unsolvable dilemma. Not so with Reiki and other complementary modalities. Reiki requires no technology at all and many of its practitioners offer their services for free. Reiki is therefore a very good way to improve care while cutting costs.
Julie Motz, a Reiki trained healer has worked with Dr. Mehmet Oz, a noted cardiothoracic surgeon at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Motz uses Reiki and other subtle energy techniques to balance the patients' energy during operations. She has assisted Dr. Oz in the operating room during open heart surgeries and heart transplants. Motz reports that none of the 11 heart patients so treated experienced the usual postoperative depression, the bypass patients had no postoperative pain or leg weakness; and the transplant patients experienced no organ rejection.(9)
An article in the Marin Independent Journal follows Motz's work at the Marin General Hospital in Marin County, California, just north of San Francisco.(10) There Motz has used subtle energy healing techniques with patients in the operating room. She makes a point of communicating caring feelings and positive thoughts to the patients, and has been given grants to work with mastectomy patients in particular.
Dr. David Guillion, an oncologist at Marin General, has stated "I feel we need to do whatever is in our power to help the patient. We provide state of the art medicine in our office, but healing is a multidimensional process… I endorse the idea that there is a potential healing that can take place utilizing energy."
Reiki at Portsmouth Regional Hospital
Patricia Alandydy is an RN and a Reiki Master. She is the Assistant Director of Surgical Services at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. With the support of her Director Jocclyn King and CEO William Schuler, she has made Reiki services available to patients within the Surgical Services Department. This is one of the largest departments in the hospital and includes the operating room, Central Supply, the Post Anesthesia Care Unit, the Ambulatory Care Unit and the Fourth Floor where patients are admitted after surgery. During telephone interviews with pre-op patients, Reiki is offered along with many other services. If patients request it, Reiki is then incorporated into their admission the morning of surgery, and an additional 15-20 minute session is given prior to their transport to the operating room. Some Reiki has also been done in the operating room at Portsmouth Regional.
The Reiki sessions are given by 20 members of the hospital staff whom Patricia has trained in Reiki. These include RN's, physical therapists, technicians and medical records and support staff. Reiki services began in April 1997, and as of 2008 have given 8000 Reiki sessions.
"It has been an extremely rewarding experience," Alandydy says, "to see Reiki embraced by such a diverse group of people and spread so far and wide by word of mouth, in a positive light. Patients many times request a Reiki [session] based on the positive experience of one of their friends. It has also been very revealing to see how open-minded the older patient population is to try Reiki. In the hospital setting Reiki is presented as a technique which reduces stress and promotes relaxation, thereby enhancing the body's natural ability to heal itself."
The Reiki practitioners do not add psychic readings or other new-age techniques to the Reiki sessions, but just do straight Reiki. Because of these boundaries, and the positive results that have been demonstrated, Reiki has gained credibility with the physicians and other staff members. It is now being requested from other care areas of the hospital to treat anxiety, chronic pain, cancer and other conditions.
Alandydy, with her partner Greda Cocco, also manage a hospital-supported Reiki clinic through their business called Seacoast Complementary Care, Inc. The clinic is open two days a week and staffed by 50 trained Reiki volunteers, half of whom come from the hospital staff and the rest from the local Reiki community. They usually have 13-17 Reiki tables in use at the clinic with 1-2 Reiki volunteers per table. The clinic treats a wide range of conditions including HIV, pain, and side-effects from chemotherapy and radiation. Some patients are referred by hospital physicians and some come by word of mouth from the local community. They are charged a nominal fee of $10.00 per session. The clinic is full each night and often has a waiting list.
The California Pacific Medical Center's Reiki Program
The California Pacific Medical Center is one of the largest hospitals in northern California. Its Health and Healing Clinic, a branch of the Institute for Health and Healing, provides care for both acute and chronic illness using a wide range of complementary care including Reiki, Chinese medicine, hypnosis, biofeedback, acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal therapy, nutritional therapy and aromatherapy. The clinic has six treatment rooms and is currently staffed by two physicians, Dr. Mike Cantwell and Dr. Amy Saltzman. Cantwell, a pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases, is also a Reiki Master with training in nutritional therapy. Saltzman specializes in internal medicine and also has training in mindfulness meditation, acupuncture and nutritional therapy. Other professionals are waiting to join the staff, including several physicians.
The doctors at the clinic work with the patients and their referring physicians to determine what complementary modalities will be appropriate for the patient. A detailed questionnaire designed to provide a holistic overview of the patient's condition is used to help decide the course of treatment. The questionnaire involves a broad range of subjects including personal satisfaction with relationships, friends and family, with body image, and with job, career, and spirituality. The clinic is very popular and currently has a waiting list of more than 100 patients.
Dr. Cantwell provides 1-3 hour-long Reiki sessions, after which he assigns the patient to a Reiki II internist who continues to provide Reiki sessions outside the clinic. Patients who continue to respond well to the Reiki treatments are referred for Reiki training so they can continue Reiki self-treatments on a continuing basis.
Dr. Cantwell states: "I have found Reiki to be useful in the treatment of acute illnesses such as musculoskeletal injury/pain, headache, acute infections, and asthma. Reiki is also useful for patients with chronic illnesses, especially those associated with chronic pain."
At this point, Reiki is not covered by insurance at the clinic, but Dr. Cantwell is conducting clinical research in the hope of convincing insurance companies that complementary care is viable and will save them money.
More MD's and Nurses Practicing Reiki
Mary Lee Radka is a Reiki Master and an R.N. who has the job classification of Nurse-Healer because of her Reiki skills. She teaches Reiki classes to nurses and other hospital staff at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. She also uses Reiki with most of her patients. She has found Reiki to produce the best results in reducing pain and stress, improving circulation and eliminating nerve blocks.
Reiki master Nancy Eos, M.D., was a member of the teaching staff of the University of Michigan Medical School. As an emergency-room physician, she treated patients with Reiki along with standard medical procedures.
"I can't imagine practicing medicine without Reiki," Eos says. "With Reiki all I have to do is touch a person. Things happen that don't usually happen. Pain lessens in intensity. Rashes fade. Wheezing gives way to breathing clearly. Angry people begin to joke with me."
In her book Reiki and Medicine she includes descriptions of using Reiki to treat trauma, heart attack, respiratory problems, CPR, child abuse, allergic reactions and other emergency-room situations. Dr. Eos now maintains a family practice at Grass Lake Medical Center and is an admitting-room physician at Foote Hospital in Jackson, Michigan, where she continues to use Reiki in conjunction with standard medical procedures. According to Dr. Eos, there are at least 5 other physicians at Foote hospital who have Reiki training along with many nurses.(11)
Libby Barnett and Maggie Chambers are Reiki masters who have treated patients and given Reiki training to staff members in over a dozen New England hospitals. They teach Reiki as complementary care and the hospital staff they have trained add Reiki to the regular medical procedures they administer to their patients. Their book Reiki Energy Medicine describes their experiences.(12) One of the interesting things they recommend is creating hospital "Reiki Rooms," staffed by volunteers, where patients as well as hospital staff can come to receive Reiki treatments. Bettina Peyton, M.D., one of the physicians Libby and Maggie have trained states: "Reiki's utter simplicity, coupled with its potentially powerful effects, compels us to acknowledge the concept of a universal healing energy."
Anyone interested in bringing Reiki into hospitals is encouraged to do so. The hospital setting where there are so many people in real need is a wonderful place to offer Reiki. The experiences and recommendations in this article should provide a good starting point for developing Reiki programs in your area.
*Editors Note:It is very important when giving Reiki treatments in hospitals or otherwise to make sure the patient understands what Reiki is and to only provide a Reiki treatment if the patient has requested one. Also, if the issue comes up, it is important to explain that while Reiki is spiritual in nature, in that love and compassion are an important part of its practice, it is not a religion and that members of many religious groups including many Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Jews use Reiki and find it compatible with their religious beliefs.