First of all, let’s review what Reiki is. According to the esoteric sciences, there are a number of "planes" of existence. There is the natural plane, the astral plane, the mental plane, and planes beyond those. These three lower planes make up the trinity of the human being. We exist on all three planes at once.

Each of these planes is further sub-divided into 7 planes of density. We’re aware of 3 of those sub-planes here on our physical plane, where most of us are conscious. The 3 we’re familiar with are solid, liquid, and gas. The other 4 are what are called the "ethers".

Some people’s eyes are beginning to open to the etheric sub-planes. I believe this is where auras are seen, and if you’ve ever noticed sort of a "static" appearance around you, these are entities (often your guides, for instance) that I believe have a subtle, energetic form on the etheric plane.

These are also the planes on which we are all connected energetically, because these are literally fields of energy from which we take our life. Scientists are starting to talk about something called "Zero Point" energy, which exists all around us … and if we just figure out how to tap into it, we will never face energy problems again. Some people are even claiming that they’ve found ways to tap into it, but they’re having trouble getting their inventions out because outside forces (human groups) are keeping them from doing so. That’s a debate for another day though.

In any case, I do believe these etheric fields will be proved at least within the next hundred years — or, if not all 4 of them, at least one of them. These are the fields on which "Reiki" (our "Life Energy") resides.

It is because we’re all part of a single energy field that Reiki works at all, and why it works at a distance as easily as it does in person.

Now, there are many factors involved in your reception and experience of Reiki. First, just as some people see auras and some people do not, some people feel the sensation of Reiki as someone is working on them and others do not. If you don’t see an aura, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. If you don’t feel Reiki work that’s being done on you, it doesn’t mean that nothing’s being done.

Still, other factors can come into play. For instance, I believe that karmic relations between the Reiki practitioner and the Reiki "patient" can affect how powerful a Reiki connection there is.

Even more important — and this may be one of the most critical factors — I believe that someone’s own karmic situation may be determining the path of disease, and healing for that person may not be available.

Because of this, when I do Reiki, I do not necessarily aim it at their healing, but at their well-being within God’s will. Maybe this means providing them with comfort while they go through a disease they must go through for reasons we can’t understand from our perspective.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the body needs to be in a certain state of health in order for energy to flow through it properly. If a spine is out of alignment, for instance, the whole nervous system can be working improperly. (The service of chiropractic is much more important than making your back and neck feel good temporarily.) If there is brain damage, it is possible that subtle energies are not received in full or accurately.

Ok, having said all this, you can see that there are many factors (certainly many more that I haven’t mentioned here) that play into a person’s receptivity of Reiki energy.

If you ARE receptive to the energy, you still may not feel it at all, depending on your awareness of subtle energies. Also, in the case of Distance Reiki, you are not focused on the healing when it happens. You are either sleeping when I work these sessions, or your are otherwise engaged.

So the chances of you feeling the work while it’s happening are slim. The HOPE is that you will feel more energized the next day, or that certain symptoms begin to clear after some time. (And of course these won’t be symptoms whose causes are on the emotional/astral plane, for instance. That would require a different type of healing.)

If you were receptive to the energy and were in meditation or otherwise paying attention to the work being done, you would be able to feel a warm, tingling sensation. If you have ever heard someone say some truth and your body reacted viscerally — you felt that truth should up your spine — it is that kind of feeling.

Now, if I were working on you individually and was working on some sort of specific condition rather than sending energy in a general way (which is all I can do for the group as a whole), you might instead feel a warming sensation (possibly tingling, but not necessarily) in that area … almost like if you were holding your hands a ways above a running toaster. They would start to heat up a bit. That is the kind of thing you might be able to feel.

And by the way, that brings up one more important point that I will probably reiterate from time to time. The nature of this free service is such that I cannot possibly provide individual sessions for everyone on this list. If I did, I would never have time to make a living!

A number of people send in requests for specific healings, for themselves or for their loved ones. I so appreciate their interest in being healed, and in fact when I do my free group work, I do at least give the intention that all of these individual requests be honored (again, within God’s plan for that person). But please know that the work is really a general energy provided to the whole group, and that I cannot work with people individually.

Because I have received a number of comments from people about positive health experiences they’ve had since joining this group, it is possible that I will offer an additional, paid service some time in the future that would allow you to hire me for individual sessions, but I am still thinking that one through. I will probably need more feedback about results people are experiencing before I can decide if this is a possibility.

Anyway, I hope this article helps to clear up the Reiki experience, and I hope you’ll look forward to more articles in the future. There’s an awful lot to discuss, and I look forward to providing my thoughts on a variety of subjects (including Reiki and broader health topics) from an energetic perspective.