Anyone feeling or seeing an injury to his or her body will have the instant reaction of putting one or both hands on that area. How many times have you seen someone put their hand over their mouth after saying the wrong thing? When watching a movie containing a scene that you do not like seeing, is not putting your hands over your eyes your first thought? Hands can protect, and hands can heal.

In the biology textbooks that I have read it is stated that humans do not have instincts. It may not be instinctive, but beginning in childhood we put our hands where it hurts on ourselves and on others. Do you remember your mom or dad gently holding your finger that you had dropped something on it? When your heart is hurting does it not ease some of the pain to receive a hug from someone? When pain is involved, the natural reaction is to put hands on the location of the pain, which is hands-on-healing.

All throughout history, some people have seemed to have more of a natural healing ability through their hands then others. It was only natural that the system Mikao Usui developed would involve the placing of hands on another who is ill. I once met a registered nurse that friends and patients would gravitate to because there was something healing about her presence and touch. Some people are natural healers and those people when connected to the vibrations of love and harmony of universal energy by a qualified Reiki teacher increase the healing that happens by their touch.

The difference between what flows from a various individual's hands once connect to Reiki is his or her ability to receive, which is based on their level of consciousness. A person cannot receive more than the level they can reach, which is determined by the level at which they resonate. Higher resonating comes through techniques and self-realization, not tools or Reiki symbols.

The hands of any person feel more healing once that person has been connected to Reiki. I am referring to a connection made possible by a Reiki Shihan (teacher) and not knowledge that has been obtained through books or videos. Knowledge can cure, but healing is a natural process that requires energy in some form.

Hands-on-healing, not the system called Reiki Ryoho, over the centuries has been called many things, such as the "royal touch" in ancient Europe. Unfortunately, at one time it was called by names that ended in selected people being burned at the stake. The mystery of healing being promoted and assisted by human touch is something that has no clear rules or explanations. The mysteries surrounding hands-on-healing are closely related to the mysteries of the heart.

We know a person who has been connected to Reiki easily does hands-on-healing because the vibrations of love and harmony of universal energy balance and surround with harmony. We have also learned energy can neither be created nor destroyed, but changes form. That well from which all forms of energy come creates more mystery. Mystery is one of the things that surrounds the form of energy called Reiki, but it is the embracing of mystery that many wise men and women throughout the centuries have said enriches our lives.

Information was passed to me by the research of one of my Reiki Shihans (teachers), Richard Rivard, that Mikao Usui being a bit shy of cash would rent his dojo (school) to at least two of his students to use one evening a week. One of those students was practicing a hands- on-healing technique prior to Mikao Usui connected him to Reiki, and another held a medical doctorate. That shows that from the time Mikao Usui practiced and taught Reiki Ryoho many people recognizing the strength of the unique form of energy blended it into areas in which they were already skilled. The blending of Reiki into other practices with the intent to enhance the other practice is a common event. Reiki being a form of universal energy automatically shows that nothing can enhance it, but it can easily enhance anything else in life, in a positive way.

Reiki Ryoho differs in varying degrees from other hands-on-healing techniques. Hard training including the study of many textbooks and written tests are things few Reiki teachers find necessary. Reading books written by those that have researched or experienced some area of Reiki helps to expand our view, but a person cannot be connected without the assistance of a qualified Reiki Shihan (teacher). Another of my Reiki Shihans, Rev. Hyakuten Inamoto, also a Japanese Buddhist monk, explained how teaching Reiki is like pointing a finger to the moon. Once the student sees the moon and knows where it is he or she no longer has need of the finger. In the way Reiki developed once it left Japan and linked to the new age movement the finger transformed into the numerous Reiki symbols that various teachers felt were needed to show the overwhelming number of ways the vibrations of love and harmony can bring balance. Some teachers even incorporated materials and rituals used in other healing modalities. The mysterious form of universal energy that needs nothing but a body that has been opened to it and a mind that is disciplined is not always easy for some people to accept. Perhaps we have become much to accepting of things being new and improved.

Another of the things that separates the spiritual practice of Reiki Ryoho from other hands-on-healing practices is that it can be used in creating a better life. Not better as in learning a skill for an income, but better is learning how to allow balance and harmony to flow into all areas of life. Reiki Ryoho is an effective way to raise spirituality and create a positive life. The mind is the master so daily practice is best to keep the mind in balance so that Reiki can flow smoothing out those bumps that are around you. Reiki flowing quietly into all of every day life is what I so embrace about the styles Gendai Reiki-ho and Komyo Reiki, which I practice. I have found wherever I am and whatever I am doing if I connect to the light (Reiki) and allow it to flow into what is happening at that time, everything simply works more smoothly. Summer in the USA means insects, and when connecting I have fewer negative interactions. Reiki cannot be directed, but a person studying Reiki learns how to connect to person, place or event even over time and distance and allow Reiki to flow. When my hands touch anyone or anything the connection is immediately made and Reiki flows if needed.

One of the unique things about Reiki is that it flows only as much as needed. If you rub an area of your skin that will soon show dark purple or swell it will feel better, but if you continue to rub for an unreasonable length of time, you will cause irritation. Reiki will not irritate, when the cells have received all they can hold at that time it stop flowing. If no cells are in need of energy, it does not flow. I believe everyone can always use extra energy because of all the trillions of activities going on in the mind and body.

Reiki Ryoho is also practiced by flowing through the eyes, breath, soles of feet and emanating from the whole self. Because of this if a person's hands are not available to be used Reiki can still flow bringing balance, surrounding with harmony and healing.

Hiroshi Doi another of my Reiki Shihans (teachers) and a member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, the original society created in Japan, said "Usui-Sensei said of Reiki, "It is love, harmony and healing energy. Universal energy which is the essence of all existence is Reiki."

I have always enjoyed the motto of Komyo Reiki Kai, "Go placidly in the midst of praise or blame." Reiki Shihans such as myself must ask money in exchange for our time because most creditors do not accept hands on healing for payment, we began our journey with the understanding the spiritual practice of Reiki Ryoho is not a skill leading to fame or fortune. The mystery that surrounds Reiki Ryoho I like to equate to that which surrounds our central nervous system. My spinal cord and brain were damaged in an accident. Oh the stories I could tell about how awesome I have found the unique energy called Reiki to be.

I have learned no one can give specific explanations for the lack of movement or sudden unexplained movements associate with central nervous system damage. Medical doctors, who I highly respect, know certain symptoms indicate damage in certain areas, but the answers to all those specific whys remain mysteries. Anyone that has not experienced central nervous system damage or studied it can at times become very annoyed because person X's limitations or actions do not fit in the file they hold that explains the workings of nerves. Those people having only read or heard about Reiki can react in the same way to the mysterious form of universal energy. There are many things in this life that as humans we cannot know everything about or master. That is not a problem when you reflect on the origins of Usui Reiki Ryoho; "today/now there is no anger or fretful worry, we give thanks and do our work with diligence, and we are kind to all".

The love and harmony that comes from Usui Reiki Ryoho goes beyond hand-on-healing.