Reiki was created by Japanese Buddhist Mikao Usui in the year 1922. The technique involves the use of the palm and hands to promote healing and relaxation. A practitioner is said to have the ability to transfer ki (healing energy) to any area of the body while manipulating the life energies of the recipient, thereby restoring wellness.

There are two primary forms of Reiki, traditional Japanese Reiki and Western Reiki. Practitioners are trained and distinguished based on their special abilities. A First Degree practitioner is able to heal recipients by direct contact, a Second Degree practitioner is able to heal patients distantly through the use of symbols and a Master Level practitioner has the ability to teach students of the discipline.

The efficacy of Reiki is often debated among practitioners and some members of the scientific community. Some recipients report a sense of wellness after therapy, while others report no difference. However, practitioners are quick to point out that the therapy is most effective when the patient is more receptive. In general, the therapeutic effect is still considered worthwhile because of its ability to induce relaxation and stress relief. Additionally, scientific investigations into the human magnetic field have also helped to shed light on the possible connection to the energy generated by living organisms and Reiki's ability to promote a positive change in each recipient.

History of Reiki
In 1922, Mikao Usui received a mystical revelation during a Buddhist training course. This spiritual awakening, enabled Usui to attune himself and others to the "mysterious atmosphere", an ability said to be derived from his crown Chakra. In April of the same year he founded the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai in Tokyo, which was a society dedicated to treating patients with the new therapy. In his lifetime, he taught more than 2000 practitioners the spiritual discipline. Unfortunately, Usui died after suffering a major stroke on March 9, 1926.

Following his death, an advanced student, Ushida, assumed Usui's duties. Several lines of successors have since been chosen to represent the Japanese branch of Reiki practitioners. Different versions of Reiki began to form prior to and his death. Chukiro Hayashi was the first to pioneer a simpler form of the therapy that focused on physical healing using a succinct set of techniques.

Hayashi trained several practitioners during his years of practice. One in particular, emerged from his apprenticeship, who would introduce the West to this little understood form. Takata became a master on the 21st of February 1938. She then left Japan and founded a number of Reiki clinics in Hawaii, with Hilo being home to one of the major centers that offered training and healing sessions. Later on in her life she traveled to the United States where she both practiced and taught the therapeutic form. In the course of her journey she inducted 22 Masters. She was the first Reiki instructor to charge a set fee for training sessions which could cost as much as $10,000.

Forms of Reiki
There are two forms of Reiki: Traditional Japanese Reiki and Western Reiki. Traditional Japanese Reiki is considered the truest form of the practice and is kept in secret by many of its practitioners. The Western form of Reiki is the offshoot of Hayashi's simplified version and was disseminated by Takata to Hawaii and then the United States. Takata, added further modifications to the discipline and made it more accessible to Western understanding. Unlike the Traditional Japanese technique which was far more complex and intuitive, Western Reiki has a set number of hand patterns and movements that are used to initiate physical healing.

Japanese Reiki
There are at least 3 known Reiki forms still being used in Japan. Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, which is considerably more secretive and less understood by most; Reido Reiki Gakkai which is similar to Usui Reiki but with minor differences in relation to the meanings of each symbol and Komyo Reiki Kai which originated with Hayashi.

Western Reiki
Western Reiki can be further categorized into three groups: Usui Reiki Shiki Ryoho, Tibetan Reiki and Genda Reiki Ho. Usui Reiki is the original Western system created by Takata. Practitioners of this form have stayed true to much of Takata's teachings. There are three levels of Reiki Practitioners within this branch of the discipline, First Degree, Second Degree and Master/Teacher Degree. These incorporate the use of the four symbols as interpreted by Hayashi.

Tibetan Reiki was first introduced by Arthur Robertson and spread by Daniel Stein and William Lee. The system borrows techniques from both Takata and Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. It also uses additional elements including the Kunadalini fire symbols, the Hui Yen position, microcosmic orbit and the Violet Breath. Gendai Reiki Ho combines elements of Japanese and Western Reiki and was first introduced by Hiroshi Doi.

The Human Energy Field and SQUID
The Superconducting Quantum Interference Device more commonly known as SQUID, is a highly sensitive machine which is able to detect very tiny energy fields. In 1970, David Cohen was able to detect a magnetic field around the heart. The incredible sensitivity of the instrument also made it possible to detect brain activity via the magnetic field produced around the cranium. This led to the discovery that all organisms transmit a small magnetic pulsation or biomagnetic field.

A theory advanced by Harold Saxon Burr, a researcher at Yale University in the 1920's, suggested that diseases could be detected in the human energy field before symptoms became apparent. He also believed that healing could occur by altering any negative changes that were detected. Current research is being conducted to verify this hypothesis, which would give some credence to the practice of energy healing forms such as Reiki. The discovery of the human energy field has been important to Reiki practitioners who vouch for its relevance in understanding the alternative therapy.

Reiki has continued to maintain its popularity over the years. Recipients often approach practitioners with a wide range of ailments ranging from mild illnesses to more severe diseases including cancers. While documented reports of its effects are not well represented, many patients come away feeling a deep sense of satisfaction after undergoing treatment. Like most other forms of energy healing, the practitioners are quick to warn patients that it requires an open mind and a desire to be healed for its full effects to be realized.

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