We live in a world that tells us to stay positive, but for clients navigating genuine difficulty, that advice can feel hollow. Here's what realistic optimism actually looks like, and how Reiki can help clients reach it naturally.

AI has officially started to encroach on the therapy space. In the magazine Gathered (Issue 22), in the article "Could AI be your next therapist?", writer Catherine Renton explores how millions of people are now turning to algorithms for mental health support.

We’ve all heard of the Monday blues, but how serious are they really? As Reiki practitioners, it’s important to understand how the stress of a new week impacts our clients’ physical health and how we can offer more than just a temporary escape.

We often treat sleep as a luxury, but it is a biological necessity. Lack of rest can manifest in many ways, from brain fog and poor concentration to physical illness. However, the internal damage of sleep deprivation goes much deeper than just feeling tired.

We spend so much of our mental energy on things that don't add any value to our lives.

This can include scrolling through a feed of videos that lower our mood, or the constant thoughts of work reports, our brains are often under constant pressure. In his book Building a Second Brain, Tiago Forte makes a point that really links into the work we do with Reiki:

This research article explores the occurrence of synchronicities following Reiki attunements.

To explore this, I conducted an Instagram community poll to look at whether Reiki practitioners noticed an increase in synchronicities after their attunement and the specific types of coincidences they experienced.

Do you ever find that your Reiki clients see colours or images and want you to explain to them what they mean? But ultimately, any meanings are the clients own but it is great for us as practitioners to help them to navigate that and get their thoughts down on paper. 

Does what a client hears or smells during a session truly affect their Reiki experience? The answer may lie in the emerging field of "Dream Hacking."

In traditional Reiki teachings, we often discuss the 21-day clearing as a standard part of the integration process following an attunement. But how universal is this experience, and does the way we receive our attunement change how we process the energy?

In his book Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain, David Eagleman explores the mechanics of "hunches", that familiar experience of having a gut feeling or listening to your intuition. As I read this, I was struck by the clear connection between Eagleman’s research and the way Reiki practitioners often know which part of the body to work on next.

When we step into the space of a Reiki session, we often talk about being a channel for energy. But does that channel come with a voice? I wanted to explore whether practitioners actually receive specific guidance while working and, if so, what that internal experience actually sounds like.

In the traditional Reiki lineage, symbols are often treated as the keys that unlock the flow of energy. But are the symbols actually required? I wanted to investigate whether the flow of Reiki is truly dependent on the use of symbols, or if they act more as training wheels for our own focus.

This research article explores how Reiki practitioners use their breath and the subjective effects it has on the energy flow during a session.

This research article explores the energetic hygiene practices of Reiki practitioners. Specifically, it looks at how often practitioners cleanse their treatment rooms and the preferred methods used to maintain a clear environment for their clients.

Can our Reiki flow can be influenced by music. Does it actually enhance the energy flow, or is it just a nice-to-have during sessions?

I recently discovered that not everyone sees mental images in their mind and that some people see them much more clearly than others. This got me thinking about how much seeing images impacts Reiki practitioners. To explore this, I put up an Instagram poll to find out what other Reiki practitioners experience.

In traditional training, we are often taught that Reiki bypasses the practitioner entirely. The theory is that the client receives Universal Energy, and the practitioner acts only as a neutral channel. But does the data back that up?