I got really off base with my Reiki practice this last year or two. I got the idea that I should heal Richard’s Alzheimer’s. Like that’s what I could do if I’m a real true Reiki Master. I fell into one of the traps I always warn my students about: I got personally invested in a desired outcome.

Directing energy specifically to produce any certain outcome isn’t Reiki. It’s energy healing. But you have to wonder if we are always and only meant to heal. In order not to interfere in a person’s life path, healing the ailment may not be an ethically defensible goal.

In Reiki we are trained to recognize our personal wishes for the outcome of a Reiki treatment, and then release them before we engage with our client.

The daunting task of curing Richard’s Alzheimer’s was weighing on me. It was also interfering with my ability to channel a strong energy flow. Upon releasing myself from this unfortunate lapse in practice, my energy flow rebounded.

Thanks to May Cotton for seeing the problem and pointing it out to me.