Within, this thesis I provide the first empirical academic study of energetic healing, Reiki and dowsing in central Scotland, with the focus of my research being on the teaching of energetic healing in workshops (the Salisbury and Westbank centres being key locations) and related textual material. This thesis is also a step towards addressing the historical imbalance of writing about New Age beliefs and practices from a predominantly androcentric positioning, as I place emphasis on exploring how gendered spiritualities may be actively constructed in this setting. For as Dominic Corrywright has stated "the web of New Age spiritualities is crucially sustained by the individual and collective weavings of women and this is particularly evident in healing and therapies" (2003: 131). I argue that women's predominance in healing circles has a lot to do with personal projects of redefinition and self-transformation. This sort of 'work on the self does not occur under, as radical feminists Daly (1991) and Sjoo (1994) would state, overarching patriarchal paradigms. Rather 'healing of the self’ is located within fluid "fields of force" (Foucault, 1980). Therefore throughout this thesis I build up a decentralised narrative of power and locate women as active healing agents. In order to construct this narrative I draw from research in the fields of Goddess and women's spiritualities, for here we find useful evaluations of how women re-inscribe their bodies as sacred and empowered through, in the former, imminent ties to the Goddess. I relate my research to Meredith McGuire's empirical study of healing in the American context, where she argues that "If the creation, maintenance and transformation of individuals gender identities are indeed among the foremost identity work to be accomplished, then extensive empirical study of the many contemporary instances of gendered spirituality is very worthwhile" (McGuire, 1994: 254). Hence in the first two chapters of this thesis I engage with feminist and ethnographic theory in general. I argue that discourses of power are multivalent operating within academic, religious, bio-medical and holistic healing circles and at the individual level. For debates abound in relation to, for example, the prioritisation of text over experiential practice - the latter being central to New Age healing in Scotland. I introduce my location as a bothsider, an academic researcher and a practising healer as this positioning has raised its own particular set of theoretical and personal questions. And I draw in the aforementioned research in the parallel fields of Goddess and women's spiritualities. Chapter three engages with representations of "the body as energetic" at the micro 'in the field' level and is primarily descriptive. Within these pages I provide a picture of how the energetic body is discursively constructed hence providing some necessary background for later ethnographic material. In chapter four I also build on the previous chapter in relation to healing and curing models of health. I adopt Meredith McGuire's analytical framework of healing types. In this way I can locate my narrative of women's power and consciousness of healing into the debates between male dominated biomedical approaches to health and the apparently more egalitarian holistic (mind, body and spirit) approaches to the same. Chapters five and six focus specifically on the healing practice and discourses of Reiki, this healing modality growing significantly in popularity in Scotland. I will propose that Reiki provides the practitioner with contrasting notions of "the healthy body" to biomedical and mainstream religious significations of the same and enables the development of empowered models of subjectivity "as healer". The technique of dowsing, which is explored in chapter seven, is regarded in healing circles as being a "visible expression" of intuitive practice. Hence learning to dowse appears to provide additional confirmation for women healers of their ability to work as more autonomous agents. For dowsing practice falls within the umbrella of earth mysteries or Gaian traditions, where the earth is seen to be a conscious, living, self-regulating entity and is identified with as the "Goddess imminent". In the final chapter I pull this thesis together as a whole and return to some of the questions asked in my opening material, noting my distinctive contributions to healing research as "a bothsider". Throughout I acknowledge that my location as 'researcher/healer' is just as materially and politically located as are healers in the field. For I, as well as 'the subjects under study', operate within fluid fields of force. Overall, I place emphasis on evaluating distributions of power and the development of new liberating models of subjectivity in healing epistemologies.

Reiki is an ancient, energy healing practice. But how can Reiki be presented in a more relatable, everyday way, so more people try it to improve their wellbeing? That is the question that is behind and fuels this project. The report explores how Reiki can, and has helped people with their physical and mental wellbeing. Through research, workshops and personal experiences it attempts to formulate a positive, more grounded view of Reiki that could reach out to more people, so they consider adding it as a way to improve and enhance their health and wellbeing.

Reiki is a hands-on healing method classified as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) that helps the body relax and heal itself, according to its practitioners. Sessions involve practitioners channeling energy to the client to assist this process. The consensus within the Reiki community is that Mikao Usui discovered the method while he was on Mount Kurama in 1922. There is ample research on the efficacy of Reiki in healthcare, but very few researchers have investigated its characteristics related to religiosity and rituals. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to examine Reiki as a secular sacred phenomenon and how it can be understood as such. This thesis also discusses how rituals in Reiki can be understood using other research on rituals. There is also a comparative analysis of Reiki rituals, focusing on three of them and how they differ between four Reiki Masters where three have studied with the same Reiki Master Teacher. The rituals are gassho, a meditation ritual; kenyoku-ho, a cleansing ritual; and, finally, reiji-ho, a direction ritual. The search for academic sources has been a major obstacle to overcome. Firstly, there is very little research on Reiki as a spiritual phenomenon or Reiki as a ritualistic phenomenon; most etic studies have focused on effects or possible benefits. Sources from within the Reiki community (emic sources) tend to make statements without clear evidence. Furthermore, some etic sources use emic sources to support their statements.

This thesis explores the narratives of individuals in southern Ontario who have adopted the practice of Reiki. Focusing on the narratives of Reiki Masters and practitioners, this thesis examines the relationships between illness, healing, and authenticity within the larger framework of energy work. The overarching goal of this thesis is to demonstrate the way in which Reiki Masters and practitioners draw on their experiences of Reiki to create meaning. As practitioners’ narratives reflect, illness is understood as multivalent in nature, and thereby may be physical, emotional and/or psychological, and spiritual. As these narratives show, illness becomes a framework through which individuals can interpret their experience. Often described as a conduit for the universal energy, the Reiki practitioner and his or her role are central to understanding the relationship between Reiki and healing. I propose that Reiki can be interpreted as a form of religious healing. Following Csordas’ (1983, 2002) “rhetoric of transformation,” I propose that Reiki provides a means through which practitioners become able to re-order experience. Like illness, Reiki Masters and practitioners also understand healing in multiple ways, including physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual. Finally, I explore the increased interest in Reiki in the West and the importance to practitioners of the relationship between Reiki and Japanese culture. Through an analysis of Reiki practitioners’ narratives, I will demonstrate that the nature of their experience and their interpretations of that experience influences their notions of what constitutes “authentic” or “real” Reiki. Ultimately, it is a fluid and flexible construction of the “authentic” which allows practitioners the space in which to interpret for themselves their own experiences with Reiki. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The interest of anthropology of religion often focuses on the view of life and values of practitioners of a religion or spiritual system and the following text is put into the same context. This master thesis deals with the Reiki phenomenon - originally eastern spiritual technique that was, just like other similar philosophical-spiritual systems, spread out in America and Europe in the second half of twentieth century. Reiki has another distinct feature, besides spirituality. It is its affiliation to so called healing systems because of which I do not consider it purely spiritual system, but rather specific spiritual praxis with healing aspect that is historically connected with medical environment. I base my theory not only on anthropology of religion, but I also think in terms of medical anthropology and the theory of embodiment. Through explaining of basic Reiki principles, I am showing that the world of Reiki practitioners is to a certain extent divided. The evolution of the teaching led to many significantly different modifications and to current state, where these modifications coexist and make one single definition of the teaching very difficult. The perspective of embodiment allows me to focus more in detail on the healing praxis itself and its most important aspect - the body, which I see...

International and national research has shown that the use of complementary therapies (often referred to in the scientific literature as either alternative therapies or unconventional therapies) is widespread. However, there is little in the scientific literature about the use of complementary therapies in the treatment regime of people with dementia. Specifically, there have been no published results of investigations into the use of Reiki, a holistic complementary therapy, in the treatment regime of people with dementia. Before proceeding with an in-depth examination into the use of Reiki in the care of people with dementia, a questionnaire containing both closed and open-ended questions was distributed to 162 South Australian High Care Residential Facilities (formerly called Nursing Homes) in 2002. The return rate was 58.0% (n=94) of which 50.0% of the mail out (n=81) was available for analysis. Findings from the questionnaires suggested that a wide range of complementary therapies including aromatherapy, massage, music, behaviour therapy, healing touch, Reiki and Therapeutic Touch (Krieger/Kunz method) were used regularly within South Australian High Care Residential Facilities. Complementary therapies were reportedly used to calm residents, improve behaviour management, enhance the quality of life of residents, promote 1:1 interaction, stimulate the senses, and reduce the need for medication. Due to 15 facilities reporting the use of Reiki, a series of semi-structured interviews with Reiki practitioners caring for people with dementia was conducted in 2004/2005. Interview participants (n=10) included a representative range of people providing care for people with dementia in eight Nursing Homes in Adelaide, South Australia. Data reduction methods included a quasi-statistical counting of key words and repeated re-readings of the transcripts to discover the essences, abstract the meanings and arrange them into themes and sub-themes. The results of the interviews suggested that Reiki is an easy to learn and easy to use holistic complementary therapy which has the potential to enhance the quality of life of the persons with dementia, their family members, and their carers. The interview participants reported improved physical, psychological, mental and emotional well-being as well as enhanced relationships and a reduction in negative behaviours following the use of Reiki. The receipt of the first Jack Loader Scholarship from the Rosemary Foundation for Memory Support Inc. in early 2005 enabled the researcher to transfer to full-time studies from April 2005. Key Words: aged care; alternative therapies; complementary therapies; dementia; early onset dementia; one to one interaction; quality of life; Reiki; therapeutic touch; unconventional therapies.

<p>Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att göra en jämförelse mellan två olika healingmetoder som förekommer inom den så kallade neoshamanismen och i New Age sammanhang. I min undersökning som handlar om shamansk healing och reikihealing i dagens Gästrikland har jag intervjuat två utövare av dessa metoder.</p><p>Mina   frågeställningar är:</p><ul><li>Vad menas med healing för de båda informanterna?</li><li>Vilka kan utöva dessa metoder enligt dem?</li><li>Vilka hjälpmedel använder man sig av och finns det någon form av andekontakt?</li><li>Vilka är i behov av healing enligt dem?</li><li>Varför uppstår sjukdom och kan man bota med hjälp av healing?</li><li>Vilken världsbild och människosyn har man?</li><li>Vilka skillnader och likheter finns det mellan de båda personernas syn på healing?</li></ul>

Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att göra en jämförelse mellan två olika healingmetoder som förekommer inom den så kallade neoshamanismen och i New Age sammanhang. I min undersökning som handlar om shamansk healing och reikihealing i dagens Gästrikland har jag intervjuat två utövare av dessa metoder. Mina   frågeställningar är: Vad menas med healing för de båda informanterna? Vilka kan utöva dessa metoder enligt dem? Vilka hjälpmedel använder man sig av och finns det någon form av andekontakt? Vilka är i behov av healing enligt dem? Varför uppstår sjukdom och kan man bota med hjälp av healing? Vilken världsbild och människosyn har man? Vilka skillnader och likheter finns det mellan de båda personernas syn på healing?

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore the use of virtual distant Reiki as a healing modality to influence the human environmental field patterning. Specific Aims: (1) To determine if it is feasible to recruit and retain participants (through expressions of human choice) to participate in a study comprised of two distant Reiki administrations on a virtual platform. (2) To investigate the preliminary influence of a distant Reiki intervention on pattern of the whole as manifested by participant response in stress and anxiety. (3) To explore the participant’s reflections on their virtual distant Reiki experience within the human environmental field pattern of their home environment as a healing space. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework is grounded in Martha Rogers’ Science of Unitary Human Beings. Design: This study incorporates a feasibility, mixed method design. Data was collected through pre and post intervention individualized interviews and two tools (State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R)). Results: Described changed in pattern manifestation supported the need for home-based interventions during covid 19 pandemic. Quantitative response indicated a statistically significant reduction in perceived stress and anxiety (p< 0.001). Conclusion: The preliminary study findings support the feasibility of a distant Reiki and suggest that nurses, who are Reiki practitioners, may be influential in interacting with the human environmental field to promote change and foster healing.

Orientador: Robison José Quitério / Resumo: Introdução: O Diabetes Mellitus do tipo 1 (DM1) é uma das principais disfunções metabólicas, que atinge crianças e adolescentes. O Reiki atua reequilibrando os campos de energia e criando condições necessárias para a cura natural do corpo e dos sistemas fisiológicos. Objetivo: Investigar o efeito do Reiki sobre a modulação autonômica da frequência cardíaca de pacientes diabéticos. Métodos: A amostra foi constituída de 15 pacientes com DM1, de ambos os sexos, idade entre 12 a 18 anos. O registro da frequência cardíaca (FC) e dos intervalos RR foi realizado continuamente na posição decúbito dorsal durante a aplicação da terapia Reiki nos pontos básico, sacral, plexo solar, cardíaco, laríngeo, frontal, coronário. Resultados: Os resultados obtidos foram que os índices da variabilidade da frequência cardíaca RMSSD, HF apresentaram diferenças ao comparar os momentos pré e pós intervenção. Conclusão: A aplicação de Reiki nos pontos aumenta a modulação autonômica da frequência cardíaca em pacientes diabéticos do tipo 1. / Abstract: Introduction: Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM1) is one of the major metabolic dysfunctions that affects children and adolescents. Reiki acts by rebalancing the energy fields and creating conditions necessary for the natural healing of the body and physiological systems. Objective: To investigate the effect of Reiki on the autonomic modulation of the heart rate of diabetic patients. Methods: The sample consisted of 15 patients with DM1 of both sexes, aged between 12 and 18 years. Heart rate (HR) and RR intervals were recorded continuously in the dorsal decubitus position during the application of Reiki therapy in the basal, sacral, solar plexus, cardiac, laryngeal, frontal and coronary points. Results: The results obtained were that the indexes of the heart rate variability RMSSD, HF presented differences when comparing the moments before and after intervention. Conclusion: The application of Reiki in points increases the autonomic modulation of heart rate in type 1 diabetic patients. / Mestre