While in Tokyo this week I got into a discussion with a group of Reiki enthusiasts about Seiki Jutsu. They had read the comments I had made concerning Feng Shui and Seiki on these pages and were curious as to its relationship to Reiki. Now, I have studied both Classical Feng Shui and, shall we just say, some more modern approaches and the two are vastly different. Most of what is being taught in the West, I refer to as New Age Feng Shui… and it bears a striking resemblance to that which might be called New Age Reiki, on many levels. Allow me to elaborate…

The New Age movement, in its current incarnation, began roughly in the 1990’s. Earlier incarnations in the 60’s and 70’s seemed to be building up steam until the Harmonic Convergence in 1987 really propelled it to greater heights. While I don’t wish to belittle or denigrate the New Age movement in any of its capacities (I rather enjoy it in its many forms), I do wish to point out where certain boundaries have been crossed which might be construed as coloring outside of the lines in certain circles.

To take the example of Feng Shui, my Classical Feng Shui teacher really takes offense when anyone calls Diamond Feng Shui, or any of the other more contemporary versions, Feng Shui. I rather enjoy Diamond Feng Shui, but to his thinking it is criminal to sell a program like that and call it Feng Shui… its just bad Feng Shui, he always adds with a grin. True Feng Shui is derived purely from the Chinese Classics (originally from Guo Pu’s Burial Book) and for thousands of years the methods and formulas were perfected into what was originally called Kan Yu and later (about 1900) started being referred to as Feng Shui. Decorating your house by adding colors or objects in certain corners, starting in about the 1990’s and has more to do with Interior Decorating than Feng Shui and these additions have no impact at all on the energies of the environment… they just look and feel good (which is from whence their power derives). With the popularity of the Law of Attraction came even more additions to Feng Shui (affirmation cards, paraliminal recordings, etc.) which also have nothing at all to do with Feng Shui.

So what is Feng Shui then and what does this have to do with New Age Reiki? Glad you asked! Feng Shui is all about balance. Balancing the energies of your external environment. Just as Reiki is all about balancing the energies of your internal environment, so to speak, by correcting energetic imbalances on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. Feng Shui works pretty much the same way by balancing the energies of the places you live and work in. For millennia the Ki in our surroundings has been shown to have a direct influence on us, and it was through a study of this Ki that Feng Shui was born.

Okay, back to Reiki, I really didn’t want to dwell on Feng Shui here, but rather on how the same phenomena can be witnessed with Reiki as with Feng Shui, that is, things being added to Reiki to make it easier and more appealing, sexier, as it were, in order to sell more courses and books. Truth be told, Reiki is not as easy as getting a distance attunement and putting your hands on someone to heal them. There is much more to it than that and while it doesn’t take a lifetime to master it, it can’t be done in a day either.

The original Reiki, as practiced by Dr. Usui & the Gang, may not have had all the bells and whistles it does today, and it is difficult to know exactly what was natural evolution and what was forced evolution (so to speak) and I certainly don’t want to step on any toes (well, any more than necessary anyway ) but one does need to bear in mind the impact the new age movement has had on Reiki and related (and non-related) pursuits. This is not to say that the Reiki practiced in Japan is any less vulnerable to the whims and arrows of the admen on Madison Avenue, the Reiki aficionados I was discussing this with this weekend were Japanese and they didn’t know very much about traditional Reiki at all… which only goes to show (exactly what, I don’t know, but I’m sure it shows something).

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!