Originally this post was going to be entitled “Reiki Rape, Gimme a Break!” but I didn’t want that to be taken the wrong way. In all actually this post is proving rather difficult to write as I find the subject matter extremely distasteful, but the news is the news and to neglect commenting on something as serious as this, in that it has given Reiki a black eye in certain circles, would just not be responsible.

The Story

The news story in question involves a Salt Lake City Massage Parlor called “The Reiki Specialist”. Here’s the complete story:

Two women say they were raped during job interviews at a Salt Lake massage parlor. Tonight, police are looking for more victims, and looking at the business as a possible front for prostitution.

David Anthony “Jay” Burgess, 27, is charged with two counts of rape and was wanted on a warrant dealing with prostitution. Police say Burgess found his victims by posting online job ads.

Police say the massage parlor Burgess managed specializes in Reiki massage — a Japanese technique that involves healing through touch.

The business’ owner says this is all a big misunderstanding.

“I have pretty girls who do Reiki,” owner Trevon Jackson said.

You won’t get your traditional massage experience at The Reiki Specialist. The therapists, all women who work in bikinis, provide a unique “sensual touch,” according to the business’ Web site.

Profiles of each therapist detail physical descriptions and invite men down for a visit. According to Jackson, it’s just a way to bring in customers.

“I am fully legit. I abide by all the rules. As you can see, it’s clean. It’s not messy. There’s nothing shady going on here,” Jackson said.

But the business is now being investigated for exploitation of prostitution after Burgess was arrested.

Police say Burgess managed The Reiki Specialist. He allegedly used help-wanted ads on craigslist.net and MySpace to get the women to come in for job interviews.

“You think about going to a job interview, you’re trying to put your best face forward and you’re very accommodating. And then you throw into the mix this massage environment,” said Lara Jones, spokeswoman for the Salt Lake City Police Department.

Burgess, who was also wanted on a felony warrant for exploitation of prostitution, has a prior history. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to sexual battery.

“He was mixed up in something. But to my understanding, it was taken care of. He was coming into work every day,” Jackson said.

Jackson says the police are mixed up, that he and Burgess were operating separate businesses out of the same office.

But police say they’re looking at anything and everything that goes on inside The Reiki Specialist’s walls.

“He’s been arrested on a felony warrant of exploitation of prostitution. That means a bit more than massage was going on,” Jones said.

And here is the video that was on TV’s all across America (in case you missed it)…

[flv]https://totalreikimastery.net/wp-includes/images/2008/10/reiki-rape.flv[/flv]

And now for my two cents…

First, I wouldn’t be commenting on this at all if the name of the business involved wasn’t “The Reiki Specialist”. What was happening wouldn’t really be connected to Reiki at all if it weren’t for that. Rape, of course, is serious business, and having it connected to Reiki in any way, shape or form is bad news indeed. Jennifer Aniston recently gave Reiki a boost, as discussed here, and now this pulls it down into the gutter… shameful!!!

Characterizing Reiki as a Japanese technique that involves healing through touch and labeling it as Reiki Massage in the first place is quite misleading. Reiki can be used in massage (but so can background music) but Reiki is not massage. Also Reiki can involve touch, but that is optional as well, and using Reiki inappropriately isn’t really Reiki at all.

This story really needs to be separated into two parts, what the owner was doing and what the girls were doing. If, as the police assert, the owner was using job interviews to pull women in, then he should get whatever the courts have to dish out for him. Rape is rape and unpardonable no matter what the context. There is no indication that this man was involved with Reiki at all other than owning a business with the word Reiki in it. But I suppose he could’ve easily received his training on eBay if he wanted to. Again, there is no connection to Reiki, other than the name of the business the man owned.

The actions of the girls who are being labeled as suspected prostitutes is an entirely different story indeed. Laws concerning prostitution are fuzzy at best, and, while I don’t really know too much about it, I believe it is legal in Nevada, which is just one state over (I’m not really interested enough to Google it). In Utah, however, prostitution is illegal, but to connect it in any way to Reiki is really stretching it. Just as I said above, music can be used in massage in exactly the same was as Reiki can, but we don’t see an indictment of the entire music industry if music is used by prostitutes.

As I said, I really find this whole subject distasteful and I really hope I don’t offend anyone with my posting about it, but anything concerning Reiki is of interest here, even if it does involve some undesirable elements. It is the media that have unjustly characterized Reiki here, but the irresponsibility of the media of late is a topic for another day…

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