My how I’ve seem to grown so dependent on the Internet… it’s so hard to remember what life was like a mere 10 years ago when the Internet was but a mere babe. My Internet service has been down for 4 days straight (using a friends computer now) and what a life altering experience… so, naturally, my thoughts have wandered to the impact the Internet has had on Reiki… and, naturally, I thought I’d share… the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all.

The Good

There are so many good points about how the Internet has effected Reiki that it’s hard to know where to begin. I guess the greatest benefit is found in the ability to communicate with likeminded people all around the world. Reiki chat rooms, forums, blogs, etc. has made everyone so accessible, that, where once, we were limited to the local (or not so local, as the case may be) Reiki Share or Reiki Circle, we can now instantly hook up with thousands of Reiki Folk with just a click of the mouse. The power inherent in this is truly awesome.

There are some incredible Reiki WebSites in existence with a staggering amount of information. And new exercises, tips and techniques are published to them every day. Where once there was the occasional new book, no those have been replaced (although not completely) by websites that keep us much further up to date than any book could.

Finding Reiki teachers or Reiki training is a piece of cake, thanks to the Internet, and there are so many true Reiki Masters using the Internet on a daily basis that they are never far away. Compare this to the pre-Internet days, and there really is no comparison.

The Bad

Turning now to some of the bad points the Internet has ushered in with it, I think that the worse thing is that with all the information being published to the Internet everyday, a fair amount of it is bad. It is either erroneous, misinterpreted, mistranslated or just downright fabricated and it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. There were a few quite popular books that were total fabrications, but the number of WebPages far outweigh the number of published books that fit this scenario. Thus we need to stay vigilant, stay on our toes and constantly be taking what we are exposed to on the Internet with a grain of salt.

Another bad point is that people take advantage of the anonymity the Internet offers to behave in a way they would surely not behave in their local environs. These people are found all over the Internet, and Reiki chat rooms offer no protection. I guess it is to be expected, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. There are also some really sweet looking people out there with some really sweet looking WebSites… but they are selling pure manure. 

The Ugly

There is not much in the way of ugly but there are a few things that have long been pet peeves of mine, but such is the nature of the Internet. One of these is the number of outright rip-off artists out there trying to sell Reiki courses that are completely worthless. There was one woman on ebay who sold hundreds of “certifications” to courses she had never even been attuned to herself. Chances are very good she just pocketed the money when it came in, sent out her certificates, and never gave it another thought. 

I’m sure there are many other things that could be said on the subject (and I’d love to hear your thoughts on them) but I do believe the good far outweighs the bad and the ugly combined. The Internet has really come a long, long way in the last 10 years that it is almost scary to imagine where it will be 10 years from now. I can’t wait to find out… how about you? 

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