I have always felt intuitively that one measure of the authenticity of a spiritual experience is its simplicity. Spontaneous Beauty wrote several years ago that "Spirituality is not complex. What could be simpler than Oneness? It is the elaborate visions constructed by Mind to distract Spirit that are complex."
Religions are good examples of this. Nearly every religion began when a simple person of faith experienced Oneness with God (or Spirit). That person sought to share the great gift with others, who became disciples. Eventually the message attracted so many followers that institutions arose, and those institutions promulgated dogmas that then had to be defended against heresy. As the institutions drifted away from their simple origins, egos stepped in to demand the elaboration of doctrines and rituals that were designed to concentrate and maintain power in those holding positions of control. Sadly, a religion is defined at least as much by the beliefs and practices that it rejects, as by those it accepts.
I am attracted to Reiki by its simplicity. Administering Reiki to a subject requires only that the practitioner accept their connection to the Source of all energies, and direct the flow of healing energy to the subject. No rituals, incense, crystals, or special music are required, although most practitioners do use one or more of those to facilitate the exercise of healing intention. There is no need to identify different grades or flavors of healing energy; Reiki is simply Reiki. Reiki does not come in colors or intensities. Nor does the practitioner need to direct the energy to the part of the subject's body that requires healing. Reiki will seek out and remedy any imperfections that have erroneously manifested in the body. There are no Reiki incantations or prayers, other than the simple invocation of Spirit to share its healing power. A Reiki practitioner does not even need to touch the body of the subject to infuse the healing energies. The sole element of Reiki that can be regarded as ritualized is the use of Reiki symbols, but I have never regarded the symbols as necessary or as anything more than helpful guides to express the healer's intention.
There are other schools of energy healing that do classify energies according to color, intensity, frequency, or the like. Many make extensive use of crystals, sage, incense, incantations, and other trappings. I believe that whatever assists the healer in focusing and directing healing energy is an appropriate part of the energy treatment. What practitioners need to be wary of, however, is assigning special powers to the trappings themselves. These can never be regarded as more than aids to the only essential elements of healing, which are the healer's sense of oneness with the Divine, and their intention to share that divinity with the subject. No crystal, no incantation, no incense, no color has power in and of itself. The only power in the Universe is Spirit, and Spirit does not allow its power to be limited in such a fashion as to be available only through this or that material device.
Consider the authentic healers of the past. Did Jesus pronounce incantations over those he healed?
I don't discourage the use of symbols, chants, crystals, or other aids if they help healers to visualize their Divine connection or to pass that connection along to their subjects. However, to the extent the symbols, chants, and crystals themselves are ascribed special powers, the healer is putting separation between him or herself and Spirit. That separation cannot make the healing process more effective; by definition, it can only interfere with the healing action of Spirit. This is why I choose to use such material aids only sparingly, and only in full awareness, and furtherance, of the central role of a direct connection - a Oneness - among Spirit, the subject, and myself.
