Reiki Question

[Nerts]

Hey there all. Sorry for the stupid question but... what the heck is Reiki? I've seen the name a round for a while now and have not really had a good explanation of really what it is.
The first place I saw it was on the 'Oh My Gods!' (check out this comic. Pure genius!) strip and I know that there's got to be more to it than that.
Keep in mind that I would prefer SIMPLE answers as I know how people can be on here about being long winded and circular with their descriptions.
Thanks in advance for the help.

E.

PS. I know this is already been asked but I did a search and didn't want to look through 11 or so pages to try and find an answer that may or may not be there.
Once again, thanks!

[KEishin]

Rather than repeat myself, which I don't do, try this (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=118473&highlight=reiki)or this (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=114170&highlight=reiki)or this (http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=103311&highlight=reiki)link.

[Tanemon]

"Rei" is translated from Japanese as "spirit" or "universal lifeforce" and "ki" is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word chi (pronounced by the Chinese as shee or chee), meaning "energy". So Rei-Ki is spirit energy. It was rediscovered and made available as a spiritual path and a healing method by Mikao Usui, who lived in Japan and was teaching about 80 years ago. A student of one of his key disciples brought it to Hawaii, and later (1970s) to the U.S. and Canada. It has branched into many slightly different modalities in recent decades.

For me, when I was attuned to Reiki it immediately brought some phases of my inner growth to a kind of conclusion and restarted me on a certain new level... from which more growth is appropriate and possible. I had been working on some personal problems using psychotherapy and communication techniques, and also using meditation, a dream journal, and good diet, etc. A lot of stuff was both resolved and cleared out of my life at the time of my first Reiki attunement.

I've been using Reiki and some other energy attunements and methods to explore healing and to grow as a healer.

I regard Reiki as very valuable and useful... and as sort of the "foothills of healing". I believe that a good deal of the "miracles" we sometimes hear about in spiritual and energetic healing are factual - they are the "mountains". I mean things like Brazillian and Philippine psychic surgery, the miracles of Lourdes, Native-American healing, Far-Eastern virtuoso healing. Reiki, in my opinion, gets you started in this world.

:sunny: Tanemon