Excerpt from : Reiki False Beliefs Exposed For All Misinformation Kept Secret by a Few Revealed by Steve Murray
Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, defines "myth" as a story or belief, usually fanciful and imaginative that explains a natural phenomenon, social practice, or institution. A myth can also be used to designate a belief commonly held to be true, but utterly without factual basis. The same dictionary defines "belief" as something believed, a statement or body of statements held by the advocates of any class of views. So with Webster's definitions in mind, I believe what starts out as a Reiki Myth metamorphoses into a Reiki false belief.
Over the years, Reiki has accumulated a number of widespread false beliefs concerning what the Reiki Healer cannot or should not do when using Reiki in various situations. There are also many false beliefs that put limitations and restrictions on Reiki itself and abundant false beliefs pertaining to its history.
The origins of most Reiki false beliefs are unknown, but like an urban legend, once one is started, it seems to take on a life of its own. I suspect that some false beliefs originated from a Reiki Healer's good intentions to warn others of a bad experience that happened as a coincidence when they were using Reiki at a particular time. They mistakenly linked the use of Reiki to their own personal circumstances and karma when it had nothing to do with Reiki.
I am sure some false beliefs were constructed by a Reiki Master's self-serving motive. For example, one false belief is that Reiki Long Distance Attunements do not work, so one needs an Attunement and/or needs to take a class (given, of course, by the Reiki Healer who is perpetuating that false belief). Some false beliefs are attributable to simple ignorance, without thought or common sense as to what information is being spread.
I do know most of the false beliefs about Reiki history have been linked directly to Hawayo Takata, who is credited with bringing Reiki from Japan to the West in 1938. I don't know why she spread the false beliefs (nobody really does, and if they claim they do, it's just hearsay). I can only speculate that she spread the myths that eventually became false beliefs to make Reiki more widely accepted in America, and by doing so, she gave Reiki a larger-than-life history.
This is "old news" today in view of the fact that many new Reiki books have done a great job exposing these false beliefs. Unfortunately, however, even with all the information out there, select questions regarding a few false beliefs about Reiki history keep surfacing from new and experienced Reiki Healers. By exposing these false beliefs in this book, I hope to put an end to them once and for all.
We should not be concerned about how these false beliefs started. The challenge is in stopping them from being passed on in Reiki classes, through word of mouth, on the Internet and in books. New Reiki Healers (and even some experienced ones) take these false beliefs at face value and never question them, which could cause harm to themselves and others by not receiving or giving Reiki in certain situations. The bottom line is that the proliferation of these false beliefs hurts the growth and spread of Reiki and confuses Reiki Healers.
