Why I Practice Reiki

One of my core beliefs is this: you don't have to understand everything. You don't have to know why something works in order for it to work. You don't have to trace the mechanism to receive the benefit.

I think about it like this: there's an input, there's an output, and in between there's something happening that you may or may not be able to see. Sometimes the middle part is explainable. Sometimes it isn't. My point is: it doesn't always need to be.

This applies to a lot of things. Why certain people calm you down. Why some places feel like home. Why a particular song touches somewhere deep in your heart. You could try to analyze it. Or you could just notice that it works and let that be enough.

Reiki is where I've practiced this belief most directly.

I'm trained in Reiki and I practice it regularly. When I first started learning about it, I kept trying to answer the obvious question: is this real? Then I noticed that question wasn't quite right. What I actually wanted to know was: does it work? Because if it works, the realness becomes irrelevant. So I did the training to find out for myself.

And for me, it works. I still don't know if energy is literally moving through my hands, and I don't think I ever will. I don't need to know, because the outcome is enough.

You might call this placebo, like many people do, almost as a dismissal. But I think placebo just means the mind did something we can't fully explain. That's not a flaw. That's actually pretty interesting. If Reiki is a ritual that convinces my body to drop into rest and repair, then Reiki is an effective tool. The mechanism matters less than the result.

Reiki works for me. I don't need to defend it or prove it. I just keep noticing what it does.

You might never understand why your partner left. Why your best friend acted that way. Why he was so rude to you, or why she was offended by what you said. Why you didn’t get the job you were perfect for. How that coincidence happened at exactly the right moment (if you even believe in coincidences). You can come up with a million examples from daily life.

You can spend years trying to trace the mechanism, or you can notice what's in front of you and move forward. You can spend years trying to trace the mechanism. Or you can notice what’s in front of you and move forward. And my point is simple: you don’t have to understand

I think we get into trouble when we confuse understanding with closure. When we believe peace only comes after everything makes sense.

Reiki taught me this firsthand. Something can shift without being explained. Something can help without being defended. Something can work without passing every intellectual test I want to put it through.

Not everything needs to be understood to be trusted. Sometimes the right response to mystery isn't analysis. It's attention.