Last week, a colleague of mine in the energy world said, “Are you still teaching Reiki?” The implication was that surely by now I had outgrown Reiki and gone on to bigger and better things.

Many of us have a tendency to look for the next big thing, to keep searching for something more powerful, and to assume that a simpler approach is a less effective approach.

After more than 40 years of seeking, I can say with some confidence that I have found nothing simpler or more powerful than Light.

As a client, I have experienced yoga, chi gung, tai chi, Feldenkreis, Alexander, energy psychology, lots of energy healing methods, scores of meditation techniques, and pretty much every type of counseling invented. Over the last 20 years, I have studied a wide variety of energy methods, and I have been authorized to professionally practice Reiki, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Eden Energy, and shamanism.

During all this time, I have found nothing more powerful than Light.

I have learned a vast array of techniques for balancing energy, for clearing congested energy, for bringing in needed frequencies of energy, for vitalizing energy, for circulating and reorganizing energy…

During all these studies, I have found no tool more powerful than Light.

Whether we are getting down to basics, or reaching the pinnacle of understanding, we are always faced with something brilliant: the No-thing Every-thing, the blinding Source, the continuum of rainbow frequencies….We are always faced with some form of Light.

So yes, I am still teaching Reiki. I plan to teach Reiki for as long as I can — because simpler is often better. When a client asks me for help, I choose from a wide variety of specific methods, but they are all fueled by Light. And often, the best method is simple Reiki touch, especially when someone is very vulnerable.

It’s true that sometimes we can see the bottom of the ocean because the water is shallow. But sometimes we can see the bottom of the ocean because the water is pure and illuminated. Reiki, when taught well and practiced sincerely, is a deep dive into that illuminated water.

Are we brave enough to allow healing from something so simple that it cannot be defined or controlled?

I am experienced enough now to claim some measure of wisdom. I wasn’t born yesterday. And I wasn’t born into an easy life. In all my moments — blissful moments, anguished moments, desperate moments, stubbornly hopeful moments – in all my moments, I have found nothing more powerful than Light.

The simple truth is that my greatest personal empowerment has come from surrender – surrender to a force essential to us and yet so far beyond us. When the Light moves through me, I seem to simultaneously lose and find myself.  

And when the light moves through me to another, that being has access to healing far beyond my own small human reach. I am experienced enough now to claim some measure of wisdom. I understand that my clients heal not through anything I have done, but from what they have allowed themselves to be. It is amazing what can occur when they allow themselves to be Light.