Reiki Association for Children and Youth, Portugal
We knew that Reiki is not a sect. But now the Austrian Association together with the Austrian Economic Chambers has won a legal victory, which also confirms this in court.
European Reiki Group
On September 1st the European Reiki Group ERG met for the first time in person with the aim to serve national endeavours and to share information across countries’ borders. The purpose of this first meeting was to get to know each other, to determine if and what common interests were pursued and, of course, to found the group.
Spontaneous “Bravo” in Calvinist Geneva!
During the introductory session, the president of the Austrian association, ÖRBT, mentioned that there is a professional guild of “Human-Energetiker” (energy healers) with a long tradition and thousands of members who managed to register the group with the Chamber of Commerce in Austria. This is significant for the recognition efforts of the individual (healing) methods and it is a god opportunity for Reiki to join this group and to profit from its preparatory work.
The only problem was that years ago there was a ministerial notification in which Reiki was classified as a “sect” in Austria. With the above goal in mind, the ÖRBT together with the Austrian Economic Chambers entered into a lengthy process to address this issue with the use of lawyers.
At our meeting the Austrian colleagues announced their victory. Spontaneous “Bravo” calls and enthusiastic clapping were heard in Calvinist Geneva. The French colleague in particular was very interested to learn how the Austrians managed and what the legal argumentation was, because there is a similar challenge in her country.
…reach out to the Reiki world, regardless of our origin…
Touched by the children’s faces
At the meeting in Geneva, there were other admiring wow-experiences during the introduction round of the associations. A very touching one for me was when the Portuguese presented their program with children, parents and teachers in schools. When the pictures of the children and their devotion to Reiki appeared on the screen, one or the other eye in the room got teary. It was very impressive how much work has already been done in Portugal. We in Switzerland can draw a lot of inspiration form this exemplary work.
…feel the passion for Reiki and to be together in what unites us…
Amazed at the goal
The most amazing thing for me was that the intention and goal for this first meeting was not to exchange valuable information, but to form ERG, for example to write a charta (charter), a declaration of principle. To be honest, I had expected quite a lot of discussion, because the national frameworsk are very different. But no, it went like clockwork. We were all in a flow and at the end the Charta was as good as finished.
Beyond that I had certainly not expected concrete developments such as the bomb from Austria – which for me almost had the explosive power of the German Federal Constitutional Court decision of 2004 .
During the meeting, the president of ProReiki, the German Association, collected the suggestions of the countries on colourful cards. At the end she presented the individual projects. Grouped and explained, the cards now hung on the whiteboard like splashes of paint. Fascinated I watched her say after a few minutes: “Now come forward and write your names under the projects you want to support”. 15 people present – presidents of national associations, doctors and scientists, representatives of global projects, people who pioneered the Reiki world – all stood up and wrote their names on the board. Almost all of them.
Of course, this is just an initial goal, actually just the beginning. But one from which steps towards rapprochement and mutual understanding have already been taken. That gives confidence. If you want to join in or observe the future, ERG’s website is called reiki.group.
My role
The inclined reader already suspects it. I hadn’t put my name under one of the colorful cards. I sat there, watching and moved (after all, I was one of the initiators of ERG and witnessed that we got something rolling) and I wondered what my role was. Of course, there was enough work to be done in the aftermath of such a meeting, I didn’t have to worry about that. My question was a fundamental one.
As I watch the bustling activity on the board, it became clear to me that I do not represent any association. Although I still have a seat on the Council of ProReiki, I have actually withdrawn from associations in recent years. Not only that, I have a critical attitude towards formal recognition efforts. It is not a contradiction for me, because I am convinced that both are possible: to support the efforts of professionalisation and at the same time to reject exaggerated regulations in the creation of a standardised professional profile. But association work, that I have done enough in the last 25 years, it is no longer what I aspire to.
My contribution to ERG, and my most important reason for doing so, is to support its reconciling effect. When I think about how much injustice Reiki people have suffered under the accusation of sectarianism, then the Austrian success is true soul balm. And there were several more such examples at the meeting, but let me give others the opportunity to speak:
Reconciliation
The Dutch representative of the Reiki Alliance summed it up in her report. It is important to know that the Alliance is an association exclusively for its specific Reiki style. It is the oldest and the most important in the world. The Dutchwoman was an official envoy at the ERG meeting. This is like building a bridge from her world to ERG’s style beyond Reiki styles and its inclusive philosophy. This has a strong reconciliation character. Here are Helma Rader’s words:
“What really touches me was the coherence of this group. It nourished my longing for reaching out to the Reiki world regardless school or lineage; to feel the passion and love for Reiki and to be together in what binds us instead of discussing or judge the differences. To empower Reiki in today’s world suffering from a lack of oneness.
For me this is an important step in reconciliation; to find each other in what we have in common: Reiki.“
The attendees
Representatives of the associations of the following countries: Germany, France, Holland, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom (and Spain online).
Representatives of the Reiki Alliance, the international projects “2022, 100 year celebration of Reiki”, “reiki-conciliation”, “Reiki for children and young people in Portugal” (and “Reiki Home” online).
The meeting was under the patronage of SwissReiki. It took place in the rooms of Francis Vendrell’s Reiki Centre.
The original of this article is written in German. This is a translation supported by Deepl.