The Unity Code - Where Science Meets Energy, Consciousness, and Spirit.

Reiki Under the Microscope: What a Researcher Learned from 14 Practitioners Across 6 Countries

• Medium Nicole • Season 1 • Episode 165

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In this episode of The Unity Code, Nicole sits down with Reiki researcher and archivist Lindsey Harper, a self-described science nerd of energy healing who somehow manages to live in both worlds: academia and the metaphysical.

By day, Lindsey is an associate professor and archivist with degrees in psychology, library science, and behavioral statistics. By night (and in all the liminal spaces in between), she’s the founder of Open Your Eyes Reiki, where her goal is to create Reiki content that genuinely shifts the collective.

Together, Nicole and Lindsey talk about:

  • How a Saturn return, a book on empaths, and a literal deer sign led Lindsey to her first Reiki class
  • Lindsey’s Reiki & Wellbeing Interviews Project at Marshall University, where she interviewed 14 Reiki-certified practitioners across 6 countries
  • How religion, culture, and family systems shaped people’s paths toward or away from Reiki
  • The common patterns she found in their stories: trauma, burnout, spiritual seeking, and the desire to connect with Source beyond rigid structures
  • Why the term “Reiki master” can be deeply problematic in Western contexts, and what language she’s using instead
  • The very real purging and integration that can happen after attunements (physical, emotional, spiritual)
  • Creative ways practitioners weave Reiki into daily life: tea, showers, homes, cars, writing, parenting, and more
  • Why simply sitting alone for 10 minutes in a quiet room is, in itself, an energetic gift most people never give themselves

You’ll also hear the story of how Nicole and Lindsey originally met on Reddit, how a mediumship reading took three years to be fully validated, and why “I don’t know” during a reading doesn’t mean “it’s wrong.”

If you’re curious about Reiki, skeptical but open, or already attuned and wondering how others actually live this work in real time, this conversation will give you both heart and data — a grounded, compassionate look at how energy healing shows up in real people’s lives.

Follow Lindsey on Instagram at @oyereiki to keep up with her Reiki & research world, and to watch where this project goes next (yes, there’s a book brewing and a sabbatical in the works).

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Lindsey Harper is a certified Reiki person working as an associate professor and archivist at a higher ed institution. She’s has degrees in psychology and library science, and a graduate certificate in behavioral statistics.

Instagram: @oyereiki

YouTube: https://youtube.com/@oyereiki

Link to Lindsey's Reiki Research: https://mds.marshall.edu/reikiconversations/

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Nicole Pope is an internationally-trained Evidential Medium and Soul Integration Guide dedicated to helping others reconnect with their higher self, awaken their gifts, and remember who they truly are.

To connect with Nicole, book a reading, or access her social media accounts: http://mediumnicole.com/links

SPEAKER_01:

Hello everyone. Welcome back to the Unity Code. I am joined today by the absolutely fabulous, gorgeous, amazing Lindsay Harper for our Reiki episode today. Thank you so much for being here.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to get to chat with you.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh my God, I'm so excited. I'm just, I'm so excited. Lindsay and I go way back. I'm gonna give that intro in a second, but before I go there, Lindsay Harper is a certified Reiki person working as an associate professor and archivist at a higher ed institution. She's had degrees in psychology and library science and a graduate certificate in behavioral statistics. In her day job, she contributes to preserving stories of individuals and she mentors students on how to archive collections. And in her personal time, she's the founder of Open Your Eyes Reiki, OE, right? I think that's how we say it. Her goal with this platform is always to provide Reiki content to shift collective energy in positive ways. And I specifically asked her, not only because she's freaking red, but I asked her on here because in 2024, I participated in her Reiki and Well-being interviews project at Marshall University, where she was been, she was able to document, listen to, and learn stories from lived experiences for 14 Reiki certified individuals across the globe. So she has a lot of rich experience and holistic perspective, offering all of you amazing insights on how you can balance your professional pursuits with personal passions. There's a lot of peace. Um, so Reiki, so so you are my Reiki guru, Lindsay, with like through and through, which is so funny because you don't offer private sessions, but you are like this scientific nerd about Reiki, like I am. So I'm so, so stoked to have you here.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm so excited to be here. Thank you so much. Uh can't wait to dive into this and share more um with everyone about this.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh my goodness. Okay. So a little background. Lindsay and I met on the fabulous platform called Reddit, where as a practicing medium at the very, very my baby medium stages at the beginning of my journey, she had posted, I think you posted asking for a reading on the medium reading subreddit, which by the way I'm now banned from apparently because I think I've banned from it. But you posted it and I answered it. And that's how we met.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, exactly. Um, and you ended up, you actually read a paternal grandmother who I never had a relationship with. So it was terrible practice for you in the sense that I had to say I don't know to all of your responses. And then I had to go back and verify, and then I got to go back and message you and be like, hey, I chatted with my mother, and she was able to confirm this about um my paternal grandmother. So I was, and you were like using words like honey. She was this woman, like fifth generation Texan woman. I've not been to Texas. So you were like, I don't know why I feel like using the word honey, calling you honey, but um, you gave me some really validating messages that I could later confirm were all true. So it was a very meaningful reading um and allowed me to kind of weave in some intergenerational healing that I needed from that. So it was really um really meaningful to me.

SPEAKER_01:

I had no idea. I don't think I don't know if you we've talked about this.

SPEAKER_00:

That's I think it was just through Reddit DM before you we were both present on social media um sharing our gifts. So but yeah, that was back in 2022 or something. So something like that.

SPEAKER_01:

So three years ago, everybody getting validation from a reading. Three years. Sorry about that. No, I love, but this is what I love this because this is what I talk about in my just because it's a no word, I don't know, doesn't mean it's wrong. And sometimes it can take years for the validation to come through. So here you go, live and on the air, everybody. Um, so thank you for that. But it was it was so um it was so cool because there was this into instant connection between us. I know we've chatted over the years, and we've connected on other social platforms once we uh stuff stepped away from our usernames because it's totally anonymous over there on Reddit. Right. And so I've been watching you on social media and then um and then you did this amazing project, which I'm so excited about. So before we go there, I guess how did you get into Reiki, Lindsay? Have you done it for a long time? What's your path into the Reiki umbrella?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's a great question. Um, I think I was in my Saturn return when some of this stuff was happening, and I didn't actually know what Reiki was before I discovered it. I was reading the book How to Become an Empowered Empath by Wendy DeRosa. And that kind of got me into a lot of um guided meditations, transcendental meditations, and things like that, with working towards like inner child healing, inner womb healing, and things like that. And like stuff is to say, like, long story short, like I go down this like winding road of like discovering different healing modalities. And about six months after starting my meditation journey, I stumbled across there's a local Reiki class in my community. I'm in um Huntington, West Virginia. It is a beautiful community, but there is not a lot of alternative places, like modal healing modality types of places here. There might be a couple now, but there definitely were only maybe one or two. Back in 2021 when I discovered that we were having a class nearby. So I was like, huh, I felt instantly intrigued by this concept of Reiki and I didn't know what it was. So because I was in that spiritual awakening, um, kind of early spiritual awakening phase where you're really seeking that external signs and synchronicities from universe, I was like, universe, give me a deer if I meant to go to this class. It is literally like two miles from where I live. And I went about my day. It was the end of the day, so I didn't think about it. It was dark. It was like a Sunday because I usually go over to um see family on Sundays. And I got home, it was dark, and there was a deer in front of um, like I in front of my house is just like kind of a field. There was a deer laying in the field right in front of our front door in that way. So I took the plunge and I jumped and I did it. And um it was the best thing I ever did. Um, I was really healing for myself. Um, I didn't intend on doing Reiki 2. I never intended on doing Reiki with anyone for anyone. It was supposed to be just a personal private practice. And well, when you say I'm never gonna do something, the universe kind of tends to poke at you to say, well, maybe you should, maybe you should. And then um, and then I did. But I did my Reiki 2 six months later after that in June of 2022. And then I did my Reiki master um certifications just for more education and learning for myself in the summer of 23. And it has been um, it's been a game changer for me, truly.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, that's so that's so great. Um, so you're are you are you a master teacher then?

SPEAKER_00:

I took the classes, but I didn't necessarily like I don't intend again, at least at this juncture, to offer Reiki specific um certification training for anybody or Reiki attunements in that way. Okay, got it.

SPEAKER_01:

And it's so interesting because mine, um, I don't have the deer story is amazing. And I remember you you collect feathers all the time too. And I just ran out to give my chick, you got some feathers. She's got some feathers. Yeah, I've got my I've collected my campus feathers. So I just went out to feed my chickens this morning and there were feathers the whole way. I was like, oh, right, I'm talking to Lindsay this morning. Um so what's so cool is I I think I come from a very similar, maybe just to level set the listeners. I come from a very similar background of Reiki, where I kind of took it. I don't really intend on doing a lot of Reiki sessions on people. It's not really my jam. I like more of the virtual experience, but I but I took it because I I read about it and I wanted it as a pathway into like my psychic um tool set essentially to get these attunements. So, yeah, so very, very similar to you. I'm I went through all of the levels really, really quickly. So I think we did level one, um, like a couple months later, level two, level three, um, and then that's the teacher certification training too, and which is hilarious because I don't ever intend not famous last words on teaching uh Reiki. But I I love that we have that similarity of maybe just like learning and not necessarily applying the practical as much. And I know that you and I both know how to do this, right? And I know that at any given moment we would be amazing at this work, but um but it's so interesting. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know where to go with that. But obviously, there was this love that you had of Reiki, and I'm getting a past life connection. I don't know if you've ever uncovered that at all. A little bit, yeah. Okay. So um, so I guess in your definition, Lindsay, what is Reiki for those listeners that do not understand what we're talking about?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so in its simplest form, Reiki is made up of two words, which is Rey, which is universal, and key, which is energy. So in summation, like Reiki is defined as this universal life force energy that embodies the ability, like essentially with Reiki, we are conduits and think about the universe. Like I it was described in my Reiki One class, like your cell phone charger. You are um like the the cord that goes between the plug and the phone is the Reiki, and you are connecting like you're basically serving as the conduit to reach um to be able to I'm socially awkward. This is why I don't talk and teach. You're doing fantastic to say that it is essentially our connection with universe and with divine energy, so it allows us to serve as the Reiki person, giving the Reiki, sending the Reiki to be able to transform that energy from the ethers to other people.

SPEAKER_01:

So it's and it's and it goes through you, and you're the conduit, and you're the one who who um, yeah, and it doesn't take any of your own life force energy, not at all either.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and it is used to promote relaxation, it is used to improve health, physical health variables, mental health variables, improve your relationships. It basically can serve for whatever purpose that your energetic body needs it for, which is the most beautiful part of Reiki to me.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, that's amazing. Is there anything else you think um listeners need to know to help ground in some of the research that I want to talk about? Like, is there like because the his the history, there's so many different types of Reiki, right? And so which what are you certified in?

SPEAKER_00:

That is a good question. Um, I so when I started my Reiki journey, I also did not know that that was the case. So I kind of got I took a Reiki one, I think it was in holy fire, Reiki two, I took a different modality, and Reiki three, I did psychic Reiki. I didn't know what I was doing, so that is very probably not kosher or not like true Reiki training in like some of the circles that um you might see on social media, or you might have more purists, more about what is your lineage and things like that. But um, Reiki is Reiki, like Reiki is similar to pranic healing, to healing touch, it is all accessing the same thing. So I don't think it really matters which lineage or which type of Reiki that you're accessing. Um, it's energy is energy, and that's what is beautiful about it. Just like religions can connect you to the same source, you don't have to have one true path or one true way, which is really cool. And Reiki is not attached to any religion, so it is truly this universal um way to connect with divine or with source or whatever word resonates with you.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. I didn't know you were uh uh trained in all those different modalities of Reiki.

SPEAKER_00:

Just like Reiki one of this, Reiki two of that, Reiki three of that. So it is it is a a mishmash of symbols and um different teachings and learnings, which is really cool.

SPEAKER_01:

That is really cool. So I am Yesui for master teacher, so I have the lineage, and for those that don't know what it is, essentially um I'm gonna butcher this. So apologies for any of the Reiki purists out there, which is why I don't resonate as much with Reiki, because I can't follow a structure. I just can't because I because we're we are here to make things better, not to follow the traditions of everything that came before us, uh, to grow and evolve. That's our that's our goal, right? Put people and souls. So um, so the lineage essentially is it it started with uh Yuzui Matazaka, I think that's the name, um, in Japan, and he received this download from source essentially of this healing modality called Reiki, and he taught it over in Japan. And then I believe his wife, um, there was a woman that brought it over to the United States, and so every time somebody teaches it to the next person, that's part of the quote unquote lineage. So it starts with Yazui Yuzui Matsaka, and it goes down and down and down and down. So when you get certified in Yazui Reiki, they literally hand you a piece of paper to say who did you get trained through? It's like seven degrees of Kevin Bacon. It's right, exactly. That's exactly what it is. And there's like the can I first just a second, there's a huge ego trip about where you are in the lineage because some people will pay thousands and thousands of dollars to be higher up on the lineage. So you're not like 17 degrees removed from Yuzu. Um, so it's really, really interesting the whole, I don't know, uh, the ego side of the Reiki, but essentially when you go through these trainings, you're not supposed to tell anybody about the symbols. You're not supposed to show anybody at this about the symbols. You're supposed to go through the history and learn the same thing over and over and over again. And I know there's people who are very pure in the lineage and pure in the intention and following the traditions um with this. And there's some people that aren't. Now, what's interesting is I so a master teacher in in Yazui, I've taken holy fire one and two and some other random modalities. I know there's like Karuna Reiki, Angelic. There's so many different shamanic Reiki. There's so many, and they all involve healing. But what's interesting to me, and I don't know if you've noticed this, Lindsay, is the different modality, even though it's all doing the same thing, they feel different.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah. There's a slight, there's a slight difference in how the energy resonates. Absolutely. I would agree with that.

SPEAKER_01:

It's so cool, it's so interesting to me. It all does the same thing, but um Yuzui feels old. It feels like it does feel like ancient Japan healing. You're talking about holy fire, it feels young, it feels like literally like fire, youthful, light goes fast. It's so cool. It's so cool. No, it for sure is. For sure. Oh my gosh, I love this conversation so much. Keking out, keeking out. Okay. So um, is there anything else you want to share about Reiki before we get into your project that you that you did?

SPEAKER_00:

I think we should, I think we should jump right in. I think it'll be it'll it'll lead to a better conversation about about it. I I'm excited.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, okay, cool. So, do you want to tell me about your Reiki and Wellbeing interviews project? And I'll link link everything in the show notes for people to read if they want to read on their own.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, absolutely. So I am at a juncture in my career where I have done a lot of the things I feel like you're supposed to do. So as an archivist, and this will, I promise this will all kind of make sense and I'll get around to it. I've really struggled with doing what I'm supposed to do in air quotes and um collaborating with people and publishing in um the academic journals, like we're supposed to do um discipline-related stuff. I in 2022, again, um, before I even knew, I was offering, I wasn't even offering Reiki to people, but I was in a wellness Wednesdays group for faculty um here on my campus. And we were kind of talking about things like burnout, stress reduction, and like trying to, I guess, have better work-life separation or work-life balance in that way. And it was there where I decided I really wanted to do something specific to Reiki. And when you make your passion your work, it um it can go either way. It is always really exciting, but I knew I wanted to do that. And um, it took me a couple of years to get there to figure out the path that that was going to look like. But because I have a background in psychology, my interest was social psychology. I really love learning about culture and people's stories at the individual level because I is able, it is better. So, see, there's a fight with social psychology and sociology because you're studying groups versus individuals, but a lot of those concepts kind of overlap and are the same. And when I really wanted to like, I'll backtrack a little bit. Um, when I did my Reiki trainings, I did my two and three online asynchronously. So I did not get to build that community that you get when you're doing those in-person or um online virtual trainings, um, when you're at least like face to face with your instructor and other classmates. So I kind of did this selfishly in some ways, but also like intellectually, I wanted to learn more about how other people have lived and learned through their own Reiki practices, but I wanted to build a Reiki community in some ways. So I knew I wanted to talk to some folks. So, fast forward a couple years later, um, I did my first round of interviews in 2024. I um applied for some funding through my university to make it part of my job. Um, small sector, like 2%. I get to do it for again, seven interviews one summer, seven interviews the next. But I really wanted to see how um people's familial experiences, their cultural experiences may have helped or hurt their interest in um holistically based practices because a lot of people, at least that I talked to, grew up in very fundamental um religious environments, whether they were practicing Muslims, they were Hindu, they were some sort of Protestant. I've got a long range of Protestants, different um denominations, Catholic, Roman Catholic, things like that. I wanted to see if um those experiences would have um pushed them away or brought them to something like Reiki, which was really cool. Um again, like as a non-purist and a non-traditionalist, I wanted to see what other people's self-Rakey practices looked like. And because I spoke with, I think it was 14 people across six countries. Um, I got to yeah, 14 people across six countries.

SPEAKER_01:

That was so cool.

SPEAKER_00:

I was able to talk to people who had experience using Reiki from like as little as three months. That was like the person that I talked to who was fresh into their journey, upwards to 21 years of experience with Reiki. So what I was finding is that people who may have been a few years into their journeys were less of the purists, as we've kind of talked about. So you don't have to do the formulaic hand motions that you're taught, but you can just use your intuition and let Reiki flow. And as somebody who never resonated with the purest, like the specific hand motions necessarily, I it was validating for me to see that I don't have to be this purist in in that sense. And I can like my standard Reiki, self-Rakey session um for myself is just hands on heart, eyes closed. Um, and that I think is how I'm able to let Reiki flow for me. So getting to hear 14 other people describe their practice was um something that was really cool, really cool and really validating for me. So I was really excited um to learn more about that and like how it's helped them with their mental health, their physical health, again, their relationships and maybe the transformative experiences they've had, either themselves or with sessions with other people. So I'm really passionate about this project, as you can tell. So it has been um it's been a joy, and I'm hoping I am going to be able to expand this into something more in the future. I'm hoping like a longer written resource kind of summarizing, synthesizing the interviews, because there were like 236 like PDF pages across these 14 interviews, which I thought was um, I couldn't believe that that's where I ended up with that. Um, and I would love to collect more, but I also know that I have to have a stopping point if I want to start writing about these stories. So I think that is where I'm at in that junction of turning this into um, I don't want to say a book, but like a resource guide of sorts.

SPEAKER_01:

So I feel like it is gonna be some sort of a book. I do.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

It is. I know it is. So great. And yeah, I mean, I have the lit, I mean, I'm not surprised 260 pages because you had, I'm looking at the questions because you you sent me the questions when we did this interview. There were 23 questions on here. And I think I imagine I know I'm I'm the New England type that will just very quickly answer directly the the quest, the specific question without expounding on it. And I'm sure some people were very verbose and you know, uh inexpansive in their responses, which I think I mean, I feel like that's a lesson and lesson in learning unto itself. But um I love that you number one, tied this to work because that's the dream. Absolutely. That's the dream. Um, and then number two, the fact that you really got um it you weren't uncomfortable, but you did roll up your sleeves and you were completely open as any per like research person should be to make sure you're getting a really good sample, getting making sure that you're, you know, the the segmentation is fantastic and the diversity of responses is fantastic. Six countries, you know, 14 people varying from three months to 20, 21 years, right? Like that's amazing in terms of the research. And and I love that it wasn't only about the Reiki, it was about the background that led you to Reiki. So so can we start there? Like the because I think you had three major sections, and I'm looking at my list of questions that you asked me way, way long time ago. Yeah. Um, what so you said there was just such diversity in the background of religion, uh obviously location of all of the people that participated in it. Was there anything that you saw that was similar that would drive them into something like Reiki?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you know, I think for most individuals, this had a lot to do with wanting to connect with something that resonated for them. A lot of the folks that I talked to, like their parents, they describe their parents being very traditional within the religions that they practice. And um there are like, I guess, rituals that maybe didn't resonate with them, like waking up first thing, washing, praying, um, different things that um maybe felt too confining or restrictive, I think, um, is what kind of led them to something again with Reiki and people not being traditionalists, at least that I spoke with, they were able to find a practice that resonated for them in the moments that they were going to need it. So I guess the similarities across folks is that they were seeking something and wanting to connect with God in a different way than what they maybe grew up doing, and maybe not resonating with the religion itself, but still wanting to resonate with source and with God. Um, because people can ruin a religion. And Reiki, at least to me, is the connection directly to source, um, which I think is really beautiful. So I think that that tended to be a common theme interwoven throughout um the 14 people that I spoke with.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow, that's amazing. Um, do you and I don't know if this was so I think so I'm like literally looking at the question numbers, number seven. Um so them so what would have prompted them? Is that what would have prompted them to want to start Reiki? So what like what, at least maybe in your personal experience or maybe through these interviews, like why do people decide Reiki?

SPEAKER_00:

I will say usually there are two things. Um, one, there are people are usually working through hard things that have happened to them in their lives, whether that is early child early childhood trauma or current traumas that they were working through. But the thing I think that um that led people to pursue Reiki is that they had maybe stumbled across it as they were working through other modalities. Like some folks were doing yoga, some people were doing meditation that I spoke with, some people randomly encountered it on like a billboard, um, like in California in like the 90s, or maybe they um were going to um like a like a taekwondo class, and they had somebody who was also coming in and doing Reiki like later on that day. So again, it typically in my experience of personal experience and people that I've talked with, they kind of stumble across this thing and feel a draw to it. Um, so I don't know if that is they're relying on their intuition then to say, hey, I should see what this is about. Um, so I guess it's listening to your intuition and your guidance from your guides or whoever um you're following, um, if it's your own self or higher self or whatever.

SPEAKER_01:

So okay, very cool. These are like the questions I I have, and I love and I love that you actually research this and you can read through everybody's responses because all of this is out there on the web. Um how about is there anything else that you would call out either findings that were like unique or different or something that might be value value add to talk about like what were people's experience with Reiki, either receiving it, learning it, giving it, what what were you finding as some of the the more insightful findings through this?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, um, in terms of Reiki itself, a lot of people had described feeling this overwhelming sense of peace or comfort. And um, one of my participants who actually was on the end of having the most experience with Reiki, she said that um, and it was something very profound that I think we don't all think about that isn't even tied to Reiki, but she was like, when I sat in a room for 10 minutes by myself, that piece was something that I wouldn't have given myself otherwise. So, even like taking that act of putting yourself first and putting yourself in a quiet room when you're always overstimulated, um, that is a gift of energy in itself. And that really resonated with me as somebody who has a lot of background noise kind of going all the time. And we don't always like people in this world, like we do not take time to sit down with our thoughts and be still. There's a podcast running, there is the radio's on, like you're in the car, you don't need to remember driving home. So in connecting with Reiki and connecting with yourself, I think are the two like connecting with yourself is the most important aspect of being able to do a self-Rakey session. Um, it's probably the most powerful tool of um the self-Rakey session, truthfully, because we don't we don't do that um in our everyday. And um, yeah, I think that's what I wanted to say with that. I'm just letting it flow. So I'll leave it. That's the whole that's the whole point.

SPEAKER_01:

We're just gonna leave it out. And I think that people need it now more than ever. Is that like it? And can I be honest with you? Like, I escape to the bathroom more times than I can count in the day just because it's the one place my kids can't get to me, right? And so that idea of needing that quiet, silent space, um, it's so uncomfortable to sit with yourself sometimes, right? And so I I think that's such an amazing reflection of how you don't need to solve anything, but you can just just take that time to de-stimulate yourself. And and if you know Reiki, you know, give yourself Reiki at that time to really, excuse me, deeply connect and deeply reset that energy and not just take it as a quiet moment, you know, mom timeout or or person timeout, whoever you are, but um, but really do the healing while you're there. I love that. What a what an amazing insight.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I thought so too. That that story, that person, that lady, um, she was awesome. So again, these interviews are anonymous, and I know you've outed yourself as being a participant. Yeah. I'm trying very hard to respect um respect anonymity in that way so that um people, because people did share a lot of stories about traumas in their lives. So I'm being very careful in how I'm talking about each of the participants when I share with stuff.

SPEAKER_01:

As you should as a researcher, and I out myself all the time, so I don't mind outing myself. You can probably go through the list and find me. Um, there's only 14. Right, right. And I'm you know I'm in the US. Um, no, it's it's uh it's amazing. Um, so uh so wanna do you want to talk a little bit more about like the relationship in daily life? And I know you talked about um about this a little bit and you've talked about it with these timeouts. Is there anything else that you uncover in these interviews that that would help, I don't know, give insight into the the differences or the similarities between how people use or don't use Reiki in their daily lives as someone who is certified or trained in this modality?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, um again, there are lots of different ways that you can do Reiki. It doesn't even have to be a sit down and be quiet and um hands on heart. It can be incorporated into your everyday living. So if you want to Reiki your tea, I've got my matcha smoothie that I drink every morning. I always Reiki my tea as I'm making it. You can Reiki your food, you can Reiki your house, you can Reiki your environment, your car, um your even like your notebook if you're wanting to write. Like there are all kinds of ways that you can incorporate this tool into everyday living. And that is, I think, the heart of why I wanted to pursue this project in the first place, because it isn't like nobody has an hour to sit down every day by themselves and meditate and be peaceful. Like I did in my early spiritual awakening days, which was also during COVID, remote or hybrid work schedules. I'm back in office now. We're not really allowed to have that flexible work schedule in some ways. So being able to incorporate this practice that means a lot to you into the things that you're already doing is like the best way to make a practice stick. So um hearing how people have incorporated it into their already busy routines and habits, like Reikiing the shower head, so that as the shower, like as you're taking a shower, you're literally receiving Reiki energy, is um the way that other people like that I talked with, they were describing how they infuse this into their practice. And I thought that that was the coolest thing because I'm such a literal person sometimes that I don't often think about the ways that you can um do things a bit more free flow. Um, but I do work as a free flow person, even though I'm literal. Um, it was really cool to see that others are um just as flowy about the way that they bring their practice into their everyday. I loved it. So oh, that's so cool.

SPEAKER_01:

And it so as somebody who does Reiki and as somebody who who sat through the and asked the 262 pages of uh interview questions, what are the top things that you're walking away with? And and feel free to repeat if you want or just gloss over it, but what are the top things that you're walking away with from this research that either like was valuable to you, surprised you? Um, I'd love to get your take on it as somebody who knows and does this work.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I um first and foremost, I struggle a lot with using the word Reiki master. And I think that um it was in part, I had that struggle before I kind of started claiming it and before I started these interviews. But I was like, well, I'm probably being a little too um wishy-washy. We can never really master anything, what have you. But as I spoke with these 14 individuals um in again, six countries, a lot of, I think more than half of my participants were women of color, people of color. Um, a coup there were a few of them who had mentioned that the word the use of the word Reiki master is problematic in itself, at least here in the US and in the states. Um, it is a traditional practice. So in Eastern cultures where these originated, it is a word that is viewed with honor and with respect. But in the states, like using the word master, like what are you a master of? You're not a master of anything. You are this person who is sharing this gift with others, but you are not the owner of it. So I think that like it has made me question, like, even and I know language is important and it is, but it also isn't, I don't want to be seen as this person who is making something that it's not, either by saying the word the word Reiki master is something we shouldn't use, but it has made me more reflective of um our language and how I guess we're portraying ourselves, um, especially as somebody who isn't I'm not a person of color. So as somebody who is um somebody who is basically per I'm perpetuating the same, like I've taken this practice and I'm applying it. I'm trying really hard to use Reiki certified person so that I'm not claiming ownership over everything. I'm not a master of anything, nobody is. We are never experts at everything or at one little thing. So that was one thing that I took with me that is kind of not really related to Reiki, but is very inherently related to Reiki.

SPEAKER_01:

But isn't that just mind-blowing? Like I never thought about that.

SPEAKER_00:

I never right and I didn't either, truthfully. Um, and I have given it a lot of thought and consideration after talking with these individuals, especially um this year's round of folks, um in how I'm portraying myself and using language about it. But um, so yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

Can but it's so um that's incredible. And and I think in both of your senses, I think they're both, and and especially the uh the word master, I never thought about it as a negative connotation as you know, a white woman from Massachusetts. It's I and I when we were um when I was going through the interview or just prepping before this, I was like, um, I asked what your pronouns were because I saw you said you put Reiki person, and I was like, and and I'm so glad we we went down that for a second because I think this is such an interesting and important topic. Um and I think maybe this is why we are not the purists in this work, is because of things like that. Because if you are a purist, you're gonna call yourself a Reiki master, and I already did in this episode. And and so re again evolving and becoming the best version of ourselves. And and so, gosh, Lindsay, like maybe you should really become like the new linguistics or like teach teach the Reiki certification of level three or four, right? Instead of instead of that. And um, and I think that's an amazing point. I don't like I don't even know what else to say. I'm gonna sit with that one.

SPEAKER_00:

No, no, that's fair. And I and I will say too, like in more in terms of more practical things that I got out of this, I think that this happens to a lot of us starting our Reiki journeys, but you kind of watch things fall away from your life that aren't meant to be there when you pursue this journey this journey. Um, like a lot of folks said their interpersonal relationships, a lot of them kind of fell to the wayside or they found people being more, I don't want to say combative with them, but kind of questioning, like, oh, but you're not this perfect person. Um, like if you're still making mistakes as an early Reiki person, like being not making mistakes, but still being human. Um, it was interesting to hear people let relationships fall away and maybe let um vices fall away, which then in turn might like if you got drinking buddies, you're not necessarily going to get to see them if you feel like alcohol is not resonating with your energetic system anymore. And you certainly still can have these things. Like, I'm again not a Reiki purist. You can still um drink, smoke, have caffeine, eat meat. Like you don't have to like take all of those things away to become a Reiki person. But a lot of the folks that I talked to did say that some of those things naturally fell away over time, for at least for them. Um, I'm like for me, like caffeine has become something that has like made my energetic system like a little too wiry. So I can only have like one teaspoon of matcha and I can't drink coffee anymore. So it's something like I've noticed like within me, like things that I used to be obsessed with, like coffee, kind of fall away. Um, my relationships, I don't have as many friendships because of how we um I don't have as many friends, like close friendships because of the way that we bonded. So I see them less often, but it is still really beautiful when I get to see them. So a lot of folks did see things fall away for them, even if it's like anger may have fallen, fallen like lowered, or maybe like tendencies towards depression had lowered or stress, they're able to respond to it better. So Reiki doesn't just like take things away from you, but it's giving you something that you may have been seeking um otherwise, like through these vices or through these things.

SPEAKER_01:

So absolutely. I can't say I've personally experienced it, or at least I don't know if I can directly attribute anything to Reiki in particular, because at the time I was taking like mediumship classes and all these other things, but it but they do talk about that. I I I would that it's interesting you saw that in the in the data and in in the evidence um because there is for those of you that aren't unaware, once you get attuned, there's like a 21-day and I can't remember what we call it, integration period that you're supposed to essentially do Reiki on yourself on certain chakras over the course of 21 days um to help you integrate the attunement and they talk about being sick after getting attuned, like purging energy, right?

SPEAKER_00:

I got so sick after Reiki one, and it did not happen after the last two, the other two, but like physically sick for a week, emotionally sick for a week, and spiritually sick for a week. It was literally like I could map it out, like because I journaled that whole process. Um, I like and I wore a mask during my Reiki one, so there was no reason that I got sick. Like there were four of us in the class, and I was I was that person during COVID, um, still kind of a little hypochondriac about it. But the fact that I got so physically sick, like literally the next day, I was I was very sick with like a horse cough and stuff. It was like my body was purging all of the things that I um that I had been holding on to for my for the like my whole life. So it was really cool. That's incredible to see that play out. Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and that's so interesting. And I and I don't want to imply causation, I think it's more probably correlation. Yeah, no, especially with um they find that they've removed things over time because I think that's part of your journey, not to minimize Reiki at all, but no, no, you're right. Causation is gateway. It's right, and the gateway of Reiki is realizing there's something higher out there, there's healing, there's universal energy. And then you start to be like, oh, let me start removing the um the mask of the facade here. And then you start realizing what's in alignment with you and what's not in alignment with you. Because, like, how what do I need to heal? Okay, I went to go see my in-laws and I had to Reiki myself for an hour. Maybe that's a sign something needs to change there.

SPEAKER_00:

No, that's fair, that's totally fair. Yeah, maybe so, maybe not causation, like causation doesn't mean correlation, but it's definitely a catalyst, I think, for folks in working through their own journeys of healing, of spiritual being, of self-discovery of what is useful for them. So it's helpful for them.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, but but it it but it's so true. And I'm um so interesting that you had all these purges too. Oh my god, that's so interesting. Um, and and your earlier point, I don't want to go, I don't want to totally go back there, but I agree that there's no, we're not a master of anything. And so um and so I love that comment as well earlier. Um, anything else that's popping up?

SPEAKER_00:

I don't think so. I um I actually did spend the summer working on um proposals too. I mean, like I'm saying I'm not writing a book, but I am writing a book. I literally, so in higher ed, I'm we can apply for a sabbatical where we get a six-month period of doing just a project and not going to work and doing the other work responsibilities. I will find out next month if I did receive that sabbatical for 2027, which I'm really excited about. It's gone through like three of the five steps of approval. So I'm really hopeful for that. But I did um, so I have been working on writing a lot and I've delved into a lot of this data and summarized and since gotten like emerging themes from each of the chapters, and it's been really cool to see how all of this has played out. But most importantly, I'm really honored because I how I recruited people was just an Instagram reel. So the people that resonated with me reached out to me and um I resonated with each of their stories in some way, in some capacity. So I'm just really honored that I was able and have been able to um work on such a meaningful to me project. um even if nobody else cares about it or reads it, like I know that I have done something that is like a passion for me. And I think that has already made this whole thing worth it. So it has been um it's been like a I don't I don't want to say like the highlight of my life so far, but like career wise, I think I've accomplished a lot. But this has like been the most meaningful thing I've ever done. So I'm really grateful that I have gotten to do it and then I've gotten to talk with you about this project too. Oh so appreciative.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Yeah yeah and I'm so appreciative of being a part of the project. And I love that you just like did an Instagram story. You're like who wants to get interviewed in 14 years old. That's pretty cool.

SPEAKER_00:

I had to get that approved for through like our review board like institutional review board and stuff. Like the questions I got validated by researcher like by two Reiki practitioners who are known like pretty well known on the on the interwebs or whatever. But um I had to go through this whole institutional review board process to make them anonymous to be able to write about them or I wouldn't be able to use them or talk about them in any way. So it was a very thorough process getting started like a 30 page review board process. It was a lot um but it's been again the highlight of my professional life because I got to hear people's stories and journeys and pains and joys um it's been really beautiful.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow I love I'm that's wow I love how the integrity in which you bring to this work your obviously passion and dedication to to Reiki and furthering the education and um the patterns and trends and like helping Reiki grow past its very sometimes sometimes very rigid structure that a lot of the teachers teach. So bravo Lindsay good job following your instinct following your passion following your joy that is truly living in alignment.

SPEAKER_00:

Thanks Nicole Nicole it's been so awesome getting to talk with you I I love I love your energy so you're so sweet you get to reconnect again.

SPEAKER_01:

You're so sweet I do want to take a moment uh very awkwardly for you Lindsay I'm so sorry to ask the collective that's listening to this podcast to send Reiki if you have it or positive thoughts to Lindsay's sabbatical so that she can get approved and hopefully make this dream a reality and turn this into additional research and additional um opportunities. So I'm just gonna ask them to take a moment I can feel the energy okay thank you thank you everybody um if you are interested maybe you are a Reiki practitioner maybe this has convinced you uh to sign up for Reiki if so amazing maybe you are a Reiki practitioner go and follow Lindsay on the socials um what's what's your what's your handle is it mainly Instagram how do people find you mostly mainly Instagram it's oye reiki o y e reiki um that's me that's amazing guys uh it's amazing so give her a follow she does post um short little I don't know how you do it short little clips about like Reiki kind of like the healing stuff you may have seen from me recently but Lindsay rocks it and she packs the this punch of Reiki in this very short video. So go give her a follow and um if she opens more research opportunities I assume that's where you're gonna be going anyway Instagram so everyone give her a follow. Lindsay thank you so much for being here today. You are such an amazing treasure of a soul and I love how you are furthering Reiki metaphysical research um and and making this stuff real and digestible and like palpable for um the everyday person and also providing visibility from a scientific community about the impacts that these metaphysical tools have. So thank you so much. You are such an amazing soul.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for having me. All right take care bye

Contributor

Medium Nicole

Host