Do We Pick Up Karma When We Heal Others?
What sort of karmic baggage are you picking up?
Somehow, I never heard this question until a couple of years ago, a popular Indian ascetic published a video where he announced that healing others through Reiki was dangerous. When I first heard of this video, I was irritated, but when I saw it I realised that most of what was said was true. It was only the partial truth, which was what was misleading, but it did raise an important question.
Karma is Overrated
Let’s understand karma first, before we investigate whether Reiki brings us additional bad karma. Karma is intention. Imagine, for example, if someone was to slap you in front of a dozen people. Wouldn’t you want to retaliate? Whether you do or not doesn’t matter, just that desire to retaliate will stick on to your energy, creating circumstances in the future where you finally get even. And that of course, might create a desire in the other, to retaliate, and so the cycle goes on.
On the other hand, if you were in a bus, and this person lost balance and accidentally slapped you as he fell – would there be a desire to hit back? Quite unlikely. So the same slap creates karma in one situation, and doesn’t, in another. This is a simplified way of looking at it of course, there’s much more to it, but this understanding is enough in this context. You don’t gather karma if the intent isn’t there.
Understanding Reiki Healing
Now, most people, including many Reiki teachers, don’t understand how Reiki works. When you heal through Reiki, if you are practicing the pure form of it, Reiki does the healing. All the healer does, is bring the client in touch with a greater amount of energy, so that the body-mind can do what needs to be done. The healer really doesn’t ‘do’ anything. Unfortunately, most people don’t just practice Reiki.
Where We Go Wrong
Strong desire for a particular result
One of the most important aspects in Reiki healing is detachment. When we get attached to the results, we subconsciously invest energy into the situation, thereby creating karmic links. This obviously works whether or not you are practicing Reiki. Yes, chances are, if you are a Reiki healer, you will have more people turning to you for help, and if you are sympathetic, you will end up creating more karmic links than you would have if you weren’t a ‘healer’. But it isn’t Reiki that creates karmic links, it is sympathy and involvement with the results of the healing. Of course, trying to ‘fix’ other people, whether with or without their consent, creates even more serious problems.
Manipulating the energy of the person
Also, authentic Reiki doesn’t place much control in your hands. Indeed, when it is the divine will manifesting, why would the personality interfere anyway? But the ego wants to participate, it wants credit, and wants to do something. In a bid to hasten healing, or force desired results, many healers eventually turn to modalities that do offer them some degree of control. Psychic surgery, crystals, and working with angels are just a few of such methods; there are many more. These methods of healing directly interfere with and alter energetic patterns. They are perfect when they are used as a result of intuitive guidance. But more often than not, they are used for ‘better results’, which is really another way of telling the universe that its plan isn’t good enough. Enter karma.
The Bottom line…
You’re gathering bad karma all the time, anyway
If you really are worried about gathering bad karma, look at all the bad thoughts you are thinking. Even the good thoughts, for that matter, or the desire to help. Anything you feel with intensity will create karma. For example, if you wish repeatedly that a particular criminal should be killed, you are creating karmic links with this person. When you get overly attached to a celebrity, same thing. Or that nasty neighbour, your boss, or your best friend. When you interfere in another person’s life, you create karma.
Let go, dance with life!
I remember we used to sing hymns in our school, that said ‘let me be an instrument of your peace’. An instrument gathers no karma. When we work with Reiki in complete surrender to the system, gathering karma is impossible. That is why we begin with the attitude of gratitude – it is to remind ourselves, that no matter what, life is worth being grateful for. And if that attitude isn’t a healing already, what is?
Author of ‘Healing Through Reiki’, Ashwita learned Reiki in 1997, and started teaching it in 2006. She now incorporates other forms of energy healing, as well as hypnotherapy and past life therapy in her work. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, crafts, reading and painting.
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Very deep and Insightful…thanks for writing this 🙂
Superb article Ashwita. Thanks for writing this.
Incredible
Thanks n god bless
Very nice information, Thanks!
Hi Ashwita i got level 2 attenuated by you. 2 year ago one of my roommate met with a severe accident and one of his leg was severely injured. As i was Level 2 attenuated i started healing him. After some days while playing basketball i got injured with ligament twist and was bed ridden for 2 weeks. After some weeks i cured.
My same roommate mother was not well. She has diabetic, BP and anxiety problem. As he asked me to heal her mother i started healing her for 2 weeks. After some weeks i was diagnosed with high BP with anxiety issue. I took me 6-8 months to overcome the BP.
After having such trouble i stopped healing others. Just want to know is something wrong with my healing process or something else which lend up me in such health issues.
Hello Pravat, I’ve only seen one other person so far, who seems to pick up others’ problems with such intensity. Usually it is a sign of an extremely weak root. Yes it is a very wise decision to not heal others. It takes a long time to strengthen the root, and until then, it is best not to heal anyone else. Spend a lot of time healing your lower 2 chakras. Every time you are free and not using your hands, heal your root, there is no such thing as too much healing for the root.
Ashwita, I always enjoy all your articles. They are so simple but very specific. God bless you. Thanks for writing and sharing.
Hi Ashwita,
I was almost up just a few mins ago, to write to you on the same topic which was bothering me from quite after I saw the video. It feels so wonderful to find this answer in this article.
Yes, It amounts to a lot of accountability and maturity of the healer to heal someone keeping these aspects of karma intact.
While I know for sure that Reiki does no harm and it works only the root cause of the issue, the enlightned being says that all such healing systems would only take the symptom out and the system will find its expression in another way and may again manifest itself in to another form (and much more about healing systems in the book mystic musings ).
Please do share your thougths.
Dear Chithra, Before I begin – I always hesitate in calling someone enlightened, because there is no way for another person to verify something like this. Second, even if they are enlightened, it does not mean that they know everything about everything. One will find upon reading various books that something or else conflicts, between what enlightened beings tell us about the world. Because in my understanding, one of the smallest aspects of enlightenment is the understanding that nothing that can be expressed can ever be entirely true. The complete truth can never be expressed, just like you cannot ‘write’ the taste of an orange, even.
Having said that, I would say the same thing I have said above. If a ‘healer’ tries to ‘fix’ a person, it may remove the symptom. And what’s wrong, even with that? Going to the doctor will remove the symptom, a lot of people still go, right? Very few of us are truly keen to heal the problem from the root. When there is no ‘healer’, i.e. when we truly surrender to Reiki and request it to do whatever is best, how can there be any limits to what will happen? Who else are you really getting in touch with, except for the popular definition of ‘God’ – does God have any limitations? People do.
Of course, there are 2 types of problems – the ones we create for our growth, and the ones we create through resistance to the divine plan. The first kind cannot be ‘fixed’, no matter what you do. The second, yes, and quite quickly, through Reiki. In any case, you don’t need me or others to tell you whether Reiki heals a problem from the root – you’ve been practicing it long enough to have seen the results.
Hello Ms Ashwita,
I came across your article while looking for articles on the same.I had few thoughts in my mind and I would be grateful if you can shed light on my thinking / understanding.
I have not understood Karma in a way that would give me the feeling that “I understand Karma totally ” but i do understand that What we give to others does come to us.
If its love we give to others we get back the same love.If its an act of kindness then we get back kindness in return. If it’s compassion from us , we would be getting same act of Compassion from somebody else.
With context to all this While Dealing with Energy Work 3 questions arose in my mind so far which go like this :
1. Healing or Channeling Energy into Somebody else without One’s Consent.
I feel Healing somebody or someone or channeling Energy to them without they requesting the same does create Repercussions for the One who is doing the Healing .
First of all The person who needs healing did not ask for it. Second of all – Because The Channel-er is dealing directly with Energy of Another Person or a means for Life Force Energy to enter another person , It has to be done responsibly.
Sometimes Pain and Suffering are necessary because They help one in having a deeper understanding of self .
Can the healer Guarantee that the Energy work done through him will not affect the Receiver in any other manner not intended to (Psychological , Emotional , Mental etc ) OR Not prohibit the receiver from learning his /her lessons .
I feel healing someone without their consent is meddling and is suppose to create repercussions.
2. Healing With Consent of Others OR Upon Request of Others.
I do not think Karma ( strictly speaking any Repercussions) is created when The Healer and The Receiver have agreed upon the Terms before any healing work .
If the Healer makes it clear to the Receiver that Such are the Probable consequences of Healing then Where Does it Go Wrong ? My Inner Self says – There is nothing Wrong in it.
On the Other hand , The Healer or Channel-er Channeling the Energy should take Complete Responsibility for doing His / Her Own Work to do it in the Best possible manner for the Well Being of the Other Person such that The Healer does not mess with any kind of Energy related to Another Person.
3. An Act of Unconditional Love .
The Creator or God himself is an Unconditionally Loving Being . Does God differentiate on his Children on Who should be Healed and Who should not be Healed ?
Even the Worst of Criminals who would have committed the Worst Crimes one can think of and suffering to the Core through Ailments , Physical Problems etc have been healed .
And He / She or Both (God) interacts with everybody and does not bias .He interacts with People or Souls through US .
God does not declare him/her/both self and then does the Healing. We are the means of the Work which is being done.
So if a person is unconditionally loving towards others and capable of Healing. Should he/she/both resist before Healing before Doing Healing . Should he/she/both work from the Mind than the heart where unconditional love arises.
How can there be no repercussions when a person heals somebody without another persons consent or permission through his / her / both act of Unconditional Love.
It feels like Even Unconditional Love can have Repercussions in a way that Do not Meddle with anybody unless advised upon.
I would be grateful if you can provide your understanding on what I have mentioned above.
You mentioned one part of karma very well. “Intention” behind karma. Yes it works that way. But other part is neglected. “The actual action”. And this does have an impact at karmik level as every action has a reaction. So not only intention but action also amounts to karma. Secondly even praying for someone to make his welfare also adds to karma. God’s rules are simple. He is suffering as he did something wrong. So I can not let him go to 100% (though can upto 90%) so the praying person has to take some part of his karma to compensate. Every action with whatever intent has a reaction in karmik level. So giving reiki is a kind of prayer you do for other person (in karmik sense) so healer has to take some portion of patient’s bad karma. (may be very small).
Hi Ashwita, I have a doubt, when someone approaches Reiki healer they come with a specific problem which they are facing currently. (may be health issue or job or finance or something else)
1) As a healer do we need to do affirmation stating that specific problem, And request Reiki to help out in that. Will that also attract Karma as we will be expecting solution for specific problem.
Or
2) We should just do Reiki healing for highest good for that person and ignore the problem what the client has mentioned.
It will be great if you can clarify my doubt 🙂
I agree with everything you’ve said, Sourav, so your understanding seems fine. The only point I would make is that if the healer has the consent of the client, but is too attached to the results of the healing, then that will still create problems.
The more we settle into the heart, as you have mentioned, the more one is in alignment with ‘the Plan’, and there is very less conflict. Usually if love is unconditional – i.e. not a feeling but a state, one would not meddle with others’ lives at all. But it is a journey as we get there, and as long as we are in surrender to Reiki, we are on the right track even if we make mistakes.
Thank you for your comments Ninad.
You are confusing karma with kriya. Karma is action with intention. Kriya is action without intention. Kriya may bring repercussions, but as they had no emotional charge to them, they will generate no emotional charge. Breathing also has consequences because we are killing so many germs when we breathe – that brings repercussions too. So does building a house – you uproot a forest, kill so many animals in the process of building a house. When you buy an electronic device, you participate in the pollution and killing of the sea and its’ beings – and if you take satisfaction in being vegetarian thinking you don’t hurt animals you live in a still bigger illusion. And yet, these things hurt us a lot less than if we deliberately go and slap someone, or willfully kill an animal. Because in the latter there is intent. Intention makes all the difference.
This will depend on your level Srinivas, so I would do both and see what works better. To be able to heal without stating anything, one needs to have reached a certain level of surrender – one needs to be able to set the ego aside and submit to the ultimate and know that what is needed will be done.
Ideally we just heal – I don’t even ask for the highest good, because even that involves the mind. When you eat, you eat – you don’t ‘will’ the food to satisfy your hunger – it happens automatically. It is the same with healing.
Hello Ashwita
For quite some time i have been wondering if we can heal someone’s “Graha dasha” by sending reiki.
Few days back, one of my patient asked me that if you are saying that the reiki can be sent to any object or situation , can you heal my shani Sade sati which I am currently going through and giving so much of pain?
I was answer less and logically it seems that yes we can. But in that case, are we playing or competing with the bigger and stronger cosmic or divine forces? And if no, then what should be the criteria to achieve this healing?
A desire to fix anything would be a play of the ego. Everything is perfect, including your role – if the person is meant to find relief from some problem in the chart, then it might as well be facilitated by you if the universe so chooses. So unless you are setting intentions and requesting the universe to do something specific, you are acting as a conduit for universal will, instead of trying to play or compete with divine forces.
Hi Ashwitha,
I am Anjana and I am happily married but unfortunately we are struggling for one miracle to happen i.e.kid…we have gone through all treatments and done with all poojas when we consulted astrologers the only answer i am getting is “KARMA” and I really want to know what exactly is happening which is haunting us… Please help me
Hello Ashwita, I want to learn karmic healing. But i have not learnt reiki? Are they both same or there is any difference? I really wanted to learn this to open my boock chakras but after eeadjng a lot of Sadguru article and other article i am now little skeptical that should i learn karmic healing or not. Hoping for your reply. Thanks
There is no such thing as karmic healing. Karma is attachment. Do you think you can go to a healer and they can take away your attachment to your best friend, or your worst enemy? So the idea that you will do something and it will ‘remove your karma’ is nothing but an illusion that many gullible people fall for. That said, from another perspective, all spiritual practices and all genuine healing will create karmic healing. Because when you are working sincerely on spiritual development, you are letting go of your attachments. When you are getting healing, it is helping you relax and let go to some extent. So yes, daily Reiki practice will help you release your karma.