Isn’t it Wrong to Charge for Reiki since Reiki is ‘Universal’ Energy?

This is one of the most common questions among Reiki students. I’ve even had novices lecture me no end on how charging Reiki is so wrong and the disgust at the idea is almost as if the energy was being prostituted. So this was response when it was asked to me most recently.

We shouldn’t charge for Reiki – it flows all the time, when we speak kindly to the salesgirl it flows, when we lend a ear to a distressed friend, it flows, when we do gardening it flows, when we wish well for someone, it flows. I’ve even found it flowing sometimes to strangers nearby who might be distressed, I wouldn’t turn around to someone behind me and say hey, you owe me something!

Is it the energy we are charging for? Because by that logic, truffles should have been free, not one of the most expensive food items, considering they grow in the wild. And water should have been free – unless someone was creating it in some way. Why aren’t they free? Because it is not the truffles or the water we are paying for, it is the effort involved.

If you aren’t putting in any effort, if you just casually heal someone or if it flows on its own, yes there is no need to charge anything. But if you’re dedicating time – you’re giving something that is yours which hopefully does have some value. If you’re using your space and you pay rent, you are providing a space which is yours. If you are contributing in any other way – record-keeping, follow ups, a website, anything else, again those are things that are yours that you are making available as a part of the process. So do we charge for the energy? Rarely ever. But when we offer something like this for free, especially if it is offered beautifully, I think we send out a message to the universe that our time,effort and space have no value or meaning.