Frans Stiene on Mainstreaming Reiki

Earlier this month, I had the pleasure of speaking with Frans Stiene, a Senior Reiki Teacher who travels the world learning everything he can about the traditions and origins of Reiki and generously sharing this knowledge with others. Beginning in the early 2000s, he established himself as a resource and a teacher. He and his wife Bronwen co-founded the International Reiki House in Australia and co-authored the well-loved Reiki primer The Reiki Sourcebook. This September’s New York Reiki Conference will feature Frans as its keynote speaker, along with an impressive roster of surgeons, researchers, healers and trailblazers, including the Director of the Reiki School and Clinic, Kim Fleisher. The theme of this year’s conference is “Mainstreaming Reiki.”A primary issue for Reiki practitioners who would like to work within mainstream facilities such as hospitals and hospices is the lack of common language we use to talk about our practice. According to Frans, “there are so many different ways of practicing and teaching the system of Reiki that many people outside the community are confused as to what it really is about.” Ever since Reiki practice migrated from Japan in the early 1900s, it has picked up elements that were not part of what Usui (Reiki practice founder) taught his students. “I think when we realize that the system of Reiki has its roots in Japanese spiritual practices and is not a "new-age" practice then we gain a deeper respect for the teachings.”That is not to say that Frans has a detached, sterile relationship with his Reiki practice. The spiritual nature of the practice is extremely important to him. In fact he says “we first have to heal ourselves and the more we start to heal ourselves, the more we can start to help others to heal themselves.” He also says “that is why it is so important, as a teacher, to investigate the roots and bring the system back to a spiritual practice which includes hands-on healing but is not…solely the hands-on healing of others, as it is often portrayed.”As a perpetual student, it is not enough for Frans to think that once we become “Reiki Masters,” our education is finished. “I think as a teacher of the system of Reiki it is of utmost importance that we keep developing ourselves, always trying to go deeper,” he says. “This is one of the reasons I recently went to Japan and trained for a week one-on-one with a Buddhist priest. It is said that Usui was a Buddhist practitioner himself, so to see what the underlying essence is ofUsui's teachings we need to look at the spiritual practices taught in Japan.”Mainstreaming Reiki means more to Frans than just educating practitioners how to talk to medical professionals about the practice. It’s also about more than practitioners volunteering or working in traditional health care settings, providing treatments to patients.  For Frans, a key to mainstreaming Reiki is training health care practitioners for self-care. He says, “nurses and doctors burn out quickly but if we can teach them how to look after themselves then we have a whole different kind of infrastructure in the hospital, more kindness, more compassion and more wisdom—a win, win situation for everybody. The hospital has to deal with fewer stressed nurses and doctors and allows them to give a holistic treatment to their patients.” This is a very literal interpretation of “integrated health care” and its implications could be very exciting.Read for yourself more about what Frans has to say on the International House of Reiki blog.Join Kim and Frans at The NY Reiki Conference on September 22nd in NYC

Posted by Reiki Master Nikki Roszko