As someone working nonstop to bring reiki into allopathic medicine, I am beyond grateful to Melissa Tipton for her book Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Reiki. As the title describes, this is truly a complete presentation of all things reiki, and I look forward to presenting this book to the surgeons and doctors who show an interest in understanding reiki and what it can do for their patients.
As a practitioner working alongside surgeons, I know for a fact that reiki is a crucial complement to serious surgeries of modern medicine, including heart surgery, mastectomy, organ transplant, and others—all of which test the human capacity to withstand harrowing surgeries that can save lives but also leave patients feeling shattered. Reiki is an antidote to the fracturing of the human spirit when such serious medical interventions are necessary.
Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Reiki is an eye-opener for every person with an interest in finding out how reiki can help them advance in their life, whether they are in the throes of illness, needing to find peace in a hectic world, seriously seeking their life’s purpose, or just curious about energy healing modalities. Tipton’s book is also invaluable to us reiki practitioners working with clients in the fulfillment of our destinies, and, furthermore, I believe it should be required reading for the students of any reiki master-teacher who is taking on the responsibility of raising new practitioners. This important book fully describes and honors the incredible and limitless healing art given to us by Mikao Usui.
My favorite parts of the book are getting back to basics and delving into everything about Usui’s reiki. Tipton’s explanations of the seven types of energy, ending with reiki as the seventh type, is fascinating as well as informative. Since there seems to be a never-ending exploration of the history of reiki by scholars of Usui’s life and practices, I appreciate the clear descriptions of what is known, what is fact, and what is fiction. It is also illuminating to understand how and why some of the myths about Usui came into being. I find this section to be of great personal comfort, as it offers the truth of what Usui left us as a healing practice.
The clear explanation of the levels involved in reiki training is helpful to anyone wishing to study reiki, particularly the information on choosing a teacher. In my work of training reiki masters who want to bring their work into medicine, finding the right teacher is of paramount importance. This important work requires reiki masters with in-person training, as it has been demonstrated to me that those who have trained online do not have the skills or the understanding necessary to function in an operating room.
Tipton shares many helpful suggestions for incorporating reiki into one’s daily practice of self-care and addresses the difficulties we face in the modern world, accompanied by solutions that are grounded in reality. In the end, it all comes down to how we would like to experience reiki, whether as a client, as a full-time or part-time practitioner, or as a hobbyist. Thankfully, Melissa Tipton’s book gives us so much information that each reader can comfortably make the choice without self-judgment, knowing that whatever is decided upon is for the highest good, and that fact has the power to make any heart sing!
Raven Keyes
Author of The Healing Power of Reiki and founder of Raven Keyes Medical Reiki International