Transference during Reiki

Hello. I will attempt to be brief.

In short, I pick up other people's ailments. If someone has a headache, I can feel their headache (location, severity...) and if I am not very careful, I get their headache. They are suddenly feeling fine and I have their headache.

This has been going on for as long as I can remember. It is actually what prompted me to learn Reiki in the first place.

I have done extensive work on learning to ground myself, which is helpful to be sure. However, sometimes if someone is sick and I am tired, I have to just shield myself from them to avoid picking up their physical or emotional trouble. Seems selfish, I know.

Yesterday, I was doing Reiki on my brother who is in the hospital. My chest became tight (like his), my abdomen began to hurt (like his) and my heart started to race (like his). I found myself having difficulty breathing and I couldn't find my ground so I had to stop. Regretfully, the feeling stayed with me even after I left. Not unusual.

My problem is two fold:
1) If I can actually get a painful headache from someone, whose to say I can't pick up something more serious if they have it?

2) How can I keep from collecting people's ailments while doing Reiki since keeping myself *safe* often requires me to shield myself and Reiki requires openness.

Thanks in advance.

Mel

are you getting these experiences after you already know what their issue is? Or, do they come even though you havn't been told what their issue is?

Most of the time I have no idea what is wrong with the person. It used to just happen and I couldn't figure out what was going on. Like I said, the last 6 or 7 (maybe more) years I have been working to understand this and get some control over it.

There is sort of a running joke now with a co-worker who is alarmingly perceptive. Out of nowhere I will start not feeling well (headache, runny nose, general puniness) and she will look over at me, smile and say, "Thank you...I feel much better!) Rotten co-worker. When that happens now, I can usually focus for a few minutes and send whatever ailment I have collected on it's way. Sometimes not so much with the headaches though.

But if I am trying to feel another person, I can do it on purpose. It's easier to do it in person if I can touch them, but I don't have to. I don't know how to do it without seeing them though. I know Reiki can be done from a distance, but I wasn't trained in that and I have never tried to perceive someone's illness/emotions from a distance nor have I tried to heal from a distance other than sending positive energy to a person in need.

As an aside, I am a counselor by trade and I do understand the profound power of subconscious transference when interacting with other people, since from a professional standpoint I must deal with it everyday and I am also an avid believer in the power of psychosomatic symptoms. This is something happening on a psychic/physiological level.

Thanks again! I appreciate the guidance.

Mel

You need to understand that you should
not take on other peoples problems.

As a Reiki practitioner you can facilitate
in assisting others to move blockages that
they have. Taking on your client's ailments
is not healthy for you. Your client needs to
work on their inner needs to remove the cause
of what ails them.

an interesting thing is that takata said nothing can penetrate Reiki. perhaps this only seems like it is transference. maybe it is simply being sensitive. a matter of perception.

when i'm around folks i 'feel' what is going on in their lives.

You'll get no argument from me. That's why I have been trying to learn how NOT to do this. It just sort of happens to me. Like a yawn. You don't really see it coming and the next second you are a fly catcher.

Mel

Milarepa wrote:an interesting thing is that takata said nothing can penetrate Reiki. perhaps this only seems like it is transference. maybe it is simply being sensitive. a matter of perception.

when i'm around folks i 'feel' what is going on in their lives.

Okay, that makes me feel better. I don't mind being able to feel it, I just don't want to take it with me. I have been reluctant to continue when this happens, so thank you for that.

Mel

i've empathy for you. not thar i'm some kinda super-psychic or anything, but folks can sometimes think - 'wow, i'd like to be able to do that!'. though when there's little 'privacy' in folks lives, when one seems to be aware of things, it can be very disconcerting. in the end, truth be told, i began to 'bury' this occurence within me, so it's not as pronounced as it was. still here, but not as sharp.

my own advice is to me really also. my perception of it being a curse, or an aid, dictated the experience really.

warmest wishes
Wayne

Have you ever got an email from
a friend to forward their email
within a certain time frame & if
you don't forward to x amount of
your friends within 5 minutes after
opening, bad luck will follow you.
This threat at the end of the email
is a seed planted in your mind to
send that email.

The mind is powerful.many stories have
been told of how the mind/imagination
has helped or not helped certain people
heal. Be it a healing shrine or
Reiki practitioner. My own personal
experience has been if I allow my mind
to believe that I have to or that I will
take on a client's physical, emotional or
spiritual problems to heal them then that
is what will happen. Instead I chose to see
myself as a guide/facilitator to help a
client open up their own innate healing,
that does not interfere with the Reiki
facilitator's physical,emotional spiritual
presence during the Reiki session/treatment

excellant post!

perfect perspective. Thanks!