“Being a Channel” vs. “Channeling”
Reiki Is Not Channeling Messages
Despite popular belief, Reiki does not involve channeling messages. Not from spirit guides, not from galactic beings.
And yet, in the modern spiritual space, some practitioners claim to be “channeling” during sessions, as if their words are more important than the silent flow of energy itself. This isn't a harmless thing as it is a total distortion of the beauty of what Reiki is.
Channeling: Spiritual Entertainment or Ego in Disguise?
In new-age circles, “channeling” usually means delivering messages:
- “Your grandmother says she’s proud of you.”
- “The Pleiadeans want you to drink lemon water.”
- “Spirit says your root chakra is blocked.”
Although often well intentioned, this puts the practitioner in the spotlight, interpreting, performing, taking up space. In Reiki, this has no place. Reiki is not about the practitioner’s opinions, insights, or commentary. When you “channel” information, you stop being an open vessel and become a filter. Your thoughts, beliefs, and subconscious biases color the experience. Even if it feels powerful, and well-intended, it’s no longer Reiki.
Being a Channel: The Art of Sacred Neutrality In Reiki, being a channel is sacred. It means you are the conduit, not the creator. The vessel, not the voice. You don’t diagnose. You don’t interpret. You don’t perform. You hold space. You trust the energy. You get out of the way. In the spiritual marketplace that rewards volume and spectacle, Reiki is radically different. In Reiki, silence is not a lack of value, it is where healing happens. In stillness, the body remembers.
Here’s where it gets uncomfortable
If you’re speaking during sessions, offering intuitive insights, or holding onto messages to share later, you’re not practicing Reiki. You’re blending modalities and calling it Reiki. That’s not integrity. That’s confusion. Reiki is the practice of nonduality. In this space the polarity of healer and healed, giver and receiver dissolve. But the moment you insert your words or interpretations, you reintroduce duality, you become the one who knows, and your client becomes the one who doesn’t. That belongs to ego, not Reiki. The system Usui left us is simple: become still, become empty, become the vessel through which life force flows.
Reiki doesn’t need flair. It doesn’t need upgrades with chakras, cards, or cosmic commentary. What it does need are practitioners who:
- Devote themselves fully to the practice
- Commit to self-purification and integrity
- Hold space without needing to impress
- Remain clear, open channels, not addicted to channeling
Because when you understand the depth and simplicity of Reiki, you will realize there is nothing to add. Only something to become.
Final Thought
Be the channel, Not the distraction. Reiki is not a circus act. It is a sacred path. If you want to practice with depth, power, and purity drop the theatrics. Let the energy speak for itself. And trust – that that is more than enough.