Spirituality: what are we really talking about?
A Hindu legend tells how Brahma, looking for a place to shelter divinity, far from those not yet ready to receive it, rejected in turn the mountain tops, the depths of the oceans and the most distant stars. Humans are stubborn, he said — they would end up reaching it. He finally chose the one place where they would never think of looking: in the depths of each person's heart.
The word spirituality can make people recoil. The association is often almost automatic: religion, obligation, imposed beliefs, belonging to a group that defines true and false. Reiki does not work that way. It does not ask anyone to adhere to a doctrine. It sets no god as a condition. It does not require you to give up what you believe elsewhere.
Spirituality refers to something as simple as this: the relationship of a living being with what exceeds it, what passes through it, what animates it. A vital impulse — what some call Ki, prana, breath — greater than ordinary breathing. Spiritus, in Latin, meant nothing else.
Reiki does not answer these questions with doctrines. It opens them, patiently, through practice.
What Reiki is not
Not a religion
Reiki has no sacred texts in the canonical sense, no clergy, no compulsory liturgy, no moral judgement on behaviour. Catholic, Buddhist, agnostic, atheist, Jewish and Muslim practitioners all practise Reiki — without contradiction.
Not an imposed belief
Reiki does not ask you to believe in energy before touching it. It simply invites you to lay on your hands, to be present, to observe. Experience comes before conviction, never the reverse.
Not an abstract philosophy
Reiki is practised. The spirituality it carries is embodied — it passes through the hands, the body, presence to another person. It is not a spirituality of the head. It is one of open palms and a radiant heart.
Energy as lived reality
At the heart of Reiki lies a simple idea, present in many cultures: that of a vital energy flowing in and between living beings. The Japanese call it ki, the Chinese qi, the Indians prana. The words differ; the intuition is shared.
This energy is not an abstract metaphysical concept. It is something practitioners feel in their hands. Something that people receiving a session often describe — warmth, tingling, deep relaxation with no apparent cause.
- Reiki does not claim to explain what this energy is in its depths.
- It offers you the chance to experience it.
- And to let that experience work within you.
It does not say here is what is true. It says lay on your hands, be present, and observe what happens.
The Gokai — an ethic of the moment
Mikao Usui, who founded Reiki at the beginning of the 20th century, handed down five principles for living — the Gokai. They do not form a moral commandment. They are closer to a daily invitation — an orientation rather than a rule.
- Just for today — I live fully, in the present moment.
- Just for today — I recognise anger and do not let it rule me.
- Just for today — I trust, and welcome what is with serenity.
- Just for today — I give thanks, even for the simplest things.
- Just for today — I commit fully to what I do.
- Just for today — I offer gentleness to every living being.
Just for today. Not a promise for a whole lifetime. An invitation to return, each morning, to what is possible now. It is a philosophy of presence — not of perfection.
Transmission — an irreplaceable dimension
To practise Reiki, it is not enough to read a book or follow a video. You receive an initiation — an act of direct transmission, from person to person, in which something opens.
This dimension of lineage — the human thread running from practitioner to practitioner back to Usui — is a spiritual reality in itself. There is a form of living knowledge that passes only through presence, contact and relationship.
I received my initiations from three Reiki masters, each with their own approach, generosity and rigour. I honour their wish to pass on, to guide or to let things happen. Nothing to compare, simply welcoming the diversity and richness of all this has brought into flower along my path.
A path that respects who you already are
Reiki does not ask you to become someone else. It starts from the opposite hypothesis: that we are already traversed by something whole. That Reiki — whether received or given — does nothing other than remind that wholeness of its own presence.
It is a spirituality of recognition rather than conquest. Not I must reach a higher state, but I can find again what is already there within me.
Open to all traditions
Because it sets no dogma as a condition, Reiki can sit alongside other paths. Buddhist practitioners find in it an extension of their work on presence. Christians integrate it into their life of prayer. Others, with no tradition at all, simply find in it an anchor in a life too full of noise.
What regular practice reveals
Those who practise Reiki over time often describe a gradual change that is hard to name. Something settles. The relationship to events shifts. Emotions remain; as we learn to recognise them, they flow better.
This does not lead to a revelation, but to a deepening. The relationship with oneself changes texture, without anyone being able to say exactly when or how.
Going further
If you are curious about what Reiki can be as an experience — not as a concept — the best way to begin is to take the time for a session. Without deciding anything in advance. Just being there, in that moment, and seeing.
© April 2026 Nicolas Simonin
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