We’re honored to announce Meredith Sprengel from the Netherlands as our keynote speaker at the 4th annual International Reiki Research Conference.
Register by July 24th using code 𝗦𝗔𝗩𝗘𝟭𝟱% at check out to enjoy early-bird registration fees.
Reminder: To encourage early career researchers and build capacity in the biofield therapy field, we’re discounting student registration fees by 50%!
Don’t miss one of the most inspiring highlights of the International Reiki Research Conference – our guided Reiki meditation sessions. Immerse yourself in powerful Reiki energy as you are guided by internationally respected Reiki leaders, including:
• William Rand, founder of the Center for Reiki Research, president of the International Center for Reiki Training and the Reiki Membership Association.
• Frans Stiene, senior teacher at the International House of Reiki and acclaimed author of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘬𝘪, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘬𝘪 – 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘪𝘬𝘢𝘰 𝘜𝘴𝘶𝘪, and 𝘙𝘦𝘪𝘬𝘪 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴.
• Josh Paszkiewicz, director, Center for Reiki Research, Reiki master, Zen master and priest, psychotherapist, nurse, professor, and author. An integrative voice at the intersection of spirituality, healing arts, and the academy, Joshua brings a unique depth of wisdom and insight to every meditation experience.
This is a rare opportunity to deepen your Reiki practice, elevate your energy, and experience the transformative presence of some of the world’s most respected Reiki teachers.
Be part of this unforgettable conference experience! Use discount code SAVE15% at checkout to enjoy early-bird registration fees until July 24th.
On that note, we’re excited to announce there will be an 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗸𝗶 𝗣𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 on October 3rd. This highly interactive Animal Reiki panel discussion will invite audience participation as it explores how Reiki can deepen our understanding of animals as sentient beings and strengthen the compassionate bond between humans and non-human species. Through shared reflections, questions, and discussion, the conversation will consider Reiki’s potential to support animal well-being, including relaxation, stress and pain reduction, emotional balance, and healing support, while acknowledging that much of the current evidence remains anecdotal.
Says panelist Ema Melanaphy, founder of ReikiEma, “Animal Reiki offers the human species not only valuable and fascinating glimpses into the experiences of existence that non-human species can have; but it also brings a golden opportunity for our next step of evolution as a species: finally understanding that we aren’t above, but beside and amongst, all the other animal species – finally taking our rightful place as only one of many, in this amazing Conscious community of planet Earth.”
Use discount code save15% and register by July 24th to enjoy early-bird registration fees.
The Center for Reiki Research invites you to take part in a study to better understand the personal, psychological, and spiritual qualities that may contribute to what is described in the research literature as the “healing presence” in Reiki practitioners. Healing presence refers to a state of awareness and relational engagement through which a practitioner may support physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being in others. While previous research has primarily focused on the outcomes of Reiki treatments, relatively little research has examined the inner qualities and lived experiences of the practitioners themselves. This study seeks to explore qualities such as empathy, compassion, mindfulness, spirituality, intention, and transpersonal awareness, as well as early life and childhood experiences, using validated questionnaires and structured survey items. By examining these factors together, the study aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how personal history and inner qualities may relate to healing presence in Reiki practice and to inform future research in this area.
If you choose to take part, you will be asked to complete a one-time anonymous online questionnaire, which will take approximately 20–30 minutes to complete. The questionnaire includes questions about your demographic background, Reiki training and practice experience, and a series of standardized questionnaires that assess characteristics related to healing presence, such as empathy, compassion, mindfulness, spirituality, universal love, and related experiences. The questionnaire also includes questions about early life and childhood experiences, including adverse childhood experiences. Examples of these questions include whether, during your first 18 years of life, you experienced situations such as feeling unsupported or unloved within your household, or whether a household member experienced mental health difficulties. In addition, the questionnaire includes items relating to noetic beliefs and experiences and extrasensory perception (ESP), including experiences that may occur during Reiki sessions or in everyday life, such as sensing emotions, receiving sudden knowledge or insight, or perceiving information beyond ordinary sensory channels.
There are no intended personal benefits associated with taking part; however, the findings may help the researchers in determining how personal history and inner qualities relate to healing presence in Reiki practitioners and may inform future research in this area.
CRR, in collaboration with World Reiki Research and Harvard University, has just published the results of a landmark study evaluating whether specific subjective Reiki experiences are associated with changes in health-related symptoms using regression and mediation analyses. Ninety-nine Reiki practitioners had clients complete a survey before and after 1,284 Reiki (60-minute in-person) sessions.
Linear regression analyses explored associations between subjective Reiki experiences and changes in well-being, pain, and anxiety, while controlling for age and gender. Mediation models tested whether pain and anxiety changes mediated the relationship between subjective Reiki experiences and improvements in well-being.
Experiencing positive emotions was significantly associated with higher well-being and reduced anxiety, and experiencing such body sensations as tingling or warmth was significantly associated with greater pain relief. There was a significant indirect effect of body sensations on well-being via pain relief, a significant indirect effect of positive emotions on well-being via anxiety reduction, and a significant indirect effect of emotional release on well-being via anxiety reduction.
The results suggest that the subjective experience of receiving Reiki is related to changes in different psychological and physical health symptoms. More work is needed to confirm these findings while addressing the limitations of the current study.
This study is a novel contribution to biofield therapy research in several ways. First, it explores how Reiki works through specific psychological and physical pathways through employing a mediation analysis to quantify both indirect and direct effects, providing robust empirical support for the underlying mechanisms. Second, this study integrates both psychological (anxiety) and physical (pain) mediators, offering a more holistic understanding of Reiki’s effects. Third, it offers a framework to provide evidence for Reiki’s acceptance in clinical settings by linking subjective experiences to measurable changes in physiological and psychological health. Importantly, by identifying how Reiki may exert its effects (e.g., through pain relief or anxiety reduction), this analysis begins to answer the “why” question often missing in complementary and integrative medicine research. Understanding not only whether Reiki improves outcomes, but also how and why it does so, is central to advancing the evidence base for complementary and integrative medicine. Most prior Reiki research has demonstrated symptom improvements without clarifying the underlying processes. By employing mediation analysis, the present study provides a step toward explaining the why. When participants experience physical sensations (such as warmth or tingling), this is linked to reductions in pain, which in turn enhances overall well-being. Similarly, when participants experience positive emotions or emotional release, these appear to lower anxiety, which then improves well-being. In this way, the “how” is represented by the mediating pathways (pain relief, anxiety reduction), while the “why” lies in the role of subjective experience as the active ingredient that drives those changes. This shift from describing Reiki’s effects to explaining them is a step toward building evidence and integrating Reiki into broader models of health care.
Congratulations to the authors: CRR Research Assistant Elisenda Cama i Gibernau, CRR Director Akleema Ali and CRR President Natalie Dyer.
As part of CRR’s efforts to promote scientific rigor in Reiki research, we’ve successfully connected with the scientific journals Epilepsy & Behavior, Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, and Journal of Nursing and Education.
CRR director Ann Baldwin authored three letters to the editors, referencing Biofield Therapies: Guidelines for Reporting Clinical Trials which outlines the steps required to produce scientifically sound research papers. Since the guidelines are applicable to designing studies as well, CRR recommended the three journals augment their “Instructions for Authors” with a copy of, or reference to, these guidelines.
All three letters have been published:
CRR’s mission is to validate and foster the acceptance of Reiki biofield therapy as an integrative healthcare practice. Only rigorous, scientifically robust studies can provide the evidence necessary to support the use of this low risk, non-invasive modality in clinical settings.
We are looking for volunteer research assistants (RAs) to help with a nation-wide survey of integrative therapy use in the U.S. hospital system. RAs will assist with data collection, including obtaining appropriate hospital contacts, conducting telephone calls with hospital staff, and inputting data.
Responsibilities:
Skills and Qualifications:
Time commitment: A minimum of 5 hours per week for up to 9 months. Includes one biweekly team meeting and time surveying hospitals.
Benefits: Contribute to integrative medicine research. Receive acknowledgement in the scientific publication and potential opportunities for co-authorship depending on skills and experience.
If you are interested, please send your cover letter and CV to Natalie Dyer at dyern@uci.edu
