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Reiki can’t possibly work, so why does it?

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Re: Reiki can’t possibly work, so why does it?

#121

Post by M2Ys4U »

raverbashing wrote: post #113
crispinb wrote: post #22

Almost more interesting than Reiki itself is the reflexive responses, bifurcating essentially into: 1. it's all mumbo jumbo 2. there's more in heaven and earth, my son Note that neither group is particularly interested in the empirical evidence, though group 1 will tend to take a louder cherry-picking feint at it. An empiricist mindset is really hard for humans to inhabit. We (scientistic hard-heads included) judge p…

I think researchers get too hung up on the a) "folclorical explanations" and b) specific measurable attributes (depression scales, anxiety scales, etc) I have no doubt that the Reiki or Acupunture traditional explanations make no scientific sense. But I'm also long on the idea that sticking needles at a shallow depth might have a certain analgesic effect (also see: tattoos). Yeah it seems you can't do a "fake acupunt…

>Yeah it seems you can't do a "fake acupunture" study, but that's not its fault.

Actually you can. More specifically, you can place needles randomly/arbitrarily rather than looking at "energy lines" or "chi" or whatever utter bollocks proponents of acupuncture spout.

Turns out, it performs at the same level as placebo. Just like "real" acupuncture.

Re: Reiki can’t possibly work, so why does it?

#122

Post by nprateem »

I've been attuned to level 2 reiki. I've also received it a few times both in person and from a distance. And stone me, but I felt stuff every time. The first time I had it from a master on my crown it was like something pouring down through my body. It felt electrical and great.

I've no idea how the distance stuff works, although I've been told how to do it. Well, I've been given explanations about the 'all-is-one, time and space is an illusion' stuff, but I'm still waiting on that experience for myself. But now my mind is well and truly open.

Re: Reiki can’t possibly work, so why does it?

#123

Post by evgen »

ghthor wrote: post #27

It can possibly work, if you open your mind to more then what's possible in the materialist scientific viewpoint.

Please stop opening your mind so much that your brain falls out, it tends to lead people to waste time and resources on unproductive and often harmful responses to illness and injury.

Re: Reiki can’t possibly work, so why does it?

#124

Post by raverbashing »

M2Ys4U wrote: post #121
raverbashing wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think researchers get too hung up on the a) "folclorical explanations" and b) specific measurable attributes (depression scales, anxiety scales, etc) I have no doubt that the Reiki or Acupunture traditional explanations make no scientific sense. But I'm also long on the idea that sticking needles at a shallow depth might have a certain analgesic effect (also see: tattoos). Yeah it seems you can't do a "fake acupunt…

>Yeah it seems you can't do a "fake acupunture" study, but that's not its fault. Actually you can. More specifically, you can place needles randomly/arbitrarily rather than looking at "energy lines" or "chi" or whatever utter bollocks proponents of acupuncture spout. Turns out, it performs at the same level as placebo. Just like "real" acupuncture.

As I said the lines are probably BS anyway

But you can't do something that feels like getting poked with needles but isn't

Re: Reiki can’t possibly work, so why does it?

#125

Post by pedroguitarm4n »

hcarvalhoalves wrote: post #23

> The ailments that Reiki seems to treat most effectively are those that orthodox medicine struggles to manage: pain, anxiety, chronic disease, and the fear or discomfort of facing not only the suffering of illness but also the suffering of treatment. This is key. Modern medicine, with the way hospitals and health insurance are run, do not and cannot address, for economic reasons, a pretty important aspect, albeit su…

I agree -- generally, holistically, well-being is crucial for any person's health. And a lot of that is related to emotion/psychology.

Reiki, or whatever other fad-of-the-day, will keep that at its core and just help people with that.

That being said, from a results-oriented point of view, if it works for people, great. Keep on doing it.

But I wouldn't put it anywhere near some exact science. Rather, as you said, it's related to something that needs serious consideration in the medical and scientific community.

Re: Reiki can’t possibly work, so why does it?

#126

Post by magicalhippo »

sfj wrote: post #75
marcus_holmes wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having been through psychotherapy, I can affirm it works. Spending an hour a week with someone patiently listening without judgement while I tell them everything that's been going on in my head. And sure enough, my emotional problems start to recede and I start to be more engaged with life, less depressed, and more able to function. I don't know if I'd call that placebo, though. I used to thing it was magic; I talk,…

It never worked for me. I always got the impression the therapist was blowing smoke up my ass. I also have a hard time rectifying the idea that you can pay someone to listen to you, and at the same time try and hold the belief they really care about and like you. If they care, why are they accepting money just to listen to you? To accept the premise of psychotherapy, and what they tell you in sessions, namely that th…

> If they care, why are they accepting money just to listen to you?

Because they have to pay for food, pay for a roof over their head and pay down their student loan?

Accepting payment does not mean they will care, but it certainly does not preclude that they may care.

Re: Reiki can’t possibly work, so why does it?

#128

Post by sumofi »

_y5hn wrote: post #85
sumofi wrote: post #73

Garbage :-( Believe in Placebo believe in Nocebo as well. Where do you draw the line? I draw it at unscientific. What do you think has all this shit done for our society? Reike, antivax, flat Earth, akkupunkture, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, fake news. It's all bullshit. If you as a human just believe in stuff without effidence you are dangerous. Climate change? Oh no someone told me it's a hoax to get u…

Some people have a psychological condition they get sick from things they think makes them sick, like wireless and 5G. I don't judge the merits, but it can be anything and sometimes rooted in the psychological makeup. Your failure to argument is just a failure to listen.

I did mention the Nocebo effect.

And I do think talking to others or having professional help to a normal psychologist is absolutely okay, the right thing / a good thing.

Re: Reiki can’t possibly work, so why does it?

#129

Post by dmos62 »

hosh wrote: post #72
ganzuul wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reiki focuses specifically on this aspect in emphasizing the focus, intent and emotional commitment of the practitioner. Replace "energy" with "emotion" and it begins to look legitimate.

Sure, the attitude one holds is important. People can sense that at some level. Subtle energy is real though. Reiki is one of the modalities that does not require being in person. There’s a bunch of weirder, more obscure modalities that can work with chronic pain, trauma, and the like.

Addressing the quiet downvoters. It upsets me how dismissive our culture can be. What if there's something to it? There's a rich history of people thinking that there is. Do they really not deserve a second thought? I wish everyone were always a skeptic, but never off-hand dismissive.

To those entrusting our mainstream with authority on what's bullshit and what's not, remember that psychedelics research is still illegal most places. I'd argue that history is random, and thus the mainstream. Further, variety is a good thing: the more of it we can sustain, the healthier our society is.

Re: Reiki can’t possibly work, so why does it?

#130

Post by andrepd »

hcarvalhoalves wrote: post #23

> The ailments that Reiki seems to treat most effectively are those that orthodox medicine struggles to manage: pain, anxiety, chronic disease, and the fear or discomfort of facing not only the suffering of illness but also the suffering of treatment. This is key. Modern medicine, with the way hospitals and health insurance are run, do not and cannot address, for economic reasons, a pretty important aspect, albeit su…

>The figure of the family doctor that takes his time and actually shows you attention has vanished. The average experience of a hospital visit is that of being treated like a number.

This doesn't have to be so (indeed in many places it isn't yet). This is a consequence of a strained public health system which is simply running over capacity.

Maybe if we stopped pumping money into banks and wealthy people's pockets we could have some left for such purposes.

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