A journey undertaken by members of the Australian Reiki Community at the National Consultative Conference for the Public Practice of Reiki in Australia
September 5th to 9th Sydney, 2001
Members of the Reiki community participated in an historic event in the tranquil suburb of Terrey Hills, at which a diversity of forms and stages of practice were represented from around the country. One delegate evocatively expressed the group feeling "Just brilliant! I have seen doors open and light flood into areas I thought were in the too hard basket. My feeling is that the way to unity has emerged - and will guide us to the next step"
A group of Reiki masters had met the previous November to discuss forming a National guiding body with the aim of accepting responsibility for the practice of Reiki in the current cultural environment.
Guided by a vision of unity and accountability, a workgroup was formed of Reiki folk of varying stages of practice to organise this consultative Conference and explore the formulation of a National guiding body, which would:
- Preserve the practice as a healing art and spiritual discipline
- Establish standards for Professional practice
- Foster a culture of excellence in the Professional Practice of Reiki
- Provide opportunities for Reiki practitioners to come together, network and grow
- Listen to where Reiki wants to go
By not setting standards for Professional practice are we Reiki's greatest obstacle? How can we expect Health Care organisations to respect our participation if all we offer is the platitude that Reiki always goes to the highest good and is therefore harmless? What about the Practitioner? Are there expectations of preparation and competence inherent when we use the word "Practitioner"?
The Australian government has invited practitioners and teachers of all complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Australia to declare their participation in the Health Care industry by defining and conducting credible, accountable practice as Professional Health Care providers and trainers. Any group submitting a training package must demonstrate they are one voice representing the diversity of practice. Consensus of standards and values is paramount.
The planning team sought wise counsel for auspicious dates to hold the Conference as well as undergoing intensive Facilitation Training with Paula Wilson, who has been described as "a heart on legs". She prepared the Team with tools to enable us to guide the conference during group discussions, open forums and offered professional advice to assist the process of open consultation within the community.
Two Professional Project Managers Peter Withers and Narelle Jackson designed the project web-site and gathered up the great ideas of the process-oriented enthusiasts and turned them, magically, into definable outcome-oriented tasks. Julie Burnett put heart and soul into designing the inspirational logo. Invitations were sent out to all known Masters requesting that they extend invitations to everyone in their Reiki circle. International, National and local advertising spread the word. The community was immediately invigorated by the announcement! Reactions varied from warm embrace to aloofness, from gratitude and agreement to fear.
The Conference was structured to build a knowledge base and facilitate the community to make informed decisions. To this end we engaged speakers, who are experts in their fields, from within and outside the Reiki community.
One speaker we invited early in the program was Susan Scowcroft who works within government helping community and health service industry groups to meet the requirements of the National Training Authority.
Other speakers inspired us with their stories of how they courageously walked the path of accreditation and regulation whilst preserving their practice as an art.
Anne McDermot, faculty head and former president of the Shiatsu Association shared with us the challenge of working with government, learning when to bend and when to stand firm. Swami Shabdavani Saraswati, involved in the development of training packages and assessment of yoga teachers, spoke of their Association's challenge to bring diverse Yoga practice under one banner and the enduring motivation to preserve the richness of the practice.
Each speaker emphasised that to preserve the practice as an art we must strive for standards of excellence and encouraged apprenticeship type training through competent mentors. Lindsay Yeates, highly qualified Practitioner in a variety of CAMs and author of the Australian Hypnotherapy Association's standards of competency and proficiency recommended accreditation of individuals, not schools or associations
Paula Wilson, lecturer and professional facilitator informed us about the differences between behavioural, generic and holistic competencies and described the features a training program would need to meet government requirements. Geraldine Milton, a registered nurse, lecturer and ethicist, offered a provocative presentation on ethics, identifying this aspect as the foundation for the development of treatment practices or training programs.
Experienced teaching masters, Eileen Chapman presented a comprehensive Practitioner Development Program, designed to enable acceptance and integration of Reiki as a CAM into the medical model and Vicki Davies, who has long recognised the potential for unity through identifying common Reiki practice, presented a model which reflected core and elective practices. This session was followed by a lively panel discussion featuring Eileen, Geraldine and Vicki.
Delegates strongly favoured development of a training package, in any submission to government, which maintains the practice as an Art and nurtures the pursuit of excellence.
One of our final speakers Graham Wheeler, solicitor-author whose expertise is assisting community based organisations to form legal bodies, outlined advantages and disadvantages, costs and obligations of forms of legal entities.
Daily opening meditations focussed on unity, vision and affirmation of faith in Reiki to guide us to new ground. A labyrinth enabled contemplative inner journeying, whilst the humour corner, featuring a collection of hilarious cards, created a place where delegates bonded in laughter. Our vision statement was prominently displayed, along with a record of commitments delegates had agreed to observe and to ensure a helpful perspective, a colourful thirteen-foot timeline scientifically documenting the history of our universe.
Overwhelmingly, delegates expressed gratitude for the dedication, preparation and professional organisation of the conference.
- "The commitment... made it possible for us to reach consensus on issues - perhaps
beyond our expectations" - "I enjoy the challenge to create a national body for the public practice of Reiki so that it can become recognised and used in conjunction with medicine."
- "it made me stand back and look at my practice of Reiki"
- "I've never been to a conference where people differed so passionately yet remained so respectful of each other, so compassionate"
Consensus was easy on many points and controversial issues were calmly recorded on the "parking lot" for further exploration, during debrief sessions. As each day passed the early euphoria seemed to leave us and the prospect of reaching agreement seemed daunting. By the third day delegates were in perturbation. We sent Reiki. Paula facilitated and lovingly guided the challenging forum on the definition of spiritual lineage and lineage of initiation.
Inspired, we determined to reach consensus. A system of classification emerged, honouring lineage bearers, the diversity of practice of Reiki and acknowledging associated practices. Neither exclusion nor "anything goes" are relevant. We all felt the sacred transformation. One delegate articulated the moment "We have shifted from community to communion"
By day five the vote to form a National guiding body was unanimous. We had reached consensus on major issues and had developed a level of trust and mutual respect for each other. Focus Groups were appointed to explore key areas and a follow up Conference was scheduled in Perth. The practice of Reiki in Australia had reached another stage of development. A new foundation stone was laid at the 2001 National Reiki Conference.
Thank you for your interest in the proceedings of the 2001 National Reiki Conference. All those initiated into the practice of Reiki are most cordially welcomed to participate in the 2003 Conference to be held 7th - 10th August Perth, Western Australia.
Please photocopy and forward or e-mail this report to any other Reiki Practitioners in your circle.
We thank and acknowledge members of the community for their assistance, energetic and financial support in the planning for the Conference. We look forward to seeing you in Perth
The Conference Planning Team
Christine Bone
Sharron Mackison
Lorraine Tibballs
Lynette Kirkman
Jennifer Marr
Wendy Watson
Coralea Mackison
Margaret Smith
