Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide

by Pamela Miles

An introduction to the popular healing therapy explains how Reiki can be used to complement conventional medical treatments, help patients recover from invasive surgical procedures, and assist in alleviating the symptoms of cancer, insomnia, depression, anxiety, and other ailments. 12,500 first printing.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Reference, Self Help, Health, Metaphysics

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[K.L. Lantz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so happy to have stumbled upon this book, which has helped me to connect with my late grandmother. She was a Reiki master, and I always wondered exactly what it meant. I was so young when she was practicing it and didn't understand exactly what Reiki was. It all blurred into New Age/Eastern Mysticism in my uninitiated mind. This book helped me with distinguishing Reiki from other spirituality/healing modalities, and from what I thought it was, which was pretty foggy to begin with. I appreciated Pamela Miles for her unique position as a Reiki practitioner who trains physicians, nurses, patients, etc., in first degree Reiki. Her emphasis on self-care intrigued and surprised me. The broad scope with which she sees the history and the possible futures of Reiki makes this a great one-stop shop for understanding Reiki practitioners and clients. I feel I have a firm foundation for future inquiry. My favorite chapters were about Pamela Miles' area of expertise: how Reiki is being used in modern medicine and what studies have been done in this area. I understand this is dated information, but it inspired me to look into further studies. We've all heard about the proven benefits of meditation, so it is easy for me to believe these studies coming out about Reiki in hospital care. My one gripe is the redundancy, but I understand this is a teaching method. There were some parts I read twice because they were so interesting, and other parts that felt repetitive and unnecessary. All in all, an excellent primer on Reiki, the Japanese healing art.

[julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired me and helped me understand the importance of using reiki as a personal practice.

[Asia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this after I finished my Reiki level 1 training. Great content, but very repetitive towards the end. I love the history aspect and the diagrams of the hand placements, but the last part of the book where it discusses reiki in medical contexts is a mix of anecdotes of people who did well and stories of where she introduced reiki to medical practices. It ends up being the same kind of content repeated in slightly different applications. I would love more actionable information on practicing reiki professionally, ways you can use reiki in your own life, or real research data.

Overall a great read for someone who's interested in Reiki or has done their Reiki training already. The part about whether you want a Reiki treatment or training is really solid, so if you're wondering about whether Reiki is right for you, it's much less expensive than a training or treatment.

[Michelle Corder · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 3rd Reiki book I have read. It was interesting and an easy read, but not as informative. It doesnt cover what other books cover, which is both good (different take on a guide to Reiki) and bad (major information is missing which can be found in other books).
Overall I would recommend the book, just not as a 1st and/or only Reiki book.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good information about Reiki that one can get from a book. Easy enough to put to practice, for basics.

[Sherry Giardiniere · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pamela Miles is a wonderful teacher and motivator. She is special to me since she is very active in integrating Reiki in Hospital and Hospice programs.

[Kathy Bardot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

recommended to me by the girl who does my reiki, which really works.

[Bonny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll admit it; the concept of Reiki always made me roll my eyes and discount it. But Reiki by Pamela Miles has made me reconsider. It's a thorough, informative book in which Ms. Miles writes about Reiki as the gentlest healing therapy in the world and how it can be used as an adjunct therapy in addition to traditional medicine. I think the fact that she didn't treat Reiki as something in opposition to science and traditional medicine helped me better understand and accept the Reiki Principles.

My sister-in-law is a board-certified family physician, but when she also became certified in acupuncture she questioned, "Who was she to dismiss centuries of a practice that millions of people believed in?" Reiki hasn't been around quite that long, but as I age, I feel that I can ill afford to dismiss alternative therapies. Ideally, I'd like to attend an in-person Level I Reiki class, but since I haven't yet been able to find one locally, Reiki has provided me with a detailed introduction to the practice.

[William Schram · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reiki: A Comprehensive Guide was written by Pamela Miles. The book goes over the holistic healing practice of reiki. It involves biofield energy and balance.

The book goes over the history of reiki practice, how it was accepted in the west, and most of all, how it works on both people and animals. If you have one takeaway from this book it should be that reiki works.

I have only one issue with this book; it doesn't tell you how to do it. It is a comprehensive guide to practicing reiki that doesn't tell you how to use reiki. I am willing to put aside my prejudice of the practice if I can also experience it, but it does not offer that luxury. The book tells you that the only way to experience reiki is with someone trained as a Master. In my opinion, this is the same as saying that the only way to learn how to cook is to receive teaching from a three-star chef.

Reiki is in the same category as meditation, yoga, shiatsu, and other practices. I did not enjoy this book.

[Celine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 3rd book I read about Reiki. This one after having taken my level 1 Reiki class. I really enjoyed the first half. Good repetition for me with some slightly different angles to how the practice of Reiki has positively impacted peoples lives. It slowly became very repetitive though. The same content under different or even the same headers. No clear succession of content. It felt like we were revisiting the same 2-3 aspects of Reiki over and over and over to the point where I only browsed through the last 40 pages rather than fully reading them

[Susan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book that gives many thoughts on Reiki in the world. I found this text to be an enjoyable and informative read. For anyone that might question how Reiki can be helpful and if it is a viable form of healing, Pam Miles is a physician that gives excellent sources of how Reiki is being used in hospitals.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truly this is a great book. I gave it three stars because it was repetitive and a bit boring at times. However, it is packed full of great information. I enjoyed learning about Reiki throught the pages and it does excite me to learn Reiki in my life. It was just page after page of the same thing. Could've been condensed to half the amount of pages.

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book since it described how to practice Reiki in a way that was personal, poignant and practical. She seems like a down to earth woman who would definitely help anyway as a Reiki Master in a really good way.

[Milca Esdaille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful and credible

Great intro to this body of knowledge from a respected source.

While second half is heavy on medical discussion this anchors credibility

Inspired me to seek training from author and to discover her website and free community sessions

[Maha · Rating 4 out of 5]

General understanding and application book. A book that emphasizes practicality over inundation of terminology and jargon that is only understood by the usual practitioners of the field. Recommend this read for all reiki practitioners and enthusiasts. 🙏

[Wilma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Background was interesting but it didn't really give you much insight as to how to reiki. I'm looking into this. I wouldn't recommend this book unless you just want to know the history of reiki.

[Flavio Miguel Pereira · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful resource to medical professionals but somehow a bit incomplete. I will leave one star to a future revised version

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing really new here given the other books I read first.

[Katherine Moss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good read for someone interested in the concept; the author provides a wonderful overview, and then from there she takes things further and demonstrates sensible Reiki applications. definitely on my must-read list for those interested in energy healing.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an authoritative and inspiring discussion of Reiki, the spiritual healing therapy developed in Japan at the turn of the last century. Pamela Miles writes clearly and convincingly about the practice and benefits of Reiki. Her research of and experience in using Reiki in traditional medical settings elevates this book above the new-age context that can undermine the discussion of many complementary therapies.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was filled with repetitious bloat. The appendix is the only part where there are actual guidelines to performing the movements, and this section was well illustrated. The main body of the book can be summed up thusly: Reiki is good for everything. Practice. Do it daily on yourself. Practice. Be careful how you pick a teacher. Practice. Reiki is good for everything.

I took a class a long time ago, and I was hoping to brush up. This was not the right book for this purpose.

[Emma Goldman-Sherman · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a good book about Reiki, this is the one. Look no further. Pamela Miles really gives you all you might ever need to know without being wordy or redundant. The book is beautiful and easy to read, well-organized and really helpful. I read it before I got first degree Reiki, and I refer to it, and it has helped my practice and made things clearer for me. I highly recommend it.

[Nilchance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intended more for 1st degree readers or those who are new to reiki. I did love the chapters on the research and science of reiki, more than rest. More emphasis on ethics than other books, such as Magick of Reiki, on this subject.

[Sirpa Grierson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best American book that I have read about the idea of reiki. Balanced treatment and well written.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been interested in Reiki for some time. Connection to our primordial consciousness draws me. I learned from this book that Reiki is beneficial for personal healing.

[Isabelbailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting discussion of Reiki and spirituality.

[Meredith Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pamela Miles' book on reiki is well-researched and well-written. Her stories are compelling. Miles obviously cares deeply about the practice of reiki. Thank you, Pamela Miles.

[Melissa]

So far so good!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read the whole book, only the sections that applied to me and the things I was interested in. This book is a really good overview of Reiki and explains things very well.