Sister Mary Mebane

I am a Franciscan Sister, a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, headquartered in Redwood City, CA, and am stationed at Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, CA, where I am a Chaplain. I have been a Sister for 42 years and counting.

I found answers to the questions I had about Reiki in the Bible. Laying on of hands is a gift of God and was used extensively by Jesus and his followers and still is! Reiki is spiritual - a spiritual way of "Being" and not a religion. The Reiki Ideals/Principles are a firm foundation and I can always get deeper and deeper into them.

In my morning prayer I always make the intention that anyone who wishes to receive Reiki through me will. (Rom. 14:7: The life and death of each of us has its influence on others.)

I felt the hand of God in my life even as a very small child and I felt the call to healing a long time ago, but was not sure how to go about "getting it." I would timidly ask God for it, then withdraw the request as I did not feel I was "worthy."

In 1997 at Marian Medical Center I saw a flyer about a Retreat featuring Tai Chi, massage, and something called "Reiki." As I wanted to learn Tai Chi, I signed up. I did not learn Tai Chi, but came away with something much better, the healing gift of Reiki. In the preliminary talk I heard that I could receive this gift and that the only thing that could stop the gift was to consciously block it. I had no intention of doing that, so at Zaca Lake Retreat Center, sitting in the Sacred Grove, I received my first Reiki attunement from Jeanette McDaniel, RN. As the attunement began, I saw a huge fountain from which poured forth healing energy and a path that stretched from horizon to horizon. I heard a voice saying that I could step on the path if I wanted to. I did not have to be told twice!

I mentioned that I make my intention daily to be a healing channel for anyone who wants to receive it from me. God has given each of us free will, and God will not violate this. When I ask patients if they would like me to pray with them, they know I am praying for healing. I ask permission from unconscious patients on the mental level, knowing their Higher Self will respond. Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes no, sometimes I do not get an answer. In that case I send Reiki with the provision that if the person does not want to receive it, that it go to someone who does. My model is Jesus asking the man at the pool of Bethzatha (The Sheep Pool) if he wanted to be healed. (John 5:3-9) He did not just heal him without his permission.

Healing of body, mind and spirit is exemplified for me by Jesus in the story of the 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19). They came to him for healing and they were healed: physically, emotionally and mentally (their self-esteem was restored and they "got their lives back") and they were restored to the worshipping community. It is interesting to note that the one who returned to express gratitude for the healing was not a Jew, he was a "foreigner." Dr. Usui, as we know, was Japanese and a Buddhist.

In the matter of sending Reiki, it is good to remember that Jesus sent healing also. Note Matt. 8:5-13, the cure of the centurion's servant and the cure of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter (Mk. 7:24-30). In Luke 10:1-6, the disciples were sent out and were to send "peace" to whatever house they wanted to stay in. If the peace was not accepted, it was to return to them. So, too, if Reiki is sent and is not wanted, it is sent back to you, or you can send it to others, or to Mother Earth.

I have sometimes given a gift of Reiki, a bear or piece of jewelry, etc., which I have charged with Reiki energy. This, too, is very Christian. In Mt 9:19-22 and Mt. 14:35-36, healing flowed out of the hem of Jesus' cloak or the fringe on the cloak. In Acts 19:11-12, handkerchiefs or aprons that were touched by Paul brought healing to the sick and people would place the sick where Peter's shadow would fall on them and bring them healing.

Last, but not least, Jesus Himself told us (Mk 16:18) that we would lay our hands on the sick and they would recover and in John 14:12ff Jesus said that "I tell you most solemnly, whoever believes in me will perform the same works as I do myself, he will perform even greater works because I go to the Father."

I believe there are many paths to healing, but the Reiki path is the one I have been called to, and with the Lord's help/support/encouragement, through the Bible and through those people He places on my path, I hope I will become an even better Christian and Sister. I ask God to continue to bless me and my work as a Practitioner and a Teacher.

Peace, Love, Light,
Sister Mary Mebane, OSF