Defenders of Reiki expressed dismay and disappointment over criticism of the alternative health therapy by U.S. Catholic bishops, who recently called it "unscientific and inappropriate for Catholic institutions."

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued guidelines March 24 that said Reiki's medical benefits are unproven by science and inappropriate for Christians because of the spiritual dangers posed. Rapid City Reiki teacher Cynthia Dumdey said she was surprised by those comments, which she called uninformed and unfortunate.

"I'm surprised because I thought we had gotten past all that. It's a lack of information, a lack of real knowledge of what Reiki is all about," Dumdey said.

Reiki is usually described as a holistic healing technique, a form of therapeutic touch or a type of "energy medicine" in which a practitioner places hands on the body in certain positions in order to facilitate and manipulate the flow of energy. Reiki teaches that illness is caused by imbalances or disruptions of energy in a person's body.

But in its "Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy," the USCCB argued that "To use Reiki one would have to accept … elements that belong neither to Christian faith nor to natural science. Without justification either from Christian faith or natural science, however, a Catholic who puts his or her trust in Reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no-man's-land that is neither faith nor science."

Teresa Withee, a Reiki practitioner and baptized Catholic, said she "very much respects the religion" but disagrees with the bishops' characterization of Reiki as anti-religious or superstitious.

"Oh heavens no, there's nothing evil about it," she said. "You can't do anything wrong with Reiki. There's nothing negative about it. You can't misuse it in any way, unlike religions, which can and do get misused."

Dumdey is a Reiki master and clinical psychologist who has trained at least 100 people in the three levels of Reiki in the past 19 years. She also routinely gets patient referrals from medical doctors, including Mayo Clinic physicians.

"So they think it's got some medical benefits," she said. "Reiki is an option in many hospitals and hospices around the country. There's a whole field of healing called energy medicine, and a lot of doctors know that if they don't start acknowledging it, they are doing a huge disservice to their patients," she said.

The USCCB said Reiki lacks scientific credibility.

"Reputable scientific studies attesting to the efficacy of Reiki are lacking, as is a plausible scientific explanation as to how it could possibly be efficacious," they state.

Dumdey and Sister Susan Pohl, a Benedictine nun and longtime hospital chaplain, both say the field of quantum physics suggests that Reiki may be much more scientific than anyone knows right now.

"I've been at conferences with quantum physicists who are on the same page as Reiki when it comes to new theories about energy and matter," Dumdey said.

"I think we have to continue exploring quantum physics regarding how the divine can be viewed as an essential part of the mind-body-spirit connection," Pohl said. "Reiki therapy may be one of many avenues to travel in this regard."

Those connections were highlighted by last month's announcement that French physicist Bernard d'Espagnat was awarded the 2009 Templeton Prize, a coveted religion award honoring someone who has made exceptional contributions to affirming life's spiritual dimension through insight, discovery or practical works. D'Espagnat has theorized that quantum physics could provide insights into alternate spiritual realities and has been quoted as saying that recent discoveries may be "signs providing us with some perhaps not entirely misleading glimpses of a higher reality and, therefore, that higher forms of spirituality are fully compatible with what seems to emerge from contemporary physics."

Reiki is frequently described as a form of spiritual healing, and American bishops assert there is a radical difference between Reiki therapy and the healing by divine power in which Christians believe.

"For Christians the access to divine healing is by prayer to Christ as Lord and Savior, while the essence of Reiki is not a prayer but a technique that is passed down from the 'Reiki master' to the pupil, a technique that once mastered will reliably produce the anticipated results."

Withee, owner of Divine Kneads in Rapid City, said the patient, not the practitioner, is the "healer" in Reiki. "We're just providing the space for that energy work," she said.

For Chantelle Emond, a Reiki practitioner at Integrity Massage in Rapid City, the universal energy of Reiki and the divine energy of God are the same.

"For me, Reiki is just another part of God. My experience of Reiki only amplified my experience of God," she said.

Emond considers Reiki healing and the power of prayer closely related phenomena and believes both can be sent long distances. She was amused by criticism of it as unscientific.

"Can the power of prayer be proven? Please scientifically prove God to me," she said.

Pohl has no formal training in Reiki, but she respects the therapy as a form of stress reduction and a means to enhance overall health and well-being. She's seen it offer relief from the unpleasant side effects of medical treatments. "One Catholic sister I worked with was assigned a special room in her Motherhouse to provide this type of therapy to any who wished to seek some alternative pain remedy. I think Reiki, along with yoga, tai chi, meditation and other energy therapies, have a definite place in the continuing research into the mind-body-spirit connection," Pohl said.

Regardless of its origins in 1880s Japan by a student of Buddhist texts, there is "no necessary religious baggage one has to adopt" in order to use Reiki or another alternative method of stress reduction or pain relief, Pohl said

"Reiki doesn't say you can't have your religion," Withee said. "It's about you, not about God."

Reiki therapists say the best way to learn about Reiki is to experience it.

"In my experience and in my life, I have received positive benefits from Reiki," said Emond. "But just like any medical therapy, some things work for some people and not for others."

Contact Mary Garrigan at 394-8424 or mary.garrigan@rapidcityjournal.com.