What Does Reiki Feel Like? Tom Was Sure He'd Feel Nothing

Tom got a Reiki session for his birthday. He had asked for a socket set. "What is it?" he asked his wife. "It's relaxing," she said. "You lie there." "I lie there at home for free." The night before, Tom searched "what does Reiki feel like" so he would know what he was in for. The internet said warmth, tingling and deep calm. Tom said, "We'll see about that," out loud, to nobody. He showed up at his session with The Paul Hesch Frequency ready for incense, chanting and possibly a gong. There was a table. There was a blanket. He got to keep his boots off and everything else on. "What do I do?" Tom asked. "Nothing," Paul said. "Close your eyes. That's the whole job." Tom closed his eyes with a plan. He would feel nothing, report back to his wife and get his socket set at Christmas. For the first five minutes the plan was working. He thought about the gutters. He thought about a noise the truck was making. Then Paul's hands rested near his shoulders, and they were warm. They were heating-pad warm. Tom's shoulders, which had lived up around his ears since about 2011, came down an inch. "Huh," Tom thought. Then he thought about the gutters again, but slower. Then he thought about nothing. The next thing Tom heard was a snore. It was a big one, and it was his. "I wasn't asleep," Tom said. "Of course not," Paul said. "How long was I not asleep?" "About forty minutes." Tom sat up. His neck turned farther than it had in a while. He felt like he had been on vacation, and he could not explain that, so he did not try. At home his wife asked how it went.

"It was fine," Tom said. "The warm hands thing is real. I booked another one. For your sake." He got the socket set at Christmas anyway.

Reiki is a complementary wellness practice and does not replace medical or mental health care. Experiences vary.