HAMILTON — The design of the human hand is what first separated us from the pack, giving us a way to create the tools that allowed man to rise above his environment. Now, some are using those same well-organized thumbs and fingers to bring us back in line with the universe around us.

The technique is called reiki, a Japanese practice that involves channeling the natural energy of the world through the hands to help heal physical, emotional and mental distress in others.

At the Hamilton Continuing Care Center, township resident Carole Latini is using the process to help soothe very ill and terminal patients at the hospice.

“It was a really powerful experience. I teared up a lot,” Latini said of her first time practicing reiki on someone at the institution. “She wasn’t really verbal, she would try to talk but couldn’t say words, but she took my hand while I was doing reiki over her, and we looked into each other’s eyes and smiled at each other for a half hour while I did it.”

Describing it as a “life force energy,” Latini compared reiki to the concept of chi in many Asian practices or the idea of prana that’s often discussed in yoga classes. A high frequency of vibration, the energy can be detected and redirected by those who are highly trained, she said.

“It’s a nonreligious, spiritual energy that is in everything that is alive — plants, animals, humans,” she said. “It’s what makes us alive.”

The practice was developed in Japan in the 1920s by Dr. Mikao Usui, who was searching for the ways that the ancient masters in the country would bring healing to their patient. Those who follow the practice can obtain certain levels of proficiency in administering the energy — from healing only themselves at first to other people and animals later, and, eventually, being able to send the energy from a distance.

The process involves slowly maneuvering the hands over a patient and focusing on certain areas to cleanse the energy and initiate healing. As Latini works on her patients, she said, she also recites prayers to bring them comfort, discharges any energy not being used for good and balances their chakras — the seven centers of a human’s spiritual power, according to ancient Indian practices.

While the idea may not make sense to everyone, Latini said, its practice can still be beneficial to the patients at Continuing Care.

“At minimum, reiki can be, especially for those at the hospice, a comforting and relaxing experience. It’s time to quiet your mind, release the tension in your muscles and just lay there for an hour or a half hour,” she said. “At best, it’s a highly spiritual experience. It depends on the person, and how open they are to the experience or the energy.”

And other times, Latini said, it’s those who doubt the validity of the technique who feel its results the most strongly. Common experiences during reiki include feeling heat or tingling in certain areas of the body, seeing different colors or sensing the presence of passed-over loved ones or even angels, Latini said.

It’s a sensation she first experienced after visiting a chiropractor five years ago, she said.

“The doctor had a woman there doing reiki for his patients, you could get it after adjustment,” she said. “I loved it, and I always felt guided to work somehow with people and healing.”

Now, she said, she’s been guided to Continuing Care, where she hopes her presence will help those in need.

“Reiki helps us feel balanced and healthier, and even when you’re dying you can have health and wellness and do it with more positive energy to help your body be balanced and feel comfortable while it deals with illness going on,” she said. “My hope for these patients is that they feel more loved and supported as they transition to the next world.”

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