Book Review: The Reiki Manual by Penelope Quest

By Beth Lowell, Managing Editor

Hot off the presses, Penelope Quest's The Reiki Manual - a Comprehensive Guide for Reiki Stuents, Practitioners, and Masters is indeed comprehensive. Published by Tarcher and containing over 300 pages, it covers the Reiki experience from soup to nuts.

Quest, who has been practicing Reiki since 1990 and who has written several other books about it, participated in the UK Reiki Federation's effort to produce Core Curriculum for Reiki training in order to ensure consistency and good business practices among Reiki pratitioners who chose voluntarily to self-regulate. This book was written, in part, so that those whose studies did not provide sufficient training to meet the National Occupational Standards (NOC) developed as a part of this initiative would have a resource to turn to. The manual is designed to address the needs of both teachers and students of Reiki training, as well as practitioners who just want to round out their Reiki knowledge.

Information is presented following the progression of a typical Reiki student, including theory and practice for levels 1 and 2, setting up professional practice, and becoming a Reiki Master. Each section addresses the needs of the practitioner as they may appear throughout a typical career, for instance, topics covered starting with Reiki 1 and ending with Reiki Master provide guidance about hand positions, an examination of the precepts, self protection, first aid, ethics, medical conditions and emergencies, running a business and maintaining professional standards and  preparing for a teaching career.

Quest includes a comprehensive history of Reiki, acknowledging the differences in the narrative of Usui's life as told by Japanese and Western practitioners and she also takes care in delivery of information about Japanese ideas and practices because of the many nuances that cannot always be accounted for in translation.

The robust appendix includes sections on different styles of Reiki, the science of energy, techniques, and useful sample forms for personal and professional use.

Written in an easy to read style, The Reiki Manual will prove to be a valuable resource for practitioners of all levels. You can purchase it on Amazon.