The final edition!

by Beth Lowell, Managing Editor

A little over five years ago in May of 2006, a one of a kind on online publication devoted solely to the subject of Reiki made its debut from its home base in Hoboken NJ. The brain child of Editor and Publisher, Janet Dagley Dagley, a Reiki practioner and teacher, and award winning journalist, The Reiki Digest targeted an audience of Reiki practitioners worldwide, regardless of lineage or the branch of Reiki that they had studied.

Our mission statement: The Reiki Digest is dedicated exclusively to publishing news and articles about Reiki to promote its practice and educate both the Reiki community and the world at large.

Part of The Reiki Digest's goal was to bring practitioners together and eliminate the sometimes present "competition" between practitioners of different lineages over whose is the "better" or "correct" method of practice. Beyond establishing a community for all practitioners, the mission included providing credible information and responsible reporting about Reiki to empower practitioners to learn more about the system, strengthen their practice, and help them to bring Reiki to the world around them in a clear and positive manner.

The very first edition of The Reiki Digest provided an explanation of what Reiki is, and from there, the publication grew to include a regular roundup of Reiki news items, Celebrity news, waka poetry, book and music reviews, and articles on just about any aspect of Reiki that one could imagine.

The publication soon reached an audience of over 5000 readers worldwide, including Reiki practitioners from almost every country on the globe. During its publication, The Reiki Digest reported on such Reiki milestones as its appearance on the Dr. Oz show, the renouncement of Reiki by the Catholic church, and the mainstreaming of Reiki in healthcare settings - this despite the fact that the words"Reiki", "voodoo" and "faith healing" are often used in conjunction with each other as reporters from  news outlets struggle to understand this simple system. This level of reportage, along with information on Reiki research, both in the scientific and medical communities, as well as less formal surveys and focus groups conducted among practitioners themselves served well to fulfill the mission statement.

So, why end the Digest? Well, we prefer to think of this as a much needed sabbatical, instead of an ending and we don't discount the return of The Reiki Digest  sometime in the future, although we're not quite sure what form that may take. Our website will remain live so that you can peruse the archives and catch up on anything you might have missed over the past five years.  Janet and I both have some words to share here, and we invite you to take a retrospective tour of The Reiki Digest as we conclude for now. Enjoy!