What Is the Difference Between Reiki & Quantum Touch Therapy?

Quantum Touch is a system of alternative healing based on a life energy known as "ki." It was created by Richard Gordon based on a combination of various healing techniques such as Chinese Qi Gong 1. Reiki is also a system of healing based on life energy, but it is a different system. It was created by Dr. Mikao Usui in Japan, based on a spiritual revelation he believed himself to have experienced.

Reiki

Reiki is purported to be a type of energy that comes from God. The Japanese word "rei" means a wisdom that comes from God or the divine, while the word "ki" means the energy of life. Reiki energy is not simply the same thing as ki energy -- believers in Reiki consider it to be a particular type of ki energy that is divinely guided. Even if another system of energy healing such as Quantum Touch is also based on ki, it may not be based on Reiki specifically 1.

How Reiki Works

Reiki healing is not a skill than can be taught by one person to another. Instead, the ability to access the Reiki energy is supposed to be given by one person to another through a process known as attunement. The attuned person is then supposed to be able to call down the Reiki energy to heal others by moving his hands in certain patterns over the afflicted person. This process is supposed to allow the divine energy to heal the person receiving treatment without draining any life energy from the person giving the treatment.

Quantum Touch

Quantum Touch is not seen as a power that can be given by one practitioner to another like Reiki 1. Instead, it is a trained skill -- a system of meditations, methods for being more aware of the body, and patterns of breathing. This system is supposed to give the practitioner the ability to focus and control the life energy into an optimal state. The healer then attempts to bring the client's life energy into the same state so that client can heal herself. The actual practice of Quantum Touch involves passing the hands over the person receiving the healing, as in Reiki 1. However, the Reiki healer is considered a channel or conduit of the energy, while the Quantum Touch healer is seen as having a more active role 1.

Comparing Reiki and Quantum Touch

Practitioners of Quantum Touch therapy sometimes claim that their method is much faster than Reiki, that it produces much more dramatic results or that it is a breakthrough in comparison to Reiki 1. However, practitioners of both systems make dramatic claims that have not been proven or supported by scientific research. The existence of any kind of life energy such as "ki" is a matter of personal spiritual belief rather than proven medical fact. Neither system should be used in place of proper medical treatment, although either system can be used to complement medical treatment depending on your own views.