Thank you both for your replies. I agree that where the impulse to work comes from is really important. We always started working with someone with words along the lines of 'may this healing be for the highest good of all beings everywhere', and I used to make it clear that the outcome might not be what was expected eg their knee pain might not disappear, but that something would have changed as the ki energy knows what needs to be done, and it might not be what the person is expecting.

The aspects of reiki that I was personally unsure about were the attunements (why do I have to be attuned to this energy when I feel it is freely available to all) and the more 'secret' symbols as you progress within reiki (a little too ritualised for my liking). I wondered if these were 'distortions' of the original way of working? For this reason, I did not use them and tended to stick with the basics.

I guess that, as in everything we do, we must maintain an awareness of our motives and actions and any feeling of 'not-right-ness'.

Becky