The word Reiki consist of two syllables: "rei" which means "Universal Life" and "ki" which means energy. This practice works by consciously bringing that energy that makes everything on Earth move and live (Life Force) to a body, plant, animal or object to activate its own healing properties. Life Force is also known as chi, prana, or mana in other cultures.

Indeed, all living and non-living beings on Earth (even rocks, believe it or not) work with Life Force, which is like gas to a car. Our bodies naturally absorb life force from the sun, air, soil, our foods, water and nature in general. Just think about it, when you are in nature, how do you feel? Our bodies feel more energized, our moods tend to be more positive, our minds get clearer and we feel a greater sense of connection. Now, what happens when we spend most of our days indoors, eating not so healthy foods, not being as active, and when we are not that social? Our physical, emotional, and mental health as well as our spirits might start to get affected.

Our bodies do not need any type of belief system to do its work - they get the energy they need from our surroundings (sun, air) and from what we eat.  We do not need to believe that we need to be exposed to the sunlight for our bodies to produce vitamin D, do we? We do not need to firmly set the intention of absorbing vitamin C from an orange for our bodies to do so. Our bodies do their jobs naturally.