Reiki and Assisted Suicide

I have been asked many times as a Hospice Doctor what my view was of assisted suicide. And before I discuss this from a Reiki perspective, I want to share a couple of stories.

Once a man with terminal cancer told me he wanted to end his own life, because he never wanted to suffer, and he never wanted to end up on a respirator. I shared with him that I had a problem within my own moral code assisting in suicide, and that I could offer him a deal: a) First, I would assure that he would never have pain that was not treated - we would make sure he was comfortable and b) Second, that when the end came, his wishes would be respected and he would be allowed a natural death without aggressive care. He accepted that compromise, and chose to live one day at a time for four more months. He shared time with loved ones, experienced precious moments, stayed positive, we relieved his pain, and in the end, he died at home, without any machines.

In fact I have relived this discussion countless times, and never had anyone fail to accept the offer.

But life can be complicated. The stories about Mrs Takata teaching Reiki do not speak a lot of intuition, or distant communication, but in Helen Haberly's biography, she relates "in early 1940 she had a vivid dream in which she saw Dr Hayashi in a formal kimono of white silk. He walked back and forth three times, and she could hear the squish of the silk upon the tatsumi mats. It seemed to be real, not a dream."

Soon, she was summoned to Japan, and she was with her teacher, Hayashi and his family when he made transition. "As a devout Buddhist and the Reiki Grand Master, he could not destroy life. He spoke of having lived a life of peace and understanding , of working to help people: so rather than kill others, he had chosen to make a peaceful transition at this time, although he was only sixty-two and in perfect health."

Of the picture, my wife and I were im Nice visiting Art Museums. I knew that Matisse was buried in an old cemetary there, but finding his grave turned out to be more complex than finding his art! There was a man in the cemetary who seemed to be having some difficulty, he was French speaking only, I asked how he was, and in his own language he started explaining how he had a recent stroke, he felt he was getting better. He asked what he could do for me. We told him we were seeking to find Matisse grave, and limp and all he led us there.

In an imperfect world, we can share respect, language, art, and Reiki energy. Since I have never been in Dr Hayashi's position, I cannot judge, but as far as possible, it seems to me better to spread kindness and light and help people live, than to help them die. In this sense, Reiki and Hospice, for me, are about spreading light and helping people live, and leaving the decision on transition to a higher power.