Why Should I Pay for Healing?
There is a large divide in the spiritual/healing community over whether it is ethical to charge for healing and other spiritual services and I would like to share my take on this.
Image by Raine Hilton The Good Vibes Girl
In an ideal world it would be lovely to be able to do this full time for free but myself and many others also have bills to pay and children to clothe and feed. The work we do is no different to dentists, psychotherapists or others who work in mainstream medical services and receive money for their time, effort and expertise. Money is just a token for that energy transferred, no more and no less. We think nothing of using this energy (money) to pay for our fuel bills which is also energy. Energy is continually flowing throughout our lives, just changing form and names.
Also at a deeper level it is important that an exchange be made for such services. We live in a universe which is held in perfect balance, energy flows from one place to another, at no time is there ever a void. It is the universal nature of give and take. When a healing session, reading or attunement is given for free it creates an imbalance. The client unconsciously doesn’t value the service or feels unable at an energetic level to accept it because they have given nothing in return; therefore what they are being given is meaningless to them. This is especially important when it comes to energy healing or attunements as this may compromise the power and the belief in the system as well as the tutor/master/therapist.
Even going as far back as when Dr Mikao Usui walked this physical plane, the originator and founder of Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki, he stressed the importance of there being a fair exchange of energy, whether this is in goods, services or money. After all money is only another form of energy as is everything around us. In fact he experimented widely with this principle by allocating a portion of his time to giving free healing to the ill, poor and homeless. He did this alongside his regular paying clients.
To begin with all his clients improved, but after a short time he began to see a profound change among those who were receiving the free healing. The ones who did not return energy to him in some form soon began to decline in health and quickly found themselves back to where they had started. He realised what was happening and suggested that those who could not afford to pay him in money returned the energy to him in some other form, for example by working for him around the home or garden in whatever capacity they were able to, As the energy exchange grew so did the health of his clients improve, and this time for good.
This is why for many energy workers without an additional income it is essential to charge a fee for spiritual services. This is often abused by many, some charging ridiculous amounts of money sometimes as much as hundreds and even thousands of pounds. I certainly do not condone this and try to offer a fair price for my services. I firmly believe that everyone should have the opportunity to be able to learn healing techniques and to have access to healing for themselves as well as other spiritual services such as card readings.
There are hidden costs to energy healing that many people are unaware of; this includes renting, lighting and heating work premises, the working hours allocated for the services provided, including all the preparation for attunements and healing sessions, the therapists side of the session begins long before the client’s side does! There is also the upkeep and replacement of the equipment used; the time spent writing manuals as well as in my case always being available to fulfil my commitment of lifetime support to my students.
To my mind it isn’t so much the energy itself I am charging for, only my time and the upkeep of my business and also my health. As a channel for healing I need to keep myself as pure as possible, this for me means, no smoking or caffeine. I rarely drink alcohol and never in my working week. I eat healthily, have lots of early nights, and make plenty of time for meditation and exercise. Putting myself in the best shape mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually means that I can offer you the best service possible.
I am also committed to ongoing study so that I can in turn channel this knowledge further into my work. I pay for my courses, for my tutor’s guidance and expertise, which in turn is turned into the energy that I pass onto others.
The attunements I offer are ones that I am well versed in and work with on a regular basis. There have been a number of so called ‘energy shopkeepers’ who buy attunements in bulk and pass them on without another thought, many times they haven’t even attuned themselves to them! They believe that by buying in bulk they can offer them at ridiculously low prices and make a profit. This means that by the time the new student receives these attunements the stream of energy is so weakened that it is practically useless. By the time they are ready to pass it on it is nonexistent. This is why by charging a fair price for a fair sessions work everyone benefits. In my case for my higher priced services such as the Usui Reiki levels 1-2-3 package I offer easy monthly terms, and also a free healing session when bulk bookings are made.
I do have a number of free attunements and empowerments on offer, as the originators of these particular systems stipulate that money must not be charged for these I respect this. When I receive a free attunement I like to give something back such as some healing, or even another free attunement to balance this flow of energy.
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Medicine Song Woman Brenda MacIntyre | Nov 10, 2009 | Reply
Great article. I’ve had this come up for myself as well, with my work as an energy and sound healer. Well said.
What I don’t understand is how people don’t see the incredible value in what we as healers are offering – as long as we’re reputable of course.
I mean, the results speak for themselves.
An elder once told me to consider that what I’m charging for is my time. In my case, I choose not to rent a space, but a one hour distance session is actually more like 2 hours of work for me. I record all my sessions using professional studio equipment. I have to edit the recordings for sound quality and volume as well.
Actually the same issue comes up all the time for me as a recording artist also. There are people who love my music like crazy who will never buy a CD for only $20. My last CD cost me about $30,000 to make and several hundred so far to get it onto radio. It’s an amazing CD – but still many people think they deserve to have music for free. And even more, many people expect me to perform for free as well. These days being a well known artist doesn’t necessarily mean we’re so rich we can afford to perform for nothing. It’s an interesting yet disturbing mindset.
And yes, as healers we do need to keep ourselves clear and healthy to do this kind of service – even the music (I do healing songs). I eat as much organic food as possible, do not drink alcohol ever, or do drugs, and I have to make sure I get healing when I need it as well. All of that costs money, as does raising my daughter and paying the rent and running a website etc.
In my community – I’m Canadian Native American – there is a LOT of backlash around this. A lot of people think it’s like selling the culture. But for me it is nothing like that. I am 100% dedicated to sharing my gifts because it is what I am here to do. And when I say “I” it’s because I can only speak for myself, but at the same time, I know many other healers feel the same way.
In the best of times, we would all be trading without the need of money as a medium of energy transfer. But for now, that’s now how it works, so no matter what anybody does for a living, we all need to be paid fairly.
Love & Light,
Brenda, Medicine Song Woman
Annie | Nov 11, 2009 | Reply
Well said Raine, I do not charge a set fee for my Reiki services but do it instead as a gratuity, you pay what you can. If it is a healing session for me in return, that is just as good as well as exchange for child care or tools etc. I did not know the exact reason for why Master Usui charged but completely understand it now. I have battled with this issue for a while now on to charge or not due to so many others that charge way too much. Thank you for such an informative article.
Much Love, Annie