This newsletter edition is somewhat different from our usual in that it is much less about our personal news (though there is still some of that) but more about major events in the Australian Reiki world. We know that this will interest and hopefully be of concern to all who practice Reiki, whether in home or professional settings, hence this lengthy introduction.

As possibly many of you are aware, government regulation of complementary therapies is a reality and will progress at a steady rate maybe over several years. The prospect that we could have a government designed clinical model foisted upon us is not attractive. Therefore the best option is for the Reiki community to self-regulate and to trust that, if we set sufficiently high standards of practice and teaching, these standards will be accepted as a benchmark.

Most of you will be aware that for some years we, together with colleagues, have been planning for the setting up of professional associations for both masters and practitioners. Because it was felt that there were different interests and objectives, the plan was for separate organisations to represent each body of practice. So, in May 1999, "Reiki Australia - Masters in the Usui System Inc. (or RASMUS)" was incorporated in Victoria, and we were two of the foundation committee members of that body.

Much work had previously been done on planning a similar incorporated body to represent the Reiki practitioner, but preoccupation with the workload of the RASMUS committee brought progress in this to a temporary but prolonged halt. The advent of government interest in regulation of complementary therapies refocused thoughts on this project.

Therefore, in February 2001, at a combined meeting of RASMUS and members of the steering committee of the Practitioner Association (APATURP).

Following discussions at this meeting, it was decided that, since there are many overlapping areas in the objectives and interests in the practitioner and teaching fields, it was desirable to amalgamate and unify our objectives.

Accordingly, RASMUS received a new name - "Reiki Association of Practitioners and Masters (Australia) Inc." (or RAPMA ). Following this change of identity, all documentation had to be reviewed and revised. This required modified Association Rules, Mission Statement, Statements of Purposes and Identity, Codes of Ethics and Professional Practice, and a defining of the different levels of membership. To achieve this involved considerable hours of discussion and much e-mail correspondence.

Following a committee meeting of the Association held on 12th August, all documents were adopted and were ratified at the Annual General Meeting of RAPMA held on the same day.

At the same Annual General Meeting, an expanded committee to represent both Masters and Practitioners was elected and a detailed agenda for the next committee meeting to be held on 7th October is in preparation.

The new RAPMA Committee of nine members comprises:

Office bearers:

• President - Eileen Chapman (Reiki Practitioner and Master)
• Vice-President - Enna Szmulewicz (Reiki Practitioner/Naturopath/Psychotherapist)
• Secretary - Jim Frew (Reiki Practitioner and Master)
• Treasurer - Bevianne Claire Smith (Reiki Practitioner and Master)

• Dania Genobile (Reiki Practitioner/Masseur) (Dania has also accepted the role of Public Officer and Membership Secretary)
• Moira McCafferty (Reiki Practitioner and Master)
• Karena Goldfinch (Reiki Practitioner/Naturopath/Counsellor)
• Thelma Pryor (Reiki Practitioner/Registered Midwife/Reflexologist)
• Margaret Yarnton (Reiki Practitioner/Aromatherapist)

RAPMA is now represented by a committee composed of members of considerable experience in their various fields, and with extensive experience in Reiki practice.

NATIONAL HAPPENINGS
In conjunction with happenings in Victoria, many of you will be aware that preparations have been in hand for several months to hold a national conference representative of both practitioner and master communities in Sydney in early September.

The conference organisers mailed out an information package, which many of you will have received prior to the conference detailing the purpose of the conference as including the following:

• The aim of conference is to draw together members of the Reiki community as a starting point to common understanding. This will enable us to make informed decisions and be empowered in the process of the regulation of the public practice of Reiki in Australia.

• We have therefore programmed information sessions, open forums and group discussions to build a knowledge base. Thereby creating a strong foundation to forming a national registered body, which represents the Australian Reiki community and establishes standards for the public practice of Reiki.

• Identifying values we want to be reflected in a national registered body.

• Identifying common elements of practices.

• Identifying stages of practice in common.

• Identifying what is sacred and what is communicated.

• Identifying terminology-common to all forms of practice of Reiki.

The conference was addressed by speakers experienced both in the practice and teaching of Reiki, and with expertise in other fields relevant to professional public practice.

The organising committee also stated:

• Currently in Australia there is a national project under way to validate complementary therapy training packages. The organisation that validates all training programs is ANTA (Australian National Training Authority).
  The body appointed to prepare submissions in the area of health care to ANTA is the CSHTA (Community Services and Health Training Authority). As a national representative body we have a window of opportunity to prepare a submission, assisted by CSHTA to ANTA, to register the public practice of Reiki." The National Reiki Conference 4 - 9 September 2001 Report from Eileen

  Eileen was invited to address the conference on practitioner development requirements and reports on the conference as follows:

• I must confess to holding, prior to attending this conference, some misgivings about the possibility of people from different strands in Reiki coming together and achieving consensus. However the process, content and achievements of the conference exceeded all expectations.
  Change and growth are not always comfortable and many of us, including myself, sometimes were moved out of our comfort zones but with the respect and openness generated at the conference it was possible to talk through differences of understanding.

• The vision of the Conference was to: regulate an ethical and professional public best practice of Reiki; provide opportunities for Reiki practitioners to come together, network and grow; maintain the practice of Reiki as an art; and listen to where Reiki wants to go.

• To facilitate the realisation of this vision we committed to confidentiality to enable open sharing and discussion. We also committed to work together for the highest good of Reiki, outlining guidelines for ourselves to achieve this.

• The first step in the September conference was opening to ideas, bonding, finding common elements and opening to new ways of being in community.

• One of the main themes was inclusion, without an 'anything goes' approach, which enabled conference participants to achieve consensus on important questions - a result which reflects on the vision of the organisers, the ability of our wonderful facilitator and the commitment of all the participants at this national gathering.

• The planning group had arranged for a facilitator to guide discussion on key issues. We were also given in depth information sessions by people in three healing arts who have been central to achieving accreditation for their respective associations - without losing the essence of these arts.

• All conference participants attended personally and not as a representative of any Reiki body. However, Geraldine Milton, who acts as an advisor to the RAPMA Committee, shared RAPMA's Codes of Ethics and Conduct as an example of ethical practice.
  Geraldine in her capacity as a bio ethicist, gave an excellent presentation on the necessity for ethics in professional public practice.

• Geraldine and I also gave a presentation on the Practitioner Development Course, which I created some years ago, with Geraldine, Enna Szmulewicz and Loris Alexander. (This course was 'put on ice' during the time all the work was being done on the Practitioner and Master Associations, recently merged into RAPMA.)
  This was offered as an example of a professional practitioner training model. A second model was presented by a Master from Queensland. Neither of these models were presented for adoption by the conference, but rather were intended for information and discussion.

• At the end of the conference there was consensus on a decision to take the next step to forming a national body. There will be a follow up conference next year, with focus groups working in the meantime on the various tasks that arose out of the conference decisions.
  Where do we meet? In Perth.
  Who decided on Perth? Well folks, we put the names of all the States in a 'hat', put our trust in Reiki, and the answer drawn was, Perth.
  And when? The answer to this will be confirmed as soon as possible but probably the date will be some time in October 2002, although the focus groups will meet earlier.

• There will be a full report on the National Conference and detailed information on the 2002 gathering on the Conference website in the first part of next year. At the moment the conference organisers are taking a well earned break and recouping their energies after working ceaselessly since last November to create this wonderful event.

• I have just received a communication from a conference co-attendee in which she shared that she left feeling, '...excited, privileged and honoured' to have participated.

  Another has shared, 'I think we all grew over the week of the conference - for which I thank all of you ..... it made me stand back and look at my practice of Reiki - both privately and publicly and also my role in Public Practice.'

  Similar feelings were expressed by us all. For myself (Eileen), it was an experience not to be missed so I'm saving up for Perth in 2002. Hope to see you there.

It is too early to know what the relationship between RAPMA and any national body will be at this stage. Possible options for RAPMA are

MONASH UNIVERSITY PROJECT
As this newsletter is under final preparation, Jim, along with several helpers, has been invited to participate in a project at the Frankston campus of this university, where students and staff, who are coping with the stress of end-of-year exams, are being offered brief treatments in a range of complementary healing practices.

The response to Reiki treatments given to people, most of whom have never experienced Reiki, has been very positive and enthusiastic. The response of many was that 15 minutes wasn't nearly enough!

Both Jim and Eileen think that the potential for Reiki as a practice to assist in stress management could be explored further, such as in the corporate world where employers are beginning to appreciate the value in addressing stress in the lives of valued employees.