State Board of Touchy-feely?

"What we're trying to do is get people to qualify under the act before they can say they're a registered Reiki practitioner," says Cohen. He reiterates that those who do not have the credentials could not call themselves Reiki masters.

Since the state has never verified that Reiki actually works as a healing technique, what would be the difference between establishing a registry for Reiki practitioners and, say, a registry for qualified voodoo priests?

"Well, there isn't anything," admits Cohen. "Reiki is going to have to show it's something the people want, that is not dangerous to them and has had some benefits. We'll be presenting [evidence] to the legislature to show we're not voodoo or something like that."

Cohen vows to push for passage but promises to broaden the bill to include any groups that can legitimately claim to produce qualified Reiki professionals. Exactly how a governmental body can decide who is an expert in an unverifiable discipline remains a mystery on a par with the Reiki Ray itself.

"There is no way to prove that this energy even exists," contends Lois Werner, "much less that the Reiki Alliance or anyone else has a stranglehold on the Real Thing."

Or the unreal thing, for that matter.

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