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The Human Body and Systems
Reiki, the beginning
Imagine that it is morning and you are sitting on the top of
a mountain in Japan. You have been there for twenty one days fasting,
praying for enlightenment, and for a deeper understanding of how
to heal the body. The early morning is dark and as you throw the
last of 21 small stones that you previously gathered to mark the
days, suddenly a light appears from no where and streams towards
you, and in that moment your prayers are answered, your 21 year
quest to understand ends and another exciting journey begins.
It sounds like a fairy tale and yet it is part of the journey
undertaken in the Meji-era in Japan by Mikao Usui to rediscover
the ancient hands on healing method that he named Reiki.
There are many stories about Mikao Usui. When I studied Reiki
many years ago I was told that Mikao Usui was a Christian Theologian
who searched for the answer to his question, How did Christ Heal
? Recently a more Eastern version of the story of Usui has surfaced
in a book entitled "Reiki Fire" by Frank Petter. Frank
is a Reiki Master who lives and teaches in Japan with his Japanese
wife. They desired to be closer energetically to the man who gave
us Reiki by visiting his grave site in the Toyotama district in
Tokyo, Japan. They have also spoken with the people that continue
to uphold Usui's principles in Usui Shiki Ryoho. This Reiki movement
"Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai" that Usui founded in Tokyo,
Japan is still very active today. This is what they have discovered.
Mikao Usui was born on August 15, 1862 in the village of Yago
in the Yamgata district in southern Japan to Uzaemon and Kawai
Usui. It was the Keio period. We are given to understand that
he was a talented and hardworking student and as an adult he traveled
several times to countries in the West and also to China to study.
He was a very dedicated man. He married Sadako Suzuki and had
two children a girl and a boy.
One day he went to Mount Kurama to undertake a twenty one day
retreat. During this time he was fasting and meditating. At the
end of this twenty one day period he felt an incredible energy
enter his head and discovered that he could use his hands to heal
various ailments in himself and his family. He had reached a level
of understanding and had been given answers in his meditations.
He called this energy Reiki He opened a clinic in Harajuku, Aoyama
Tokyo in the April of 1921. He gave Reiki treatments to many people
who came from far and wide and also started to give workshops
to spread his knowledge to others. In 1923 there was a devastating
earthquake that shook Tokyo, Japan. Thousands of people were killed,
injured and became sick in its aftermath. He took Reiki to this
devastated city. Giving Reiki treatments to the surviving victims.
His clinic became so popular that it soon was too small to handle
the amount of people that came to him to experience the healing
powers of Reiki. He built a larger clinic outside Tokyo in Nakano
in 1924 The Meiji Emperor of Japan honored him for the work he
had done with the people of Tokyo after the earthquake. He was
called Sensei (Teacher) he was a warm and humble person who always
had a smile on his face and never showed off his knowledge. He
was simple, honest and very courageous in the face of adversity.
The people loved him and showed great respect for his knowledge
and his compassion. During his travels to Fukuyama to work and
lecture about Reiki he had his fatal stroke on March 9, 1926.
He was sixty two years of age and had previously recovered fully
from two strokes he had two years before. He is buried with his
wife and son named Fuji Usui who had taken over the family business
after Usui's passing, at a Saihoji Buddhist temple in the suburbs
of Tokyo. The inscription on the tomb stone on Usui's grave that
was put there shortly after his death by a group of his students
reads that he taught Reiki to about 2000 people. There were Reiki
centers and Reiki clinics in all parts of the country. Workshops
by Usui and his chief disciples were conducted on a regular basis.
The inscription on the tomb stone it also goes on with the following
direct translation.
"Someone who studies hard ( i.e. practices meditation) and
works very hard to improve body and mind for the sake of becoming
a better person is called a man of great spirit. People who use
that great spirit for a soul purpose, that is to teach the right
way to many people and do collective good, are called teachers.
Dr. Usui was such a teacher. He taught the Reiki of the Universe,
(universal energy) countless people came to him and asked him
to teach them the great way of Reiki and to heal them.
Reiki not only heals diseases, but also amplifies innate abilities,
balances the spirit, makes the body healthy, and thus to achieve
happiness. To teach this to others you should follow the five
principles of the Mejji Emperor and contemplate them daily in
your heart. They should be spoken daily, once in the morning and
once at night.
1. Just for today, do not anger
2. Do not worry
3. Be filled with gratitude
4. Devote yourself to your work
5. Be kind to people
Originally the five spiritual principles for Reiki were adopted
by Mikao Usui because he felt that using them like a prayer would
enhance ones ability to lead a healthy spiritual and physically
strong life. Variations of them have been adopted as the Spiritual
principles for Reiki. What I have found for myself is that they
help me to live in this moment. I am asking myself only for this
day to do these. Yesterday is past and tomorrow is in the future.
Today is the moment of living and creating. When we live this
way, each precious moment matters and we are truly connected to
the source. Things just happen to support us. It is the time to
make dreams come true. By making a commitment to live this way
it also gives us the opportunity to deepen experiences. We are
responding into life!
Eventually Reiki was brought to the United states by Hawayo Takata.
She was a widow who studied with one of Usui's sixteen Reiki Masters,
a man named Churijo Hayashi. Takata had come to Japan seeking
help for her chronic illness. While there she was treated in Hayashi's
clinic and eventually worked beside him and other therapists as
part of her training procedure. After a year she went back to
Hawaii where she lived with her two daughters. Hayashi visited
her in Hawaii in 1938 and he made her a Reiki Master (Sensei)
at that time. She eventually brought the message of Reiki to the
United States and only in her 70's did she begin to train Reiki
Masters herself.. On December 11, 1980 she passed away, leaving
twenty Two Reiki Masters in the USA and Canada. A group of her
Reiki Masters formed the Reiki Alliance and elected Takata's grand
daughter Phyllis Lei Furumoto as her successor. The Alliance was
formed to insure that the knowledge of Reiki was passed on. Some
of Takata's Masters did not join the Alliance and choose to be
independent of the Alliance. One of these independent Masters
was a woman named Barbara Ray who founded what is now called the
"Radiance Technique".
Now just 20 years later Reiki has spread all over the world.
There are many Reiki Masters from the Alliance teachings and certainly
many others from the independent Masters. Hundreds of Thousands
of people's lives have been changed as a result of these three
people's initial dedication to Reiki. Usui, Hayashi and Takata.
I am one of these Masters. I worked independent of any organization
until 1987 when I founded the International Association of Reiki.
The center for the association is in Liberec, Czech Republic.
What is Reiki
The word Reiki is Japanese and is translated as Universal Life
Giving Energy. Out of my own experience I feel it is Universal
Unconditional Love or Pure Heart Energy. A love that has no boundaries
and gives us the potential to be the witness to miracles in ourselves
and others. It works on the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical
aspects of all living things. bringing back into harmony what
is dis-eased or distressed.
Understanding Reiki
When I first starting doing Reiki I made many attempts to give
a logical explanation about Reiki. As hard as I tried I still
could not touch the core of what Reiki is. There is an apparent
mystery regarding Reiki that is not logical. and can not be explained
by words, but rather felt with experience. The experience of giving
Reiki once you have been initiated into the system by a Reiki
Master and certainly that of receiving it from one who has been
initiated. In this experience you discover such an incredible
peace and relaxation that it may seem as if some how you are brought
back into relationship with your innate truth, your perfection
of body mind and spirit. I am reminded of a spiritual teacher
who said to me "Just because I say there is a sun does not
make it so, it is your experience of feeling it's warmth on your
skin that pulls you into relationship with it." Experience
is the key to understanding Reiki.
It is probably the safest and yet most effective method of transferring
life energy that I know of. It requires no specific philosophy
or religion. No skill or special preparations or previous degrees
are necessary. Anyone can become an instrument for the energy
of Reiki in a matter of a day or two. Of course it goes with out
saying that daily practice will deepen the understanding of this
universal life force and will also help one to become a clearer
instrument for the energy.
I use the term instrument simply because the person who is giving
the energy is not healing anyone. The energy passes through them
to another person, plant or living organism and it is the receiver
of this loving energy that heals themselves by using the energy.
I am blessed as a Reiki instrument and Reiki Master to be a witness
to many miracles. I have no expectation how the energy will be
used. The process of healing is not in my hands, rather I am a
part of their process but am not "it". The perspective
is then different to traditional healing where the "Healer"
is doing something to you and you are depending upon them or yourself
to follow the instructions given. The Reiki treatment is safe
in any situation, time or circumstances irrespective of the disease
or discomfort. It is also suitable for professional medical care.
It is easily combined with orthodox medicine as well as alternative
methods.
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