Picture description from Left to Right:
Usui Sensei, Hayashi Sensei, Takata Sensei, and Furumoto Sensei.
Reiki is a Japanese technique that can promote healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.
The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."
A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and well-being. Many have reported miraculous results.
Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.
While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use Reiki. In fact, Reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not. Because Reiki comes from God, many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion rather than having only an intellectual concept of it. While Reiki is not a religion, it is still important to live and act in a way that promotes harmony with others.
Dr. Mikao Usui, the founder of the Reiki system of natural healing, recommended that one practice certain simple ethical ideals to promote peace and harmony, which are nearly universal across all cultures.
Reiki can be performed in two ways.
1-In Person -- Practitioner uses hands on approach.
2-Long Distance -- Practitioner connects with the patient's energy field, through special long distance symbols.
Reiki is not only a healing modality but also great way for balancing chakras or body's energy centers.
The Reiki Lineage and History
Mikao Usui, was who was born on Aug 15, 1865 was the originator of the USUI reiki system as we know it now. He was born in a village called Yago which is located in Japan in the district of Yamagata. He was a business man and also a scholar of philosophy, theology, medicine, and martial arts. He was not a doctor by profession but people may refer to him as Dr. Mikao Usui as well, out of respect for him. He was also called Usui Sensei, "Sensei = master teacher". He practiced meditation and was a spiritual person.
Dr. Usui, gradually got involved in palm healing and it is said that he adapted it from Chinese Qi Gong. If you visit the Saihoji Temple in Tokyo, Japan, his memorial stone says that went on a twenty one day period of fasting. He also meditated during that period on Mount Kurama.
This enabled him to discover a way to guide the universal life force or "REIKI" from his Crown to his palms.
Discovering this allowed him to use Reiki without his own energy being consumed.
He continued to improve the REIKI method of healing and came up with specific hand positions to perform the healing modality on patients' bodies.
This encouraged him to open a clinic in Tokyo in early 1900's, and initiated numerous REIKI practitioners, enabling them to practice REIKI. His healing abilities helped a lot of people who suffered the earthquake in Tokyo in 1923. He trained a lot of people in REIKI level one and two, and out of them he promoted twenty one of them to REIKI Master/Teachers before he died at the age of 62 as it is said due to stroke.
After him one of his students called Chujiro Hayahsi who off springed from the REIKI society that Dr. USUI had originally established, continued his method very close to USUI Sensei's teachings. He was a retied Japanese Army surgeon. Dr. Hayashi opened his own clinic and he had a student whose name was Mrs. Hawayo Takata, who originally resided in Hawaii. She was a patient at Dr. Hayashi's clinic in Japan and was cured of her medical issues with a lot of effort. She convinced Dr. Hayashi to initiate her into a Reiki practitioner and continued to work at his clinic before she returned to Hawaii in 1937.
When Mrs. Takata who was a widow of a Japanese origin returned to Hawaii where she resided, opened a REIKI healing clinic. To make the REIKI system more acceptable to the majority of the westerners who were Christians she kind of related the REIKI history to Christianity, and stated that Dr. Usui was a Christian school teacher and had training in an American university in Theology. This way REIKI became more acceptable by the Westerners.
Dr. Hayashi visited Mrs. Takata in Hawaii prior to his death, and initiated her into a Master/Teacher. Mrs. Takata trained a lot of Reiki practitioners in Levels I&II. Within the last ten years of her life she initiated 22 Master/Teachers, one them was her grand daughter Phylis Furomoto who is the current Grand Reiki Master/Teacher.
Phylis Furomoto passed on March 31, 2019. Two weeks prior to her transition, Phyllis acknowledged Johannes Reindl as her successor.
