By now with the rise of consciousness of the Age of Aquarius, you may have heard of the popular energy-healing modality Reiki (pronounced ray-kee). Maybe you're curious, a little skeptical, or ready to book your first session. Well continue reading, and by the end you will be enlightened to this gentle, yet profound, healing technique....
In the early 1920s, Reiki was developed (or some may say re-developed) by Dr. Mikao Usui. Before I introduce you to the great Usui Sensei, it is worth mentioning the works of Matiji Kawakami, who prior to Usui, had created his own healing style called Reiki Ryoho. There were a few similar healing styles around the 1910s, but due to circumstances that developed after WWII, those forms of Reiki became unknown and fell to disuse. Ultimately, Usui Reiki became the popularized and predominate form, which we will focus on and discuss.
Mikao Usui (pictured below) was a renowned Buddhist monk and the founder of what we know today as simply Reiki. He was born August 15, 1865 in the Yamagata region of Japan and was sent to a Buddhist monastery at age four to begin his education. Throughout his studies he took a deep interest in psychology, medicine, and various religions from around the world including Christianity, Buddhism, and Taoism. He had several life passions, from the spiritual and mystical to the scientific. These passions extended to adulthood; during this period he traveled to several Western countries, as well as China and Europe, to broaden his knowledge. Throughout those years Usui became fluent in English, Chinese, and Sanskrit.
Although he achieved so much academically, he was not always successful in life and faced misfortunes. Despite this, he strove to strengthen his mind and body to push through those adversities. This all lead up to 1922, where an existential crisis had come to a head and upon the recommendation of his teacher, he began an intense 21-day spiritual quest. This quest involved fasting and prayer for 21 days in Mount Kurama, a place of significant spiritual past for the Japanese people. Usui aspired to achieve Satori which translates as enlightenment. He was aware that such a quest would not be easy, so he established a ritual of fasting, meditation, and prayer. After a grueling and tiring 21 days, he fell into a deep meditative state. At that moment, he received a strong beam of white light shining directly on his head and a clear vision of the Reiki symbols. Filled with excitement, he was eager to share his experience with his teacher and fellow monks. As he rushed down the mountain, he stubbed his toe and fell, which caused him to instinctively place his hands on his foot. Suddenly, he felt an intense energy traveling from his hands to his injured toe and realized that this was a hands-on-healing modality. The pain instantly went away and he was healed. Usui was amazed by this and realized that apart from the deep awakening, he had gained the ability to heal. That is when he had an epiphany: his life purpose was achieved; he now had to heal others and teach them what he learned. And so he did....
Over the next few years, he helped people in need at nearby villages, all the way up to Tokyo. A major earthquake that later struck Tokyo and Yokohama in 1923 caused over 140,000 fatalities, leaving the survivors in dire need. Usui and his students provided nonstop hands-on healing during that time and even opened a large clinic, which heightened Usui's reputation and popularity as a healer. This led to him initiating more than 2000 Reiki students in his lifetime. Out of the thousands of students, 20 were considered Masters/Teachers of Reiki, notably Dr. Chujiro Hayashi (pictured below). Before Usui's death, he asked Chujiro Hayashi to open his own Reiki clinic and expand it based on his previous experience as a medical doctor in the Navy. Motivated by this request, Hayashi started a school and clinic called Hayashi Reiki Kenkyukai, and years later went to train another notable figure in Reiki history, Hawayo Takata....
Hawayo Takata (pictured below) was born on the island of Kauai, Hawaii to Japanese immigrants. Like Usui, she led an unfortunate life full of struggle. She became widowed at an early age and was left to raise two children on her own. In order to provide for them she had to work for long periods of time with little rest, which led to a slew of health problems including asthma, tumors, and gallstones. Later in her adult life, she ended up in Japan where she decided to try Reiki in hopes it could help her ailing health. After a few months of treatments, she was completely healed and was so impressed that she decided to become trained in Reiki herself. Two years later, she became initiated by Dr. Hayashi as a Reiki Master and returned back to Hawaii to continue teaching there.
During her career, Takata wanted to make Reiki more appealing to the West. To accomplish this, she lied about Reiki's development by relating it to Christianity instead of Buddhism. She told similar fabrications in order to spread Reiki amongst Christians, believing it would otherwise be extinct. Ultimately, if it were not for her "white lies", this healing modality could have fallen to obscurity and wouldn't be practiced by people all over the world today. Before her passing, she taught 22 Reiki masters who carried on the lineage.
Mikao Usui passed away in 1926 from a stroke and his ashes were placed in a family temple in Tokyo. His students arranged a memorial stone titled, "Memorial of Usui Sensei's Virtue", and engraved it with his story from their perspective. His profound legacy highlights the fact that he dedicated his life to spirituality and made it his mission to share the gift of Reiki with others. It gives us the ability to place our body in a state of balance and the opportunity to make our lives better.
A beautiful takeaway is to remember that through a dark period in his life and tragic experience, he discovered Reiki. This shows that he, in some ways, is no different from us. However, keep in mind that you shouldn't wait for an unfortunate event to take care of yourself or to make a positive change in your life. Start today with small steps towards living a healthy and happy lifestyle. Some powerful quotes from Usui to inspire you on your journey are listed below:
"Reiki is wisdom combined with energy; it connects us to the universal source of light, it stimulates growth, it balances us from a physical, mental, and spiritual point of view, it can heal the deepest wounds and it can bring to the surface the unknown potentials of our being."
"Each and every being has an innate ability to heal as a gift from the gods."
"Reiki is love. Love is wholeness. Wholeness is balance. Balance is well-being. Well-being is freedom from disease."
"Be kind to yourself and every living thing."
By now you may be intrigued enough to learn more about Reiki and ready to take the first step of healing on your journey. Whether you are dealing with stress, recovering from an injury, or facing a health condition; Reiki therapy can be included as a part of your healing process. Reiki heals us by balancing the body's energy centers and removing blockages. As a result, the energy goes to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual spaces where it's needed. This gentle and harmless energy works to heal the root cause rather than the symptoms of the disease. It only works for your highest good, so there are no negative side effects. In rare cases and depending on the severity of issues before the session, some clients may feel temporary tiredness or minor cold symptoms. This should not last more than a couple of days. I like to think of it as a spiritual detox; similar to a physical detox when doing certain diets or "cleanses". Your suppressed emotions, traumas, or energies may have been blocked for quite some time. During a Reiki session these can "come up" and need to be released, hence the detox symptoms. It is important during this time to take it easy and to stay hydrated with fresh water. The key is to gently support your body during the healing process. Remember, you are undergoing a process of cleansing, replenishing, and resetting to operating on a higher vibrational level.
I truly love and appreciate the gentle yet profound healing modality that is Reiki. Sessions can be booked directly with me, a Master Teacher, under my catalogue listed "The Reiki Experience". Happy healing and thank you for reading!