Reiki's Shamanic Origins

Index

(This will wind up being a huge site -- so please bear with me as I get the information on line. There will be some standard "stuff", plus those things I've discovered from a Shamans perspective.)

Reiki is not a religion. It beholds no doctrines, creeds or contradictions to the Universal Laws of Consciousness and Love. No matter where the person may be at a certain point in their life, Reiki will harmonize and embrace their philosophical center point, adding to the Divine Presence.

Reiki is always present, but we are unaware of it until the contact is made through training. After this training, it can be received and converted into healing energy.

Once an individual is attuned to Reiki through initiations, they are permanently linked without the need of conscious alteration of the mind, either through meditation, prayer or imaging. These initiations open certain inner centers of the body so the energy can be channeled easily and safely.

Simply placing one's hands on oneself, or another person, allows the energy to flow through the individual. It fills the Reiki channel's body first and then flows out through the channel's hands into the individual who is receiving the healing.

Reiki energy comes from the Creator/God-force and is an extremely powerful healing energy. It is one of the few forms of healing that can be used to heal oneself. Reiki does not conflict with other health-care, but enhances its results. It does not interfere with traditional medical treatment, but facilitates benefits. Reiki speeds the healing process, and provides a source of restoring energy while one is ill, under medical treatment, or in recovery.

Reiki healing is a pure energy form. When it is combined with the sincere desire of the healee, who is willing to effect a cleansing within their emotional and spiritual consciousness, a total healing can occur.

We must always remember that the energy of the God-force is neutral and awaits the positive, productive empowerment by the healee. The Reiki channel plays an instrumental part in transformation, and yet, ultimately, it is up to the healee to manifest harmony and balance in their life.

The Reiki channel is an instrument and must not allow the "Ego-Will" to desire the healee well. The Reiki channel must be a clear vessel through which the healing energy flows. This allows for the individuals Soul/Spiritual highest good to be the outcome of the healing.

JUST FOR TODAY--

I WILL NOT WORRY

I WILL NOT BE ANGRY

I WILL DO MY WORK HONESTLY

I WILL GIVE THANKS FOR MY MANY BLESSINGS

I WILL BE KIND TO MY NEIGHBOR AND ALL LIVING THINGS

There are three Degrees, or levels, of Reiki Ray. Each possesses a unique radiation of energy set forth for a specific purpose in healing.

FIRST DEGREE:

This degree is a permanent attunement to the Reiki Ray. Once initiated, it allows a person to channel Reiki energy for healing oneself and others. It requires no special invocation or alteration of the thinking process to "turn on" the flow of Reiki. By simply placing hands on and opening the heart to love, one automatically brings in the energy.

The first degree is the foundation of all three degrees, and must be mastered thoroughly before the person is considered for the next degree.

SECOND DEGREE:

The second degree requires further initiations for attunement to the keys utilized in this level.

The student is trained to use appropriate Second Degree Keys (3--Symbols) which provide an increase of power from the Reiki Ray and for mental/emotional healing and absentee healing.

THIRD DEGREE:

This degree designation is the level of Reiki Master, a teacher of Reiki.

The student is attuned to the full Reiki Ray, and for those guided, the path of the Teacher begins its unfoldment.

1. The Person Must Ask

We must ask to be healed, and in asking, open yourself up at the Throat Chakra level. We vocalize and hear ourselves say, "I want to change where I am; I want to alter my state of existence." In asking, the person is putting forth a conscious decision to become involved. The request may also be made on the Soul Level. It is from the Soul Level that the person asks for a healing. As a Reiki channel, you are a viaduct--a medium through which the energy of Reiki flows. It is essential to listen and render service to the request of the Soul.

2. There Must Be An Exchange of Energy for Services

The healing energy belongs to the Universe, to God. However, there needs to be a creative exchange from the recipient, the healee, to the person whose time and services are being rendered balancing and healing. Energy exchange may be anything from the stored concept of energy we call money, to an exchange of services between the healee and the Reiki channel.

Reiki channels offering healing services on a professional level do establish a fee. The fee sets a value on the service, which is considered a concrete reality in the thinking of humankind. Wellness, likewise, has a value, and ultimately reflects the feeling of worthiness and self-love of the person seeking to change their state of health.

The origin of Reiki can be traced back to ancient Tibet, thousands of years ago. This technique was rediscovered in the mid-1800's, by Dr Mikao Usui(Mee-Ky-ooh Uuh-su-ee) of Japan.

The tradition of Reiki was an oral one, and was passed on by master to master and student to student by word of mouth. The story most likely has been dramatically embellished by each storyteller over the years to emphasize the wonder and beauty of the legend of Dr. Usui. The following is the story as we and others have heard it:

In the City of Kyoto(Key-yo-toe), Japan, Dr Usui (a Christian Minister) was giving a sermon. After the service, two seminary students asked him to explain how Jesus did the miracles of healing, and furthermore, whether or not he could perform those same miracles. Dr Usui was not able to give the students an answer of yes. He felt that he understood the Bible intellectually, but he did not understand how Jesus healed.

This marked the beginning of Dr Usui's lifelong quest to uncover the source of ancient healing techniques. He left Japan, came to the United States and studied at the University of Chicago. During his stay in the United States, he earned a Doctorate degree in Theology. He searched the scriptures to try to uncover the secret of how Jesus and his disciples healed the sick and performed miracles, but he did not find the answers he sought during this time in the United States.

Upon his return to Japan, it occurred to Dr. Usui that the Buddha had performed the same type of miracles as Jesus. He, too, had healed the sick and had a great control of energy. He channeled the power of God and the Universe. Dr. Usui began asking the different Buddhistic sects if they could perform the miracles that Buddha performed: Could they heal the body? The Buddhists felt that healing of the Spirit and healing of the body was not always directly connected. They concentrated on the Spirit, and not on the body. They left the healing of the body up to those in the healing arts.

Finally, Dr. Usui went to a Zen monastery. He asked the same question of the head monk: "Do the Zen know how to heal the body?" The monk explained that they were concentrating heavily on healing the Spirit, and there just was not time to teach the physical healing of the body.

Dr. Usui requested that he be admitted to the Zen monastery so that he could study the Buddhist scriptures, the sutras, in search of the key to healing. He was admitted and so began his study.

Dr. Usui first studied the Japanese translations of the Buddhist scriptures, but did not find the explanation he sought. Then he learned Chinese so that a wider range of Buddhist writings were available to him, but still without success.

He was guided, through his meditations, to learn Sanskrit so that he could read the original Buddhist writings and have access to those writings that had never been translated into another language. After mastering the language of the Sanskrit, he began reading the teachings of the Tibetan Buddhistic Sect. From those writings, Dr. Usui discovered what he felt to be the keys to healing. Dr. Usui found the symbols, formulas and description of how Buddha healed.

And so, at the end of hi long search, Dr. Usui had found what he sought--but not quite. Although he believed he had uncovered the knowledge, he still did not have the power to heal. He discussed this with his old friend, the monk, and they meditated upon the path to take. They were told that Dr. Usui should go to a designated place upon the holy Mount Kuriyama. There he was to fast for twenty-one days and meditate, to seek the power to heal; during this time he would receive enlightenment and Spiritual clarity.

Dr. Usui climbed Kuriyama to a certain level and found a place that faced east. Since he had no calendar, he gathered twenty-one small stones and placed them before him. Every morning he awakened before the sun rose and would throw away one of the twenty-one stones to keep count of the days.

Each day he meditated and fasted. On the twenty-first day, Dr. Usui awakened to a darkened morning. It was like a new-moon day, when no light shone in the heavens before the breaking of dawn. When he awakened he could not even see his hand in front of his face. He found his way to the meditation spot and picked up the last stone. Dr. Usui prayed before throwing the last stone off the side of the mountain. He asked God for confirmation of his findings and asked to be given the enlightenment of how to use it.

As he threw the stone off the side of the mountain, a light appeared far off in the east. It began getting brighter and coming closer to him. It frightened him, and he wanted to run away. He thought to himself, "You have searched for years and years, and you have meditated and fasted for twenty-one days. You have asked for enlightenment and confirmation, and now you want to run away from it?" So, Dr. Usui quieted his intellect and said, "No, if that light is for me, I accept the enlightenment."

The light became very bright and streamed across the heavens and hit him directly in his third-eye. For a moment, he thought he had died and ascended into heaven, because he had never before been in such a euphoric state. He saw many bubbles in all the colors of the rainbow. Then came the powerful, bright, white light, followed by golden Sanskrit letters--the secret formula of the Universal Life Force and how to contact it. As a bubble would move into his field of vision and pause, the instruction in the use of this Symbol would be given. As soon as he had committed the information to memory, the bubble would move away and another would replace it with a different Symbol. In this fashion, Dr. Usui was given the full teachings in the meaning of the Symbols. He now had the secrets for which he had searched. He knew this was the Universal Life Energy, which he called "Reiki," and thus was born the Usui System of Natural Healing. Finally, the bubbles, the light and the Sanskrit letters had come and gone. Dr. Usui felt rested, full of life and energy.

Dr. Usui jumped to his feet. He wanted to hurry back and tell the monk of hi exciting news. In his rush, he stubbed his toe on a rock. He reached down to comfort the pain and to stop the bleeding. He found that the pain and the bleeding quit very rapidly. He realized that something was different about the energy in his hands: they had become very hot. After healing his toe, Dr. Usui continued his pilgrimage down the mountain.

Soon, he began to feel hungry, so he stopped at a home that served travelers and ordered cold rice and cold tea. In a few moments, a japanese girl, with a bandage wrapped around her jaw, brought Dr. Usui his meal. She told him that her tooth had been aching for days. Encouraged by his phenomenal pain relief, Dr. Usui asked, "May I give you a healing?" She accepted his offer gladly. He put his hands around her jaw, and within a short period of time the pain and swelling started going down. She was very happy and went to tell her grandfather.

Dr. Usui ate his meal and then tried to pay the grandfather. He reached into his pocket to get some coins, but the man said, "Thank you, sir monk, but I cannot accept the money. You have rendered unto my granddaughter a service for which I do not have the money to pay. Please accept the food in exchange for his services as a healing channel.

Upon returning to Kyoto, he went to tell his friend, the monk, what had happened. He asked for advice on what he should do now that he had received the keys and the energy of healing. He wanted to learn more about its use and how to develop it. Dr. Usui was directed by the monk to meditate on it.

From his meditation, Dr. Usui was guided to go into the vast slums of Kyoto where he would offer healing to the beggars. He would then send the younger ones to the monastery where they would be trained by the monks in skills which would help them earn their living. In those days the slums were an unsafe place for strangers to enter, for the beggars banded together under a leader, and they did not welcome others among them. Dr. Usui sought out the Chief of the beggars, asking permission to live there and heal the people. His only requirement would be a place to sleep and to do his work, along with three bowls of rice a day. His request was granted. He moved into this area and started the healing work among these poor people.

For the next seven years, he worked on healing the sick in the beggar kingdom. He worked from daylight to dark, healing the young and old alike and saw many beautiful results take place. He began to understand how Reiki flowed through him into the healee, and how the body became well.

One afternoon, Dr. Usui took a walk to the edge of the beggar kingdom. He saw a young beggar who looked familiar. Finally, he asked if the beggar knew him, and the beggar said, "Of course, Dr. Usui, I know you. Do you not remember me? I am one of the first beggars that you healed."

Dr. Usui said, "I healed you, and you are still a beggar?" The beggar looked back at him and said, "Oh, Dr. Usui, yes, and I did just what you told me. I went out to the temple to receive a new name, went into society and began dealing with my Karma, doing just what you told me to do. I even got a job and soon married, but it was too much responsibility. So, I decided that I would rather be a beggar. That way , I wouldn't ever have to be responsible for myself."

Dr. Usui was greatly upset, and thought, "What a terrible thing I have done. Perhaps the churches were right--the physical is not enough--the Spiritual has to also be healed. Never again will Reiki be given away--always there will have to be an exchange of energy." He decided to immediately leave the beggar kingdom.

As he walked back to the monastery, Dr. Usui was greeted in Spirit, by the teachers who had greeted him on Kuriyama. At this time, he was given the five Spiritual Principles of Reiki by the Teachers:

JUST FOR TODAY--

I WILL NOT WORRY

I WILL NOT BE ANGRY

I WILL DO MY WORK HONESTLY

I WILL GIVE THANKS FOR MY MANY BLESSINGS

I WILL BE KIND TO MY NEIGHBOR AND ALL LIVING THINGS

These five(5) principles created significant changes in the subsequent healings of Dr. Usui. He realized that he had been giving healing away without requiring the healee to take any responsibility whatsoever. Also, there had not been an exchange of energy for the services rendered. The new teaching provided Spiritual concepts to be integrated with the physical aspect of the Reiki energy

Soon afterwards, he left Tokyo and returned to Kyoto. Dr. Usui got a torch and lit it, and went walking. He was stopped and asked why he was carrying a lit torch in the middle of the day with the sun shining so brightly. He replied that he was searching for people with a heart full of love and with enlightened hearts, but who are sad and sorrowful and do not know the true Light, or who were ill, depressed and who longed to be healed. He invited the people to come and hear about Reiki. In this way, he started teaching Reiki throughout Japan and gathered a following of sixteen teachers.

In the mid-1920's, he met a man who became his most dedicated disciple, Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a forty-seven year old Reserve Naval Officer. With the transition of Dr. Usui, Dr. Hayashi became the Reiki Grand Master, carrying on this tradition of teaching and healing from his clinic in Tokyo.

Dr. Hayashi ran a private Reiki clinic in Tokyo where unusually severe illness and disease could be treated with Reiki. He also continued Dr. Usui's tradition, traveling, teaching and dedicating his life to Reiki. This clinic was where Hawayo Takata first received Reiki treatments that would later lead her into studying with Dr. Hayashi. At first, Dr. Hayashi did not want to teach her, first because she was a woman and second because she was not Japanese. Through her insistence, she became a student. He trained two women to be teachers. One of these teachers stayed in Japan. The other, Mrs.Takata, returned to Hawaii.

Dr. Hayashi came to Hawaii in 1938 to initiate Mrs. Takata into Mastership of Reiki. On Dr. Hayashi's death in 1941, Mrs. Takata succeeded him as Grand Master. Mrs.Takata worked with Reiki with another woman in Hawaii, Iris Ishikuro. During the 30's, 40's and 50's, they both healed with Reiki throughout the Hawaiian Islands. In 1973, Mrs. Takata initiated Iris Ishikuro into Mastership of Reiki. Mrs. Takata brought her teachings to the States. She was instrumental in spreading the teachings of Reiki in the United States and Canada.

She first began to train Reiki Masters herself in the United States when she was about seventy-four years of age. She trained and taught six original student to be Masters in Reiki, one of which was her Granddaughter. These six were:

Iris Ishikuro

Virginia Samdahl

Beth Gray

Ethel Lombardi

Phyllis Lei Furumoto (Mrs. Takata's Granddaughter)

There will be times when Reiki appears not to flow through to the client, and the Reiki channel will feel no apparent energy. This can be due to a number of reasons: One being the fact we had expected a certain kind of effect to occur, and then natural law of Karmic Exchange took over and brought about something else. Even though you may not see a result upon the surface of the client, this does not mean something much deeper has not taken place within the client. Everyone does not like to talk about their inner-life. Often the client has no idea, on the conscious level, as to what has actually happened to them that brought about a dis-eased condition. The subconscious mind holds the key to Reiki efficiency at all levels. The conscious mind of the client may be saying something completely different. When this is the case, guidance and counseling become necessary for the client before and after the Reiki treatment is performed.

Therefore, do not feel disappointed if your expectations are not fulfilled with some clients. With Reiki, nothing is achieved by force of will. Our ego must take second place and make room for a pure channel of energy. As a Reiki channel, the channel is not doing the healing, itself, but is simply a neutral observer and medium for the healing force.

There are various reasons why Reiki does not work. Sometimes, subconsciously, the client does not want to be healed or made healthy again. They want to cling to their illness as a way to get attention and sympathy. Others may feel Reiki is some sort of strange treatment process, rather than the Spiritual force it is. Sometimes, a client has not yet had the time to learn the lesson taught by the illness. Therefore, they may have to go on with the illness for a while. Other times, a client will take Reiki, with good results, from another Reiki channel. Other times a client will come to you in order to prove to themselves--and also to you--that a method such as Reiki has no possible effect upon their condition. They will lay on the treatment table with the amplified fore-thought that nothing will happen. They will be full of tension, fear, doubt and skepticism. They resist every flow of energy and pleasant sensation. They also are fighting any kind of inner change and resist any kind of harmony within the body. Their lives are fully turn-over to control and control issues, endeavoring to make themselves front-row-center for attention. This is all calculated to place doubt in your mind as a Reiki channel--to make you lose your "personal-center" and degrade you effectiveness with doubt.

There are sometimes chronic cases which will not be reversed. There is not sufficient time to complete the healing before the transition. However, the transition is made easier by lowering stress and reducing pain. This is a great comfort.

It will not remove birth defects, nor will it grow a new organ which has been removed surgically, but it will bring relief from the symptoms resulting from these conditions.

When a client comes to you for treatment, provide them with information and offer the possibility of treatment. Tell them what Reiki is and how it works. Do not press it upon them. If they want it, go ahead with treatment. If they do not want it, that's okay too. Everyone has free will, and you should respect this at all times. Do your Reiki work well, and simply remain open for what is about to occur.

Reiki is healing energy that is transmitted through the hands of a channel who has been more directly connected to the Universal Life Force through an initiation or attunement process. Reiki energy comes from the Creator.

The channel giving the energy is simply a medium allowing the "light" to pass through him or her into the client. The channel of the energy is not working with their own energy, and thus experiences little or no energy drain. If the channel allows the "self" to get in the way, the Universal Life Force energy disconnects, and the channel can experience an energy drain. The mind of the channel should remain neutral.

Reiki brings the body into balance so it can heal itself. A person who receives Reiki is simply made better physically, mentally and spiritually. One does not have to be sick, or in a negative aspect of mind, in order to benefit from Reiki channeling.

A normal Reiki channeling session lasts about one(1) hour, or, in severe or extreme cases, the session could last longer. The client takes off his/her shoes and lies down on a massage table. At times, a chair, couch or bed could be used.

However, a table provided for the specific purpose usually works best. The Reiki channel then sits behind the head of the client, at the head of the table and places his/her hands on the clients head, in the proper position, with no pressure, no sliding or manipulation. This position is held till a form of "pacing rhythm" and "calm" surrounds the channeler and the client--usually about two-minutes.

Once the session commences, the hands stay in each of the appropriate placement points until the area being treated stops drawing the energy. The energy flow will adjust itself automatically to the needs of the client. If the area under the hands requires a lot of energy, the flow will be felt very strongly. If the requirement is small, the flow will be slight. Keep your fingers tightly together at all times. If the channeler’s fingers are separated, the energy is scattered. The various hand positions may be covered by one channel or by a team effort.

A minimum of three(3) consecutive daily Reiki treatments is recommended when you treat another person for the first time. Do as much Reiki as time allows.

Also remember, some Reiki is better than no Reiki.

Some people feel Reiki as a warmth, others as hot energy. Some feel nothing at all.

If the client feels nothing, this does not mean they are not receiving Reiki, only that their particular sensitivity level may not be quite as intense as others. Also do not rule out the possibility that the client is not in the acceptence stage of healing and they are attempting to "block" the energies on some level(s).

Some clients will feel light headed for a time after treatment, so it is best not to arise too soon or too quickly from the table.

Reiki Channels are people from all walks of life, all races, all occupations, who have received energy keys from a qualified Reiki Master Teacher.

Everyone has this potential.

We are all composed of this Universal Energy and can use it for healing. Those who go on to share and teach the system are helping to cleanse and purify the planet.

Reiki will enhance whatever talent a person has, helping them become the best they can be with this energy force.

PHYSICAL TRAUMAS ---

When there is a broken bone, it will heal very quickly with Reiki. Start to work on the solar plexus immediately to relieve the tension and to the adrenal to release the shock from the accident. Do not start the treatment for the broken bone until the bone is set and in the cast.

Go to the affected part and start Reiki on the break. Reiki will work through casts or wood or even rubber, anything that is used to help the injury. It will penetrate this material, and the healing will be very rapid.

EMOTIONAL TRAUMAS ---

Reiki consists of the same Universal Life Force Energy which makes flowers grow, and all living things. Reiki will heal the ailments of all animals. Another way to look at it would be the fact that animals cannot be cured, or healed by any psychological trickery. Animals know nothing of faith healing or religious belief systems. Animals are innocent and are of pure love. When using Reiki on an animal, the channel will notice they get quiet, and something within them seems to let go and relax. Reiki flows into the animals exactly as it does people. When treating domestic animals, lay your hands behind the ears at the point where dogs and cats like to be stroked. After this initial contact, then proceed to the afflicted areas of the animals body.

If you want to treat fish, place the aquarium between your hands, and let the energy channel through for 15-or-20 minutes.

When you start channeling Reiki into plants you will be impressed by the positive results you get, such as strong, healthy growth, and a profusion of buds and blossoms. In order to empower seeds with Reiki, hold your hands a few inches above them, much as though you were blessing them. In one sense of the word, this is exactly what you are doing. You can hold seeds in your left hand, and give them Reiki with the right hand. Cut flowers standing in a vase may also be kept stronger and healthier with Reiki. Potted plants are best treated through the root system. Do this, by holding the pot between your hands near the bottom.

Trees can be given Reiki also. Trees take Reiki in through the trunk. You can even hug the tree, and tell it how much you love it, while you are channeling the Reiki. Trees also reciprocate energy-wise.

When you attain Second Degree, or Level Two, Reiki, you will receive Symbols that enable you to make use of absentee healing and a mental method upon plants and animals with equal success. The only practical way to send healing to a wooded area or herd of animals would be through the use of the absentee healing Symbol, and Power Symbol.

You can turn presents or gifts into power exchanges by treating with Reiki before the giving of the gift. Reiki can be sent in letters too. If you are empowered with Second Degree, or Level Two, Reiki, you can clear every room of negative vibrations and replace them with harmonious Reiki Life/Light Energy. This becomes very useful when traveling and staying in motels, etc. You can channel it into your home, office and automobile.

Reiki will channel more easily and more powerfully everytime it is used. So use it as often as you have chances to do so. Reiki heals the planet and you, every time you use it.