THE USUI SYSTEM OF NATURAL HEALING,
Reiki was rediscovered by Dr. Mikao Usui in the late 19th century. There are 2 main branches of Reiki
- one in Japan where Reiki originated
- one brought into the West by Mrs. Hawayo K. Takata
The origin of Reiki as told in the West
There are several versions about the origin of Reiki. I will tell you the way it was told to me.
Dr. Usui taught boys in a Christian school, where they studied the Bible. One day his students asked him if he believed in the stories of the healing practices of Jesus. He said he did and his students challenged him to prove it, which he found he couldn’t and this set him thinking.
He made it his quest to find the prove his students asked for. He travelled all over the world, but could not find the answers he was looking for. He finally returned to Japan and went to a Buddhist Monastery. He studied and meditated. One day he decided to go up a mountain to fast and meditate. He told a holy man that if he didn’t return within 21 days they should sent someone up to collect his body.
He took 21 stones with him and every day he threw 1 stone away to keep track of the days. When there was only 1 stone left and he still hadn’t found the answers he was looking for, he said to himself that if anything should happen it should happen that night.
Shortly after dark he saw a bright light in the sky and noticed it was moving straight towards him. His first reaction was to get out of the way, but he decided to stay because it might be just what he was waiting for. He was hit by the light and went into a trance. He saw wonderful coloured bubbles in which there were symbols. He noticed that in himself he understood the symbols.
When he woke up, it was daylight. He went down the mountain and on his way down he hurt his toe in such a way it started to bleed.
Instinctively he put his hand on his toe and to his amazement the bleeding and the pain disappeared within a few minutes.
At the foot of the mountain he stopped to have something to eat. The innkeeper warned him not to eat too heavy because of his days without food, but against the innkeepers advise he ordered a normal meal. The face of the lady who served the food to him, was badly swollen on 1 side. She was suffering from a bad toothache. He laid his hands on her face and within minutes the pain was gone. He at his meal and suffered no ill effects after it. Three miracles ... he thought.
He told all this to the holy man and wanted to practise his new found ability to heal. The holy man only said to keep in mind that he has to treat people as a whole, not just a body.
Dr. Usui practised Reiki for several years before he decided he had to pass this gift on to others. One of his students was Dr. Chujiro Hayashi. Who opened a clinic where he practised and one of his patients was Mrs. Hawayo K. Takata.
She was a Japanese-American who lived in Hawaii. She was seriously ill. She went to Japan to be near her family and to look for a treatment. She needed surgery, but was so weak she first had to build up strength.
When she was strong enough, she waited for the operation to be scheduled, she heard a voice saying that there was no need for surgery.
She ignored the voice but it kept telling her the same thing over and over. She decided to have another talk with her surgeon and asked him if there was another way. He referred her to the clinic of Dr. Hayashi. She received months of intense Reiki and after those months she was healed. Fascinated about what happened, she wanted to learn how to use it herself.
Her request was turned down time after time, because up till that time no one outside Japan had been initiated. After being very persistent Dr. Hayashi finally decided to accept her for the training. She spent a year learning and treating people, she then was initiated to the 2nd degree and she returned home to set up her own practise. She invited Dr. Hayashi and they worked together for 6 months and he then initiated her as Master. She committed her live to Reiki and became the head of the Western tradition. One of the people she initiated was her grand daughter Phyllis Lei Furumoto
I am not saying that this is how it all started, but this is how it is told to me and I like to keep telling this story because of that, but I always remind my students that it is not completely accurate because in the mean time there has been done some intensive research into the origin of Reiki and it is now known that parts of the story do not correspond with true history,
If you want to know more I can only advise you to read the book “The Spirit of Reiki” written by Walter Lubeck, Frank Arjava Petter and William Lee Rand
There are many more good books available so do not feel restricted to just this one, but that book is written by 3 well know Reiki Masters and is a good place to start.
But make up your own mind, a good student questions everything!
Reiki was rediscovered by Dr. Mikao Usui in the late 19th century. There are 2 main branches of Reiki
- one in Japan where Reiki originated
- one brought into the West by Mrs. Hawayo K. Takata
The origin of Reiki as told in the West
There are several versions about the origin of Reiki. I will tell you the way it was told to me.
Dr. Usui taught boys in a Christian school, where they studied the Bible. One day his students asked him if he believed in the stories of the healing practices of Jesus. He said he did and his students challenged him to prove it, which he found he couldn’t and this set him thinking.
He made it his quest to find the prove his students asked for. He travelled all over the world, but could not find the answers he was looking for. He finally returned to Japan and went to a Buddhist Monastery. He studied and meditated. One day he decided to go up a mountain to fast and meditate. He told a holy man that if he didn’t return within 21 days they should sent someone up to collect his body.
He took 21 stones with him and every day he threw 1 stone away to keep track of the days. When there was only 1 stone left and he still hadn’t found the answers he was looking for, he said to himself that if anything should happen it should happen that night.
Shortly after dark he saw a bright light in the sky and noticed it was moving straight towards him. His first reaction was to get out of the way, but he decided to stay because it might be just what he was waiting for. He was hit by the light and went into a trance. He saw wonderful coloured bubbles in which there were symbols. He noticed that in himself he understood the symbols.
When he woke up, it was daylight. He went down the mountain and on his way down he hurt his toe in such a way it started to bleed.
Instinctively he put his hand on his toe and to his amazement the bleeding and the pain disappeared within a few minutes.
At the foot of the mountain he stopped to have something to eat. The innkeeper warned him not to eat too heavy because of his days without food, but against the innkeepers advise he ordered a normal meal. The face of the lady who served the food to him, was badly swollen on 1 side. She was suffering from a bad toothache. He laid his hands on her face and within minutes the pain was gone. He at his meal and suffered no ill effects after it. Three miracles ... he thought.
He told all this to the holy man and wanted to practise his new found ability to heal. The holy man only said to keep in mind that he has to treat people as a whole, not just a body.
Dr. Usui practised Reiki for several years before he decided he had to pass this gift on to others. One of his students was Dr. Chujiro Hayashi. Who opened a clinic where he practised and one of his patients was Mrs. Hawayo K. Takata.
She was a Japanese-American who lived in Hawaii. She was seriously ill. She went to Japan to be near her family and to look for a treatment. She needed surgery, but was so weak she first had to build up strength.
When she was strong enough, she waited for the operation to be scheduled, she heard a voice saying that there was no need for surgery.
She ignored the voice but it kept telling her the same thing over and over. She decided to have another talk with her surgeon and asked him if there was another way. He referred her to the clinic of Dr. Hayashi. She received months of intense Reiki and after those months she was healed. Fascinated about what happened, she wanted to learn how to use it herself.
Her request was turned down time after time, because up till that time no one outside Japan had been initiated. After being very persistent Dr. Hayashi finally decided to accept her for the training. She spent a year learning and treating people, she then was initiated to the 2nd degree and she returned home to set up her own practise. She invited Dr. Hayashi and they worked together for 6 months and he then initiated her as Master. She committed her live to Reiki and became the head of the Western tradition. One of the people she initiated was her grand daughter Phyllis Lei Furumoto
I am not saying that this is how it all started, but this is how it is told to me and I like to keep telling this story because of that, but I always remind my students that it is not completely accurate because in the mean time there has been done some intensive research into the origin of Reiki and it is now known that parts of the story do not correspond with true history,
If you want to know more I can only advise you to read the book “The Spirit of Reiki” written by Walter Lubeck, Frank Arjava Petter and William Lee Rand
There are many more good books available so do not feel restricted to just this one, but that book is written by 3 well know Reiki Masters and is a good place to start.
But make up your own mind, a good student questions everything!
Dr. Mikao Usui
Dr. Chujiro Hayashi.
Mrs. Hawayo K. Takata.
Phyllis Lei Furumoto
