Reiki (pronounced Ray-Key) is a method of natural healing based on the application of Universal Life Force Energy (the name literally means Universal Life Force Energy).  This page is a collection of information about Reiki and is presented with the purpose of spreading knowledge of what Reiki is.

Reiki is:

• A subtle and effective form of energy healing using spiritually guided life force energy

• Practiced in every country of the world

• Being used in many setting including hospitals, hospice, as well as in private practice and in self-care

• A wonderful complementary modality in a personal wellness or healing program

Reiki is not:

• Affiliated with any particular religion or religious practice

• New, it is thousands of years old (at least)

       A Reiki session can help ease tension and stress, and can help support the body to facilitate healing on all levels- physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. A session is pleasant and relaxing and is often utilized for one's own personal wellness, not just illness.
 
 

	Dr. Mikao Usui,  is the founder of the Usui System of Reiki. He was born August 15, 1865 in the village of Yago in  Japan. It is thought that he entered a Tendai Buddhist school on or near Mt. Kurama  at age four. He studied kiko,  a health and healing discipline based on the development and use of life energy. In his quest for knowledge he spent 7 years in  America and received his Doctorate Degree in scripture from the University of Chicago Divinity School. He returned to Japan and entered a Zen Monastery where he stidied ancient healings, Chinese Sutras and the Sanskrit Sutras of Tibet. He spontaneously received the gift of Reiki during a 21 day meditation on Mt. Kurama.  Mikao spent the rest of his life taking Reiki throughout Japan. Teachings were passed on verbally, nothing was ever written down.
	Dr. Chujiro Hayashi was a retired naval officer. He accepted Grand Master attunement and became the successor to Dr. Usui about 1925 at the age of 47. Chujiro found that Reiki would travel to the source of physical symptoms and noted that it had the ability to restore a person to wholeness. Up to this point, the Usui system of healing consisted of the energy itself, the symbols, the attunement process and the Reiki ideals. This was what Dr. Usui had received during his  experience on Mt. Kurama. Dr. Hayashi went on to develop the Usui system of healing. He opened a Reiki clinic in Tokyo and kept detailed records of the treatments given. He used this information to create the standard hand positions, the system of three degrees and their initiation procedures.
	Hawayo Takata was born at dawn on December 24th, 1900, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Her parents were Japanese immigrants. In 1935 while on a trip to Japan, Mrs. Takata was preparing to undergo surgery for a tumor. She asked her Doctor if he knew of any other way that her problems could be helped. The doctor knew of Dr. Hayashi's Reiki clinic and told her about it. This was something she wanted to try.  At the Reiki clinic, she began receiving treatments. She had never heard of Reiki before and did not know what it was. Using their Reiki hands the practitioners could sense what was wrong with Mrs. Takata. Their diagnosis very closely matched the doctor's at the hospital. This impressed her and gave her confidence in what they were doing.  Mrs. Takata received daily treatments and got progressively better. In four months, she was completely healed. Impressed with the results, she wanted to learn Reiki. Since Dr. Hayashi wanted to teach Reiki to another woman besides his wife, and since Mrs. Takata was so persistent, he decided that she should be the one. In the Spring of 1936, Mrs. Takata received First Degree Reiki. She worked with Dr. Hayashi for one year and then received Second Degree Reiki. Mrs. Takata returned to Hawaii in 1937. She was soon followed by Dr. Hayashi and his daughter who came to help establish Reiki in Hawaii. In the Winter of 1938, Dr. Hayashi initiated Hawayo Takata as a Reiki Master.
	Between 1970 and her transition on December 11, 1980, Mrs. Takata initiated twenty-two Reiki Masters. Below is a list of the Reiki Masters she initiated. This is the list she gave to her sister before she passed through transition.  George Araki  Barbara McCullough Beth Grey  Ursula Baylow  Paul Mitchell  Iris Ishikura (deceased)  Fran Brown  Barbara Weber-Ray  Ethel Lombardi  Wanja Twan  Virginia Samdahl  Phyllis Lei Furumoto  Dorothy Baba (deceased)  Mary McFaden  John Gray  Rick Bockner  Bethel Phaigh (deceased)  Harry Kuboi  Patricia Ewing  Shinobu Saito (Takata's Sister) Seiji Takimori Barbara Brown  The original twenty-two teachers have taught others. In the decade since Mrs. Takata experienced transition, Reiki has spread rapidly in the West. It is now practiced throughout North and South America, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and other parts of the world. There are now an estimated 50,000 Reiki Masters with as many as 1,000,000 people practicing Reiki throughout the world.

A Reiki Treatment

A Reiki treatment consists of the practitioner placing his or her hands on the clients body having only the intent for the energy to flow.  There is no complicated rituals to perform only the simple exchange of energy between two people, an intent to share healing and the desire to ease the burdens of another.

The Reiki energy is smart for it knows where to go and what to do.  The Reiki practitioner does not direct the energy nor is it necessary to study arcane theories of the universe in order to use it.  It is simply intent which causes the Reiki energy to flow and intent which directs it.  The best thing for the practitioner to do is nothing, but to get out of the way and allow the energy to do its work.

There is a treatment protocol traditionally taught to Reiki practitioners which involves a series of hand positions.  These positions are well spaced along the clients body and together they provide good coverage of the clients entire body.  While the energy does go where it is most needed, it is frequently observed that it stays near where the practitioner has placed his or her hands.  By covering all parts of the body evenly the patient will, by default, get the best treatment possible.  These hand positions are a good place for a practitioner to begin practicing Reiki.  In addition to the positions shown for the front of the body, there is a matching set of positions for the back.  Behind the neck, behind the heart, behind the kidneys, and on the sacrum (tailbone).

Any set of hand positions are only a guideline  Most Reiki practitioners use intuition or other methods to say which positions are to be used in each healing, varying from the traditional positions as the situation warrants.

One note about body privacy. Many times the practitioner must place their hands very near body parts most consider to be private. As a system of treating the entire body one certainly would not want to leave such body parts out of treatment.  At the same time there is matters of privacy to protect.  Would you expect a doctor to not treat those areas simply out of a sense of privacy or embarrassment? No! Each practitioner has their own way to handle this. They will ask permission before placing their hands in sensitive areas.  Their hands can be placed on top of the clients hands, with the energy being beamed through the clients hands. The practitioner may also hold their hands above the area in question so there is no touching and beam the energy from a slight distance. The practitioner will do whatever makes the client comfortable.

Distance and location are no barrier to Reiki. It can be preformed from anywhere in the world to meet with you and your health needs.

Contact me if you feel Reiki would benefit you.
 
 

Reiki I - You will learn to do a complete hands-on-healing session on yourself and another,