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Reiki

Aug 31, 202411 min read

Part of the Casswiki article series Esoterica and New Age

Reiki (ray-key) is a modern Japanese energy healing technique. It is based on common concept of “universal life energy”, which channels through the palms of the practitioner, sending energy (or “chi”/“ki”) to specific areas on the receiver’s body. It is a form of simple therapy that uses hands-on, hands-off, or distance techniques, with the aim of balancing and strengthening the recipient’s body’s ability to heal itself.

Reiki does not require “faith” or “belief”; it functions independently of any particular belief or scientific concept. The difference between Reiki and other energy healing modalities is that it requires an initiation or “attunement” to work with the energy and uses symbols (Sanskrit in origin).

Laura Knight-Jadczyk chronicles her experiences with Reiki in her [[Soul Hackers (The Wave Series, Volume 2)|Soul Hackers]], the second volume of The Wave series. On Reiki and the symbols, she wrote:[1]

The following is an amalgamation of my notes for a Reiki manual I have been meaning to write for some time:

Have you ever watched a Martial Arts demonstration where the Master decimates an entire stack of boards, bricks or blocks with a single blow? If you have witnessed enough of them you know that there is no fakery involved. But, how is it done?

For more than 5,000 years the Chinese have practiced Martial Arts. Secrets of retention of vital energies to develop internal power were passed from father to chosen son. The first stage of the practice was to get the warm current of energy to open the channels of circulation so that the internal power could be circulated freely. One then had to learn how to strengthen one’s vital organs and to “pack” the energy for use when needed. The Martial Arts fighting styles were not effective without this internal power. […]

During the present century the West has witnessed a phenomenal growth of interest in “Wholistic/holistic” health disciplines. At the same time science is finding that deeper realities bear a striking resemblance to the classical worldview of the major oriental religions and Martial Arts practices. The increased interest has manifested in multitudes taking classes in Yoga, Martial Arts, Macrobiotics, Tai Chi Chu Chuan, and a host of other variations on these themes. We have become comfortable with meditation and yoga and Buddhism. But, what do we really know about these traditions other than a few fragments of the wisdom of the I-Ching, the Tao Te Ching and a few other pieces of disconnected knowledge?

In the sixth century BC, Lao-Tse began his classic essay, the Tao Te Ching, with this admonition: “The Tao which can be spoken of is not the Tao.” In early Chinese writings, the Tao implied an understanding of life, which stressed individual harmony with the forces of nature. The practice of Reiki is rooted in the same way with the forces of nature. This energy works independently of any particular belief or scientific concept. It is not related to any religious practice that has grown up around it. It is, in brief, a subtle but verifiable life energy, “chi,” flowing through the body in a specific pattern. This “Chi,” as it is known in Chinese, or “Ki,” as it is known in Japanese, was known by the ancients, and its secrets have been attainable throughout all ages by those who were willing to put a great deal of time into the prescribed practices. The limitation has always been the fact that it was only available to those who were willing to train for long hours daily for many years to alter the flow so that the body could make active use of this energy.

The applications of Ki/Chi in daily life are virtually limitless. It is the most important building block of transformation. If a person can master the circulation of the healing energy, everything else proceeds more quickly. Opening this energy channel is like being given the tools to do all other things. Without the flow of the Ki/Chi, the individual will find it difficult to advance to higher levels in other disciplines. You could spend years in other disciplines with less direct methods in order to achieve the same end, or, even a lifetime. However, a person could study hundreds of volumes in a dozen languages without ever learning how to awaken the much-poeticized healing power of the Tao. There are those who have read the thousands of volumes and received the valuable oral teachings, which have been shrouded in secrecy the same way medieval alchemy was hidden in Europe, who still have not achieved the mastery of this energy and the power to direct it. What many today do not know is that there is a method of awakening and utilizing the Ki/Chi by initiation. That is, it is like starting a car with a battery rather than a hand crank!

This secret is rooted in the “language” of the body. The body comes into being by virtue of the Electromagnetic pattern that is determined at another dimensional level. These patterns are expressed on the other dimensions as symbolic figures. It is an entire language of its own, the language of the cosmos which is expressed in the body via the axiom: As above, so below. Without a language, one cannot create words, sentences, paragraphs, or develop simple or complex ideas. These symbolic figures convey knowledge, alter energy with this knowledge, and are essential conduits between our reality and higher realities.

The symbolic figures of Reiki manifest knowledge that speaks to the “soul”.

The Reiki Master makes use of higher energies expressed through symbols to clear the routes and raise the level of chi production. The current of the Reiki initiation or “attunement” is like installing a new circuit board or computer chip into the system.

The important thing is that, as soon as I saw the Reiki symbols, I knew that they were a language — a soul language, so to speak.

Origins

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Today’s Reiki systems own their existence to a spiritual practice (“My Method” - a practice of achieving unity of self through harmony and balance), developed by a Tendai Buddhist lay monk named Mikao Usui (1865-1926).

Since 1990s, much research has been done into Usui’s background and the history of Reiki, and yet there is a lack of consensus in “the Reiki world” about the man and how he taught his system. However, it is important to note that Usui did not created the Reiki system as we know it today.

Reiki was introduced to the Western World in the late 1930s by Hawayo Takata (1900-1980), a Japanese-American woman born in Hawaii. She was trained by Chujiro Hayashi (1880-1940), a retired Captain in the Japanese Navy and one of Usui’s final students. After Hayashi’s death, Takata advertised herself as the “only Reiki Master in the world”[2], invented a story[3] about Usui and Reiki in order to interests the Westerners (following the Second World War), and continued to heal and teach in Hawaii until the 1970s, when she began training twenty-two Reiki Masters.

The following are Takata’s 22 master-level students:

  1. George Araki (d. 2006)
  2. Dorothy Baba (d. 1983)
  3. Ursula Baylow (d. 1996)
  4. Rick Bockner
  5. Patricia Ewing, neé Bowling
  6. Barbara Brown (d. 2000)
  7. Fran Brown (d. 2009)
  8. Phyllis Lei Furumoto - Takata’s granddaughter
  9. Beth Gray (d. 2008)
  10. John Harvey Gray (d. 2011)
  11. Iris Ishikuro (d. 1984) - Takata’s cousin
  12. Harry Kuboi (d. 2013)
  13. Ethel Lombardi (d. 2009)
  14. Barbara Lincoln McCullough (d. 2000)
  15. Mary Alexandra McFadyen (Disappeared 19 February 2011)[4]
  16. Paul David Mitchell
  17. Bethel Phaigh (d. 1986)
  18. Shinobu Saito (d. 2015)
  19. Virginia Samdahl (d. 1994)
  20. Wanja Twan
  21. Barbara Weber Ray
  22. Kay Yamahita (d. 1987) - Takata’s sister

Takata’s Reiki system is the most commonly known as Usui Shiki Ryoho (Usui System of Natural Healing). There are other Reiki systems that can be traced to Mikao Usui, but not through Takata.

Corrupted Lineages

After Hawayo Takata’s death on 11 December 1980, there was no official recognization of succession. In 1982, seventeen Reiki Masters held a meeting and formally recognized Takata’s granddaughter, Phyllis Lei Furumoto, as a Takata’s successor. Following the meeting, The Reiki Alliance was formed with Furumoto as its “Grand Master”.[5]

However, one of Takata’s students, Barbara Ray, considered herself to be Takata’s successor and her then-organization (The American Reiki Association, Inc.) rejected Furumoto’s claim to be Takata’s successor.[6] A number of other Masters, including Ethel Lombardi and Iris Ishikura, decided to develop their own systems and taught them differently from Takata.[7]

At this point in time until roughly the mid-2000s is what refers to as “The Reiki Wars” - an informal term where different “Reiki factions” with each having “believed” that their way is “the best and the only way”, resulting in mistrust and hostilities among Reiki groups. This period also saw the emerging Reiki systems with new symbols, taken from other sources (i.e., channeling sources, ancient texts, etc.), the copyright issues on system names and symbols (resulting in trademarks), incorporating other techniques and New Age rituals, and the corruption of the Usui traditional symbols.

One of Takata’s Master student, Mary McFadyen, once said in 2005 interview with Oliver Klatt:[8]

The Reiki that was given by Dr. Usui and came to us through Mrs. Takata is enough… But what has happened to it is that it has been distorted and diluted and changed until much of what is taught today as Reiki is not Reiki. There may be an energy there, and some of it is clearly a healing energy, it works, and it’s fine… but much of it is not true healing energy, it’s not the energy that Mrs. Takata gave us… and it’s not Reiki. My guess is – it‘s only a guess, because nobody can possibly know–but my guess is that more than 70 percent of what is given as Reiki today is not Reiki… it has been changed: the symbols have been changed, the initiations have been changed, in some Reiki systems the students are not given the full four initiations for the First Degree, many only receive one, as if this is the same as four, but of course it‘s not the same. I have seen symbols in books that just make my toes curl – they are backwards, they are upside down, in fact to a very extensive degree the power symbol is taught backwards and the proper symbol is taught as an additional symbol. In fact, one puts energy in, the other takes it out… so, what is happening? People think that they can make changes and it’s okay… well, it may be and it may not be… my personal view is that it’s not. I try to stay true to what Mrs. Takata taught. Reiki has evolved since she died, there are various techniques, which we use the Reiki symbols for, which are extremely valuable, but they are still true to what was taught…

In her Soul Hackers, Knight-Jadczyk eventually discovered that the corrupted form of Reiki cancels out the beneficial Reiki.

A proper “teacher-to-teacher lineage” can ensure any new practitioner with true Reiki energy. It is recommended for those who are considering taking a Reiki class check the teacher’s “lineage” beforehand.

Further readings

See also

  • [[Soul Hackers (The Wave Series, Volume 2)|Soul Hackers]]
  • New Age

References

  1. ↑ Knight-Jadczyk, Laura. The Wave Chapter 17: All There Is Is Lessons, or Wandering Around in Third Density Can Be Hazardous to Your Health. The Wave. Retrieved on 17 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Beckett, Don. Reiki: The True Story - An Exploration of Usui Reiki, p. 21. Berkeley: Frog Books, 2009.
  3. ↑ The (Hi)Story of Reiki as told by Takata-Sensei
  4. ↑ Reiki master’s disappearance leaves friends searching for answers
  5. ↑ Klatt, Oliver. Reiki Systems of the World: One Heart - Many Beats, p. 81-83. Twin Lakes: Lotus Press, 2006.
  6. ↑ Reiki 101: The American Reiki Association, Inc.
  7. ↑ Klatt, Oliver. Reiki Systems of the World: One Heart - Many Beats, p. 91-92. Twin Lakes: Lotus Press, 2006.
  8. ↑ An Interview with Mary McFadyen / November 2005

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