An ancient art of healing lies within all of us; such is the philosophy behind the Reiki. Through symbols and rituals, this form of healing claims to affect the physical, spiritual and the psyche.
Symbols are used in our world as a short form of conveying information. If we look at the periodic tables; red, green and amber lights to control traffic; or a Cross or Star of David to indicate a religious institution, all of these symbols pack a wallop of information.
For eons many forms of healing have been conveyed by the use of symbols to transfer universal life force, energy and healing power. This knowledge was probably known thousands of years ago and taught by the priests in the Egyptian Mystery Schools, the Greek and Roman cultures, and more recently in China, Japan and the United States. It has been widely acknowledged that the Tibetans have for thousands of years understood and taught how to heal the body and soul, bring harmony, balance and unity to the spirit as a process of enlightenment. Many of their rites, rituals and symbols have been passed on by those in the temples and monasteries to an often-cloistered religious community.
Then how did these symbols and rituals that we have come to know of as Reiki: Universal Life Energy spread around the world in the last 150 years to become strongly respected and a recognized alternative or complementary healing modality?
What are these symbols? What do they mean? What gives these ancient symbols their power? Is it the consensual belief that historically these symbols hold some mystical magical power? Ritualistically, what power do the symbols carry with them? Do they aid in the process of healing, energy balancing or imbuing the practitioner with power and lineage or a connection to the originator of the process? Often this is true within the Reiki circles of practitioners. The lineage carries with it a certain air of awe and respect.
These questions can be answered in the tale of perseverance of Dr. Mikao Usui, a principal of a Christian seminary in Kyoto, Japan before the turn of the last century. Some of his advanced students wanted to be able to heal by “laying-on-of-hands” just as Jesus Christ had. He was stunned, speechless and curious because he did not have the knowledge his students wanted, but a driving passion to learn the ancient secrets took him on a quest to the University of Chicago in the U.S.
His language skills developed beyond his native Japanese to encompass Chinese, English and Sanskrit. At the University of Chicago, he earned his Doctor of Theology, but was unable to glean the secrets he yearned from the Christian texts that brought him across an ocean to the heartland of America. He sought the key to this knowledge by studying ancient Chinese texts and was again disappointed. His travels took him to northern India, still seeking the obscure knowledge to satisfy his passion for an ancient and elusive art of healing. He returned to his native Japan to further his studies and entered a Buddhist monastery in Kyoto where he discovered some old Buddhist Sutras. The Sanskrit symbols and formulas were the answers he had been searching.
With the Sutras in hand, he traveled the 16 miles to the Holy Mountain of Koriyama to fast and meditate for 21 days. He marked his time by placing 21 small stones before him and removing one daily. His plan was to reach a level of consciousness as described by the symbols in the Sanskrit Sutras.
After having meditated, chanted and read the Sutras for 20 days, Dr. Usui felt that nothing revealing had happened. He knew the symbols, but not how to employ them.
As dawn approached on the 21st day, a bright fast moving light sped toward him hitting him right in the middle of his forehead. Certain that death was eminent; he became aware of millions of tiny orbs reflecting every color of the rainbow. A white light illuminated the appearance of golden Sanskrit symbols that had become so familiar to him through his studies and how to activate the healing energy of each symbol. This psychic experience was the first Reiki attunement. As the sun rose high in the sky his energy returned and he began his descent from the mountain peak. He was armed with the revelation of ancient knowledge that was the foundation of the Usui System of Reiki.
A series of four miracles occurred as Usui descended the mountain. In his rush to reach Kyoto, he stubbed his toe badly. He held the bloody injured toe in his hands and miraculously the bleeding and pain ceased. The next miracle occurred when he stopped at an inn and ordered and consumed a very large meal. Normally after fasting for three weeks he would have become ill indulging on a feast, but he was fine. The innkeepers’ young granddaughters face was swollen from a toothache. Dr. Usui placed his hands on her face and the pain and swelling diminished. When he returned to the monastery, he found the director bedridden with arthritis and healed the monk with his hands.
It became very clear that he was not an ordinary monk, but had acquired very special abilities to create four miracles in one day.
The following seven years were spent working in the slums of Kyoto with beggars and a population with a multitude of illnesses. His healing was successful, but many continued their life style of begging rather than working for a living. He also noticed that many of the same people were returning for help over and over again.
Dr. Usui realized that he had failed to teach two important concepts to the people: gratitude and Reiki. He began to search for people that were ill or oppressed, wanting to be healed and looking for the true light. He taught these people Reiki. If the story ended here all of his efforts and study might have been lost again. He found dedicated people to carry on the teachings and traditions of Reiki as a healing art.
There are three levels of training and attunement required to reach the level of Reiki Master or Reiki III. Dr. Usui bestowed the Reiki Master’s degree on 18 disciples during his lifetime. Prominent among his students was Dr. Chujiro Hayashi. His devotion was such that he opened a Reiki clinic dedicated to healing and training practitioners. He was selected as Grand Master and in turn attuned 16 Reiki Masters including the first woman, his wife Chie Hayashi.
Another woman was Hawayo Takata, though of Japanese descent, she was born in Hawaii and thus an American. She arrived in Japan a very ill woman, went to Hayashi’s Reiki clinic, Shina No Machi, in Tokyo and was healed in four months. In the next two years, she received Reiki I and Reiki II from Hayashi and opened her first healing clinic in Hawaii. On February 22, 1938, Chujiro Hayashi designated Hawayo Takata as a Reiki Master and his successor as Grand Master. During the last ten years of her life from 1970 – 1980 she created 22 Reiki Masters.
One of the Masters that she created was Virginia Stamdahl, my Reiki teacher. What she taught would become critical to both the practitioner and the client seeking change.
“Miracles are only things that happen under laws we don’t yet understand,” Stamdahl said.
In essence Reiki energy is within each and every individual. We are all born with it. By learning the hand positions to transmit this energy to the clients’ body, the Reiki symbols have been enhanced with an attunement or power transfer by the teacher. This is in essence an energetic connection to the Universal Life Energy.
What the attunement does is to activate the practitioner as a channel for the Reiki energy. This energy is said to have an intelligence of its’ own and will go where it is needed for physical, emotional, spiritual or psychic healing. The healing may be accomplished in either the presence of the Reiki practitioner or at a distance by invoking certain symbols.
The essence of Reiki is simply stated by these few sentences below. They have often been attributed to Reiki Master Virginia Stamdahl.
Just for today I will give thanks for my many blessings.
Just for today I will not worry.
Just for today I will not be angry.
Just for today I will do my work honestly.
Just for today I will be kind to my neighbor and every living thing.
When you enter a Reiki practitioner’s office, the space should be warm calming and inviting. There probably would be soft music playing, candles lit and a massage table for the fully clothed client to recline on. There would be some questioning and discussion about the issues or concerns that are to be addressed. The client does not have to believe in any formal religion or for that matter Reiki for it to work. They just have to be willing to participate. How often or frequent the sessions will depend, as in any healing practice, on the complexity of the issues. It puts healing in the hands of the client.
Reiki looks at the individual as a whole rather than the separation of mind, body and spirit. It will eliminate physical and emotional blockages to heal the body and create balance and harmony. It works well when used in conjunction with modern medical practices and religious beliefs by giving the individual a sense of control over their own life. It lowers stress levels and thereby enhances the autoimmune system. With a strengthened immune system clients can more readily cope with chronic illnesses or disease, ward off complications post surgical procedures and recover more quickly.
Sandra Landsman, Ph.D., has been in the private practice for over 35 years and is a noted international clinical consultant, lecturer, author and seminar/workshop leader in the U.S. and abroad. Her expertise in hypnosis and metaphysics grew out of her creative work with clients with severe emotional disorders. Professional affiliations and certifications include International Association Counselors and Therapists, International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association, National Guild of Hypnotists, National Council of Hypnotist Examiners, International Association for Regression, Research and Therapies. In addition, Dr. Landsman is a Clinical Teaching Member of the International Transactional Analysis Association and a Reiki Master Teacher. She received a Fellowship to the National Institute of Mental Health and is in Who’s Who of American Woman, Who’s Who of Medicine and Healthcare, Two Thousand Notable Americans and Who’s Who Among Human Service Professionals. Sandra may be contacted at [email protected] and www.DrSandy.biz.
