A Torch In Daylight

The generally accepted version of the story is that Dr. Usui used to travel with a burning torch and on one occasion Dr. Hayashi was drawn to it and that led to his study of Reiki. There are dozens of versions of this story each involving someone asking Dr. Usui why he carried the torch in daylight when it was not necessary. Here are some of the accounts of his reply:

• • When people told him he didn’t need a torch in daylight, he answered was he was looking for the few who are interested in improving themselves.
• • That is because I am hunting for people who do not want illness in a home, who do not want to have a lot of big doctors’ bills, who want to learn how to live in a good funfulfilled life.
• • 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.
• • When asked why he stood in the streets with the torch, he said he was looking for people in search of the TRUE LIGHT – people who were ill and oppressed and longed to be healed.
• • Anyone who asked why he was carrying a torch in the middle of the day would get invited to a meeting that evening where, he said, they would truly learn about light.
• • People would laugh at him and point out to him that it was already daylight, and there was no need to carry a lighted torch. Usui would reply that if they were interested he could teach them how to have more light, enjoyment and health in their lives.

I must admit I find some of these rather amusing, especially in light <there it is again> of the fact that, when I first encountered them, they seemed so deep and real. 10 years on, they seem like another misinterpretation/mistranslation and/or just another one of Mrs. Takata’s embellishments.

My Torch In Daylight

Let’s take a look at my own understanding now and see if it sheds any light on the subject. First let’s break it down…

For all intents and purposes we basically carry a torch “to light up the darkness and/or otherwise light the way”, “to illuminate that which cannot readily be seen”, and/or “to make ourselves more visible to others in the dark”. I believe these are more along the lines of what Dr. Usui may have been thinking if such a thing actually occurred. That is to say that something was obscured in darkness and in need of illumination.

A torch seems the perfect symbol for Reiki, being first and foremost the spiritual path to enlightenment that it is… and certainly signifies a great deal more than a simple attention getter. I’m sure the enlightenment aspect of the torch would not have gone unnoticed and would have played a large role in its inception.

My own interpretation of events is more along the lines of this… people who are ready to see the torch for what it is, will, while those that aren’t ready will simple see a foolish man walking with a lit torch in the middle of the day. Those who are looking for and ready for illumination, enlightenment, understanding will have an immediate and profound reaction to the situation and will have a satori (glimpse of enlightenment) as a result. For those who are ready, a fire deep inside will be kindled… and it is that flame that is responsible for the unbridled passion many of us have in regard to Reiki.

Please read that last paragraph again. Does it resonate with you? Can you feel it? If so, than you have truly been called to Reiki. If not, there’s always barber college.

If you are truly interested in Total Reiki Mastery, than this Reiki calling is a must. Reiki is a feeling deep down in your soul that connects you to the infinite. And through Reiki there is a genuine understanding of how the universe is here to support us and will unselfishly do so if we only invite it to. There is no limit to the wonder that is Reiki and if you look deep enough into the flame you will see that.

So the next time you chuckle at the thought of the foolish man walking with the torch in daylight, or the foolish man stumbling in the dark without one, remember that they may in fact be the same man, who, just as yourself, is only looking for understanding.

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!

First off, alcohol is allowed. There is nothing at all in the Reiki Rulebook against it… there are, however, several good reasons to avoid it at Reiki time. Such as:

• ♦ Alcohol impairs your judgment
• ♦ Alcohol interferes with the spiritual channels
• ♦ Alcohol dulls your senses
• ♦ Alcohol has physical effects (difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, etc.)
• ♦ Alcohol impairs your memory
• ♦ Alcohol can be addictive

Now none of these may  necessarily be related to your Reiki practice. Or perhaps they are. Here in Japan it is quite common to go out after a Reiki Share or Reiki Session and enjoy a few drinks (or more) with dinner. Rumor has it that Dr. Usui enjoyed his o-sake and it was not considered a deterrent to Reiki in any way, shape or form.

Mrs. Takata may have had something against alcohol and that may be where the notion that alcohol is verboten in ones Reiki practice spread from, or perhaps the association Reiki shares with the all-natural or vegetarian movements. In Japan, the only advanced Reiki Master I know who doesn’t imbibe is Rev. Hyakuten Inamoto, but this is purely for religious reasons and has nothing to do with Reiki.

Here in Japan, beer is used quite often in taste tests and energy tests involving Reiki. The effects of Reiki-ing a glass of beer are quite obvious and it is quite enjoyable trying to locate the Reikied glass. It works with coffee and tea as well… but it isn’t as powerful and it isn’t nearly as fun.

The practice of Reiki, being a semi-hands-on modality can have ethical/moral considerations that might be blurred by the consumption of alcohol, but for goodness sake, lets not go making a mountain out of a molehill. If you enjoy alcohol, please don’t let Reiki stand in the way. As long as your consumption is under control… there is no reason not to… and anyone who says there is might have a few emotional blocks that need work.

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!

Today we are going to look at some more practical aspects of yesterday’s post of Making Change Easy With Reiki and as I believe this is an extremely important subject we will be returning to it on occasion.

The first consideration there is when dealing with change is exactly what type of change you are dealing with… as all change is not created equal. Personally, as with many areas of Reiki, I divide them into physical changes, mental changes, emotional changes and spiritual changes. Let’s take a look at each in turn.

Physical Change

Physical changes can be the result of accidents, normal growth, changes in ones environment, health problems, etc. These are, for example, different from normal accidents or health problems by the degree of change that they require. Losing an arm, a finger, eyesight or hearing all require great changes to occur in order for your life to return to some semblance of order. This is the type of change that I’m talking about and while there are certainly psychological problems associated with such loss, our concern here is with the physical adaptation that must occur.

Regular Reiki treatments can assist greatly in this adaptation by creating a sort of status quo in the remaining physical structure, rewiring circuits both in and out of the brain, rerouting vital energies on the subtle and not so subtle levels, and returning a sense of balance. Change needed as a result of some sort of trauma will require some deep healing, and since the new energetic patterns have not been in existence for very long they will be easier to heal. So basically, the quicker you get to it and the more Reiki energy you are able to apply, the better.

Mental Change

Mental change is required to overcome mental blocks or barriers preventing us from achieving what we want. Changes in our perception of logic, beliefs in our ability, our ourwardly directed attitudes, etc. and can be made much easier to manipulate with Reiki. I liken it to softening up a hard sponge so that it will work properly… so too does Reiki soften up our spongy brains to allow for reshaping.

My favorite way of dealing with situations requiring mental change, besides straight Reiki sessions (with generous helping of the mental/emotional symbol) is through the use of affirmations. Hear are the type of affirmations that work especially well where mental adaptation is needed.

• As I change, I feel better and better.
• As I change, my life improves in every way.
• As I let go of the past, I welcome the future.
• Change is an exciting adventure.
• Change is easy and safe.
• Change is positive.
• Change leads to happiness and fulfillment.
• I am changing for the better, now and always.
• I am willing to leave my old way of being behind and open myself to something new and better.
• I feel comfortable changing at the deepest level.
• I want to change for the better now.
• It is safe to let go.
• Life is a process of change.

Use of any one of these, or all of these, or similar affirmations during Reiki self-healing is an ideal way to make use of them. And getting non-Reiki practitioners to use them during meditation, while walking, while working, etc. can yield tremendous results.

Emotional Change

Emotional changes that are most needed are those surrounding any type of negative emotions. These should all and always be removed from our systems on a regular basis. Of course, we, as Reiki practitioners always abide by the Reiki precepts and never worry and are never angry… which are two of the more debilitating negative emotions needing elimination.

My preferred way of dealing with emotional change is to separate it from the experience it is attached to. If someone recounts to you a story of a traffic accident they were involved in 10 years ago and still feel anger when recounting the experience, that means they have not released the negative emotion from the experience.

The way I have them do so, while showering them with Reiki, is to have them put their hands in gassho, and tell them that their gassho represents the experience. Then I ask them to open their hands and imagine the experience is one one hand and the attached negative emotion in the other. It doesn’t matter which is which and I often ask them which hand the emotion is in, in order to validate the exercise. Then ask them to move their hands apart and notice the emotion is separating from the experience. Reiterate that its important to keep the memory of the experience as its an important life lesson… but all the negative emotion does is cause cancer. Instruct them to just let it go and watch it fly away. If done correctly this technique works 99% of the time.

Spiritual Change

Spiritual change is needed when our place in the universe is questioned, when matters of ethics or morals are threatened, when our spirit is damaged in any way or in matters of religious beliefs. It is one of the more difficult changes to assist with because it often lies latent under layers of more observable dis-ease. Physical dis-ease can be observed, mental dis-ease can be thought and emotional dis-ease can be felt… but spiritual dis-ease can only be intuited and relies greatly on one’s ability to do so in the first place… and one’s openness to the possibilities that relate.

As mentioned yesterday, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual changes can be called for because of the stress caused by (merely) thinking about that change, actually changing, and dealing with the changes afterward… so there are three-dimensional considerations in dealing with them. Kind of like 3D Chess… in the beginning its kind of hard to figure out, but once you do, plain old 1D chess is just downright boring…

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!

Being a long-time fan of Monty Python and John Cleese I generally pay attention when I see something with his name attached, so it was with great curiosity that I watched his Laughter Yoga video. Knowing nothing about Laughter Yoga I first thought it was one of his wacky routines, but soon into it I found it was quite serious… well, as much as laughter can be anyway. Here is the video if you’d like to see what I’m talking about before I start applying it to Reiki.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXEfjVnYkqM

There are scores of stories, both clinical and anecdotal, about the healing powers of laughter, so combining two healthy endeavors, like laughter and yoga is not such a stretch of the imagination. Nor is the combination of laughter and Reiki… et voila, Laughter Reiki is born, and I can think of quite a few applications right off the top of my head (yeah… that’s right… where the hair used to be). Here are a few:

1. Add a laughing component to your Reiki circles… 10 minutes of laughter makes a much closer group while releasing the necessary chemicals to augment the healing in a rather enjoyable way.
2. Give yourself a Reiki treatment while watching the Three Stooges or whatever comedy tickles your funny bone.
3. Add laughter to your Reiki treatments… as revealed to John Cleese in the video, the laughter does not have to be real, but chances are one you start it will become real. Keep up on the latest bed-side humor and add it liberally to your Reiki healings.
4. Learn to be funny… there are quite a few books written about being funny, delivering jokes any of which can help you to add humor to your teachings, healings, Reiki shares, etc. and it will get you invited to quite a few more parties, which at Christmastime is a nice thing.

If you’re still not convinced there is an interesting article about the healing powers of laughter called Laughter is Good Medicine that makes a pretty compelling argument. Patch Adams presented a similar argument and if you don’t find the evidence that laughter t promotes a longer healthier life incentive enough than I only have one thing to say… pffffft!!!

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!

Today I’d like to take a quick look at Reiki Admiralty, those Imperial Japanese Navy Admirals (Ushida, Taketomi, Wanami and the lesser known Imaizumi) who played an important role in the development of the Reiki system in the early days. The current goings on behind the secretive (dare I say militaristic) walls of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai were also no doubt influenced by these men three of which became the 2nd, 3rd and 5th Presidents (respectively) of the Gakkai following the passing of Dr. Usui.

Of the four known Reiki Admirals, three (Juzaburo Ushida, Kanichi Taketomi and Tetsutaro Imaizumi) were trained to Shinpiden (Reiki Master) level by Mikao Usui himself and later served as President of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai while one (Hoichi Wanami) was trained by Admiral Ushida and also served as a Gakkai President. A few date ranges to bear in mind are:

• 1865 – Birth of Mikao Usui
• 1894-1895 – 1st Japanese War with China (Emperor Meiji)
• 1904-1905 – Japanese War with Russia (Emperor Meiji)
• 1914-1919 – Japanese involvement in World War I (Emperor Taisho)
• 1922 – Birth of Reiki and creation of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai
  
• 1926 – Death of Mikao Usui
  
• 1937-1945 – 2nd Japanese War with China (Emperor Showa)
• 1941-1945 – Japanese involvement in World War II (Emperor Showa)

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The Reiki Admirals

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Juzaburo Ushida

Born in Kyoto on May 8, 1865, Juzaburo Ushida graduated from the 12th class of the Japanese Naval Academy in 1882 and achieved the rank of Captain on August 05, 1905 and the rank of Rear Admiral on December 1, 1911. Rear Admiral Ushida joined the reserves (semi-retirement) on May 31, 1913 and officially retired on May 08, 1926. Juzaburo Ushida passed away on March 22, 1935 at the age of 69. In 1894, at the height of the 1st Japanese War with China, Lieutenant Ushida traveled to England and in 1898, as a Lieutenant Commander he spent several months in the U.S.

It is generally acknowledged that Juzaburo Ushida was the 2nd President of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (most likely serving in that capacity after the death of Dr. Usui in 1926 until his death) although some Reiki historians claim that Mikao Usui never acted in that capacity and that Admiral Ushida was actually the first Gakkai president. Admiral Ushida also trained Vice Admiral Hoichi Wanami, who later became the 5th President of the Gakkai. Juzaburo Ushida is also the author of the inscription on the Usui Memorial at Saihoji Memorial Park in Tokyo.

Kanichi Taketomi

Born in Tokyo on December 28, 1878, Kanichi Taketomi graduated from the 27th class of the Japanese Naval Academy in 1897 and achieved the rank of Captain on December 1, 1918 and the rank of Rear Admiral on December 1, 1923. Rear Admiral Taketomi joined the reserves (semi-retirement) on February 25, 1924 and officially retired on December 28, 1941 (21 days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor). Kanichi Taketomi passed away on December 6, 1960 at the age of 81.

Kanichi Taketomi served as the 3rd President of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai and also trained Kimiko Koyama, the wife of a Tokyo University Professor, who later became the 6th President of the Gakkai. Mrs. Koyama in turn trained Hiroshi Doi who is my Reiki teacher. There are conflicting reports as to how long and exactly when Admiral Taketomi served as Gakkai president as both he and his successor, Yoshiharu Watanabe (a retired school teacher) both died in 1960. Some say Mr. Watanabe was only a fill in president and others say he never was president at all. The official Gakkai stance is that Kanichi Taketomi served as the 3rd President and Yoshiharu Watanabe served as the 4th.

Hoichi Wanami

Born in Mie on November 2, 1883, Hoichi Wanami graduated from the 32nd class of the Japanese Naval Academy in 1904 and achieved the rank of Captain on December 1, 1925, the rank of Rear Admiral on December 1, 1931 and the rank of Vice Admiral on November 15, 1935. Vice Admiral Wanami joined the reserves (semi-retirement) on March 30, 1936 and served as a Consultant for the Department of Welfare until his death on January 2, 1975 at the age of 91. The rank of Vice Admiral is second only to the rank of Admiral, the highest rank in the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Hoichi Wanami served as the 5th President of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai and also trained Masaki Kondo, a Tokyo University English Literature Professor, who later became the 7th (and current as of this writing) President of the Gakkai.

Tetsutaro Imaizumi

Born in Saga on November 12, 1877, Tetsutaro Imaizumi graduated from the 25th class of the Japanese Naval Academy in 1897 and achieved the rank of Captain on December 1, 1916 and Rear Admiral on December 1, 1921. Rear Admiral Imaizumi joined the reserves (semi-retirement) on February 25, 1924 and officially retired on September 12, 1940. Tetsutaro Imaizumi passed away on February 8, 1945 at the age of 67.

While Tetsutaro Imaizumi never acted as a Gakkai President, as one of Dr. Usui’s Shinpiden Masters he was around in the days when the Gakkai was formed and no doubt, as a high ranking naval officer, extended his influence . As Admiral Taketomi’s superior, it is surprising that Taketomi was made President of the Gakkai and not Imaizumi. It is also interesting to note that while a Commander he served in England from 1913-1915 (during the outbreak of World War I) and was promoted to Captain soon after his return to Japan.

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!

Its summer festival (Natsu Matsuri) season here in Japan and while enjoying my neighborhood festival (comparable in many ways to American block parties that seem to have been much more frequent when I was growing up) I was asked to give a quick Reiki treatment to a friend who was having trouble adjusting to the heat… it was a wonderful experience… and one that I would like to share with you…

First, a little background…

Summer festivals are one of the traditional ways to celebrate the seasons in Japan and they remain largely the same as they have for hundreds of years. Kids play games, adults drink beer and dance and everyone eats the traditional local specialties and does their best to ignore the sweltering heat. This summer is proving to be among the hottest since my arrival in Japan and ignoring it was no small feat. There were so many fans fanning that I’m sure the butterflies in Brazil felt it…

About mid-evening my wife had taken the kids home and one of my former students started to ask me about Reiki. She sat down and I started to give her a Reiki treatment to show her what it was all about (as opposed to just talking about it). About 30 seconds later she was hooked and so it looks like I’ll be scheduling another Reiki class fairly soon. As I Reikied her, a million thoughts passed through my mind… some more profound than usual… and some just downright interesting…

There was a traditional song blaring on the speakers, accompanied by live Taiko drums, and about a hundred people were dancing in a big circle to this timeless melody that seemed to go on for hours. Here’s a taste of what it was like…

[flv]http://totalreikimastery.com/wp-includes/images/2008/07/natsu-matsuri.flv[/flv]

As I was off to the side giving Reiki, dozens of people stopped and watched, obviously wondering what it was that I was up to. In their wildest dreams they would not have guessed that what I was doing was Japanese in origin and that due to their own secretive culture most of them will probably never have any idea what Reiki is. At that I had to chuckle and when my friend asked what was so funny I decided to keep it to myself… some things are better left unsaid…

As I was giving Reiki, many Reiki thoughts came to mind, many of which happened to drift to Dr. Usui on this occasion. When he was a kid he would’ve been out there with his family or friends, trying to catch the fish with his hands, eating his favorite treats and dancing to the beat of the Taiko drums. Any of the boys out there yesterday could’ve been him. When he got a little older he would’ve been over with the older boys setting off fireworks and pretending not to be watching the girls dance. When he got even older he would’ve been drinking sake and chatting about the local state of things (or perhaps standing where I was and giving Reiki). Again, any of the men out there could’ve been him. And had he lived to a ripe old age he would most certainly have been out there boogeying with the others. In Dr. Usui’s time, these were important social and cultural events that would not have been missed.

These summer festivals are a great time to socialize and get to know the locals. Its also a great time to (re)introduce Reiki to the people who I feel are among the most deserving of having it (re)introduced… after all, Reiki is Japanese. If the Japanese people won’t do it, I guess I’ll have to do it myself and I’m seriously considering making a big sign saying FREE REIKI… and setting myself up in a little corner at next years festival. Maybe I’ll post a brief introduction next to the sign so I won’t have to endeavor to do so.

Earlier in the day my family and I visited the graveyard to clean up and pray for our ancestors (well… their ancestors anyway) and that would’ve also been something Dr. Usui frequently did. Japanese people take this kind of thing very seriously and Dr. Usui would’ve been no exception. When last I visited his grave, it was pretty clean, so it seems someone is keeping it that way and it makes me wonder about what family he still has around. His son Fuji died pretty young, but there was plenty of time for him to have a family of his own.

Living here in Japan gives me an insight into Japanese culture that plays a strong part in my understanding of Reiki. While not necessary to do Reiki, it gives me a much richer experience and overall feel for Reiki that I’ve come to value. Its nice that some customs and local festivals like this have gone unchanged for ages. And as I was being dragged out onto the dance floor, so to speak I felt a sense of welcome and warmth that goes beyond words. Was it because of the Reiki? You bet!!

Thank you Reiki! Thank you Japan!

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!

One of the stories told by Hawayo Takata and propagated by her students was that Dr. Usui was educated by Christian missionaries and that he actually converted to Christianity himself. I’d like to take a closer look at these claims here.

The story (by my understanding) goes that Dr. Usui was not only a Christian, but that he was himself a Christian Minister, Missionary and Preacher as well as the Principal of Doshisha University, a Christian university located in Kyoto, Japan. The short version of the story is that one day at Chapel service several of Dr. Usui’s senior students asked him if he had the ability to duplicate Jesus’s healing miracles through the laying on of hands, to which Dr. Usui replied that he could not, and then subsequently resigned his position at the university in order to learn this healing ability at a university in Chicago. This in turn led to his discovery of Reiki.

First off, lets get a few little facts straight.

Dr. Usui was not educated by missionaries. He was not a Christian Minister, Missionary or Preacher. He was in no way related to Doshisha University in any capacity. He never studied at any university in Chicago, and finally he was not Christian.

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, lets take a look at where this story potentially came from, its implications and its possible origins.

Gassho

In Reiki, even Mrs. Takata’s version , there is quite a lot of gassho usage. Rather than explaining the Buddhist and mudra aspects of this, it would have been much easier (and no doubt much more effective) to describe and explain it as the hand position used in Christian prayers. This would have made it much less of a heathen Japanese thing and much more acceptable in Mrs. Takata’s day and age. In order to explain how this Christian symbol made it into Reiki, I’m sure some explanation would have been needed, et voila… the Usui Doshisha link was established (and further embelishments came naturally, as they do in all forms of mythology).

Jodo Shu

We’ve already established that Dr. Usui was in no way, shape or form Christian. He was also not a member of the Tendai or Shingon Sects of Japanese Buddhism as has also been maintained by some rather dubious sources. The fact remains that he was a member of the Jodo Sect of Japanese Buddhism as is witnessed by his burial at Saihoji Memorial Park in the Saihoji Temple compound, which is strictly reserved for members of the Jodo Shu sect. Jodo Shu is one of the most popular forms of Buddhism found in Japan and in fact has been likened as the branch of Japanese Buddhism closest to Christianity on a number of levels. The short version of their belief is that you believe in God and say a prayer to him once in a while and you will automatically go to heaven. Some sources actually call the Jodo Branch a form of “Buddhist Christianity” as they are so similar, so again, Mrs. Takata’s reference to Dr. Usui as being Christian is not that far off the mark as his beliefs would have been markedly similar.

Anti-Japanese Sentiment

One final area in need of mention is the anti-Japanese sentiment of the time… especially in Hawaii. Proliferation of any Japanese ideas would have been extremely difficult at best and an option was certainly needed. Making Dr. Usui less Japanese, lo even a Christian at heart, would have taken some of the sting out of it and were this not done, as I’ve mentioned on several occasions, Reiki would in all likelihood have never reached its current degree of international popularity… especially with the Gakkai bending over backwards to keep it secret and restricted to a few rapidly aging individuals (no, there is no love lost between me and the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai).

I would once again like to applaud the choices Mrs. Takata made in order to preserve and spread Reiki… without which I would not be talking to you right now and would probably be writing a post on yoga…

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!

I was discussing the Meiji Restoration yesterday with one of my Reiki students (who is a retired high school history teacher) when, for one reason or another, the subject turned to Dr. Hayashi. Several questions were raised and I found my answers less then adequate, so I decided to do a little research and frankly, I’m not very satisfied with the results.

Actually, of late, I’m having a little bit of trouble understanding Dr. Hayashi. There is quite a bit of conflicting information about him and I’m trying to piece together a coherent picture of the man with which to better understand him… and its proving rather difficult.

First there are the facts (as we know them). Things like, he was born in 1879, died in 1940, and learned Reiki somewhere in between. There are marriage dates and dates for things like the birth of his children and things like that, but other than that the facts are rather sketchy at best.

Who was Dr. Hayashi?

One thing I have been having trouble reconciling is his military situation. It has been reported that he graduated from the Navel Academy in the 30th Class in December of 1902, yet the Official Imperial Japanese Navy Records show no such report. There were 38 graduates of that class and Dr. Hayashi was not among them (although I find it interesting (although probably meaningless) there was a man named Kuni Usui, from Kagoshima, who graduated in that class). If Dr. Hayashi were a retired (or in the reserves as some sources say) Navy Captain (a surgeon at that), graduate of the Imperial Naval Academy and former director of the Ominato Port Defense Station there would be some record. There are none that I can find and I find this a bit odd.

Facts surrounding the death of Dr. Hayashi are also difficult to reconsile and really don’t make much sense to me at all. It is a reported that there was a build up of nationalism in Japan at the time, and it was the threat of war that led to his taking his own life. However, at the time, Japan was already at war with China, and it had been for many years. I find it strange that he would (a) suddenly chose to end his life on those grounds and (b) subsequently bequeath his house to Mrs. Takata, instead of his wife and/or children which was (and is) the custom.

Regarding the first point, Pearl Harbor (and Japan’s involvement in WWII) was almost 2 years in the future and at the time Japan was dedicated to positioning itself to defeat China so that it could get on with its industrial revolution. During this on-going war with China, Dr. Hayashi supposedly ran a successful Reiki practice and even found the time and means to travel to Hawaii just to teach Reiki to Mrs. Takata. Then a couple years later he just decides to end his life. What kind of doctor chooses to kill himself rather than help people in a time of great need? What kind of Reiki Master for that fact? Of course this is all possible, but I find it quite odd.

In regard to the second point, according to records and Japanese students, Mrs. Hayashi took over the Hayashi Reiki Ryoho Kenkyukai, but if the above is accurate she apparently had to do so without a house or clinic as Dr. Hayashi supposedly gave them to Mrs. Takata. Again, possible, but extremely odd.

I suppose we need to take a look at where the information is coming from. A lot of the information about Dr. Hayashi comes from Mrs. Takata who, as we all know, loved to, how to say, embellish on her version of the facts. Making up stories about Reiki seemed to have been second nature to her, so we must take the source of this information into account. Don’t get me wrong… I believe her contribution to Reiki to be second only to Dr. Usui himself, but whether her success in keeping Reiki alive and bringing it to light (so to speak) was of her own design or not is debatable. Other sources of information about Dr. Hayashi are equally questionable and the holes they leave behind don’t help us to understand the man.

Fact from Fiction

There are plenty of anecdotal stories about Dr. Hayashi. Such as his inability to sense hibiki and prompting Dr. Usui to develop a watered down version that Dr. Hayashi could perform, but just a few years later he could see the future and manifest himself in peoples dreams. He was also supposedly kicked out of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai for creating Reiki Masters when he had no authority to do so. He also seemed to be complaining that Dr. Usui allowed (and was even controlled to some extent by) the military presence in the Gakkai, although Dr. Usui’s father was himself a military man, which would have made Dr. Usui all too familiar with their practices and beliefs.

In an article about Reiki written by Shou Matsui (a student of Chujiro Hayashi ) which appeared in the Japanese newspaper ‘The Sunday Mainichi’ on Mar 4, 1928, Mr. Matsui stated that Mr. Hayashi (he is not referred to as a Doctor or a Captain) was not at all interested in the rei (or spiritual) part of Reiki, rather only the healing energies. This would have made his teachings very un-Reiki-like and would explain, to some extent, the neglect of the spiritual aspects of Reiki taught in the west. Luckily, as more and more information comes to light (so to speak) more and more Reiki practitioners are taking an interest in this aspect.

The bottom line is that we really don’t know much about this man, and what we do know is not very helpful in allowing us to understand him. This doesn’t change the fact that he is single handedly responsible for the spread of Reiki in the world today… which is why I hope to learn more about him.

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!

In this post I’d like to take a look at some advanced Reiki energetics as a follow up to my post on The Quantum Nature of Reiki Energy.

First, I’d like to take a quick look at a branch of sound therapy where there have been many studies on the effects of sound on a drop of water. In essence, the water molecules react very strongly and quite visibly to sound. Many diverse studies have proven that the quantum energy of pleasing sounds decidedly restructures the crystalline structure of water in a pleasing way, while the quantum energy of non-pleasing (violent or angry) sounds restructure the molecules in a very disorganized and not so pleasantly appearing way.

Furthering this study of the effects of energy on water, Dr. Masaru Emoto has spent most of his adult life studying the effects of sound and symbols on the structure of water and has made some remarkable discoveries. The following 10 minute video clip, from What The Bleep Do We Know: Down The Rabbit Hole summarizes his research nicely.

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Sound and images influence the water because of their vibrational frequencies. But what about Reiki? Doesn’t it have a vibrational frequency of its own? Don’t the Reiki symbols each have their own vibrational frequencies? What do you think happens to the water molecules as Reiki Energy is applied? According to the laws of quantum physics, which we are just beginning to understand in any depth, water molecules are affected by anything in their environment. Therefore Reiki would have a distinct impact on the water molecules.

Since the earth is primarily made up of water and our bodies are over 80% water themselves, what do you think the implications of this study are? The entire Earth is being affected on a daily basis by everything that is happening on it. Do you think this energy currently affecting the Earth’s water is pleasant or non-pleasant? In what ratio? To what effect?

Sustained Reiki

Turning back to Reiki, sustained Reiki restructures the affected cells in the same way, leaving a higher, more spiritual frequency behind. The more you receive these energies, the faster this restructuring will occur. In Dr. Usui’s day there was no such thing as a Reiki attunement (and frankly, I’m not completely convinced that the simple attunements given nowadays have much of a lasting effect at all… especially those given at a a distance). Reiki was originally transmitted from teacher to student over a period of time using the Reiju process, and over time the restructuring of the student’s energy systems was complete, giving them the true Reiki power.

In the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai, monthly meetings are held where Reiju is performed by Shinpiden members. According to the Gakkai, this is the only way to acquire Reiki. Over time the bodies energy systems are restructured enabling the truest of Reiki miracles to be performed. Dr. Usui studied energy work for many years before developing the Reiki system and I believe it is the culmination of all the work and knowledge he had prior to this that is responsible for the results which he passed on to us as Reiki.

Now, please take a look at the following short video, also based on Dr. Emato’s work, after which I will show you how to modify the process for use in Reiki.

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Should you care to experiment with this, you can follow the instructions given in the video and write the words given (which I’m not completely convinced are responsible for the effect, but I believe it may rather be the energies imparted from the person writing the words) or you can change it into a Reiki based experiment. Instead of writing the words, write the Reiki symbols (and the kanji for Reiki itself if you are able… if not just the word Reiki will suffice). Then you are imbuing the water with the true power of Reiki. Now you can use this water at will and take full advantage of its power. Whether drinking water, tea or beer, this procedure also has profound effects (although I don’t recommend freezing the beer). Also, as discussed in my post on Summertime Reiki, this special water makes a marvelous summertime spritzer.

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!

In several posts I have discussed the origins of the Reiki Master Symbol in passing, I’d like to take a look at it in a bit more detail here.

Originally, the Reiki Master Symbol was not a Reiki symbol at all. Upon completion of shinpiden level studies (the master level) Dr. Usui would present his students with a calligraphy with the symbol now known as the Reiki Master Symbol presented as a reminder of what the goal of Reiki is, so that students would always be reminded of this goal and the calligraphy was kind of a ‘north star’ guiding them home, as it were, and keeping them on the Reiki path.

Exactly when this calligraphy changed to a symbol is not clear, but it is clear that Dr. Usui never used it as such. Actually, only Mrs. Takata’s Reiki lineage seems to be the only one using this symbol as other traditional Japanese Reiki lineages have never done so. Perhaps Dr. Hayashi presented it to her as a calligraphy and she changed it, or perhaps he presented it to her a symbol, either way it is somewhere in that area that the Master Symbol was created.

Over the years, many people have learned the Master Symbol and have used it as such and the result is that it has become very powerful. If many people imbue a symbol with a particular energy, that symbol eventually takes on that energy. The Cross, Swastika, and Dollar Symbol are all examples of this. More people have been introduced to Reiki through Mrs. Takata’s students than any other branch, and the sheer number of followers have given this symbol so much power that even Japanese Reiki masters from other lineages have begun to use it. You can’t argue with success.

The Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai continues to stick to the original system, and stick to the first 3 symbols only… perhaps its the stubborn nature of the Japanese or perhaps they know something that we don’t… in all likelihood, due to the Gakkai’s secretive and IMHO rather selfish nature we may never know.

For further explanation or discussion, your thoughts are most welcome and highly encouraged, please feel free to comment below!!!