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REIKI NORTH IDAHO
Priest River Idaho 83856
208-946-1686 or 946-1686
Reiki History
Reiki Founder Mikao Usui
Reiki
is a system of natural healing that Mikao Usui of Japan founded
in the early 1900’s. Some have described what Usui Sensei did as
“re-discovering” a body of knowledge that was known and
practiced for thousands of years before his birth. In
fact, many ancient peoples worked with the human energy system
thousands of years ago. Cultures including ones indigenous to
the North American continent have approaches to healing that
resemble Reiki. More complete knowledge
of Reiki history and techniques has been gained over the past 20 years
as a result of the research carried out by Arjava Frank Petter, Tadao
Yamaguchi, William
Rand, Bronwen and Frans Stiene, and many others whom I am thankful for.
What follows is a very brief version of what I have been taught
about Reiki’s history and of its founder. The available space limits
what I will share here and for that I ask your understanding. The more
complete history is very full and there are others who have expressed it
in a wonderful manner.
Mikao Usui was
a Tendai Buddhist born to a traditional samurai family who studied the
highest levels of the martial arts and in his spiritual discipline to
the point that he became what we might call a lay-priest. He was a
well-known spiritual teacher who conducted far-reaching study into
ancient and contemporary healing practices based upon life force energy.
Usui Sensei practiced a form of Tendai meditation lasting 21 days and is
said to have had
a mystical experience upon Mount Kurama that enabled him to develop his
knowledge and studies into an actual system of healing.
Usui initially
provided Reiki in poor neighborhoods of Japan and was an
effective healer in the aftermath of a great earthquake that struck
Japan in the 1920’s. He is credited with being the founder of an
organization now known as Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai and of a clinic for
the practice and teaching of Reiki. Reiki was taught in three main
levels called Shoden, Okuden, and
Shinpiden. The time spent working within those
levels was much more extended than it is today. It has only recently
been discovered that the organization he founded in Japan exists to this
day.
Mikao Usui
initiated 20 people to Shinpiden and many others to Shoden and
Okuden. In all, he was said to have taught approximately 2000 people. Usui Sensei was a very humble
and spiritual man who was very interested in the
personal spiritual growth of those he taught. He also taught Reiki, or the
palm healing aspects of it, to some of Japan’s military as a form of
first aid. One of his students was Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, the teacher of Hawayo
Takata who then brought Reiki to the United States in the 1930’s after
her own successful course of Reiki treatment. Dr. Hayashi is thought to
have developed many of the Reiki hand positions in use around the world
today.
Mrs. Takata
also became known as an effective healer and began initiating 22
additional Reiki Masters at some point in time around the 1970’s. Reiki
training was quite expensive until one of her students began to make
some changes that made Reiki more readily available. Reiki has continued
to flourish and grow in popularity as an alternative healing approach
ever since. Reiki Master Teacher Frank Arjava Petter, in particular, has done
much to bring more of Usui Sensei’s techniques to light for use around
the world.
There are now
many different schools of Reiki healing at this time as a number of
people have adapted it with techniques perhaps different from those
taught by Usui, Hayashi and Takata. The interest in “alternative
healing” has grown to such a degree in the United Stares that the
government has created a national center to study various forms of
healing and Reiki is one of those being studied. Hands-on healing has
become widely accepted due to the health benefits experienced by many
and consumers have become empowered and learned that there are many
paths to wellness.
I hope that
this admittedly abbreviated history perks your interest and that you
will consider making Reiki a part of your journey.
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