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Reiki Digest
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1. Robert, can you tell us a bit about yourself, your background with Reiki, who you trained with and what service you provide now?
2. How would you interpret the word 'Reiki'?
3. What do you think is happening in a Reiki session?
4. What do you think is happening, at a basic level, in a Reiki attunement/initiation/reiju?
5. Do you think Reiki can be used to help situations and inanimate objects as well as living things?
6. Reiki is now becoming popular within the medical system. What role do you believe Reiki plays in the traditional medical system?
7. Distant Reiki and permission has always been a topic with many pros & cons what's your view on this given the earthquake disasters in Haiti and Chile?
8. Many Reiki practitioners say you can go back into the past and heal it. What's your take on this issue?
9. Have you had any notable experiences concerning Reiki that you could tell us about?
10. Can you describe your relationship with Reiki, and how it's affected you?
11. Do you feel that Reiki needs standard guidelines across the board for practitioners to obtain certification?
12. Is there anything that I/we have not asked that you find is important when talking about Reiki?
Answer: I am a practicing Reiki Teacher/Master, licensed acupuncturist, and Chinese Medicine Herbalist. My Reiki training began in 1996 and over the years has led me to train with many different Reiki masters to find out what exactly is the "traditional" Reiki system. My first Reiki teacher, Anthony "Spirit" Thiebaut told me to not waste my time reading Reiki books...just practice Reiki and it wil teach you. My first master training was with Jone Eagle. After the initial in person training I moved a few months later out of the area, but we keep in touch for about a year or so though e-mail, phone conversations, and visits with me asking more questions and for guidance. I later retrained as a master with Light and Adonea in Sedona, Arizona. They had studied many branches of Reiki and pretty much knew what was what (traditional versus nontraditional). I also have taken Reiki 1 and 2 with both John Harvey Gray and Fran Brown (both masters trained by Takata). I later became a master candidate under Fran Brown, but due to personal reasons, I stopped the training early. I also have trained as a master under Hiroshi Doi (Usui-Taketomi-Koyama-Doi) and Hyakuten Inamoto (Usui-Hayashi-Yamaguchi-Hyakuten). Fran Brown questioned me many times why it was I wanted to train with her, when I had already trained with Hyakuten. Fran had gone to Japan and met Mrs. Yamaguchi and Hyakuten was the translator for them. Fran said that their initiation methods were very similar and how happy she was about this. She also told me that she wanted her own masters to go and train under Mrs. Yamaguchi, but I regretfully told her that Mrs. Yamaguchi had already made her transition. I have a picture of Fran with Hyakuten, Mrs. Yamaguchi, and her son Tado, on one of my web pages.
I spent many years contacting Takata's 22 masters to ask them questions and was able to connect with a lot of them. In a few cases (like Ursula Baylow and Iris Ishikuro), although they (the master) may have been deceased, I was able to get into contact with their daughters. Ursula's daughter found me by googling her mom's name. She was trained as a master by her mother, but never did teach. Same goes with Iris's daughter, she was trained as a master, but never did teach. She also passed on to me many things of her mom's...I call them Reiki "artifacts".
Reiki also led me to start studying Traditional Chinese medicine (Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine) at Southwest Acupuncture College, in Boulder, CO from 1999-2003. That is an accredited 4 year Master of Science program, consisting of about 3,000 hours of study and clinical practice. So when it states in Usui's Hikkei that, "You don’t have to take bitter medicine or stand for hot moxa treatment." I know what he is talking about. Same goes for the idea of getting rid of "old blood" by performing Ketsueki Kokan-ho also called Ketsueki Joka-ho (Blood cleansing technique). This technique is called, "The Finishing Treatment" by Takata in the Gray book. Takata also referred to this as, "The Nerve Stroke" or "The Reiki Finish". So my training in Traditional Chinese Medicine has given me more insight into the Reiki teachings and their clinical usefulness.
2. How would you interpret the word 'Reiki'?
Answer: Spiritual Energy
3. What do you think is happening in a Reiki session?
Answer: I think that we are allowing a transfer of more Reiki (the spiritual energy that animates us and gives this body "life") to enter our body. Our body is designed to "fix" problems within itself and when given the right amount of tools to do so, such such as nutrition, air, etc. it does a fine job. However, what makes these "tools" useful to begin with? Well, they themselves are a manifestation of Reiki just like our body. So, giving and receiving a Reiki session is going back to the primordial or original "tool" or "master tool" so to speak, and using this spiritual energy for whatever purpose the body might need. So instead of us humans having to figure out which vitamin or supplement we might need, practice Reiki as see what happens; since Reiki is the "active ingrediant" or force behind all these things to begin with anyway. Reiki is quite useful since it is so versitile. That being said, I still think a person should eat food and not to try just living off the Reiki energy.
4. What do you think is happening, at a basic level, in a Reiki attunement/initiation/reiju?
Answer: What I believe is happening is the initiation creates a resonance to the truth of Reiki within the initiatee. First the master needs to become that resonance, then they begin the initiation. Sort of like tuning forks...you strike one tuning fork and if you place another one like it close to it, it also starts resonating at that frequency. Once you have the resonance of Reiki in you, one way you can activate it anytime is by placing your hands on someone...this is one way of "striking the tuning fork" to make it start resonating. In other words, a lot of Reiki is flowing first into the master who is performing the initiation which is what creates that vibration and frequency. This huge amount of Reiki then flows through the master and into the student, which again, creates the "Reiki vibration and frequency".
5. Do you think Reiki can be used to help situations and inanimate objects as well as living things?
Answer: In short, yes. However, I am of two minds on this one. I have sent Reiki to situations before and there is a technique (Jakikiri Joka-ho) I learned from Hiroshi Doi that Usui taught which is designed to "treat" inanimate objects. However, I remember when I was training as a master candidate under Fran Brown, she told us the following story. Fran said that she was at an Alliance meeting and one master, I believe it was Mary McFadyen, said to the group that they should start this meeting by sending Reiki to the day. Fran leaned over to Paul Mitchell and asked him this question, "When we send Reiki to the day, do we start on the head or the abdomen?" I laughed because that is one way of looking at it. It was clear Fran didn't hold with the idea of sending Reiki to the day or to an event. But my own experience says otherwise. So when I teach a Reiki 2 class (Okuden) sometimes I'll mention the "possible" ability of sending Reiki to a situtation and othertimes I won't. Strictly speaking, I don't think Takata taught people to send Reiki to situations or inanimate objects. Fran was very much against changing any aspects of the system she received from Takata.
6. Reiki is now becoming popular within the medical system. What role do you believe Reiki plays in the traditional medical system?
Answer: Allopathic medicine (western medicine) has its place but also it's limits. This is true for traditional Chinese Medicine or any form of therapy out there. Reiki has the ability to treat the many conditions that modern medicine treats with no side effects. However, when modern medicine is absolutely necessary, Reiki should still be used to help the body in whatever way it can. So if I break an arm, I am going to see an allopathic physician and then use Reiki the help heal the arm, once the bones are set in the right place. I would like to see more Reiki practitioners on staff at hospitals. We have several hospitals here in the United States that have Reiki practitioners on staff.
7. Distant Reiki and permission has always been a topic with many pros & cons what's your view on this given the earthquake disasters in Haiti and Chile?
Answer: This ties back in with question #5. If you can not get verbal permission from someone to help them for whatever reason, go ahead and send the Reiki anyway. If you feel the Reiki flowing, then there is your answer. If you don't feel any Reiki flowing, then there is your answer. So send to the situation in Haiti, the world, or a person you know in need and see what happens in your hands. Trust your hands!
8. Many Reiki practitioners say you can go back into the past and heal it. What's your take on this issue?
Answer: All we have is now. Now is the accumulation of everything that ever was...all of our past actions and the actions of everything in this universe. Now is all there is and it is never even a breath away. So if you are experiencing something now, treat it now, and experience the wonderful effects of Reiki now.
9. Have you had any notable experiences concerning Reiki that you could tell us about?
Answer: Plenty, but if one practices Reiki, they have their own...so briefly, I use to have problems with my knees aching a lot. Reiki cleared that up and I was able to even take a running class in college! When I was first trained in Reiki 2, I joined the Distance Healing Network so that I would have clients that I could practice on. I received a request from a person with a bleeding foot ulcer. This woman had this bleeding foot ulcer for years and no medicine seemed to help it. After one week of absentee Reiki treatments, the foot ulcer was healed. Reiki is amazing stuff.
10. Can you describe your relationship with Reiki, and how it's affected you?
Answer: Well, I try to live Reiki 24/7. And as I am always carrying my hands around with me wherever I go, there is usually a chance to be practicing hands on Reiki. And there is always be ample opportunity to be practicing the main points of Reiki, which are the 5 precepts. So I describe my relationship with Reiki as one that affords constant practice. When I do, "fall off the wagon" and get upset or start to worry about something...well, that's the reminder to do more practice. Keep the Reiki precepts in your mind and live by them. Doing Reiki treatments on yourself helps you live by the Precepts. If you have ever had a Reiki treatment before, then you know it is easy to live the Precepts after that treatment for a while. You feel so good and relaxed that it would be hard to get upset or to worry. You feel so good, that you are grateful and treat others kindly. The whole point of Reiki is to reach Satori, in other words, to be at peace with all things as they are. This is why Usui stated that his system of Usui Reiki Ryoho is the secret art to inviting happiness and the miraculous medicine for all diseases. The hands on treatments will help you live the Precepts as well as obtain optimal health.
11. Do you feel that Reiki needs standard guidelines across the board for practitioners to obtain certification?
Answer: In someways I feel this is a moot point. But here goes...Would I like it if people who are trained in Reiki receive thorough training? Of course, my answer would be yes! But how do we determine as a whole what is to be taught or what standards to have? I have my own ideas and they are such...if Takata taught the technique, teach it. Or if we are told that Usui taught a technique (as passed down through the Gakkai lineage) teach it. But I am sure we all know that Takata, for a good reason, changed the history of Reiki. And we know that the Gakkai has made some changes since Usui's time too. Would I love it if I never heard another person say, "I am a Reeki master of the Usieee lineage". Obviously, if people are being trained as "masters" and do not even know how to pronounce the word Reiki (Leiki) or Usui, then we will definately have a problem in coming up with standards. So, I can not stress enough, that it is the master's personal RESPONSIBILITY to train only those who are ready and would make good teachers. Many people have asked me to train them as a master and I have turned down nearly all of them. Keeping the integrity of the system is important to me. If I know that someone doesn't practice daily treatments on themselves or can not tell me what the 5 Reiki precepts are, then I know they are not dedicated to living Reiki and question why they want to be a "master" in a system they don't practice themselves. Again, if I feel they are inclined to change the system of Reiki or "combine" it with other systems, then I won't train them. Anyone is welcome to take the Reiki 1 class and really that is all that most people need. They learn how to treat themselves and others as well as the 5 Precepts. Reiki 2 is for people who have been practicing Reiki and want to learn how to do absentee treatments or to further their training in the Reiki system in general. Masters are those who feel the calling and want to take on the commitment to teach and pass on this great system of Reiki.
12. Is there anything that I/we have not asked that you find is important when talking about Reiki?
Answer: Whatever question is asked at the time, that is the important question. What I talk about or how I may answer a question is always dictated by who is asking and who is present. I let the Reiki answer for me. When I teach a class, I let the Reiki flow though me and the words come out of my mouth without my brain getting involved too much. The best way to understand Reiki is to receive a Reiki treatment. Better yet is to take a Reiki class and practice practice practice! Your understanding will deepen in time and one's relationship with Reiki will change. This also means that in a few years, I might have a very different understanding of Reiki. So ask me to answer these questions again in 10 years! Maybe we'll have a few laughs.
Robert that was a heart warming
