Celebrating the Life and Legacy of John Harvey Gray
April 10, 1917 to January 12, 2011
John Harvey Gray, Reiki Master
The longest practicing Reiki Master Teacher in the West, John Harvey Gray passed away peacefully in his home in New Hampshire on January 12, 2011, three months prior to his 94th birthday. At his bedside, were his beloved wife, Dr. Lourdes Gray, his daughter-in-law Monika Gray, and his faithful Yellow Lab, Mickie.
John Harvey Gray is survived by his wife, Lineage Bearer and Reiki Master Teacher Dr. Lourdes Gray, who serves as the Director of the John Harvey Gray Center for Reiki Healing. He is also survived by a daughter, writer and producer Kathelin Gray, a son, woodworker John Gray, and a daughter-in-law, Heather Gray. Other survivors include a daughter-in-law, Reiki Master Teacher Monika Gray, two grandchildren, Jason Gray and Christina Gray Minutoli, and her husband, Joseph Minutoli. His first wife, the Rev. Beth Gray, preceded him in death. A private service has been planned.
A Celebration of Life and Legacy
It is said that one's life is formed by the life situation, the opportunities that come, the choices made, and those people met along the way. In 1973, while living in Woodside, California and employed as a systems programmer at the Standford Research Institute, John Harvey Gray made a life-changing decision. Like a pilgrim knowing that he must journey, but not quite knowing the full significance of doing so ... John Harvey Gray chose the road less traveled. He intuitively began to journey on his soul path. His first step on this road was to enroll in Trancendental Meditation classes.
In June of 1974, at the Trinity Metaphysical Center in Redwood City, California, John Harvey Gray met the person who would alter his path forever ... Japanese-American Reiki Master from Hawaii Mrs. Hawayo Takata. For more than two years, he studied Reiki with Mrs. Takata in his home in Woodside. In October 1976, he became a Reiki Master. John Harvey Gray was the third person to be initiated as a Reiki Master by Mrs. Hawayo Takata.
After receiving his mastership in 1974, John Harvey Gray had three more experiences which he believed enriched his road to healing. In 1981 he began practicing Siddha Yoga at an ashram near Oakland, California. Later, in 1983, he spent time at the ashram of Swami Rama in Honesdale Pennsylvania, and later flew to Bangalore, India to take "darshan" or "sit in the presence" of Hindu holy man Sai Baba at his ashram in Puttaparthi. He believed that these three experiences "seem to tie together." He wrote, "In each place I came to a more peaceful way of healing."
In 1979, John Harvey Gray took his own mastery of Reiki on the road. By the time he had tired of traveling from state to state, he had held Reiki workshops in all but two states of the United States. John Harvey Gray also was the first person to introduce Reiki to the East Coast of the United States, including all of New England.
John Harvey Gray and his wife Dr. Lourdes Gray chose New Hampshire as their home. In 1996, they settled in the Monadnock Region near Lake Monomonac and Mount Monadnock.
Over the Years Much Was Accomplished ...
In the 1980s John Harvey Gray founded and became the pastor of The Church of the Loving Servant which is dedicated to the healing of the body, the mind, and the spirit through Reiki. In 1994, Interface, the popular holistic health learning center then located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, voted John Harvey Gray Teacher of the Year.
In 1996, with his wife Dr. Lourdes Gray, he founded the John Harvey Gray Center for Reiki Healing for the purpose of maintaining the highest standards in excellence of Reiki training and commitment. Together, John Harvey Gray and Dr. Lourdes Gray have trained many thousands of students.
In 2002, they collaborated on the writing and publication of a book entitled Hand To Hand, a guide book offering both the beginner as well as the experienced Reiki Practitioner a solid foundation for the practice of Reiki. The book Hand To Hand is both practical and comprehensive in its scope for the study of Reiki. To learn more about the life of John Harvey Gray, click here to go to the chapter entitled "John's Road to Healing" in their book Hand To Hand.
In 2004, John Harvey Gray was awarded, by his students, a Lifetime Achievement Award "In grateful appreciation for 30 years of outstanding teaching, commitment to Reiki, and to your students." Several hundred students were in attendance at the ceremony.
In 2008, John Harvey Gray appointed Dr. Lourdes Gray his Lineage Bearer to carry on his legacy of excellence and commitment to the practice of, and the training of, Reiki. So it continues ...
So It Continues ... a Message by Dr. Lourdes Gray
How do you say goodbye to your best friend, teacher, husband and soulmate? I do not say goodbye. In my heart he has not left me, nor has he left the hearts of his students. With his amazing kindness and compassion, his deep wisdom and his vast storehouse of knowledge of Reiki healing, John has touched the lives of many thousands of Reiki students who in turn pass on his wisdom and his teachings to countless numbers of others. John Harvey Gray's legacy will forever continue to pass from hand to hand, every time that we use our healing touch. His devotion to teaching Reiki was always evident; even in his last days ... healing others and Reiki were foremost on his mind and heart.
John and I have always shared a deep passion for bringing Reiki into the lives of our students. John has instilled in me the same values and concerns for his excellence in Reiki training and for the students he had trained. I promise you, this will not change. This will continue. Over the course of the past 12 years, John had gradually been transferring the teaching and administrative responsibilities to me. In 1996, John appointed me as the Director for the John Harvey Gray Center for Reiki Healing. In 2008, John officially appointed me as his sole successor and Reiki Lineage Bearer. Students will continue to receive the same high quality of excellence in Reiki training and support they have always received from both of us.
A Year of Celebration ...
In honor of John Harvey Gray, the John Harvey Gray Center for Reiki Healing will host a year-long celebration of his life and his legacy. Through Reiki wellness clinics, talks, demonstrations, and other special events we will honor him. The first Reiki wellness clinic will take place next month, February 20th from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the John Harvey Gray Center for Reiki Healing, 9 Blake Street, Jaffrey, New Hampshire, 03452. Come join us to share and celebrate the life and the legacy of John Harvey Gray!
He chose the road less traveled ... and oh, the difference for us all!
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