Reiki

 

Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on of hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

 

The word Reiki means "spiritually guided life force energy." A treatment feels like a wonderful glowing radiance that flows through and around you. Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.

 

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.

 

An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life.

 

While Reiki is spiritual in nature, but is not a religion, it is still important to live and act in a way that promotes harmony with others. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use Reiki. In fact, Reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not.

 

Introduction to Jikiden Reiki

 

by Tadao Yamaguchi

 

Jikiden Reiki is pure, simple and effective. It comes from over 65 years of experience.

"My mother, Chiyoko Yamaguchi, first learned Reiki in 1938 from Chujiro Hayashi sensei. She spent the whole of her life treating others and perfecting the art of using Reiki in the simplest and most effective way, as Chujiro Hayashi did. I have been treating people since 1965 and when my mother and I started Jikiden Reiki seminars we wanted to help people understand that it is so simple that anyone can treat others easily. The aim of Jikiden Reiki seminars is to enable people to learn practical Reiki that has been proven by experience to be very effective.

 

Of course there are other aspects to Jikiden Reiki. The broadening of spiritual awareness is also an important concept. I think the beauty of Jikiden Reiki is that it can appeal to everyone. Its emphasis is on treatment, and so those people who do not feel they want to get into "spirituality" can easily accept and use Jikiden Reiki. Those who are spiritually aware and looking for more will also be delighted with the effect Jikiden Reiki has on their lives.

 

Reiki is an energy healing practice which originated in Japan. Practitioners use the life-force energy or "ki" all around us and are able to pass it on to re-awaken the natural healing process in others by focusing the energy on the areas that it is most needed. The founder of Reiki, Mikao Usui, discovered Reiki whilst fasting on Mt Kurama in Kyoto, Japan.

 

He established the first Reiki organization – The Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai – which still exists today but sadly does not promote the teaching and circulation of Reiki or provide treatments. Its existence is not so well known. Usui only created 20 masters in his lifetime. Some belonged to the Gakkai, some branched out and created their own brand of healing but Dr Chujiro Hayashi, with Usui’s blessing, continued to teach Reiki in Japan in its authentic form.

 

Hawayo Takata was a Japanese-American living in Hawaii when doctors there declared that she was terminally ill and did not have long to live. She came to Japan for an operation but once here, met Chujiro Hayashi and received treatments from him instead. Within a year, she was cured of her illness and went on to learn Reiki, return to Hawaii and establish a healing clinic there. This was the beginnings of Western Reiki.

 

As Western Reiki spread throughout the world, it was thought that the original style of Reiki had died out in Japan and so any Japanese who wanted to know more about Reiki had to go to America to study it!

 

However, Reiki didn’t ever die out in Japan."

 

Chiyoko Yamaguchi

 

"As I said, my mother, Chiyoko Yamaguchi, first learned Reiki over 65 years ago when she was just 17 years old and practiced it until she passed away in August 2003. My brothers and I all received Reiki before we were even born and learned how to give Reiki as children. As I was growing up, my mother always used Reiki to cure me when I caught colds, had headaches or an injury of some kind. Through these experiences, I was able to appreciate the effectiveness of Reiki from an early age.

 

Looking through old photographs and documents and talking to my mother, I learned that the person who taught her Reiki was Chujiro Hayashi himself and she began to tell me all about her experiences in those days. Later, while attending a lecture, I happened to meet a Western Reiki teacher who started to tell me about the current status of Western Reiki. I was very surprised and pleased to hear that there are so many practitioners all over the World now and that Reiki is an accepted therapy in many societies. He was equally surprised and pleased when I told him that I had learned Reiki from my mother and that she had learned from Chujiro Hayashi!"

 

The beginnings of Jikiden Reiki

 

"After that, several Reiki masters came to visit my mother. They told us about the Reiki schools in Japan and encouraged us to start teaching the Reiki my mother and family had learned which has not been influenced by Western Reiki. We did this, and decided to call it Jikiden Reiki, meaning 'directly taught' or directly passed on' and we taught some individuals but sadly, some people claimed to have mastered Jikiden Reiki without having received attunements and so we decided to hold official seminars, replicating the style and content of the seminars held by Chujiro Hayashi in the 1930’s.

Jikiden Reiki is our attempt to re-introduce the original style of Reiki to people, in its simple authentic form."

  

Frequently Asked Questions....

 

.....With Tadao Yamaguchi

 

Q: What are the differences between Japanese and Western Reiki?

 

This is a difficult question to answer fully as there are many types of Western Reiki available today and so the differences will vary. I think the biggest difference is that Western Reiki doesn’t have so much experience behind it. My family is lucky enough to have 75 years experience of treating people with Reiki. In addition to this, there is the idea of byosen which is an integral part of Jikiden Reiki but is often omitted or skimmed over by other teachers. There is also the need for experience in order to become a teacher of Jikiden Reiki. In some Western Reiki groups it is possible to become a teacher very quickly.

 

Some participants who have done Western Reiki before coming to the seminar have said that the energy in Jikiden Reiki felt purer, more grounded and simpler.

 

Q: How are the levels organized in Japan? What is taught at each level?

 

A: Levels in Jikiden Reiki

 

SHODEN	The first level in Jikiden Reiki
OKUDEN	The second level in Jikiden Reiki
SHIHAN-KAKU	The assistant teacher level in Jikiden Reiki
SHIHAN	The teacher level in Jikiden Reiki
DAI-SHIHAN	Teachers can teach Shihan-kaku level and with more experience, Shihan

 

Q: How much did Hayashi sensei change his system away from what Usui sensei taught?

 

A: He didn’t change the system. In Japan, a student wouldn't do this, especially in those days. He changed the emphasis slightly. By that I mean that he placed a great deal of emphasis on treatment using the points he felt were important. For example, the massage technique was taught by Usui sensei but it may well have been improved by Hayashi sensei as he was a medical doctor.

 

Q: Why are the Gakkai not actively spreading Reiki as was Usui sensei’s original intention?

 

A: It is difficult to explain this here as the answer is quite detailed but I do go into this in the seminars.

 

Q: I read a book that said there was no successor of Reiki in Japan. Why is that?

 

A: I was also surprised when I read some of those books. However, my mother learned Reiki from Hayashi sensei in 1938 and continued to treat people until she died in August 2003. I am her successor and I have been practicing Reiki for more than 40 years now.

 

Q: What made you start conducting the seminars?

 

A: Some Western Reiki masters here in Japan suggested that we re-introduce Reiki as it was originally practiced by Hayashi sensei. I felt that it was my mission to do this and have tried to faithfully reproduce the seminars in the way Hayashi sensei conducted them.

 

Q: I have finished the 3rd degree in Western Reiki. Can I participate in a Jikiden Reiki seminar?

 

A: Of course, although everyone must start from Shoden, the first level in Jikiden Reiki. Many Western Reiki teachers have participated in the seminar and are satisfied with the results.

 

Q: Are there symbols or mantras in Jikiden Reiki?

 

A: Yes there are although the ways of using them and thinking about them are quite different from Western Reiki. In Jikiden Reiki they are called Shirushi and Jumon. The original concepts behind the symbols and mantras in Reiki were very clear and simple.

 

Q: Can anyone participate in the seminars?

 

A: Yes. Anyone who understands the objectives of the Jikiden Reiki Institute and can comply with the regulations can participate.

For more information on Jikiden Reiki, click on this link: http://www.jikiden-reiki.ca/doc/jikiden7-3.pdf