What is that...? Reiki
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The true history of Reiki
There are many stories attached to the history of Reiki; some have been verified and some can't be. So what is the truth and what part do all of the versions lay in the development of this healing art? This article may prove controversial to those who have been taught to believe the history that was spread by Hawayo Takata when she brought Reiki to the West but please be assured that this is intended to honour the context of those stories while realising that they may no longer serve the purpose that they once had.
Much of the history of Reiki concerns the life and practices of its founder, Mikao Usui. You may also see his name written as Usui Mikao, this being the Japanese convention of placing the family name (Usui) first. He was born on the 15th August 1865 in Kyoto, Japan and is said to have been descended from a family of samurai. It is certainly true that he gained high proficiency in various forms of Martial Arts and this may have contributed to his gaining employment as private secretary and later the head of security and general administration to Shimpei Goto, Secretary of the Railroad, Postmaster General and Secretary of the Interior and State.
According to Usui's memorial stone, which stands in the grounds of the Saihoji Temple in Tokyo, throughout his life he studied in China, Europe and America, "knowing well in the wide range from history, biography, medical science, canons of Christianity and Buddhism and psychology up to magic of fairyland, art of curse, science of divination and physiognomy."
Having been born and raised a Buddhist of the Tendai sect, at some point in his life Usui became a "Zaike" or "lay preacher" - a Tendai Buddhist Monk/Priest who remained at home rather than at a temple. One day he climbed Mt. Kurama, a traditional place of reflection where a Tendai Temple (that has been included in the Kurama-Kokyo sect since 1949) also stood. He fasted and meditated for three weeks and then "suddenly on the twenty first day from the start, he felt a great Reiki over his head and at the same time as he was spiritually awakened he acquired the Reiki cure. When he tried it on his own body and members of his family also, it brought an immediate result on them".
As a point of interest, the word "Reiki" means "spiritual energy" and describes the energy itself and not the systems of healing that we in the West ascribe the name to. In Japan the practices are known as "Reiki Ryoho" or "spiritual energy healing method" and Usui's healing techniques were originally known as "Usui teate" or "Usui's hands-on healing".
The tradition in Japan would be to pass such teachings on to family members only but Usui felt that this should be freely given to all those that needed it so he moved to Tokyo in April 1922 and established an institute where the "Reiki cure" was taught and treatment given to the public. He helped with the relief work during the Tokyo earthquake of September 1923 and his reputation grew to the point that he was invited to various parts of the country. In March 1926, during one of these visits, he abruptly caught a disease and died of heart failure at the age of 62.
There are inconsistencies with Usui's life and the version that was told by Hawayo Takata and spread to the West. Many of them have been discussed and addressed at the International House of Reiki site:
http://uk.ihreiki.com/reiki_info/reiki_history/historical_reiki_inconsistencies/
A lot of the stories that were woven into the history of Reiki by Mrs Takata were intended to make the system more palatable to Western tastes. At the time (around the Second World War), anything Japanese was regarded as "the enemy" and Buddhism would also have been viewed with some skepticism given the prevalence of Christianity in America. As a result, many of the techniques, teachings and content of the systems of Reiki healing were removed. Even the Precepts, the philosophical foundations of the system, were rewritten for the Western audience.
If Takata had not done these things, it is probable that we would not be sitting here today discussing Reiki as it would not have spread as greatly as it has. The teachings in Japan are still held in near-secret conditions today and have been shown to "outsiders" only in the last couple of decades. However, the stories that were told by Takata no longer serve a purpose, except to discuss the historical context of her version and what it achieved at that time.
The "Western style" of Reiki, known as Usui Shiki Ryoho, focuses on the healing practice. As you connect with Reiki and practice the healing on yourself and others, a spiritual connection is improved and self-development may occur as a result. Since the focus is on the treatment, other traditions and practices may be added to the mix as appropriate. That's why there are such styles as Tera Mai Reiki, Crystal Reiki, Reiki that uses the Chakra system, etc. There is the flexibility to accommodate existing spiritualities and faiths too.
The Japanese style of Usui Reiki Ryoho is a reconstruction of Usui's original Reiki healing and spiritual practices and was developed by Doi Hiroshi, a member of the Gakkai mentioned above. This style includes the energy techniques, meditations and reflections that have been a part of Reiki in Japan since the beginning. There is an entire set of practices, mostly with a Buddhist flavour, and while this is a complete system in itself, it also works nicely alongside other perspectives. The emphasis here is on developing spiritual potential and energetic practice so that the healing treatment is more effective.
I teach both styles since there will be some people that suit one and others that are seeking the other. There is no "right way" or "wrong way" with Reiki since students will be drawn to whichever path is appropriate for them and this may even included the explorations of several different styles of Reiki. As a client, you need not concern yourself with these differences since every style is focused on the healing practice. After all, Reiki is Reiki! How you use and channel it however is a different story.
As a student and teacher, the emphasis on certain areas differs from style to style. The concepts of the symbols, the philosophies behind the Precepts, the understanding of the energy body and how it is composed, all of these are reflected in different ways. If something does not sit well within your being, then it probably isn't right for you. I myself was introduced to Reiki with a style that I found sacrificed spirituality for increased complexity. It wasn't right for me but I still honour the part it had to play in my own Reiki history as it led me on to other styles.
To quote from the Gospel of John: "then you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free". So reflect for a moment on what the true history of Reiki means and what challenges it may find within you. Do you seek comfort in stories that speak to your personal experience or do you seek for ways in which your opinion can be confronted by alternative possibilities? All of this is part of your own Reiki story and every step should be honoured. I wish you well on your journey!
Mark Barwell teaches Japanese and Western styles of Reiki. If you have already studied a system of Reiki and would like to learn another, Mark offers a 20% discount on each level up to and including your current level of learning. For more information, please visit the following pages on his website:
Reiki (1st Degree): http://markbarwell.co.uk/reiki_1_course.php
Reiki (2nd Degree): http://markbarwell.co.uk/reiki_2_course.php
Reiki (Master/Teacher): http://markbarwell.co.uk/reiki_3_master_teacher_course.php
Mark also offers Reiki healing treatments at venues around Southend-on-Sea or (if you live locally) in the comfort of your own home. For more details, visit the following page: http://markbarwell.co.uk/reiki_healing_treatments.php
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Resolving Anger - a Yin imbalance
Yin and Yang within the body
So how do these energies manifest within the body? As you can imagine, Yin energies tend to be represented lower down the body whereas Yang energies are higher up. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, meridians (energy lines that run throughout the body) that are associated with Yang organs start at the top and run downwards while Yin ones start towards the ground and work their way up.For instance, Bladder is a Yang organ and Kidney is the Yin organ that it is paired with. Even considering their physiology, we can see that Bladder is a more open space (Yang) than the Kidney, which is more dense and solid (Yin). Bladder (figure 1) starts between the eyebrows and runs over the head and down to the little toe. Kidney starts at a point on the sole of the foot and runs upwards
Yin and Yang can also be attributed to the energy centres within the body. Let us consider the two main schools of thought:
Tantien (Dantian, Dan Chen, etc)
In Oriental medicine, these "nexus points" are known as tantien (pronounced "dan-chen") or hara points. All three lie along the central axis of the body that runs down the middle from head to feet.
The lower tantien is also referred to as the Hara (it literally translates as abdomen, or belly) although all three tantiens are sometimes confusingly called hara points too! This tantien is at a point roughly 3 finger widths below the navel. This is said to be the centre of your being, where Original Energy is stored, and is the symbolic energy centre for Earth Ki, or Yin energy.
The middle tantien is level with the heart, is the emotional centre of your being, and the space where we connect and balance the energies of Yin and Yang (more on this in a later blog post).
The upper tantien is in the middle of the head at the rough location of the pineal gland (take a line backwards through the forehead and another line sideways just before the top of the ears. Where they interesect is the upper tantien). This is the symbolic energy centre for Heaven Ki, or Yang energy.
Chakras
As can be seen from the diagram below, the lower three chakras deal primarily with issues concerning the self and therefore equate to Yin energies (the root being more Yin than the sacral, which is more Yin than the solar plexus). The upper 3 chakras deal mainly with issues concerning external forces and how we relates to the world around us, therefore Yang energies (crown the most Yang and throat the least). In this way, the chakras equate to the tantiens as seen above although with more differentiation between the groups.
How do we deal with an imbalance of energies within the body? This is a big question and one that has many answers. The next blog post will return to the topic of Yin energies as we explore how to examine and resolve such imbalances within the context of the Japanese style of Reiki that I teach.
To learn or experience Reiki for yourself, visit http://markbarwell.co.uk/reiki.asp and to find out more about the Reiki Shares, visit http://markbarwell.co.uk/workshops_reikishares.asp
Qualities of Yin
Yin and Yang
I organise a monthly Reiki Share that can be more aptly described as an opportunity to explore and experience various energy- and health-related concepts. The sessions are based on the Japanese style of Reiki called Usui Reiki Ryoho (which roughly translates as "Usui's Spiritual Energy Healing Method") and as such they incorporate energy techniques such as hara breathing and meditations on precepts developed from Oriental philosophy and medicine.
Last night's share examined the principles of balance as well as opposing qualities of energy. A familiar expression of this involves the labels of Yin and Yang (or In and Yo as they are known in Japan). The following video is a cut-down version of one created to illustrate these concepts as part of an assignment for the Shiatsu College London:
In the beginning there was nothing. Although this isn't strictly true because it implies an absence of something. There was simply all that there is. Lao Tzu, traditionally said to be the author of the Tao Te Ching, said:
“There was something formed from Chaos, born before Heaven and Earth, ultimate and wonderful, existing alone without change. Not knowing it's name, I call it Tao.”
“The Tao that can be described is not the Tao”According to Taoist philosophy, this gave rise to different forms:
“Tao gave birth to the One, the One gave birth to the Two.”
“Tao is the beginning of Heaven and Earth and the mother of all the 10,000 things”These opposing and complimentary forces are named Yin and Yang in traditional Chinese belief. There cannot be one without the other. Even in a moment of ultimate expression of one form there lies the seed of the other. For example, if we were to find the exact moment at the centre of the day when the light is at its greatest, within that moment there exists the potential of the returning darkness and as the day crosses this threshold, this potential is realised and the light gradually turns to dark.Even such concepts rely on each other for definition. Darkness is the absence of light and light the absence of darkness. Darkness without a concept of light would just be what it is and would not need such a name.A classical representation of Yin and Yang concerns a hill. During the day when light is shining, the shady side of the hill is Yin and the lighter side is Yang. Yet this is also a relative concept. The shady side of a hill in Summer is more Yang than the same shady side in Winter because it is lighter. Again we see that notions of Yin and Yang rely on each other for definition.These contrasting forces can be applied to an indefinite number of situations:
if Yin is dark, Yang is light
Yin is feminine, Yang is masculine
Yin is introvert and internal, Yang is extrovert and external
Yin is quiet, Yang is noise
Yin is heavy, Yang is light
Yin is Earth and Yang is Heaven.This cycle of Yin and Yang is constantly moving, with one flowing into the other. The Tao Te Ching expresses is thus:
“A whirlwind does not last all morning and a thunderstorm does not last all day. What makes it this way? Heaven and Earth - Heaven and Earth cannot express themselves indefinitely.”Each expression of Yin and Yang creates further concepts. For example, our breath is taken in and then expelled and our chest rises and falls, our blood flows to the organs and then away again. Our bodies grow bigger through youth, then shrink as we age. The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine states that: “The union of the energy of Heaven and Earth is called Human Being.”Human history expresses itself as an ever increasing balance between Yin and Yang. There is widespread belief that there is a greater amount of “bad things” in the world today with famine, despotism, war and violence on the increase. But there is also a greater amount of “good” to balance this out. We need only to look at the humanitarian response to the Asian tsunami of 2004 to see that our global community can pull together as a force for positivity even as it seems destined to rip itself apart. For every Hitler there is a Mother Teresa.Yin and Yang can thus be expressed on every level, from the microscopic to the macroscopic. Oriental medicine strives to maintain such a balance of Yin and Yang within ourselves in order that we can be healthy, as fully-functioning and alive as possible! As with all living things, we are an expression of Heaven and Earth in dynamic motion and within this duality lies the understanding that we are also at one with the Tao.
The next few posts will focus on the qualities of Yin (Earth) and how these are examined, expressed and brought into balance according to the Japanese style of Reiki Healing that I practice and teach. To learn Reiki for yourself, visit http://markbarwell.co.uk/reiki.asp and to find out more about the Reiki Shares, visit http://markbarwell.co.uk/workshops_reikishares.asp
A bit about me and my work
About Me
Mark BarwellPractitioner of Reiki and Shamanic Healing offering treatments and courses in healing, self-development and energy exploration. Also a student of Shiatsu!
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