Story of a Reiki Master

There was once a young woman, Kate, whose father had just died suddenly.  She was suffering from shock and grief; it was the first loss of a close loved one.  A friend offered her a Reiki treatment and this changed the course of her life.  She found that Reiki lifted the sadness and distress.  It gave her peace of mind in a way she had not experienced since childhood.  She returned many times to receive this wonderful healing and re-discovered joy and love in her life.

Then one day a thought came to her: “I would like to be able to give this sort of experience to other people”.  She was surprised by this thought, as she was theatre director and had no plans to become a complementary therapist!

She was introduced to Reiki master Martha Sylvester and soon learned 1^st degree Reiki.  With joy at feeling Reiki in her own hands, she began giving Reiki healing to others within a few weeks.  When she received a phone call inviting her to join a 2^nd degree class a few months later she enthusiastically agreed and took the class.

Soon after she was invited to offer Reiki treatments at a complementary health clinic in Kings Heath, Birmingham.  She gladly agreed and experienced first hand many of the teachings she had learned about Reiki in the classes.  She also observed that many people would benefit from Reiki every day in their lives, rather than just weekly or monthly sessions.  But she didn't consider herself suitable to become a Reiki master.

Reiki had helped to bring her a new partner, her future husband Alec.  They had a home together in Cotteridge, Birmingham where they invited Martha to offer Reiki classes.  During one of these classes Martha invited them both to become Reiki masters.  Kate accepted immediately, seeing that this would enable her to teach those she gave healing to who needed to be able to treat themselves – or a member of their family.  Alec took a bit more persuasion, but after a night when he says “Reiki wouldn’t let me go to sleep until I’d changed my mind” he accepted.  Thus, they began their preparation to become Reiki masters together.

Their preparation took a few years, during which time they attended every class and workshop offered by their Reiki master.  “Reiki is preparing you” she told them.  Eventually she felt they were ready for
initiation and a 1^st degree class was arranged during which this would take place.  On 1^st November 1991 Alec and Kate were initiated as Reiki masters in their own home in Cotteridge.

The very next day they received a phone call from someone saying that she a group of friends wanted to learn Reiki.  So Alec and Kate taught their first 1^st degree Reiki class the following month.  They continued to teach together for several years at a time when there were few Reiki masters and many people wanting to learn.  It was an exciting time, involving travelling to new places and meeting many lovely people.

Kate became involved with The Reiki Association, which also began in 1991, and through this met Phyllis Furumoto, lineage bearer of Usui Shiki Ryoho.  When Kate heard Phyllis describe the Nine Elements and Four Aspects of Usui Shiki Ryoho she recognised them and realised the value of what she had been taught by Martha.

Kate and Phyllis got to know each other well over the years, with Kate working for Phyllis and also studying with her, which deepened her understanding of Usui Shiki Ryoho.  This deepening of her understanding and experience added to Kate’s joy of sharing Reiki through teaching and treatments.  Kate also experienced personally the healing power of Reiki.

Following a talk by Phyllis, Alec realised that his main focus was being a taiji teacher so he decided to stop teaching Reiki.  Kate began teaching alone and continued to teach regularly every year and has been honoured to initiate over a thousand people, in many parts of the UK, into 1^st and 2^nd degree Reiki, as well as leading various workshops and retreats to help them deepen their Reiki learning.

Kate’s involvement with The Reiki Association fostered her interest in Reiki treatment practice.  Knowing from her own experience of the value of receiving healing through Reiki, Kate hoped that people would have a good first experience when going for a Reiki session.  This led to her being involved over many years with The Reiki Association and other organisations in an exploration of what it means to be a professional Reiki practitioner.  She began teaching courses to enable practitioners to become confident and competent practitioners.  Kate continued to give Reiki healing as well as teaching, gaining valuable experience in what being a Reiki practitioner offers.

In 2017 Kate joined a pilgrimage to Japan with Phyllis, which helped her understanding of the cultural origins of Reiki, which was both confirming and deepening of her experience.

In 2021 Kate reached both her 60^th birthday and 30^th birthday as a Reiki master.  Having now been a Reiki master for half of her life she is preparing for the next era, one that also begins with a parent’s death – that of her mother.  What will come next?  Perhaps it is time for her to begin initiating masters of her own.

Exploration in Arizona

I am writing this article in a hotel room in Green Valley Arizona, where I have come to participate in a Reiki master intensive. Last week I attended another intensive known as Usui II, in which masters have the opportunity to explore the form of teaching Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki in the way it was taught by Hawayo   So I apologise if this newsletter has some errors as I was not able to complete it before leaving home, so am writing on an unfamiliar machine!

The Usui II is usually taught by Phyllis Furumoto and Paul Mitchell, who together hold what is

The group of masters who gathered for this time of exploration came from many different countries and had varying years of experience. I love being in international groups and this one was a very special experience at this poignant time.  I found that we were a group who were good at taking responsibility for ourselves. As someone commented it was also a group in which no unkind word was spoken.

We shared Reiki treatments every day and have also been sending distant Reiki to Phyllis, her partner Joyce and others at Phyllis' home who are caring for her. We were delighted to hear that Phyllis is in minimal pain, much less than the doctors predicted, which is probably due to the Reiki being sent to her from all over the world by many many Reiki people.

This week some of the same group will continue to work together to explore how we can continue the legacy of Takata and Phyllis when she is no longer with us.

Phyllis has been part of my Reiki journey since I was a young master and it is difficult to imagine her not being around, so this work will be tender and probably quite intense, so I am very glad that we will be sharing more Reiki. It is good to be with other Reiki masters and to be able to offer some support to Joyce at this difficult time.

I feel so honoured and grateful to be here at this special time and thank all those who have supported me to be here.  Only a month ago it seemed almost impossible that I would be in Arizona for this work.
known as the Office of Grand Master. Sadly Phyllis was unable to be with us because she has now entered the last days after living with cancer for almost 10 years. She had hoped to join us via a video link and did so on the second day, but unfortunately this proved too exhausting for her so the rest of the week was led by Paul alone.

A Visionary Hospital

During Phyllis Furumoto's professional Reiki practice seminar that I attended last weekend one of the participants shared her experience of a recent hospital stay in Oregon USA.   Elizabeth is a Reiki master and found that there was a culture of kindness in the hospital.  She observed that the staff  relationships were supportive and relaxed.  She also received this kindness in her treatment and care. 

She complimented them on this culture of kindness, saying they must have a good human resources department.  She was told that it was not down to the HR, but came right from the management at the top.

One evening she needed to have some intravenous treatment, but the nurses were having difficulty finding a vein.  Her nurse said she would have two more attempts, which were also unsuccessful.

"Time to call Amber" she said.  Amber, it turned out, is the Hospital Supervison and, Elizabeth discovered in conversation with her, a Reiki master.  She is also a midwife and the person who is called when there is a difficult birth.  She duly arrived and rather than begin to try finding a vein right away, she first gave 10 minutes of Reiki to the arm where she wished to insert the needle.  She then inserted it with no problem.

I have been thinking about how Reiki could help our beleaguered NHS in the UK - I can see many possibilities, but to hear this story about a hospital in the USA where Reiki and  culture of kindness are already happening and benefiting patients was very inspiring. 

I would love to see more NHS staff receiving Reiki, to help them deal with the stress levels many of them currently suffer.  It would also be wonderful if an understanding that people do better when there is a culture of kindness could reach management levels and could be acted on. 

It would also be wonderful to see Reiki integrated in the care setting, to support the allopathic treatment with the relaxing and calming effects of Reiki.  Doctors already know that patients who have a positive outlook and are relaxed about their treatment do better - and are often easier to treat!  If Reiki could be available for more patients alongside the intrusive treatments sometimes necessary, it could help those treatments to be more effective.

I also know of several Reiki students and practitioners who have had to have surgery who have needed little or no pain relief (they used Reiki instead) and who were up and about quickly and therefore able to vacate their hospital bed sooner.  One case I heard of recently (a man whose sister was treating him) needed his intensive care bed for only 1 night when it had been booked for him for 3 weeks!

However in order to be accepted in such settings practitioners need to be properly prepared, which means doing further training after 2nd degree.  Those who have been attending my Professional Practitioner Foundation Course in Ludlow are making those first steps and I hope that others will follow their lead in the future.

Reiki for a Kinder World

As 2017 begins I have heard a lot of people expressing unease about what this year may bring.  There are many uncertainties in the world that seem likely to affect the lives of all of us.

I'm very grateful for my Reiki practice at times like these.  The Reiki Principles are like a guiding star to steer me though rough waters.  First there is the suggestion not to worry (just for today).  So rather than focus on what perils may lie ahead, I let go of the anxiety and concentrate on what is right here beneath my hands.  Then I'm encouraged not to be angry - which would be very easy when there is so much apparent disregard for other human beings and often a feeling of powerlessness in the face of world events. 

The Principles also remind me to honour previous generations - as I think of my grandparents I wonder how it felt in 1917 when the war that was supposed to be over by Christmas in 1914 was still going on with appalling suffering and loss of life.  To me honouring our elders means remembering what they went through and learning from their experience.

Being a Reiki master is my work, so the Principle 'Earning your living honestly' encourages me to live authentically.  Deception (including the avoidance of our own truth) always seems to get us into trouble!   There seems to be a lot of fear about the effect the new US President will have on the world once he takes office.  I am not worrying, but commit to making my way in life true to who I am, no matter what happens in the coming days and years.  Like Hayashi Sensei, who made the decision in 1939 that he would prefer to die rather than participate in the 2nd world war as a combatant, I also choose healing and kindness over disregard for fellow human beings and this is something I too am prepared to act on.

The final Reiki principle reminds us to show gratitude for every living thing.  Sometimes this is easy - when it's my dog, my cosy home or garden.  However I've learned that spiritual life isn't about when things are easy: deepening happens when I come up against something part of me wants to reject or ignore.  Likewise it's much easier to disregard those I disagree with, creating separation, than it is to be open to an alternative perspective and look deeper. 

In addition to these stated Reiki Precepts there are also implicit principles in Reiki practice: we offer healing by placing our hands with care upon another person or animal - and hopefully also ourselves.  Our daily self treatment practice is a way of preparing to interact with the world in a calmer state, thereby being less likely to create conflict or violence.  When I offered some distant healing to someone recently for his back pain he thanked me for noticing: offering treatment is also a way of saying to other people: "I see you are suffering - I am here for you". 

So if the current political situation is causing you suffering: Reiki is here for you.  Whether you need a calming space to reconnect with your inner peace or would like to learn so that you can bring more kindness into the world, whether you need support for your practice so that you can make the most of your Reiki or would like to connect with other like minded people: I am here for you. 

I wish you a peaceful, happy and healthy year in 2017.