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.

Do you want to be a Reiki master?

Each November I reflect on being a Reiki master, because this was the month I was initiated.  I was invited to become a Reiki master by my master Martha Sylvester after just a couple of years as an enthusiastic Reiki practitioner - I had also given some talks

Kate and Martha just after Kate's initiation as a master in 1991

and organised Reiki classes for Martha.  When I gave treatments I saw that people need Reiki every day in their lives for real healing to take place and had wondered about becoming a Reiki master.  So when Martha asked if I wanted to be a Reiki master I said yes.

After a few years as a master I began to wonder about when I would initiate a master myself.  I had some students who were enthusiastic and had organised classes. At this time I met Phyllis Furumoto, lineage bearer of Usui Shiki Ryoho, who was beginning to define this Reiki system.  She recommended that a master should wait 3 years before initiating another master, so I waited.  Then just as I came up to 3 years she changed this recommendation to 5 years, then 7 years.  I must admit I heaved a sigh of relief each time: I didn't feel ready to train someone as a master. 

A few years later the guidelines were changed to 10 years. This guideline hasn't changed and as my 10th Reiki master birthday came and went I now see that by this time I was wise enough to know that I was still not ready!

This November is my 24th Reiki master birthday and in recent months I have been differently about taking on  a master candidate.  I feel I understand what being a Reiki master means enough to begin assisting someone else on this path.  A master candidate is a person who works with a master to become the master they already have the potential to be, over a period of time which may be several years.   The relationship between the master and the initiating master has also been referred to as a 'spiritual marriage' - a relationship that lasts a lifetime.

When I heard Phyllis recently say: "Initiation is not what makes a master, it's just the recognition of the master energy in the student" this touched a deep chord in me.  Becoming an Usui Shiki Ryoho master is therefore a very different choice from those who choose the more rapid (and cheaper) options now available.  Other Reiki systems seem to see becoming a master as being like switching on a switch: one moment you are 'just' a 2nd degree student then through the initiation (or more commonly called 'attunement') you become an instant Reiki master.  However in my experience Reiki doesn't really work like that!

In Usui Shiki Ryoho we recognise that Reiki is the teacher, so my role as a master in preparing a master candidate is to guide and provide opportunities for them to learn from Reiki.  Being a Reiki master is not only about teaching Reiki classes, it is also about bringing Reiki into the centre of your life.  In receiving the fee (which may seem absurdly high) I am acting on behalf of Reiki to assist that potential master to show their commitment.  The fee is sometimes seen as a block, but in reality it is an opportunity to surrender to what Reiki is asking of them, even if it seems to be the impossible!

So now, after all these years of experience and a deepening understanding of what it means to be a master and my role as initiating master, I know that I'm ready to take on a master candidate

Would you like to be a Reiki master?  Then let's begin the journey together....