Succession

About 20 years ago Phyllis and I were travelling to see a massage therapist in Mid-Wales.  Phyllis was driving and as we came up to a ‘Stop’ sign I pointed out that in the UK this means you need to come to a complete stop before moving on (not knowing how familiar Phyllis was with UK road rules).  For some reason Phyllis then fumbled the pedals and kept going through the ‘Stop’ sign, into the path of an oncoming lorry!  Thankfully, the lorry driver swerved to avoid us and what could have been a nasty accident was avoided.  After this incident I asked Phyllis what would happen when she, as Grand Master, died.  At the time the plan was that Paul Mitchel, who jointly holds the Office of Grand Master, was to be her successor.  She subsequently changed her mind, perhaps feeling that the role needed someone younger.  

In 2009, when Phyllis was diagnosed with breast cancer the question of succession was on many people’s minds.   In 2014 she decided to bring people together to talk about succession, with Ben Haggard as a regenerative thinking resource.  I was honoured to organise this event, which was very popular: we soon had a waiting list!  We found extra accommodation, so that everyone who wanted to could be there.

Ben led us in profound discussion and this was followed by Succession Weekend intensives in other parts of the world.   After these in-person Succession Weekends, Phyllis, Paul and Ben decided to create an online group, known as the Succession Core Team, to take these discussions further.  All those who had attended the Succession Weekends were invited.  Others also joined later.  Many attended these monthly meetings live and some acted as Witnesses – listening to the recording of the meeting and offering comments.  Ben prepared the group to hold a space for the process of succession.

While I was in Arizona it became clear that Phyllis’s life was coming to an end and there was some anxiety that she might die without naming her successor.  At the intensive I was participating in, which was held in Phyllis’s home, we were delighted to hear that she would join us on our last day.  

During the Usui II I had been thinking about how succession had happened when Takata became lineage bearer.  Hayashi gathered his reiki community together in his home and named Takata as his successor.  It occurred to me that this day would be similar, with members of the Succession Core Team and other reiki masters (including Rachel Goldberg, who assisted Phyllis with the Global Reiki Webinars) present in Phyllis’s home.  So this could be the day she would name her successor. 

Just before Phyllis came in to the room we had a break and I had gone to the bathroom.  On my way down the corridor I saw Phyllis and some of her carers preparing for her to join us.  Phyllis was sitting in her wheelchair, dressed in a lovely Japanese coat. 

Phyllis Furumoto, Johannes Reindl and witnesses on 15th March

After she joined us Phyllis started talking about how she had been thinking about deciding on her successor.  She then said: “Johannes in my deliberations and the deliberations of some of the Succession Core Team, you’re it.”  

 

At first Johannes was in shock and didn’t say anything.  Phyllis said “You can also say no”, but he accepted her request.  Phyllis then stood (which was not easy for her) and gave him the Japanese coat.  She also gave him a Native American medicine pouch that Takata had given to her.

Johannes Reindl is Austrian and relatively young (40).  He was initiated by Phyllis as a master in 2017 in Japan.  I have known him since we met in Germany about 15 years ago and I think he is a good choice because he is authentic, kind and has a strong commitment to reiki.

Phyllis: teacher, mentor, resource and friend

Kate Jones meets Phyllis Furumoto in 1993

Phyllis Lei Furumoto, lineage bearer of Usui Shiki Ryoho, came into my life at Kinnersley Castle in   She was living in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the time, so found the wet winter weather of the UK very cold!  I had been curious to meet the granddaughter of Hawayo Takata, having heard about her from my Reiki master.  I was really interested in hearing what Phyllis had to say, as she shared her grandmother’s teachings. I still remember to this day many things she said at that first gathering, such as “I would rather have a reiki treatment from a 1^st degree student who practices regularly, than a master who doesn’t”.  This was the beginning of a relationship with Phyllis that has been deeply significant both personally and as a Reiki master.

Herefordshire in 1993.

My job as Administrator of The Reiki Association gave me further opportunities to meet her over the years.  In 1997 I was honoured to be asked to organise an Usui I master’s intensive, an exploration of the 9 Elements and 4 Aspects of Usui Shiki Ryoho.  She subsequently asked me to help her to prepare articles for Reiki Magazine International by editing her talks into a readable form.  This deepened my understanding further, which has enriched my teaching and practice.

One of the gifts Phyllis had was to see the potential in people and she often encouraged me to “make promises beyond my capacity”.  Thanks to Phyllis I found myself travelling to the USA for the 1^st time to attend conferences about the Public Practice of Reiki.  What we learned at these conferences became useful when discussions about standards for practitioners took place in the UK.  

Phyllis was kind and generous, supporting my trips to Idaho for the conferences by inviting me to stay with her.  Alec and I were able to return the favour and she came to visit just before we went to China for the first time.  She was excited on our behalf and gave us some money to spend.  She told me that our trip to the home of tai chi inspired her to visit Japan for the first time.

Phyllis valued authenticity in people and taking part in a 3-year course with her called “Responding with Compassion” helped me to value and express my authentic self.  It was during this course that she introduced me to the wonderful Transformation Game.  

In 2010, following Phyllis’s cancer diagnosis, I visited her in Arizona, to give support and Reiki during chemo.  It was the biggest adventure of my life as she needed me to drive her and I was nervous about driving – especially on the other side of the road!  However by the end of the trip, thanks to her excellent driving instruction, I was confident enough to drive myself into the desert alone. One day we played a Transformation Game that led to singing becoming a greater part in my life.  Phyllis loved to sing and encouraged me to explore this aspect of myself.

5 years ago, Phyllis asked me to join the Executive Director team of Reiki Foundation International.  I agreed and as a result had online meetings with Phyllis and two other Reiki masters almost every Monday.  Our explorations together led to a deeper relationship and understanding.  It even led me to be able to disagree with her!

In 2017 I made my own visit to Japan on a tour she organised.  I am so grateful to have been able to make a pilgrimage to the home of Reiki in her company.

Phyllis has been a teacher, mentor and resource – someone who has guided, inspired and challenged me.  We have also shared a deep friendship.  It was therefore a great comfort, knowing there was little time left together, to be able to help her with a few final tasks, to give her Reiki, sing together, watch a great movie and finally say goodbye.  My friend is gone from this physical world, but all that we shared is part of me and cannot be lost.  I am deeply grateful.

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.

Health, Happiness, Long Life, Success

30 years ago this month I completed m y 1^st degree Reiki class.  I heard that Hawayo Takata said that 

In about 1989, the year I learned Reiki

practising Reiki would lead to health, happiness, long life and success.So after 30 years is this true for me?

Health

Reiki self-treatment led to discovering the cause of my lack of physical energy – which manifest almost like ME symptoms at times with associated painful joints and muscles.  An intuition that sugar was a problem for my body and having the courage thanks to Reiki’s support to go to my doctor for further investigation led to a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.  The Reiki principles helped me to deal with this diagnosis and the Reiki philosophy of self-care and a natural approach to healing led me to decline medication and achieve remission of my diabetes through stress management, nutrition and exercise.  I have regained my vitality and am also better at keeping things in balance.  So yes Reiki has given me health!

Happiness

Mentally and emotionally I was in a difficult place when I learned Reiki: grieving for my father and even before that subject to a negative outlook on life.  Reiki was like a ray of sunlight breaking through on a dark day and has continued to be so.  It enabled me to allow love into my life, bringing me together with the man who has now been my wonderful husband for the past 25 years.  Reiki brought a different way of looking at the world and helped me to deepen my spiritual life.   Through this I have found a peace and joy I had not experienced since early childhood and did not expect to find again.  So Reiki has certainly brought me happiness and I feel this will continue to grow as the years pass.

Long Life

Mrs Takata would often say to students: “prepare for a long life”.  Until my diabetes was diagnosed, I suspect I was at risk of an early death from stroke, heart attack or other complications of being diabetic.  My father was only 58 when he died, so although there are other members of my family who have lived into their 80s it may well have been more likely that I would die sooner rather than later.  I also had no particular desire to live a long life.  Reiki has given me a purpose and through becoming less driven I have found other creative passions such as singing, so that I now lead 3 singing groups and plan to write songs too.  This has given me a much greater engagement with life.  I therefore have more motivation to make any changes needed to conserve and even improve my health, so I am indeed preparing for a long life!

Success

This was sometimes spoken of as ‘prosperity’ and for a long time I did not find this aspect to be true in my life, due to my low income.  However, I have been able to do amazing things in my life even so: thanks to my Reiki worki I have travelled to the Idaho and Arizona in the USA, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Kazakhstan and of course Japan.   For all of these adventures at least part of the cost has come from the support of others, so I have been truly blessed and feel that I am very successful and prosperous, even though I don’t earn a lot of money!  What a miracle!  I am also blessed to have a cozy home, good food and most importantly loving relationships that enable me to do my Reiki work.  I feel successful in my work in that I receive the esteem of my colleagues who are often willing to listen to my thoughts.  So I also think that Reiki has brought me success.

May Reiki also bring you health, happiness, a long life and success.