The word Reiki is of Japanese origin,
and is pronounced "Ray-Key,"
and literally means:-
"Universal Life Giving Energy."

The principle behind Reiki is so beautifully simple

"Surrender all effort, and let Love reign Supreme."

How it Works
Reiki energy is intelligent and conscious. Holistic in its nature, it flows purely and directly from Source, through the practitioner and into the recipient, treating the entire being. This being so, Reiki equally treats the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions of each person. This means significantly that not only are the symptoms treated, but also the cause. Due to Reiki's intelligent nature it is able to access and route out the cause of dis-ease, or harmonic discord, regardless of how deeply submerged away from the symptoms it may be. With Reiki, diagnosis is not necessary for this very reason. The energy will find its way to the area which needs it the most, and so you cannot give Reiki to the "wrong" place, or give too much energy to any area, so to speak. Reiki redresses energetic imbalance consciously, whether there is an excess of energy or a deficiency, Reiki will move toward restoring a state of equilibrium.

A Reiki Story

Here is one version of the Reiki story as told by Reiki master Mari Hall:

"Dr Usui dedicated his life to the teaching of Universal Truth. Today we have the blessing of Reiki because of his dedication and disciplined perseverance.

Dr Mikao Usui gave a sermon at the University of Kyoto in 1822. After the service, two seminary students asked him how Jesus performed the miracles of healing and, furthermore, whether he could perform the same miracles. Dr Usui told them no. He felt he understood the bible intellectually, but did not understand how Jesus healed.

This encounter sent Dr Usui on his life quest. He left Japan for America to study at the University of Chicago. During his seven years of study in America, he tried to discover through scriptures how Jesus effected miracles and transformation. During this time, Dr Usui received a doctorate in Theology, but he did not find the revelations he was seeking.

Dr Usui travelled to Northern India and studied the holy writings there. He then returned to Japan and began to focus on the Buddha. He realised that Buddha had performed similar miracles to Jesus. He too healed the sick and had great control of energy, because he channelled the power of God and the Universe. Dr Usui began to question the different Buddhist sects concerning their ability to perform the miracles that Buddha performed. Could they heal the body? The Buddhists said they did not believe that the healing of the body and spirit were always directly connected. They concentrated their energy on the spirit and left the healing of the body to those of the healing arts. They believed that the body and the spirit were separate, and that it was the spirit that needed healing.

Dr Usui's search led him finally to a Zen monastery. He asked the head monk the same question. "Do you know how to heal the body?" The monk replied, "Not any more". This answer puzzled Dr Usui, so he pursued. "What do you mean, not any more?" The monk explained that so much emphasis had been placed on healing the spirit that they had forgotten how to heal the body.

Dr Usui asked the Zen monk to help him in his quest to rediscover how Buddha healed the body. He was admitted to the Zen monastery in Tokyo and began to study under the guidance of the Zen monk. During his years in the monastery, he read the sutras, the writings and teachings of Buddha, but did not find the answer. Many times he sought guidance of the monk, who always told Dr Usui to meditate, for in meditating he would find the answer within.

Through meditation, Dr Usui was guided to learn Chinese and later Sanskrit, the root of all language. It was now that he began to get close to the secret. Once he mastered Sanskrit, he began reading the teachings of the Tibetan Buddhists. Here Dr Usui found what he believed to be the keys to healing. Excited by what he had discovered, he returned to the monk to share his findings and seek guidance. Through meditation, he and the monk were told he should go to a holy mountain near Kyoto, called Kuri Yama. While on the mountain, he was to fast and meditate for twenty-one days. During this time he would receive enlightenment and spiritual clarity.

Dr Usui made the pilgrimage from Tokyo to Kuri Yama with a few belongings. At the top of the mountain he found a location facing East. Each morning he would rise before the sun and throw away one of the twenty-one pebbles he had placed before his meditation place. Each day he meditated and fasted. When he awoke on the twenty-first day, he could not even see his hand in front of his face. It was like a new moon day, when no light shone in the heavens before the breaking of dawn. Dr Usui made his way to his meditation place and found the last stone. Before throwing the last stone off the side of the mountain, he prayed. He asked God for confirmation of his findings and asked to receive enlightenment to show him how to use them to heal.

As he threw the stone off the mountain, a light appeared far off in the East. As it came closer to him, it became brighter. He became frightened and wanted to run. However, he heard an inner voice say "You have searched for twenty-one years. You have fasted for twenty-one days. You have prayed for enlightenment and confirmation, and you want to run away now?" And so, Dr Usui quieted his intellect and said "No, if the light is for me, I accept the enlightenment." At this, the light became very bright and streamed across the heavens to illuminate his third eye.

Dr Usui felt he had died and gone to heaven, because he had never been in such a euphoric state. His entire field of vision was a rainbow of colour. Bubbles of gold, white, blue and violet came out of the rainbow. Each bubble contained holographic Sanskrit characters which he had uncovered in the writings of the Tibetan Buddhist teachings. A voice said "These are the keys to healing: learn them, do not forget them, and do not allow them to be lost."

Dr Usui heard himself proclaim in his own mind "I have them, I will not forget them, and I will not allow them to be lost." Then he awakened to find himself still on this earth. He quickly gathered his thoughts and his few belongings and began walking down the mountain. He was excited! He was energised! He wanted to get back to the monk to tell him of the experience.

In his haste, Dr Usui stubbed his toe. He reached down to check the bleeding and comfort his pain, and as he did so, he realised that both the pain and the bleeding had stopped very quickly. Something was very different about the energy in his hands - they were very hot! Dr Usui healed his toe and continued his journey down the mountain. When he became hungry, he stopped at an inn for travellers. He ordered cold rice and cold tea. In a few moments, a girl with a bandage wrapped around her head and jaw brought Dr Usui his meal. He asked the girl what was wrong. She told him she had toothache. Encouraged by his own healing, he offered to heal the girl. She was in great pain and accepted his offer gladly. Dr Usui put his hands on the girl's jaw and head. Within a few minutes, the pain and swelling were going away. When Dr Usui finished his meal, he want to pay the innkeeper, but the innkeeper said "Thank you sir monk, but I cannot accept the money. You have rendered unto my daughter a service for which I do not have the money to pay. Please accept the food in exchange for the healing services you have rendered." Dr Usui was happy to accept.

When Dr Usui arrived in Tokyo the next day, he went to tell the monk all that had happened. He asked the monk for advice on what to do with the keys and the healing energy he had received. He wanted to learn more about it's use and how to develop it. The monk told him to meditate. In his meditation, he was directed to go to the Beggar Kingdom in Tokyo. This place was controlled by a beggar king. Dr Usui sought out the beggar king and asked if he could heal the infirm and afflicted. The king admitted him but did not think he would be very successful.

Dr Usui was very disciplined and dedicated. For seven years he gave healing, from early morning until late at night. He healed young and old, and many results occurred during this time. However, one afternoon he took a walk to the edge of the Beggar Kingdom. There he saw a young beggar who looked very familiar. Finally Dr Usui asked the beggar if he knew him, and the man replied "Of course I know you. Do you not remember me? I am one of the first beggars you ever healed." Dr Usui said "I healed you and you are still a beggar?" The beggar looked at him and said "Oh Dr Usui, yes. I did just what you told me. I went to the temple to get a name, and went out into society. I even got a job and got married, but soon the responsibility became too great. I decided I would rather be a beggar. Then I wouldn't even have to be responsible for myself."

Dr Usui turned around without finishing the conversation, and he went to his room. He collected his few belongings and left the Beggar Kingdom. As he was returning to the monastery, he was greeted in Spirit by the teachers who had initiated him on Kuri Yama. They gifted him with a very important element: the healing of the spirit, and the responsibility of the healee in the total healing process. Dr Usui realised that he had done the reverse of the Buddhists by concentrating on the healing of the body and not the spirit. He was then given the Five Spiritual Principles of Reiki by the teachers.

The Five Spiritual Principles created significant changes in subsequent healings of Dr Usui. He learned that he had been giving away, without requiring the patient to take any responsibility, and that there had been no exchange of energy for the services rendered. It had become clear that spiritual instruction in the way of right livelihood was required to be integrated along with the physical aspect of the healing.

Dr Usui realised that living by the Principles would effect changes in his own life, and in the healing of others. He observed how the channel's auric field radiated the energy of the Principles in the etheric field of the recipient, altering his consciousness and equally affecting the healing.

He also learned that as the Reiki channel grew spiritually by applying the Principles on a day-to-day basis, the essence was manifested on all levels of the person's life. The way in which they acted, reacted, understood and provided advice to themselves and others was changed from the 'I-Ego-Power' of man, to the Divine Will of their 'I AM' consciousness, or Higher Self. By understanding and applying the Principles they steadily approached a state of unconditional love for themselves and others.

Dr Usui continued to teach Reiki throughout the islands of Japan until his transition around 1893. Between 1850 and 1893, he gathered a following of 16 Reiki teachers. One of these was Dr Chujiro Hayashi, whom he asked to ensure that the teachings were preserved. Dr Hayashi founded the first Reiki clinic in Tokyo. In a later vision, he foresaw a great war between Japan and America, and decided to train two women in order that Reiki would survive the war, because he felt that many men would die.

One of the women, Hawaya Takata was born on the island of Hawaii in 1900. She was the child of Japanese parents, and a citizen of the United States. A widow with two small children, she was at the end of her physical strength in 1935. She was suffering from a number of chronic illnesses at the time, and was guided to go to Japan to seek help with her health. She went to traditional doctors for treatment, but as she was lying on the table waiting for her operation, she had a strong feeling that the operation was not necessary. She consulted the doctor, and asked if there was another method of treatment that could be used, and he suggested Dr Hayashi's clinic.

She began daily treatments with two Reiki practitioners, and after a few months, she was completely healthy. She became one of the women Dr Hayashi decided to train, and after a year she went back to Hawaii to live with her daughters. Dr Hayashi visited her in 1938 and made her a Reiki master.

In 1941, Hawaya Takata succeeded Hayashi, the Grand Master of Reiki, and continued to work in Hawaii for many years. It was only when she was in her seventies that she began to train other Reiki Masters. In 1980, she passed away, leaving 22 Reiki Masters in the USA and Canada. Since then, Reiki has spread throughout the world, and today there are many thousands of Reiki Masters in the world. The gift and message of Reiki and unconditional love continues to be spread by those dedicated to it's principles.