My Journey with Reiki: Part 1

I was a Reiki-baby and didn’t know it.

Many years ago I received a telephone call from my then 70-something year old mother. At the time, my Hawaiian-Japanese mother was just beginning her journey of self-reflection. While perusing a mail order catalog on spiritual products she saw an advertisement for a book & video series on Reiki. In passing, she asked my opinion on whether or not she should purchase the book/video series…because she thought it might help her remember the Reiki teachings she learned as a child growing up in Hawaii during the 1930’s.

Before I gave her my answer, I asked her, “What is Reiki?”

She explained that it is a technique that is used to heal by touch. Her family learned Reiki from their Buddhist Priest in western Kauai when she was in the 3rd grade and struggling with long-division. Evidently, their Buddhist Priest traveled to Japan to learn it (perhaps from Dr. Chujiro Hayashi’s group?) – and brought it back to teach his congregation.

My mom continued to explain that her whole family learned Reiki but didn’t talk about it. I learned later that my mom and her sisters, parents, aunt & uncle learned the equivalent of Reiki II.

In baffled amazement, I said, “This explains so much!” and continued, “So this is something that you can learn? You knew about it all these years and said nothing to us kids?”

In the end, regarding the book/videos, I told her to do whatever she thought was best for her journey.

I can’t speak for my older sisters, but I know for myself that I have been able to heal…or at least relieve pain symptoms with my hands since I was a small child…for as long as I can remember. The next door neighbor’s kids used to call me “Maj” short for magic hands.

When I was in college, I briefly dated an ex-football player who had two newly reconstructed knees. I used my untrained laying of hands technique on his knees post op. He felt better, but I on the other hand did not. With my untrained hands…using my natural born skill sets…I absorbed his pain with my hands rather than clearing his pain. (Visualize this: using one’s hands as a vacuum cleaner = wrong. Whereas using one’s hands as healing lasers or photon torpedoes = good.)

After getting off the phone with my mom, I did an internet search and a search on Amazon.com to find out more on the subject.

(The Reiki link to your left has lots of good information on the subject)

I discovered that there are many factions of Reiki: The Reiki Alliance (who are strict followers of Hawayo Takata) and several breakaway groups.

I ordered 2 books from Amazon.com:

Reiki Energy Medicine - Bringing Healing Touch into Home, Hospital, and Hospice
By Libby Barnett & Maggie Chambers with Susan Davidson; 126 pages; Copyright 1996

The Power of Reiki - An Ancient Hands-on Healing Technique
By Tanmaya Honervogt Reiki Master-Teacher; 143 pages; Copyright 1998

These books arrived the day before my husband and I boarded a plane for a vacation on Kauai. I read the books on the plane and realized that this was something I needed proper training in. I felt it was unlikely that I could get proper training in Alaska at that time.

While shopping in a t-shirt store in the Koloa/Poipu area Kauai, I had a strong feeling that the gentleman who managed the shop might know “someone” in the area that might know something about Reiki. He made some calls for me and put me in touch with 2 people. One of which had a Reiki I class scheduled while I was on vacation.

The instructor was part of the Reiki Alliance. As a 1/2 Hawaiian Japanese girl, I felt it was important to learn the traditional way of doing things. At this point in my Reiki journey, I was still not sure what all the different Reiki factions were about. The instructor I had on Kauai was good…but she was not what I expected. (I will elaborate more on that later)

After my final initiation in Reiki I, my husband picked me up and we drove into the night for dinner at my favorite restaurant. Approximately 10-15 minutes later there was a terrible car crash right in front of us. The smell of burning rubber and exhaust was in the air. It was a head on collision between a small pick-up truck and a small compact car. The people from other cars that stopped to help were attending to the 2 folks in the truck. I went to the compact car. There was a large 30-ish Hawaiian man in the driver’s seat amidst the shattered glass and I started to give him Reiki. He was conscious and said, “…Reiki?” (OMG! He knows Reiki?) I said, “yes” and he seemed to calm down. I continued giving him Reiki until I heard the sirens indicating the EMTs arrived…and then my husband and I got back into our rental car and disappeared into the night.

I took this incident as a sign that my life would not be quite the same was it was before.