The Development Of Reiki In The West

Reiki's next "Grand Master" was chosen at a meeting of Hawayo Takata's Masters in Hawaii in 1982 after Takata's death. Phyllis Lei Furumoto, Mrs. Takata's granddaughter, and Barbara Weber Ray appear to be the two "favorites" for the role. Phyllis's decision to continue in her grandmother's footsteps led to her being elected by the majority of Masters. Dr. Barbara Weber Ray, a Reiki practitioner, soon after established her own method of Reiki, which she eventually titled "Real Reiki."

The Development Of Reiki In The West

That historic first conference in 1982 allowed Western Reiki Masters to discuss their experiences for the first time. They identified disparities in how they were taught—possibly because Mrs. Takata taught the system orally, not allowing her student Masters to take notes. They took specific steps to standardize the system, which had a significant impact on the development of Reiki in the west, establishing what we now refer to as the Western tradition of Reiki.

The Masters agreed on the method for teaching the technique and the precise form of each of the four Reiki symbols. They also followed Mrs. Takata's pricing structure. The Reiki Alliance was created during a subsequent gathering in British Columbia in 1983. This group of Reiki Masters recognizes Phyllis Lei Furumoto as the Grand Master and whose mission is to help each member in their role as Usui System of Reiki teachers.

Until 1988, in keeping with her grandmother's tradition, only Phyllis Furumoto, as Grand Master, was authorized to instruct other Masters; however, during a Friedricksburg meeting that year, she stated that any Master with sufficient experience might teach other Masters. This pivotal choice exposed Reiki in the West to the inevitable changes that occurred as a result of the expansion.

By the early 1990s, the number of Masters and Practitioners had increased significantly. An increasing number of Masters began working independently of the Reiki Alliance's framework, altering the way Reiki was taught. Reiki manuals and booklets began to appear, additional hand positions and symbols were added, and the time between levels was compressed to the point where Reiki 1 and 2 were occasionally taught on consecutive days.

The manner in which the Master's level was taught also altered significantly. Rather than an apprenticeship structure in which one or two trainee Masters worked alongside an existing Master for a year or more, the Reiki Third Degree began to be taught in large groups during short-term courses. Additionally, pupils were permitted to proceed swiftly through the three levels—often within a year and occasionally within a few months or even weeks. This led to a tremendous increase in the number of Masters, as well as an increase in the number of persons studying First and Second Degree Reiki, resulting in the rapid spread of Reiki throughout the world.

When Did Reiki Come To The US?

As it is practiced in the U.S. today, Reiki dates back to the teachings of Mikao Usui in Japan in the early 1920s. Usui was a lifelong spiritual aspirant, a lay monk with a wife and two children. In Usui's day, multiple lineages of Buddhist, Taoist, and Shinto practices coexisted as prominent Japanese spirituality and culture themes.

Usui's strong spiritual efforts culminated in a profound epiphany that led to the practice now widely called Reiki. This realization most likely occurred around 1922.

Usui toured widely in Japan during the last four years of his life, imparting his spiritual teachings to more than 2,000 beginning students but training just 16 as Reiki masters. One of his master students, Chujiro Hayashi, was a retired naval officer. Hayashi worked with Usui to excerpt the healing practices from Usui's greater body of teachings to be more broadly shared.

Hayashi built a Reiki clinic in Tokyo where 16 practitioners delivered therapy in pairs with Usui's permission. Hawayo Takata, a first-generation Japanese-American, came to Hayashi's clinic to treat several medical issues, including asthma. Months of medication restored Takata's health, becoming a devoted student.

With Hayashi's active assistance and support, Takata carried Reiki to Hawaii in 1937 and eventually to the U.S. mainland. Takata practiced and taught Reiki for 40 years before educating Reiki masters (practitioners empowered to teach others) (practitioners empowered to teach others). Since Takata's death in December 1980, her 22 Reiki teachers have propagated her teachings. Reiki has become quite popular and is now practiced worldwide, but not usually in the traditional style Takata taught.