Reiki was discovered in the mid 1800’s by a Japanese born christian monk, Dr. Mikao Usui.
Whilst teaching in a Christian college he was asked by a student how Jesus had performed certain healing miracles. Dr. Usui had no answer to the question and so he set out on a quest, determined to learn the secrets of healing so that he could help others.

His journey was long and took him to many countries, tracing the same footsteps as Jesus.

During his journey, Dr. Usui visited and asked different Buddhist sects if they could perform the miracles that Budda’s performed.

The Buddhists felt that the healing of the spirit and the healing of the body were not always directly connected. They concentrated on the spirit, and left the healing of the body to medical doctors.

Dr. Usui finally visited a Zen monastery in Kyoto, where he asked the same question to the Abbot, “ Do Zen priests and monks know how to heal the body?”.. The Abbot replied, “ not anymore”.

He continued to explain that they had relied so heavily on healing the spirit that they had now forgotten how to heal the body.

The Abbot felt that this was Dr. Usui’s destiny to rediscover how master Buddhas had healed the body.

Dr. Usui asked if he could remain and observe the study in the Zen monastery and the Abbot agreed to this.

Dr. Usui learned chinese and Sanskrit in order to be able to read all of the sacred books.

Whilst reading the Indian Sutras, he discovered a formula for contacting a higher power that could bestow healing.

He now had all the information he was looking for and yet it did not give him the ability or understanding to heal people. He decided to follow the practices within each formula and so he traveled to the holy mountain of Kori-Yama where he fasted and meditated and followed the directions within each formula for 21 days.

He realised that he had to attain a highly altered state of consciousness in order to be empowered with healing energy.

He set about placing 21 stones in front of him on the mountain and removed one each day as a kind of calendar.

During this time he read the sutras, he meditated and he sang.

Nothing unusual happened until the last day…..

He saw a shining light moving towards him with great speed . As he looked at the light he realised that the light had consciousness and it was communicating with him.

He discovered that the light had the healing power he had been looking for and in order to receive what the light had to offer, he must allow the light to strike him. However, he was told that the light was so powerful, that if it did strike him, it may kill him.

He was given the opportunity to decide.

Would he risk death to obtain the knowledge for which he had searched so long for?. He decided the ability to heal the sick would be of such great value that it would be worth risking death to receive it.

The beam struck him on the forehead and knocked him unconscious.
Rising out of his physical body, he was shown beautiful bubbles of light filled with colours. In amongst the bubbles there were symbols. As he contemplated each symbol, he received an attunement for that symbol and knowledge on its use. In this way he was initiated into the use of the Reiki healing power.

When he returned to normal consciousness, he felt full of strength and energy.
In his rush, he stubbed his toe and held it for a few minutes and the pain soon disappeared. He was hungry also as he had been fasting, so he stopped at a nearby inn where he ordered breakfast. He was warned not to eat such a large amount due to the fact that he had been fasting for so long, however, Dr. Usui was able to eat it all without the least of consequences.

The granddaughter of the innkeeper was there also and she had been suffering with a toothache for several days. Dr. Usui laid his hands on her swollen face and after awhile the swelling subsided and the pain eased. They all began to realise that their guest was no ordinary monk.

Dr. Usui returned to his monastery but soon decided to go to a beggar city in the slums of Kyoto to treat beggars and help them to lead a better life. He spent 7 years in the slums treating many illnesses.

He left the slums and returned to the monastery and as he walked along he was greeted in spirit by the teachers who had greeted him on Kori-Yama. They bestowed upon him understanding of two very important elements; healing of the spirit and the responsibility of the person being treated in the healing process.

He realised that he had done the reverse of the Buddhists by concentrating on healing the body and not the spirit. He was at this time given the spiritual principles of Reiki by the teachers in spirit.

- Just for today do not worry, Accept
- Just for today, do not anger.
- Honour your parents, teachers and elders
- Earn your living honestly
- Show gratitude to all living things.

Dr. Usui practised and taught Reiki throughout Japan for the remainder of his life. Before his transition around 1930, he gave the Master attunement to sixteen teachers one whom was Dr. Chujiro Hayashi.

Up to this point, the Usui system of healing consisted of the energy itself, the symbols, the attunement process and the Reiki ideals. Dr. Hayashi went on to develop the Usui system of healing. He opened a Reiki clinic in Tokyo and kept detailed records of the treatments given. He used this information to create the standard hand positions, the system of three degrees and their initiation procedures.

Dr. Hayashi sensed that a war was coming, and knew that most of the men would be called. In order to ensure Reiki would be preserved, he decided to pass the complete teachings on to two women: His wife and Hawayo Takata. He chose Mrs Takata because she was a Japanese Hawaiian and she had American citizenship. Dr. Hayashi had word from spirit that the Japanese would have heavy losses in the approaching war.

She was a widow with two small children and at the end of her physical and spiritual strength when her path led her to Reiki in 1935. She was suffering from a number of severe illnesses at the time when an inner voice told her to go to Japan and seek healing there.

Having arrived in Japan, about to undergo an operation, the inner voice again spoke to her telling her that the operation was unnecessary. She asked her doctor about the other methods of treatment and he said “yea, but they can take months or years to heal you”.

He told her about Dr Hayashi’s Reiki clinic. Once there, she was applied Reiki daily by two practitioners and, after four months, she had won back her health completely.
Hawayo Takata became a pupil of Dr Hayashi’s for a year and was attuned to Reiki 1 and 2 and then returned to Hawaii with her daughters. She established a Reiki clinic in Hawaii which was very prosperous. She was initiated as a Reiki Master by Dr Hayashi in the 1930’s. She lied and healed in Hawaii for many years and began to train Reiki Masters when she was in her seventies. She made her transition on December 11th, 1980. Between 1970 and 1980, Mrs Takata initiated 22 known Reiki Masters.

At the time of her death, she had not formally named her granddaughter Phyllis Furomoto as Grand Master. Some “sibling rivalry” occurred amongst the 22 masters concluding with 3 masters declaring themselves as Grand Master.

Phyllis Furomoto was given the title of Grand Master by the Reiki Alliance (a collection of Reiki Masters) that was formed after Mrs Takata died to ensure the continuation of Reiki.