15 August: Reiki

This date in 1865 saw the birth of Usui Mikao, founder of the method of energy healing known as Reiki. Here are 10 things you might not know about Reiki and its founder.

1. The word Reiki comes from the Japanese words rei, meaning "soul, spirit" and ki meaning "vital energy".
2. Usui was born in Japan and raised as a samurai, so he was proficient in the martial art of aiki. As an adult, he travelled widely, visiting China, Europe and America. He studied widely, too – history, medicine, Buddhism, Christianity, psychology, and Taoism. There’s no evidence, however, that he became a doctor of theology at the University of Chicago, as it has sometimes been claimed.
3. His travelling and studying was part of a quest to discover the meaning of life. Having been told by a Zen teacher that in order to find it, he would have to die to himself, he took himself to a cave to fast and meditate for 21 days. On the last day, he felt a powerful light enter his head, and felt more alive than he ever had before. On his way out of the cave, he stubbed his toe, and as anyone would do, held his toe to ease the pain. It was then he felt the energy flowing from his hands, and the pain in his toe disappeared. That’s when he realised his life’s work was to heal and teach others to heal.
4. According to the inscription on his memorial stone, Usui taught Reiki to over 2,000 people during his lifetime, eleven of which attained Master level.
5. Reiki was introduced to the western world by Hawayo Takata, who, in an attempt to make it more appealing to the west, doctored the history slightly by claiming that Usui was the dean of a Christian school who had been inspired to create a healing method based on the touch of a hand, as Jesus had done. In fact, Usui’s inspiration had been a Buddhist text called Tantra of the Lightning Flash, and had written himself that the method originated with Buddha, rather than Christ.
6. Everyone has the ability to use Reiki, but people in general have lost their connection with the life force. Students of Reiki go through a process known as “attunement” which re-connects them with it.
7. Usui’s teaching also included five principles of Reiki which, if followed, help the practitioner to stay healthy and the energy flowing. Whatever you may think of the spiritual aspects of Reiki, the principles sound like the kind of thing which could appear on a modern motivational poster: “Just for today, I will give thanks for my many blessings; I will trust all is well; I will feel love and compassion; I will do my work honestly and I will be kind to my neighbour and every living thing, including myself.”
8. While a Reiki treatment usually involves the practitioner placing their hands on a (fully clothed) client, or holding the hands a few inches above them, the client doesn’t even need to be present as the treatment can be done at a distance. With the permission of the recipient, of course. Very handy during pandemics.
9. Reiki also makes use of symbols, or mantras, coming from the Japanese belief that words have special vibrations and power. It is one of the symbols which enables healing to take place at a distance. Some say the symbols are taught rather like a mnemonic for students to use until they can achieve the energy flow by themselves. I won’t list them, since for a long time the symbols were said to be secrets only Reiki students should know. These days, anyone can find out what they are simply by googling “Reiki symbols”.
10. Does it work? Thousands of people who have had Reiki treatments will answer with a resounding, yes! At the very least, having a Reiki session can be very relaxing and we all know how much illness is caused by stress. Creating harmony and balance within body and mind can only be a good thing, too. While there are many stories told by people who believed Reiki cured their cancer, a good Reiki practitioner will never suggest a patient ditches any treatment or advice given by their doctor, but rather uses Reiki to supplement it. The person who wrote the Wikipedia article on Reiki seems to be a total skeptic, however, as that article seemed like little more than an attempt to debunk it, saying there’s no evidence it works at all beyond the placebo effect and any studies with positive results were flawed. I’d say try it, alongside conventional medical treatment, and make up your own mind.

Killing Me Softly

Sebastian Garrett is an assassin. It wasn’t his first choice of vocation, but nonetheless, he’s good at it, and can be relied upon to get the job done. He’s on top of his game.

Until he is contracted to kill Princess Helena of Galorvia. She is not just any princess. Sebastian doesn’t bargain on his intended victim being a super-heroine who gives as good as she gets. Only his own genetic variant power saves him from becoming the victim, instead of Helena. 

Fate has another surprise in store. Sebastian was not expecting to fall in love with her.

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