Reiki Comes To The West

Hawayo Takata and Dr. Hayashi

Hawayo Takata was born at dawn on December 24, 1900, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Her parents were Japanese immigrants and her father worked in the sugar cane fields. She worked very hard as she was growing up. She eventually married the bookkeeper of the plantation where she was employed. His name was Saichi Takata and they had 2 daughters.

In October of 1930, Saichi died at the age of 34 leaving Mrs. Takata to raise their two children. In order to provide for her family, she had to work very hard with little rest. After five years she developed severe abdominal pain, a lung condition and had a nervous breakdown.

Soon after this, one of her sisters died and it was the responsibility of Hawayo to travel to Japan, where her parents had moved, to deliver the news. She also felt she could receive help for her health in Japan.

She took a steamship and was accompanied by her sister-in-law. After informing her parents of the death of her sister, she entered a hospital. It was found that she had a tumor, gallstones and appendicitis. After resting several weeks, she was ready for the needed operation.

On the operating table, just before the surgery was to begin, Hawayo heard a voice. The voice said, "The operation is not necessary. The operation is not necessary." She had never heard a voice speak to her like this before. She wondered what it meant. The voice repeated the message a third time even louder. She knew she was wide awake and had not imagined the voice. It was so unusual, yet so compelling that she decided to ask the doctor.

She got off the operating table, wrapped a sheet around herself and asked to speak to the doctor. When the doctor finally come, she asked if he knew of any other way that her problems could be helped. The koctor knew of Dr. Hayashi's Reiki clinic and told Hawayo about it. This was something she wanted to try.

At the Reiki clinic, she began receiving treatments. She had never heart of Reiki before and did not know what it was. Using their Reiki hands the practitioners could sense what was wrong with Mrs. Takata. Their diagnosis very closely matched the doctor's at the hospital. This impressed her and gave her confidence in what they were doing.

Two Reiki practitioners would treat her each day. The heat from their hands was so strong that she thought they were using some kind of equipment. She looked around, but saw none. Seeing the large sleeves of the Japanese kimono one of the practitioners was wearing, she thought she had found the location of the equipment. She grabbed the sleeves, but found nothing. The startled practitioner wanted to know what she was doing and when she explained, he began to laugh. Then he told her about Reiki and how it worked.

Mrs. Takata received daily treatments and got progressively better. In four months, she was completely healed. Impressed with the results, she wanted to learn Reiki. However, it was explained that Reiki was Japanese and that it was intended to stay in Japan. It could not be taught to an outsider.

Mrs. Takata talked to the surgeon at the hospital and convinced him to ask Dr. Hayashi to allow her to learn Reiki. Since Dr. Hayashi wanted to teach Reiki to another woman besides his wife, and since Mrs. Takata was so persistent, he decided that she should be the one. In the Spring of 1936, Mrs. Takata received First Degree Reiki. She worked with Dr. Hayashi for one year and then received Second Degree Reiki.

Mrs. Takata returned to Hawaii in 1937. She was soon followed by Dr. Hayashi and his daughter who came to help establish Reiki in Hawaii. In the winter of 1938, Dr. Hayashi initiated Hawayo Takata as a Reiki Master. She was the thirteenth and last Reiki Master Dr. Hayashi initiated. She, in turn, initiated 22 Reiki Masters before her transition in 1980. That list can be found here.

For my sources see: Recommended Reading

The Original Twenty Two

Between 1970 and her transition on December 11, 1980, Mrs. Takata initiated 22 Reiki Masters. This is the list she gave to her sister before she passed through transition.

1. George Araki
2. Barbara McCullough
3. Beth Grey
4. Ursula Baylow
5. Paul Mitchell
6. Iris Ishikura
7. Fran Brown
8. Barbara Weber Ray
9. Ethel Lombardi
10. Wanja Twan
11. Virginia Samdahl
12. Phyllis Lei Furumoto
13. Dorothy Baba
14. Mary McFaden
15. John Gray
16. Rick Bockner
17. Bethel Phaigh
18. Harry Kuboi
19. Patricia Ewing
20. Shinobu Saito
21. Kay Yamashita
22. Barbara Brown

The original 22 teachers have taught others. In the decade since Mrs. Takata experienced transition, Reiki has spread rapidly in the West. It is now practiced throughout North and South America, Europe, New Zealand, Australia and other parts of the world. There are now (at the time of this writing) an extimated 50,000 Reiki Masters with as many as 1,000,000 people practicing Reiki throughout the world.

Every Reiki Master should be able to trace their lineage back through time to the original Reiki Master, Dr. Usui Sensei.

Hawayo Takata Explains Reiki

I believe there exists One Supreme Being - the Absolute Infinite - a Dynamic Force that governs the world and universe. It is an unseen spiritual power that vibrates and all other powers fade into insignificance beside it. So, therefore, it is Absolute!

I shall call it "Reiki"

Being a universal force from the Great Divine Spirit, it belongs to all who seek and desire to learn the art of healing.

~Hawayo Takata

Questions and Answers by Hawayo Takata

Here we have a treat! The following questions were taken from a lecture given by Hawayo Takata in 1975 which was held at the Trinity Metaphysical Center in Redwood City, CA. Reverend Beth Gray, pastor of the center, presented questions from an audience compiled entirely of Takata’s Reiki students. The lecture was recorded by John Harvey Gray with Takata’s permission. Each one has been presented verbatim. Correct punctuation is attempted.

Takata often taught by telling stories. In her manner of teaching, which at first glance may appear simple, Takata presented fundamental teachings about Reiki that are truly profound and timeless.

For those of you not yet familiar with Hawayo Takata, she was the Japanese-Hawaiian woman responsible for bringing Reiki to the West. Takata received her entire Reiki training from Chujiro Hayashi, who in turn, received his training from Mikao Usui, the originator of the Reiki system of natural healing.

• Is the ability to Channel Reiki ever lost?
• Why is self-treatment sometimes unsuccessful?
• Must one wash hands after Reiki?
• What about reactions to Reiki treatments?

Source: LearnReiki.org.

Reactions To Reiki Treatments

Reverend Beth Gray: “Will you speak about reactions?”

Hawayo Takata: “Yes. Reactions are active. Now very few people will have a reaction after one treatment, but if they are very, very ill, they may. And when reactions come, don’t panic. But most people will say, ‘Oh, they made me worse.’

But when you feel that you have become worse, that means the whole body has taken effect. The pure, the (inaudible word), the Reiki is beginning to cleanse you. And so, the internal organs, the twenty-eight feet of intestines, will be cleansed, and you will start to have diarrhea, and fever.

Now, especially in the chronic arthritis cases, when you have lots of calcium in your body, if your body does not burn, or raise fever, you cannot get the calcium to dissolve. And so by treating it, and when your body temperature rises, you may have fever for four or five days. But all during the time, the calcium begins to dissolve. And it may come out through your urine, through your bowl. Sometimes it forms a great big sore anywhere. It could be on the knees, it could be on the elbow, a great big ripe tomato-like, and that’s filled with dissolved calcium.

And this patient asked me, ‘Mrs. Takata, what do you do (inaudible word), fork, knife, or a needle?’ I said, ‘No. We Reiki. We just treat. We are not surgeons. We are not doctors. So all we have to do is to treat, and we’ll leave it up to nature, and see what happens. But be sure to have a double bed sheet by your feet. Someday this is going to burst.’

And while treating, this became very, very raw, and then it burst. And, you know, the force of this ripe tomato was so hard that it splashed, not only the walls, but to the ceiling. He grabbed the sheet, put it on, and then I squeezed it, and then it drained for five to seven days. And before, the hole was that big, but before it completely healed, I told him, ‘Now that your swelling from your feet and your thighs and legs and all your arms have gone, and you can walk now without pain, please go to your doctor, and check with him and tell him about this.’ So, he did.

And the doctor was very, very happy. And of course, while the doctor was examining and looking at the hole, he squeezed it. And when he squeezed it, something like cottage cheese jumped out. And that was all the calcium that had gathered from the body.

Now, this man had 13 years of arthritis, and he was not an old man. He was only about 45 years old. But he was unable to work. He was bedridden ... bedridden. And pain, pain, pain. So, when you entered his home, on the door it says, ‘Please, do not slam the doors. The screen door has rattles, so please do not slam. Please, do not turn on the TV.’ Everything that (has) vibrations (she claps), even that hurt him more.

And so when he got well, he did get well to a perfection. And he lost … he was about 175 pounds, and he came down, and he minused, he minused about 35 pounds. And so he could wear his wedding suit at that time, and he went to the doctor, and showed him, and said, ‘This is where it came out.’ And the doctor said, ‘If this had covered the whole surface,’ he said, ‘I would not have believed it. But seeing is believing, and I’m very happy you had the sense to come when this was still (inaudible word).’

And the first thing I told him, I said, ‘Every Sunday, you used to argue with your wife. Your wife said, ‘Let’s go to church.’ And he said, ‘Oh, I have to go fishing.’ And he would say, ‘Today, I have to clean my yard.’ And then he always had some kind of alibi, but never went to church. And so, I say to him, ‘Now that you have gone to the doctor, and find yourself okay, the first thing you are going to do is to go to the house of God, and thank God. Take your wife down.’ It was only two blocks … that was the Episcopalian church.

And so I said, ‘Wear your shoes and your Sunday clothes, take your wife’s arm, and walk to the church, now that you can walk. And, you walk right to the altar, and then, bow your head, and then thank God for having mercy, and grace, and for the, healing.’ I said, ‘It was through God power, that you were healed, and, it was not (inaudible word), I only gave you the time.’ And then, the wife followed the diet. And so, in 30 days, 13 years of arthritis was absolutely gone. And so, that is another happy, happy story. But it ended it.

You have to remove the cause, and then the effect. No effect … if you remove the cause there shall be no effect.”

Washing Hands After Reiki

Reverend Beth Gray: “Is it necessary to wash the hands after we do the healing?”

Hawayo Takata: “It is if you are treating someone else. Why not? I wash my hands every time I have a new patient. I don’t use my hands without washing. I wash my hands. All the dentists wash their hands, whenever. Isn’t that common sense? Isn’t that common sense? But not a necessity because of the fear that this will, the illness will come to you. No, that won’t happen. But then, when you touch a patient, or when you treat the patient, or anybody, it is proper to wash your hands. But not with rushing, saying, ‘Oh, I got get rid of ….’ No we don’t do that. It’s not … it’s not that … it’s not contagious, in other words.”

When Self-Treatment is Unsuccessful

Revered Beth Gray: “There are those who do a lot with Reiki and there are those who do nothing. We are not speaking of the latter. When we are faithfully practicing Reiki, why is it that we have no success with our own pains?”

Hawayo Takata: “Success with what?”

Reverend Beth Gray: “Our own pains. Why aren’t they successful on themselves?”

Hawayo Takata: “Oh, okay. Not successful on themselves? In that case, I say, I say it again, that there, that may be their reactions, especially in rheumatism. If it’s the cause … that they have had the cause for about twenty-five, thirty years. You don’t expect that to get over, overnight. So you have to keep on trying.

But then again, you have to get out. Relieve your toxins. You have to have reactions. Reactions are the physical change, the body change, are all the waste sickness that comes out. Give a chance so that the body does change and then you have to rebuild. By rebuilding, you have to change your diet. If it’s chronic it’s going to take time. If it’s anything acute, the treatments, will be more effective, and in a few weeks … if it’s an acute, once or twice, it’s gone.”

Is the ability to channel Reiki ever lost?

Reverend Beth Gray: “If, for some reason one fails to do Reiki for a period of a month or so, does one lose the power?”

Hawayo Takata: “That’s a good question. No. Once you have the contact … through me … and that is everybody who is here.**(see note below) Reiki stays with you everlasting. But, it may, it may not, when you are tired, have the full charge come out at one time. You will become quiet, because your battery down here has run down...

... I am so sorry to do this to you, but this post has been moved to my new website, Two Feathers Reiki, hosted at shirleytwofeathers.com, and can be found in its entirety here: Is The Ability To Channel Reiki Ever Lost?