Secret can refer to many meanings.  Think of those plants with remarkable healing energies growing in the secret spots in the forest. Think of the weeds that some dowse with weed killer, which have secret healing properties for both external and internal use.

Secret can refer to the method Usui Mikao created following his connection to the vibrations of love and harmony of universal energy.  In his words, “My Reiki Ryoho is an original method based on intuitive power in the universe”. Universal energy was present long before human beings first walked on this planet, and Usui- Sensei (honorable teacher) never claimed to be the first to connect to universal energy or to know secrets that others never knew.  Mikao Usui did say, My Usui Reiki Ryoho is an original, there is nothing like this in the world.  So I would like to release this method to the public for everyone’s benefit and hope for everyone’s happiness.”   When you take the time to learn the factual history surrounding the method Usui-Sensei created, you erase the word secret from your mind and replace with, out of this world, or awesome, or humbling, or amazing,  etc.   Many people can have negative reactions to chemicals, various plants, dust, etc. I have never heard of anyone having a negative reaction to the unconditional love and harmony that comes from the universe?

Secret can refer to a statement that stretches back to King Solomon’s words, “That which you know in your heart is that which you are”, and probably further. Your thoughts of course come from that which you know in your heart. Secret can also refer to knowing in your heart those simple words of the Gokai (five precepts/five principles). With most people, after completing the first level in either Gendai Reiki-ho or Komyo Reiki the secret of those five short simple lines vanishes as knowing them in their heart they become a part of her or his life.

Reiki is often described as hands-on-healing, but look beyond. Reiki goes beyond what is thought of as healing in the medical sense. Advanced Reiki is actually cultivation of the mind. It takes time and practice to bench your mind. However, when you do this you will find yourself in that warm, harmonious, safe place. Once in that place hold onto the feeling, and make it your reality.

Countless wise people over the years have written about how a person’s thoughts create his or her life. As Reiki is flowing through you, you are in balance and surrounded by harmony. Secret can refer to the reality you create and from which you are sending out nothing but positive thoughts. Think for a moment about what will return to you the more you practice and surrender yourself to universal love and harmony. What a wonderful world it will be when balance and harmony is with everyone.

Usui-Sensei’s said his method was, “The secret to health and happiness”. Nevertheless, while there may be a beyond belief mystery about the spiritual practice founded by Usui-Sensei, there are no hidden dark secrets. There are no mysterious rituals or symbols, nor required materials; Reiki is a form of energy before it takes material form. The method Mikao Usui created uses vibrations of love and harmony of universal energy, energy is light, and Usui Reiki is light. Light is all colours and consequently Reiki is all colours. Reiki practitioners can let go of worry about what colours to use with Reiki and perhaps focus on what colors their own forms of energy are putting into the field around him or her.

As you scroll down you will see in two photographs, visuals of that light/color/energy that might appear as secret. Cameras can sometimes capture even those molecules that are still in energy form. These visuals remind us that energy can be sensed with more then our touch receivers. Examples of energy/light stretch from modern science to back to such modalities as Ayurvedic healing, which Dr. David Frawley says began in 4000 B.C. Light is energy, and life is light. Life is also love, which is also energy. While this might appear a bit complicated/heavy, the practice Mikao Usui founded is simple yet profound. The vibrations of universal love and harmony when allowed to flow uninterrupted create complementary healing for mind, body, and spirit of all life forms. Reiki can bridge that gap between mind and body often created by modern professional medical treatments and medicine, and reconnect mind and body.

Reiki is a form of universal energy. It is a different form than your energy, Qi/Ki/Prana. It is like Ki/Qi in that it cannot be described in any dictionary or encyclopedia; Qi/Ki and Reiki go beyond any form of energy that can be explained. The easiest was to describe Ki is life force energy, but true description goes beyond that. Excesses of worry, anxiety, effort, restlessness, overwork, over socializing, etc, diminish each person’s own Ki/Qi. Calmness, faith, peace of mind, nourishing foods and sufficient rest enhance life force energy; Reiki replenishes, balances and surrounds with harmony. The right foods and herbs nourish and help the cells to heal; Reiki goes to the core where the energy is needed to create the actions of life.

How to make your conscious mind step aside can be referred to as a secret. It requires discipline, which is the focus of many of the exercises in studying styles of Usui Reiki. You are the only person that has control over what you do and think. Consequently, you are the only person that can bench your mind in order for universal energy to flow without interruption once a qualified Reiki Shihan has opened your channel. Universal knowledge is beyond that of any human and accordingly it is best for our conscious mind to step aside. Sometimes our thinking can be influenced by constant repetition from another person, but Gendai Reiki-ho and Komyo Reiki have exercises to put total control over our thoughts back in our hands. Something you can easily do anytime is to see the Gokai as the solution, and when you focus on that, you do not see that which is creating anxiety or anger.

Reiki is universal love and harmony. It is not fretful worry about whether the glass is half-full or half-empty, but rather accepting what is in the glass. Once the acceptance happens, you can move forward doing your best and letting go of that which you cannot control. Reiki will flow to places you might not even know exist, regardless of how many years you may have invested in formal educational. Keep in mind, the incredibly intelligent and insightful man who founded this wondrous spiritual practice.

Mikao Usui was Buddhist all his life, but the spiritual practice he founded is not a religion nor a belief system. I was blessed to be lucky enough to complete one update teacher’s level under Rev. Hyakuten Inamoto, also a Japanese Buddhist monk. Hyakuten-Sensei explained that the only similarity between Reiki and Buddhism are discipline and practice.

I think of a quote from Abraham Lincoln, one president of the United States, when I think of Mikao Usui’s meditation that allowed for his second awakening (first awakening is intellectual and the second is spiritual). “If you want something you’ve never had before, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done before.” And so it is, if you want universal love and harmony to emanate from you, you must allow a form of energy new to you, to freely flow through you once a qualified Reiki Shihan has opened your channel.

As you go deeper in the spiritual practice you can see the reflection of the common phrase, “you are a spiritual being experiencing life as a human being”. When you study the spiritual practice Mikao Usui founded, it might seem a little confusing as you will see concepts reflecting those of Dr. Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Hunter Adams, Dale Carnegie and many more. Mikao Usui connected to Universal energy in 1921 and passed on in 1926, but much of the wisdom he shared was from the universe which is ageless.

When I completed my first master/teacher level in Reiki, I was anxious to uncover more and more of the over seven hundred symbols various people have created since the spiritual practice left Japan. Then I learned the secret that Reiki symbols are only training wheels, pointers to some of the infinite number of cords within the vibrations of universal love and harmony.

One of wonderful things about the spiritual practice Mikao Usui created is that it requires a pure connection and knowing rather than memorization. If a person was required to memorize all the Reiki symbols used in the world today there would be little time for feeling/knowing the inharmonic vibrations put out by life forms to guide a practitioner’s hands. Usui-Sensei knowing that some people require visuals to learn created three symbols as teaching tools. Each of these training wheels represents millions of cords within the vibrations of love and harmony.

Symbols are a form of communication that has been used by humans for centuries. Think for a moment about the peace symbol commonly use in the nineteen sixties/seventies. World peace is something everyone wants; if the peace symbol had made that happen, today would be an angelic world. The peace symbol is a perfect example of how symbols only point in the right direction, and then the heart/mind, master of the body, must follow. Following is easy when your channel has been opened to universal love and harmony, and you blend this into your daily life.

Reiki symbols come from many sources. In meditation, dreams, and visions are a few of the ways people have visualized symbols. Each person receives what is right for him or her, at the right time to aid in moving forward on his or her path. In Shoden class I give an exercise that allows each student to form his or her own symbol. Then I explain that no human has the wisdom of the universe, so why not simply allow Reiki to flow to those cells in need to be balanced and surrounded by harmony by the cords the universe knows are the right cords. What is in balance and surrounded with harmony heals in the right way.

What the three symbols that Mikao Usui created are based upon has been studied by some dedicated Reiki Shihans. Some say the original symbols Usui-Sensei used came from old Taoist texts in China. Mikao Usui was a traveled man with job experience in various areas. Like any teacher, he would have used whatever tools worked best to help each student to learn. I have heard different theories, disagree with none, but do not think it matters as symbols are only teaching tools/training wheels/the finger pointing.

Secret can refer to once the training wheels are set aside, so you can more easily move to a higher vibration/dimension without their weight. To be the clear vessel through which universal energy can flow without interruption requires mindfulness in different areas for each individual. Everyone begins his or her journey with his or her own life experiences -- his or her own reality, which is why I often teach private and semi-private classes. Regardless of how many initiations/empowerments/attunements you receive, each is only the beginning. If you are now using symbols, try connecting to the whole of what your channel has been opened to and experience the freedom of trusting in the universe.

I teach Gendai Reiki-ho (Modern Reiki method for healing) and Komyo Reiki. It is interesting that the modern is actually stepping back to the essence Mikao Usui introduced. Gendai and Komyo Reiki go back beyond new age discoveries to the understanding such as can be represented by Qi, which while sometimes translated as life force, has a much deeper meaning that cannot be translated into any language. Connecting to the light of Reiki within and feeling that vibration in your inner-self that resonates with cords of universal love and harmony becomes the power within.

The secret to the spiritual practice of Usui Reiki Ryoho is trust. When I asked two of my Japanese Reiki Shihans a technical question about whether or not a certain Japanese technique could harm a certain physical condition the answer I received is one that became an important part of my life. The answer was, “Trust in Reiki”. Dale Carnegie gives a perfect example of trusting in the universe when a young blind boy was asked to find a mouse that was lost in the classroom. The teacher asking, recognized that the universe had given Stevie Morris something no one else in the class had, a remarkable awareness of hearing to compensate for his lack of visual sight. That teacher’s trust in the universe seeded that young boy’s trust and he came to be known as one of the great pop singers and songwriters of the seventies, Stevie Wonder. Reiki allows those with physical challenges that medical science lists in the 'cannot be cured' category to experience happiness in the manner best for him or her. Curable from within can take many forms, and Reiki helps those forms to be uncovered.

Knowing the Gokai in your heart (place of true knowledge) and trusting in the universe can give to you what no symbol can. It takes time to form actual knowledge and there is no instant download for the essence (relentless power) of universal love and harmony to be embodied by your jing. In spite of this, each step of the journey is blissful if you allow it to be so.

Here is a visual that I have finally decided to share with more then a select few. It is a visual that reinforces the power/strength/intensity of universal energy. Both this and the photograph at the top of my Reiki healing sessions page come from a roll of film I shot using the self-timer on my camera, upstairs in my Center. What appeared in the photograph to your left is something that was beyond my control. My intent was for the flame of a candle in my hands to represent the heat/light of Reiki that flows through such places as the palms of the hands. This photograph overwhelmed me as I sat looking at the prints I had just picked up from the film processor/printer. This form boldly appearing in front of my hands is the same color as the form that appeared in a vision I had a few years earlier. Even though I was thrilled because I knew what this is a visual of, I grew up with the belief that everything must be proven. I chose to follow the example of one of my Reiki Shihans, Richard Rivard, and diligently researched all possibilities. I began immediately by going back to the film processor for glitches in processing, checking all negatives on that roll, and then having my camera checked for any light leaks. Just as with Usui Reiki, the only answer to all the research is that it is a form of energy/light that comes from the universe.

This is not a photograph of Reiki, this is a reflection of my reality, and my connection to universal energy. Create your own situation to give universal energy the opportunity to reflect your reality. Connect to Reiki, believe, allow, bench your thinking mind and the results may well be nothing less then awesome.

Many of the exercises I teach in the Shoden level forward help you to release negative beliefs holding you back from being the true universal you. Healing the whole you is an important step in accomplishing anything in life that you want. Several exercises in Okuden help you to move forward by identifying those hidden stresses within and releasing.

Karma is a Sanskrit term meaning action. Action is part of all life, the action within and action surrounding each person. Both good karma and bad karma can be created. One exercise I teach in the third, spiritual level of Gendai Reiki-ho burns away any unwanted karma. Each level contains many exercises to cleanse your whole self and objects. Aura and chakra cleansing is easily done and taught in the first level.

The many variations in the way in which Usui Reiki Ryoho has been taught since the 1930s might seem confusing. Each person has his or her own reality, and in every language one phrase can have numerous meanings depending on how it is used. The doctrine of “no-self”, explains why there are no ill feelings among Reiki Shihans (teachers) when a student wishes to study different styles. While various Reiki teachers have changed the way in which he or she was taught, anyone having completed the spiritual level prior to the teacher's level has no wish to claim he or she is better then another. Simply trust in yourself, trust in Reiki to guide you, and you will find the style and Shihan (teacher) that is right for you.

Once your channel has been opened I urge you to join in a Reiki Mawashi preformed during a Reiki Koryukai (gathering). These bring practitioners of all styles together. Mawashi means circle or circulation. As love and harmony circulates uninterrupted by hands with fingers held straight, it builds to an amazing strength. Check my calendar page for the next Reiki gathering I am hosting.

Reiki works with medical professionals giving support and bridging gaps. To cope with daily living, Dr. Mel Glenn of Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School said, “sometimes brain cells can be coaxed into doing jobs they were not originally designed to do”. Inharmonic vibrations are created if a person tries to direct universal energy. On the other hand, universal energy allowed to flow uninterrupted into any medical coaxing/treatments/medicine can achieve astonishing results. Reiki flows to where is best for that life form, or event, at that junction in time. We cannot visually see all that is within each of the billions of atoms within the mind, body, and spirit. We cannot know the source of all symptoms the body chooses to show. We do not need to see or know, because Reiki knows where to flow and what to do when it arrives. If this sounds a bit magical, but the secret is that universal energy is the unexplained that only requires belief.

As a Reiki practitioner cultivates his or her mind and learns to trust in Usui Reiki Ryoho the world can become an endless source of rewarding experiences.

There is no force greater then universal energy. That said it is obvious why no one’s channel since Mikao Usui has opened fully in a short time. Each time a person’s channel is opened a bit wider, by a qualified Reiki Shihan, the whole person assimilates those vibrations of a very powerful energy new to him or her. One of the things that helps with assimilation is knowing in your heart that you are being opened to that which is new to you and be grateful for the shifts (healing crisis) that take place in your mind, body or spirit. Reiki is a blissful journey that makes reaching the destination insignificant. Simple exercise such as Ken’yoku (dry bathing) and Hikari no Kokyu Ho (breathing of light method), can stop panic, anxiety, and relieve you of fears and stress. Simply repeating the five short lines of the Gokai can make the world a brighter happier place.

There is no need to purchase technical devices or any such things with Reiki. You have all the tools within yourself to allow Reiki to flow uninterrupted once your channel has been opened, and your Reiki Shihan has pointed the way.

Advanced Reiki is to live in the higher dimension where anger and fretful anxious worry do not exist. Advanced Reiki is to live by the Gaien, which is the backbone of Reiki. Study of those five very short lines of the Gokai gives an understanding to even the strength of today. I like the Zen saying, “Now, it’s all you have.” In the beginning level manual, I have written the meaning behind each of the five short lines is given its own paragraph. As simple as the Gokai is, you may be amazed at the knowledge within it once you allow yourself time to assimilate.

The ability to allow Reiki to flow through you (channel) begins as soon as you receive your first invitation into the light/empowerment/attunement. The ability improves not only by having your channel opened wider, but also by self-purifying and study combined with lots of practice. The further a Reiki practitioner or teacher grows spiritually the stronger the energy flowing through becomes.

One goal connected with photography is to see light in its variations. The photograph below taken by one of my students, shows a variation of light not expected. At first glance, this photograph looks like it should be tossed. As always, the word “should” is best tossed. At second glance, what appears above my upward turned palms makes it a perfect photograph.

It is the message within this photograph that makes it perfect. That white circle above my hands is an energy circle. Many forms of energy create visuals. I was first shown Reiki energy circles in photographs taken of one of my Reiki Shihans at URRI 2002. I never expected energy circles to appear in photographs taken of me. Universal energy does not go by human expectations. This photograph shows that the balance and harmony that flows through a person outshines physical appearance.

My physical is out-of focus in this photograph even though the camera used was set on automatic focus and the photograph was intended to be of me. I did not intend the energy circle to appear in this photograph, nor did the woman taking the photograph. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the reminder this photograph gave to me. The focus of life is not on a person’s features or hair, nor is it on the clothing she or he wears. The focus is on the energy that flows through her or him; when balance and harmony flows the unexpected positive can happen.

Take a moment and think about the various people throughout your life. It is the energy flowing from a person that made the biggest impression. This photograph is also for anyone thinking that she or he is too limited in some way to be opened to universal energy. You can see visual proof of universal energies flowing through me, and I have injuries to my spinal cord. If you are wondering why Reiki has not healed me, try looking at things from a different side. Happiness happens when life comes into balance and is surrounded with harmony, regardless of one's physical condition. Health can be a progressive illnesses kept stable. The definition of healed changes between the way Webster and the universe view things. Remember that old song, “I’ve looked at life form all sides now, from up and down, and still somehow I really don’t know life at all.” Trust in Reiki and you do not need to know.

Regardless of what molecule you examine, energy is at the core. The spiritual practice Mikao Usui founded uses universal energy. Techniques in different styles vary in the way in which the energy is allowed to flow to the receiver. One very powerful technique shown to me by three of my Reiki Shihans is a smile that comes from the heart. Reiki flows through the eyes and breathe, so a smile and words that come from that place of true knowledge are vehicles that can carry a lot of power. The place of true knowledge is in your heart area and not your thinking mind.

Some techniques such as Gendai Reiju depend upon a pure connection and intent only. This is only taught to those having completed the highest level and transcended the use of symbols. Reiju’s meaning can be broken down as giving or accepting (ju) a spiritual property or knowledge (rei). The Reiju used by the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai is based upon the original way in which Usui-Sensei opened others’ channels to the light, but is not the same. The form of Reiju used by the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai is shared only within the society itself. I practice Gendai Reiju, which was created by one of my Reiki Shihans Hiroshi Doi, a member of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai. Reiju should not be confused with what is known as an initiation/ empowerment/attunement. Gendai Reiju has many uses depending upon the Reiki Shihan’s intent.

In today’s world, attunements being rituals vary greatly. Rituals only require, an intention, a plan that can be remembered, something material or visual that has meaning to you, a designated space, and an ending meaningful to you. The next time your family has dinner or friends have tea, make it a ritual and enjoy. Do a ritual just for you to end your day in a pleasant relaxing way. Run a bath, do the Reiki technique to cleanse the bathroom (or the whole house), then do Hatsurei-Ho or a similar exercise, light some scented candles, allow Reiki to flow into the bath water, and soak away all imbalances of the day while repeating the Gokai. One of the nice things about studying each level over days or weeks is learning all the different ways in which Reiki can flow daily into all areas of life, and choosing what resonates with you.

Gendai Reiki-ho and Komyo Reiki , the styles I enjoy teaching, are often called Japanese Reiki.  At URRI 2002 in Canada, I met approximately eighty other Reiki Shihans (master/teachers) from around the world, each with their own chi/qi/ki/prana going along with Reiki to share with others.  I am comfortable knowing that no style honoring the tradition of Usui Reiki Ryoho is better then any other.

I would like to share with you the words of one of my teachers Doi-Sensei, Hiroshi Doi.  These words are copyright 1998, 1999 Hiroshi.   He speaks Japanese, but one who understands the meaning behind the words translated this.

Each Sensei (honorable teacher) I studied under is a wonderful person and has helped me on my path, but none is better then the others.  Each is unique and shared a irreplaceable gift with me for which I give thanks, and honor each one.  I also honor other Reiki Shihans I have met that have shared with me what was needed at that time on my Reiki journey.

Reiki is energy from the timeless universe and cannot be rushed. Each person’s channel will only open as much as he or she is ready for at a given junction in time regardless of age, sex, educational level, or religious background. 

Reiki will blend with and enhance everything positive. A practitioner/teacher can blend Reiki into any tool/practice in which he or she has completed separate study. When one reaches into the collection of tools gathered there is a tingle as the heart, mind, and soul form a triangle to express the pure white light of love and harmony, healing in new ways. Light body, guided journeys, nature’s energy, and herbs are what I most commonly blend with Reiki. When blending things into one’s Reiki practice it is good to remember that while different combinations can be an excellent synergy in one situation they can be inappropriate in another. Massage therapists and all other medical professionals blending Reiki into his or her practice is perfect.

If you indulge yourself in Japanese history you will see why poems were read at each of the Reiki gatherings Usui-sensei held.  You will also see why the receiver laying down and receiving through hands-on was added into the practice of Usui Reiki Ryoho at a later time.   While Usui-sensei became one with the light and lived in higher dimensions spirituality his body, relatives, and friends were still subjected to follow the political rule of the day.   Stories are a wonderful way to get one’s point across, and the imagination is a wonderful gift.  Each person has the right to believe whatever he or she wishes.  Whatever a person chooses to believe about the history of Usui Reiki Ryoho it cannot take from the fact that the gift of connecting to a vibration of love and harmony that Mikao Usui passed on is among the ultimate of gifts.

As you advance and Byosen Reikan-ho becomes a part of your life you will feel that welcome relief as the worry of where to place your hands is let go. Hand positions like symbols are teaching tools. Trusting in Reiki to guide us, we do not need to know medical details, pressure points, the recognized 32 chakras, meridian (nadia) channels, colors, or other details used in various healing modalities.

Reiki can be allowed to flow into everything, even hobbies you may have. Sculpting is one of the things I enjoy. I begin with a block and remove exposing the form that is within. At the bottom of this page are photographs of one of my sculptures. My focus with this sculpture was on the vibrations of love and harmony named Reiki. I had no preconceived idea of what would be revealed once I removed. I sat peacefully for three hours blending with the energy directing my hands to remove. When I stepped back and looked at the form the words of one of my college professors came to mind, “form does not have to resemble details of life. Form flows, that is art.” Reiki can be compared to art in that it flows without any preconceived form; energy can take many forms. Daily practice allows Reiki to flow in a pure way that can enhance all your skills and relationships, even those in the work place. As an Herbalist, I have found poultices work twice as well when Reiki is allowed to flow into them, and tinctures have extra energy.

At first glance, these might look like two separate sculptures.  However, they are shots taken of the same sculpture from different sides. The vibrations of love and harmony are always the same.  Different Reiki Shihans/practitioners go into the light and connect to the energies within in his or her own reality.  No side is better then another, simply different and once all the training tools and personal aids are put aside the unencumbered energy is the same. Mikao Usui lost consciousness and then continued to expand his connection and practice to the extent where it is possible that centuries will pass before another person gains the knowledge he did.   In the meantime, we can all enjoy the journey as we toss any obsolete training wheels and props along the way.

Contact me if you have any comments.