A Reiki Session
Reiki sessions usually last an hour; 2-hour sessions are also available, allowing one to integrate the work more deeply. You will lie on a massage table, fully clothed, as Katharine places her hands gently on or just above your body at specific energy centers or as she is guided. No pressure is applied. Katharine also utilizes Energy Medicine techniques as needed. As a physical channel, she is guided by Spirit throughout your session.
Katharine’s clients immediately feel the safety and comfort of her healing room upon entering. Once on the table and the session has begun, many fall asleep. Others meditate and many “see” images and receive messages while on her table. Katharine also receives messages for her clients and will share them during or after the session, as appropriate.
Regular sessions can enhance your ability to respond to stress if one is already in good health.
The Benefits
- Relieves pain & discomfort
- Reduces stress & anxiety
- Awakens intuition & self-awareness
- Relieves depression
- Increases blood flow & circulation
- Strengthens the immune system
- Releases toxins & sooths digestion
- Clears blockages & suppressed emotions
- Aids relaxation & improves sleep
- Releases congestion from energy centers
- Brings in an influx of universal Light & Love
“It is always such a treasure when Katharine does her Reiki magic with me. She works deeply and intuitively, bringing several healing elements into each session. I leave with a feeling of balance and centeredness that calms whatever stress I had when I arrived.”
According to a practitioner at the Cleveland Clinic:
“Reiki is an energy healing technique that promotes relaxation, reduces stress, creates improved energy flow and balance to support healing of the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies. It can bring on a meditative state, foster tissue and bone healing after injury or surgery and stimulate the body’s immune system. Natural relief from pain and tension is a common benefit. It is not a substitute for traditional medical intervention or advice, but it does compliment them and can increase the efficacy of other types of healing.”
Usui System of Natural Healing
Usui Shiki Ryoho
Created by Mikao Usui in Japan in the early 1900’s, Rei means universal, and Ki means vital life force energy of all living things. It is a non-invasive technique that promotes healing through “laying on of hands” and transference of universal life force energy by a trained practitioner.
There are three certifications for practitioners: Reiki I, Reiki II, Reiki Master. Katharine is a Reiki Master.
The Reiki Lineage
Click on any name to learn more.
Mikao Usui
1865-1926
Dr. Chujiro Hayashi
1880 – 1940
Hawayo Takata
1900-1980
Phyllis Furumoto
1948-2019
Johanne Reindl
1977
Mikao Usui (Usui Sensei),
founder of the Reiki System of Healing
The 5 Reiki Precepts
Just for today, do not anger
Just for today, do not worry
Honor your teachers, parents and elders
Earn your living honestly
Show gratitude to all living things.
Mikao Usui, or Usui Sensei as he is called by Reiki students in Japan, was born August 15, 1865 in the village of Taniai in the Yamagata district of Gifu prefecture, which is located near present-day Nagoya, Japan.
He had an avid interest in learning and worked hard at his studies. As he grew older, he traveled to Europe and China to further his education. His curriculum included medicine, psychology and religion as well as the art of divination, which Asians have long considered to be a worthy skill. Usui Sensei also became a member of the Rei Jyutu Ka, a metaphysical group dedicated to developing psychic abilities. He had many jobs including civil servant, company employee and journalist, and he helped rehabilitate prisoners. Eventually he became the secretary to Shinpei Goto, head of the department of health and welfare who later became the mayor of Tokyo. The connections Usui Sensei made at this job helped him to also become a successful businessman.
The depth and breadth of his experiences inspired him to direct his attention toward discovering the purpose of life. In his search he came across the description of a special state of consciousness that once achieved would not only provide an understanding of one’s life purpose, but would also guide one to achieve it. This special state is called An-shin Ritus-mei (pronounced on sheen dit sue may). In this special state, one is always at peace regardless of what is taking place in the outer world. And it is from this place of peace that one completes one’s life purpose. One of the special features of this state is that it maintains itself without any effort on the part of the individual; the experience of peace simply wells up spontaneously from within and is a type of enlightenment.
Usui Sensei understood this concept on an intellectual level and dedicated his life to achieving it; this is considered to be an important step on Usui Sensei’s spiritual path. He discovered that one path to An-shin Ritsu-mei is through the practice of Zazen meditation. So he found a Zen teacher who accepted him as a student and began to practice Zazen. After three years practice, he had not been successful and sought further guidance. His teacher suggested a more severe practice in which the student must be willing to die in order to achieve An-shin Ritsu-mei.
So with this in mind he prepared for death and in February, 1922, he went to Kurama yama, a sacred mountain north of Kyoto. He went to fast and meditate until he passed to the next world. It must be kept in mind that he was not looking to discover a method of healing, but was seeking to experience this special spiritual state. In addition, we know there is a small waterfall on Kurama yama where even today people go to meditate. This meditation involves standing under the waterfall and allowing the water to strike and flow over the top of the head, a practice that is said to activate the crown chakra. Japanese Reiki Masters think that Usui Sensei may have used this meditation as part of his practice. In any case, as time passed he became weaker and weaker. It was now March 1922 and at midnight of the twenty-first day, a powerful light suddenly entered his mind through the top of his head and he felt as if he had been struck by lightning; this caused him to fall unconscious. READ MORE…
Dr. Chujiro Hayashi
Before his passing, Usui Sensei had asked Chujiro Hayashi Sensei to open his own Reiki clinic and to expand and develop Reiki Ryoho based on his previous experience as a medical doctor in the Navy. Motivated by this request, Hayashi Sensei started a school and clinic called Hayashi Reiki Kenkyukai (Institute). After Usui Sensei’s passing he left the Gakkai.
At his clinic, which was located in Tokyo, he kept careful records of all the illnesses and conditions of his Reiki patients. He also kept records of which Reiki hand positions worked best to treat each illness and condition. Based on these records he created the Reiki Ryoho Shinshin (Guidelines for Reiki Healing Method). This healing guide was part of a class manual he gave to his students. The handbook was to be used only if the practitioner was not able to use Byosen scanning to find the best hand positions to use. Many of his students received their Reiki training in return for working in his clinic.
Hayashi Sensei also changed the way Reiki sessions were given. Rather than have the client seated in a chair and treated by one practitioner as Usui Sensei had done, Hayashi Sensei had the client lie on a treatment table and receive treatment from several practitioners at a time. He also created a new, more effective system for giving Reiju (attunements). In addition, to increase the value his students received while he was traveling, he developed a new method of teaching Reiki. In this method, he taught both Shoden and Okuden (Reiki I&II) together in one five-day seminar. Each day included two to three hours of instruction and one Reiju. Following the Usui method, students were encouraged to receive Reiju on a regular basis from their local Shihan or teacher after completing Hayashi Sensei’s class so as to continue to refine and develop the quality of the Reiki energy that they channeled.
Because of his trip to Hawaii in 1937–38 prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was asked by the Japanese military to provide information about the location of warehouses and other military targets in Honolulu. He refused to do so and was declared a traitor. This caused him to “lose face,” which meant he and his family would be disgraced and would be ostracized from Japanese society. The only solution was seppuku (ritual suicide), which he carried out. He died honorably on May 11, 1940.
Source: Reiki.org
Hawayo Takata
The following is a summary of Takata Sensei’s version of her early years leading up to her contact with Reiki at the Hayashi clinic. It comes from an interview that appeared in The (San Mateo) Times, May 17, 1975 titled “Mrs. Takata Opens Minds to Reiki” by Vera Graham:
She stated that she was born on December 24th, 1900, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Her parents were Japanese immigrants and her father worked in the sugar cane fields. She eventually married the bookkeeper of the plantation where she was employed. His name was Saichi Takata and they had two daughters. In October 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 and a lung condition, and she had a nervous breakdown. Soon after this one of her sisters died and it was Takata Sensei’s responsibility to travel to Japan, where her parents had resettled to deliver the news. She also felt she could receive help for her health issues in Japan.
After informing her parents and attending the funeral, she entered a hospital and stated that she was diagnosed with a tumor, gallstones, appendicitis and asthma. She was told to prepare for an operation but opted to visit Hayashi Sensei’s clinic instead.
Mrs. Takata was unfamiliar with Reiki but was impressed that the diagnosis of Reiki practitioners at the clinic closely matched the doctor’s at the hospital. She began receiving treatments. Two Reiki practitioners would treat her each day. The heat from their hands was so strong, she said, that she thought they were secretly using some kind of equipment. Seeing the large sleeves of the Japanese kimono worn by one, she thought she had found the secret place of concealment. Grabbing his sleeves one day she startled the practitioner, but, of course, found nothing. When she explained what she was doing, he began to laugh and then told her about Reiki and how it worked.
Mrs. Takata got progressively better and in four months was completely healed. She wanted to learn Reiki for herself. In the spring of 1936 she received First Degree Reiki from Dr. Hayashi. She then worked with him for a year and received Second Degree Reiki. Mrs. Takata returned to Hawaii in 1937, followed shortly thereafter by Hayashi Sensei, who came to help establish Reiki there, and his daughter. In February 1938, Hayashi Sensei initiated Hawayo Takata as a Reiki Master. READ MORE….
Phyllis Furumoto
Phyllis Lei Furumoto was born on August 22, 1948, in Dallas, Texas into a Japanese American family. She grew up in the USA and travelled the world teaching Reiki and being of service to the Reiki community.
Phyllis Furumoto-Sensei was a Master, Grand Master, and friend. During the time that Phyllis was the Lineage Bearer for Usui Shiki Ryoho she brought Reiki to students in the wider world as Reiki began to spread globally.
Phyllis learned Reiki from her grandmother, Hawayo Takata, who taught this Japanese healing practice in Hawaii, the mainland US, Puerto Rico and Canada. Phyllis joined her grandmother traveling and teaching Reiki in the late 1970’s.
After Hawayo Takata’s death, a group of Masters initiated by both Hawayo Takata and Phyllis came together in Hawaii and found a kindred community: people who understood and shared their path and dedication. By the end of the week, they had recognized Phyllis as Hawayo Takata’s successor.
When the group of Masters met again this led to the formation of The Reiki Alliance: an international community of Reiki Masters practicing and teaching Usui Shiki Ryoho, dedicated to continuing the practice that Phyllis’ grandmother, Hawayo Takata had taught. The purpose of The Reiki Alliance was also for us Reiki Masters to support each other living and practicing Usui Shiki Ryoho, in our personal lives, in The Reiki Alliance community, and in the world.
At the close of the Spain conference in 1992, the Alliance formally asked Phyllis to define the Usui System of Natural Healing, as Usui Shiki Ryoho was called at the time. Together with Paul David Mitchell, she brought clarity to the form of the practice through the Nine Elements and expressed the philosophy and understanding of the system in the Four Aspects.
Phyllis had the unique ability to see everyone’s potential and she challenged her students, friends, and colleagues to realize their own potential.
Phyllis often said that “Reiki was a partnership,” and she embodied this concept whether she was teaching, singing, cooking, dancing or sailing. She encouraged people to find this partnership within their own lives. As a woman of deep conviction and spiritual grounding she lived her life authentically, and in the process she often pushed people’s edges and gave them the opportunity for deep self-examination.
“Reiki comes first!” These words from Hawayo Takata were true in Phyllis’ life. Reiki did come first and supported her in the abundant universe that she shared so generously with others. She was a hard taskmaster but had a soft soul that opened to others and gave the gift of hearing and seeing people like few others could. She taught Reiki as a bridge to connect cultures. Phyllis had many ideas and was eager to learn new things and try out concepts and integrate them into a deeper understanding of Reiki.
Phyllis Lei Furumoto transitioned from her earthly life in Green Valley, Arizona on March 31, 2019. Two weeks prior to her transition, Phyllis acknowledged Johannes Reindl as her successor. Phyllis Lei Furumoto left an indelible mark on the world and in the heart of many Reiki students, friends, and colleagues.
Source: The Reiki Alliance
Johannes Reindl
RECOGNIZED AS THE LINEAGE BEARER AND
GRANDMASTER OF USUI SHIKI RYOHO
Johannes was born in October 1977 in Linz, Austria and grew up in a little village nearby.
Through his parents’ best friend he got in touch with Reiki at a very young age. Being curious about what Reiki is, he decided to “do” what this best friend is doing when he once was grown up.
Later at the age of 17 he learned first degree Reiki and felt, what many of us feel when learning Reiki: “I am home”. He continued to practice Reiki and a year later he took second degree. Another few years later he got in touch with the more global Reiki Community when he went to “The Way to Harmony – Ki-Aikido”-Workshops with Paul Mitchell in Wettenbostel, Germany. There he got to know Phyllis Furumoto during a Reiki Summer camp. Not knowing what to study and what professional career he wanted to choose he got inspired by Phyllis request to work as an interpreter for her. Through this experience he decided to study to become a sign language interpreter at home in Austria. After a few years of studies, he ever since was working as a sign language interpreter for many years and later taught at the University and other forms of professional training for sign language interpreters students in Austria.
Sometimes when some are asking: “Why did you wait so long to become a master?” he replies: “I did not wait, I was practicing.” Looking back, he sees that the time of being of service and working in the background as interpreter, organizer and helping hand at events offered by the OGM and at other Reiki events, was part of his preparation for mastery as well as learning the joy of being at service for others.
After many years of practice of Reiki in October 2013 he asked Phyllis to become her student and to prepare with her for mastery. After 4 years of preparation, he was initiated in Kyoto, Japan as a Reiki Master by Phyllis Furumoto. During the time of preparation for mastery he was also part of the succession core team, the group which prepared with Phyllis for the process of succession. When in February 2019 Phyllis called him to ask if he could come to Arizona to serve as an interpreter for French he had no idea that in March 2019 Phyllis would recognize him as her successor as Lineage Bearer. To accept this recognition and to step into this role and to continue the work of his predecessors in the Spiritual Lineage had been, and still is, a profound change and turning point in his life. To accept this honor and to grow in this he holds in what he had learned in his first degree class: “Reiki will support you in your path and Reiki will call you and in times when you might think “this is too much for me” Reiki will make you grow and go beyond what you might hold true for you.”
Source: Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki
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