The
underlying theme of the Intentional Healing Institute is that of authenticity.
We live in an age of dichotomies. We have a lifestyle becoming more
and more dependent on black boxes, under the cover technology that does
things for us. Most of the time we are not even aware of it. Yet, at
the same time, and maybe partly because of this, we have a massive resurgence
of spiritual awareness and a seeming return to the natural ways of life.
This results in such paradigm collapses as Heli-hiking and Global Positioning
Satellite devices so we don't get lost on a vision quest. Life is fast,
work is hard and so is play. So, when we decide to slow down and get
reacquainted with our souls, that usually translates to squeezing an
hour a week for a yoga class or driving through rush hour traffic to
sit in the park for 15 minutes watching the geese.
So,
what does this have to do with authenticity? Well, it's simple. We are
more concerned, collectively, with doing as many things as possible
or doing things as quickly as possible or as cheaply as possible than
we are with doing them thoroughly and completely. For many of us it
seems, it is more important to have a certificate saying "Did This"
than to experience the elation of the "Ah Ha!" that comes only after
sitting by a stream for hours seemingly doing nothing. We are more concerned
with the number of trophies in the window or the number of certificates
a teacher can show than we are with the way we feel after spending time
with that teacher.
The
Intentional Healing Institute is dedicated to serving the needs of those
individuals who care to take the time, who choose to give the effort
to really search for meaning and truth and personal growth. It is focussed
on those who care more about healing than amassing a pile of certificates.
Authenticity
is stating clearly what it is you are and do; and being and doing it.
It is honouring the tradition of those practices that have one. It is
investing oneself in truth then living that truth.
There
is nothing wrong with innovation or creation of new approaches as long
as one is clear and honest about doing so. What is unauthentic is taking
a name or description of something because it is popular or valuable
and applying it to something else in order to gain credibility. What
is unauthentic is to make claims about one's accomplishments or training
or lineage that are misleading or untrue.
Further,
the responsibility to ensure authenticity falls upon any and every person
presenting himself or herself as being a particular thing. It is not
sufficient to say, "I am qualified because the person who trained me
said so." Unless we have checked out the authenticity of our teachers
and their teachers, etc. we have no right to claim authenticity ourselves.
Personal Journey
I
was initiated as a Reiki Master or a Master of the Usui System of Natural
Healing on February 2, 1994. At that time there was very little awareness
of the more recent "forms" of Reiki. Reiki was not well known to the
general public. And yet, when the local Reiki community found out I
was going to meet with Phyllis Lei Furumoto, to discuss my becoming
a Master Candidate, I was approached by someone who told me not to waste
my time and money. She could, she said, initiate me for almost nothing,
right then, no waiting, no discussion, no candidacy, no problem.
At
first, I didn't question. There was no way that this person could offer
me the same thing that Mikao Usui had searched for years for and acquired
only after fasting and meditating for 21 days alone on a mountain. She
had less experience with Reiki than me, and had become a "master" in
a single day class. My understanding was that it took years of experience
and personal commitment to be initiated as a Master. Hawayo Takata,
who brought Reiki out of Japan, had spent years becoming a Master. In
over 40 years of teaching, she only initiated 22 Masters. How could
what she bestowed on these few people be the same thing I could get
in a day or two?
In
the time of preparation leading up to my initiation, of necessity, I
did much soul searching. I examined all of my beliefs, rationalizations
and assumptions. I seemed deluged with a sudden onslaught of people
calling themselves Reiki Masters, some after only months or even weeks
of experience and effectively no training. I began to question whether
it was really necessary to go through what I was doing to become a "Master".
I
had already left my career of 17 years. I had enormous commitments and
almost no money coming in. I needed a new car as my 6-year-old Samurai
had nearly 300,000 kilometers on it. Yet, here I was preparing to hand
over a cheque for $10,000 U.S. for my initiation. I began to think I
was crazy.
The
day before my initiation I was driving to the bank on my way home from
a class I was taking at Guelph University. I was going to get a cashier's
cheque to pay Phyllis. For the whole 45-minute drive I agonized over
what I was about to do. Then suddenly just before driving down the escarpment
into town, it hit me like a lightning flash.
There
was no decision to be made. The decision had been made a long time ago.
It was merely a matter of my realizing that fact. All the money I had,
all the buffer I had been given, had come after I made the commitment
to this path. It had not existed until that day. The money was there
because I made the commitment not the other way around.
The
day that I committed to walk the path of mastery my life changed. All
the reasons I had why I couldn't do this suddenly vanished. That doesn't
mean my path has been easy from that point, it hasn't. It does mean
that all the excuses vanished.
The
issue of lineage and authenticity was instantly and finally resolved.
It became absolutely clear that what was important was to ensure my
connection to the purity of the lineage of the energy. I became absolutely
certain that if being a Reiki Master was my path then it would be in
the clarity of the energy and that if not then I would be content being
authentic in my relationship to the energy within 2nd Degree Reiki.
Two days later I was initiated as a Master of the Usui System of Natural
Healing.
Authenticity
in Reiki
Reiki
is a system created by Mikao Usui as the result of many years of searching.
It is a re-establishment of very ancient knowledge, which had been lost
to at least the general population of Japan at that time. It was handed
down by his successors to the present day in the person of Phyllis Lei
Furumoto, the 4th in the line from Usui. It has a tradition and a purity
of teaching which is evident in those who truly honour that lineage.
Reiki
is not a generic term for energy healing. It is rather, a specific name
given to a particular "way of being" with the energy. In the recent
past, the last decade or so, some people have used the name Reiki to
describe all sorts of energy practices. These practices vary all the
way from work extremely similar to what Mikao Usui taught to things
bearing little or no resemblance to that work. The term Reiki Master
has been used to reference people who have devoted years of time and
immeasurable effort and dedication to their chosen art. It has also
been used to describe some who have little or no training, many of whom
have not ever given or received a Reiki treatment or even believe that
Reiki works. Of course there is also everything in between.
Reiki
is an art. It is not a science. Reiki is a simple, natural way of being
with the Universal Energy. It was handed down through an oral tradition
by the lineage of Mikao Usui. That lineage is clear and short enough
to be easily recognized.
A
person presenting herself as a Reiki Master once told me "I do exactly
the same thing you do, only cheaper." Being totally candid I believe
that she truly believes that. Her 1st level Reiki class is less than
half the time of mine. She performs 1 initiation where the tradition
is 4. She adheres to none of Takata's guidelines for time between levels
and will initiate virtually anyone as a "Reiki Master". Regardless of
"right or wrong", or acceptable standards, she clearly does not do the
same thing I do. Regardless of money, she does not adhere to the teachings
of Takata. (In the grand scheme of things she is far closer to Takata's
teaching than many. I have come in contact with people who offer Reiki
classes that are Reiki I, II and III (master) all in one day.)
Don't
take my word on standards and tradition. Hawayo Takata died in 1980.
There are still many people around who were taught by her. She initiated
22 Masters in her roughly 35 years as Grandmaster. Some of these people
are still actively practicing Reiki and can be reached.
Food
for Thought
Each person who comes to Reiki must ask, "What is Mastery?"; "What value
is lineage?"; "What is authenticity?" and "Who, really, is authentic?".
These questions must be asked without prejudice, without consideration
for personal cost or personal friendships. They must be asked with a
willingness to hear truth, not what we desire to hear. And, lastly,
they must be asked until the answers given make sense. Mysticism in
a system means there is mystery, not that there is disregard for logic
and common sense.
One
eastern mystery school says that when a person has reached the level
of being a master, that just by being in that person's presence, your
life is changed. Whether or not this is truth, it is probably a good
place to start in seeking authenticity.