My LineageMikao Usui
Chujiro Hayashi Hawayo Takata Fran Brown Ravi Inder Singh |
What is a spiritual lineage?Lineage refers to an unbroken chain of transmission that can be traced from a teacher all the way back to the founder of that spiritual practice. Lineage is basically concerned with authenticity and preserving the spiritual potency of the teachings. Following sustained practice, the master gradually realizes the inner meaning of the transmitted teachings and infuses them with all aspects of their being. It is commonly believed that when looking for a suitable teacher, one should ensure that they are of an established lineage. The idea is that by working with or receiving teachings from a reputable lineage, a practitioner can assure themselves that they are in good hands. I am blessed to be fifth in the direct spiritual lineage of Reiki masters.
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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.
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Chujiro Hayashi graduated from the Imperial Marine Academy in 1915 and was the doctor on a training ship which visited many countries. He became one of Usui's Reiki Masters in 1925. He developed a simpler method of teaching Reiki and opened his own clinic in Tokyo. It was there that Takata found Reiki.
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Hawayo Takata was born in 1900 in Hanamaulu, Kauai, to the late Mr. and Mrs. Otogoro Kawamura, Mrs. Takata was named "Hawayo" after the State of Hawai'i. Hawayo Takata was an innovator who introduced a wonderfully simple form of energy healing to the rest of the world after she was healed by the practice of it in Japan. She was honest in her endeavors and worked hard to provide for her family. She was not educated to be a teacher and so she had to draw on her own resources to convey her knowledge of the use of this simple healing form. Reiki was taught by story telling to demonstrate a point with the truth to be found in the essence of each story. When Takata was ready to teach Reiki to the people in Hawaii, she used the life of Mikao Usui to demonstrate the points she wished to make. Many people were not familiar with Asian philosophy, and were convinced that theirs was the only true belief. So she made her stories fit their beliefs, in order to be able to teach this wonderful healing art to them.
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Fran Brown enrolled in Hawayo Takata's Reiki first degree class in San Francisco during the winter of 1973. Fran Brown was in that class. In 1977 Fran took Second Degree Reiki and in the first week of January, 1979 she took her master's training as Hawayo Takata's seventh master and began teaching Reiki across the world. Fran's book, Takata's Teachings, has been translated into multiple languages. Thirty years of teaching took Fran to many parts of the world. In 1997 she was asked to teach Reiki in Japan and in 1999 it was her privilege to meet with members of the group founded by Usui as well as students and masters taught by Chujiro Hayashi. They compared teachings and initiations and were delighted to find them to be similar. |
Ravi Singh was raised in the Sikh way of life. He believes in the core values of Sikhism, which include equality for all men and women, hard work, meditation and service before self. To him, religion is just one tool in life’s toolbox. He is as much Sikh, as he is Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Sufi and Tao. To quote Mahatma Gandhi’s, he believes: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”. Ravi is grateful for the time spent serving in free kitchens, Reiki clinics and temple construction. Fran Brown taught Ravi for 14 years (1994-2008). Living sometimes for a week at Fran's home, he learned as much about Reiki as about life. He found her laughter contagious and fondly remembers her saying: “Worry is negative prayer”. Ravi served on the Reiki Alliance Board of Directors from 2013-2015. He learned much from the Reiki Alliance masters and considers it a blessing to be part of a global Reiki family.
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