The History of the Usui System of Natural Healing (Reiki)

1922, March: Mikao Usui (15.8.1865 - 9.3.1926) experiences a satori (spiritual light experience) after a 21 day meditation exercise at Mount Kurama near the city of Kyoto (Japan) and was provided with a special divine blessing which enables him to treat people with Reiki (Spiritual Life Energy) and to teach the Reiki system of natural healing.

1922, April: Usui moves to Tokyo to start teaching Reiki and treating people. He opened a kind of clinic there.

1926: Mikao Usui, the founder of Reiki dies of a stroke during a seminar he gave.

1935: Dr. Chujiro Hayashi, a medical doctor, retired naval officer and master student of Usui, meets Hawayo Takata, treated her with Reiki and healthy nutrition in his Reiki-Clinic in Tokyo over a period of several months and healed her completely. This fascinated her so much that she wanted to study Reiki under Dr. Hayashi.

1936: Hawayo Takata studies Reiki in theory and practice for about six months with Dr. Hayashi. Having received the 2nd degree finally she returned to Hawaii and started a Reiki-Practice as a full time job.

1938: Hawayo Takatas was trained as a Reiki Master for about half a year and then initiated by Dr. Hayashi on Hawaii. Dr. Hayashi announced her initiation in a Hawaiian radio show and gave her an official certificate of her mastership of the Reiki-System of Natural Healing.

1980: Hawayo Takata dies after her last seminar trip after having worked for several decades with Reiki and initiated thousands of students into the 1. and 2. degree and about 20 master of the Reiki-System of Natural Healing.

1980 to present: Development of a worldwide Reiki community. Reiki is now taught and used in any country in the world. Hundreds of books about Reiki are published in any important language. Amongst the first books which cover the Reiki-System of Natural Healing in depth were “The complete Reiki-Handbook” and “Reiki-Way of the Heart”, both written by Walter Lübeck and published by Lotus Light/Shangrila.

1989: Rainbow Reiki was developed by Walter Lübeck on the fundamentals of Mikao Usuis and Dr. Chujiro Hayashis work, which he researched himself and with friends Arjava Petter and William Lee Rand since this year until now.

1991: The Reiki-Do Institute International has been founded to do research on Reiki and its history, to develop effective healing methods on the fundamental of the true Traditional Usui Reiki and to train Rainbow Reiki Practitioners and Masters on a professional level worldwide. Many experienced Reiki-Masters consider the Rainbow Reiki Training program as by far the best and most extensive and complete in the world.

2000: The book “The Spirit of Reiki “, written by Walter Luebeck, Arjava Petter and William Lee Rand is published in German language and since then translated to more than a dozen other languages including English. This volume is the first book which covers the true history of the Reiki system of natural healing of Mikao Usui from its beginnings until today. The three authors have put their experience and the outcome of their research about Reiki to produce a unique book about the heritage of Mikao Usui complete with Usuis and Hayashis Reiki manuals.

2004: The Big Book of Reiki Symbols, written by Mark Hosak and Walter Lübeck has been published in Germany and since then has been translated to several languages including English. This is the first book which covers extensively the roots of Reiki, the spiritual philosophy on which Mikao Usui build his system of natural healing with Reiki and the true calligraphy of the traditional Reiki symbols. Being a big volume filled up to the top with useful practical and theoretical information, many Reiki friends to call it the “Orange Reiki Bible