| | | | | levels. Each empowerment reinforced your |
| If you have come across the word ‘kaizen’ | | | | connection to the source, cleared your channel for |
| before it will probably have been in the context of | | | | the energy, allowed you to develop spiritually and |
| industrial quality control or personal development. | | | | enhanced your intuitive potential. To echo this |
| “Kaizen” is a Japanese word that is usually | | | | practice, Taggart sends out a distant Reiju |
| translated as ‘improvement’, but it means | | | | empowerment every week, on a Monday, which can |
| more than that. The word has connotations of | | | | be ‘tuned in to’ by any Reiki person. You |
| continuous, gradual, orderly and never-ending | | | | can find out about this, and what to do, by visiting |
| improvement, the willingness to constantly, | | | | this page of the Reiki Evolution web site: |
| relentlessly pursue improvement a small step at a | | | | On each occasion that you receive Reiju you are |
| time. The application of the kaizen principle is the | | | | given what you need, and as your needs change |
| reason why Japan’s economy was transformed | | | | from one occasion to another, this simple spiritual |
| after the Second World War. All workers were | | | | ‘blessing’ helps you to develop. A one-off |
| encouraged to make suggestions as to how quality | | | | attunement or empowerment does of course give |
| and production could be improved, even by tiny, tiny | | | | you something permanent, and when you learn Reiki |
| percentages, but over time the effect of these tiny | | | | for the first time the attunements or empowerments |
| percentage improvements, applied consistently and | | | | that you receive provide you with the ability to use |
| built upon, transformed Japanese industry. | | | | Reiki permanently, but it does not stop there: by |
| So what has this to do with Reiki? Well the word | | | | receiving empowerments on a regular basis you are |
| kaizen actually appears towards the end of the Reiki | | | | building momentum and allowing the energy to |
| precepts. The line in Japanese is “Shin shin kaizen, | | | | penetrate more deeply within you. |
| Usui Reiki Ryoho”, which could be loosely | | | | If we are committed to ongoing improvements within |
| translated as “Mind body change it for better | | | | ourselves then we should make the time to receive |
| Usui Reiki method”. So when Usui was talking | | | | an empowerment weekly. And again it is the regular |
| about using his system to improve the body and | | | | commitment which is the key, the key to deepening |
| mind, I get the impression that we are looking at a | | | | your experience of the energy and its beneficial |
| lifelong commitment to work with the system, to | | | | effects on you. |
| focus the energy on ourselves again and again, | | | | Work on developing your intuitive potential. |
| long-term, in order to produce small incremental | | | | Mikao Usui’s original system did not focus very |
| improvements within ourselves, to dedicate ourselves | | | | much on the treatment of others, and any instruction |
| to developing our effectiveness as a channel. But | | | | on treatments would not have involved slavishly |
| small changes build on previous small changes, an | | | | following a set of ‘standard’ hand positions |
| enhancement upon an enhancement leads to amazing | | | | that you had to apply to everyone you treated. |
| development over time. And Usui’s original | | | | Usui’s method was simpler and more elegant. |
| system gives us the solid, concrete techniques that | | | | You allowed the energy to guide your hands to the |
| we can use to develop ourselves: as channels, in | | | | right place to treat, different from one person to |
| terms of spirituality and in terms of intuition, to | | | | another, and different within the same person from |
| produce our own individual Reiki Evolution! | | | | one treatment to another. The way we have been |
| So how do we pursue our own kaizen of Reiki? How | | | | taught to do this is through a ‘technique’ |
| do we apply the concept of continuous and | | | | called ‘Reiji Ho’ (indication of the spirit |
| never-ending improvement to our practice of Reiki? | | | | technique’), a way of emptying your mind and |
| Here are a few suggestions… | | | | merging with the energy, getting your head out of |
| Root your practice of Reiki in daily energy work. | | | | the way to allow intuition to bubble to the surface. |
| If you are serious about wanting to obtain the many | | | | The exciting thing about Reiji Ho is that it works for |
| benefits that are available to you through the Reiki | | | | everyone, and with time - we come back to |
| system then you are going to have to work on | | | | kaizen’s small incremental improvements - your |
| yourself most days, ideally every day, and by doing | | | | hands will move more quickly, more consistently, |
| so you will build up the beneficial effects of Reiki | | | | more effortlessly, and you will start to attract more |
| within you. It is not sufficient to use Reiki on yourself | | | | intuitive information. So every time we treat |
| once a week, or to assume that if you treat other | | | | someone we should spend time cultivating our |
| people occasionally then this is enough to give you | | | | ‘Reiji’ state of mind, and gradually, gradually, |
| the Reiki you need. | | | | we develop. |
| Your first priority should be yourself, and this means | | | | Learn to become the energies. |
| daily energy work. This does not need to be an | | | | …that you are introduced to at Second Degree and |
| onerous task, nor does it need to take a long time | | | | Master levels. Usui’s system didn’t involve |
| to carry out. Sometimes we decline to use Reiki on | | | | symbols as far as most of his students were |
| ourselves because we do not have the perfect | | | | concerned. Students were expected to carry out |
| opportunity, perhaps because we do not have, say, | | | | meditations over an extended period of time in order |
| 30 minutes to work on ourselves. Yet even 10 | | | | to learn to experience different energies and, at |
| minutes of energy work, when carried out | | | | Second Degree, students were introduced to the |
| consistently each day, would be far better and | | | | energies of “earth ki” and “heavenly |
| produce much better results than doing nothing for | | | | ki”, which represent two fundamental aspects of |
| days, and then a great big blitz for a big chunk of | | | | our being. By practising ‘becoming’ earth ki |
| time on a weekend to try and ‘catch up’. | | | | and heavenly ki again and again – a powerful |
| Spending even a small chunk of time working on | | | | self-healing practice - these energies became so |
| ourselves each day builds up a momentum and stirs | | | | familiar to the students that they could |
| changes which build and build. Sporadic practice leads | | | | ‘connect’ to the energy direct without |
| to some beneficial changes, but you are not | | | | having to use a prop like a symbol. Usui provided |
| maximising your Reiki potential. | | | | some Shinto mantras for some of his students to |
| So, how can we work on ourselves? Well, a good | | | | use to invoke the energies, but it was possible to |
| place to start would be to practise Hatsurei ho, a | | | | move beyond these mantras with time, too. In my |
| series of energy exercises taught in the Usui Reiki | | | | article ‘A Simple Way with Symbols’ I |
| Ryoho Gakkai (the ‘Gakkai), an association set | | | | describe a meditation that you can use to |
| up after Usui’s death by the Imperial Officers | | | | ‘become’ these energies. |
| who had trained with him for a while. ‘Hatsurei | | | | But again we see that to obtain the greatest benefit, |
| ho’ means something like ‘start up Reiki | | | | to enhance self-healing, to free up our practice and |
| technique’ and consists of a series of energy | | | | move beyond symbols, takes time and commitment. |
| meditations/ visualisations that focus on your Tanden | | | | A quick meditation carried out a few times is not |
| (Dantien in Chinese) and which are designed to be | | | | enough: Usui Sensei’s students spent 6-9 months |
| carried out every day. The effects of Hatsurei ho | | | | meditating on just one energy, and this was done |
| are to: | | | | because the principle of kaizen – plugging away |
| 1. Clear and cleanse your energy system | | | | and developing by small amounts again and again |
| 2. Help to move your energy system more into a | | | | – led to deep changes over time. |
| state of balance | | | | Live your life according to Usui’s guiding principles. |
| 3. Help to ground you | | | | Usui’s simple principles to live by offer perhaps |
| 4. Help to build up your personal energy reserves | | | | the best example of the principle of kaizen in our |
| 5. Allows you to grow spiritually | | | | Reiki practice: Usui Sensei’s precepts are a work |
| 6. Develop your ability as a channel for Reiki | | | | in progress. They are not something that you read |
| 7. Help to develop your sensitivity to the flow of | | | | through and think “OK, got that”: the |
| energy | | | | precepts are simple to read and understand but they |
| 8. Help to develop your intuitive side | | | | are something that you drip-feed into your daily life |
| The exercises take perhaps 12-15 minutes to carry | | | | over time, more and more over time. |
| out each day, and can be fitted into the busiest of | | | | We may begin by thinking about the precepts when |
| schedules if the will is there. We can all make this | | | | we first come across them on a First Degree course: |
| time for our Reiki practice. | | | | we reflect on how they might impinge on our lives, |
| But we should also focus the energy more specifically | | | | our thoughts and emotions, our behaviour; we might |
| on ourselves, on our own self-healing, by carrying out | | | | imagine situations from that past that might have |
| a self-treatment each day. Whether you carry out | | | | proceeded better had we exemplified the precepts, |
| the Western ‘hands-on’ method of treating | | | | and we might imagine situations in the future and see |
| yourself, or use the self-treatment meditation that | | | | ourselves behaving in a way that demonstrates that |
| Usui Sensei taught, you should focus the energy on | | | | we are living the precepts. |
| yourself on a regular basis to help bring things into | | | | But this initial surge of interest in the precepts is not |
| balance for you on all levels, and to help you to | | | | sufficient to produce the beneficial changes that the |
| release things that no longer serve you: mental | | | | precepts can produce in our lives. |
| states, emotions, physical things. The energy will deal | | | | To fully embrace Usui Sensei’s spiritual principles |
| with many aspects of your body/mind, many | | | | takes regular reflection and ongoing thought. On an |
| deeply-embedded imbalances, if we give the energy | | | | ongoing basis we consider our thoughts and our |
| the opportunity to do its work on us, digging deep | | | | behaviour, we reflect on the principles and what they |
| and chipping away at the ‘baggage’ that we | | | | mean to us. If we do this then over time we will find |
| carry, over time. | | | | that living the precepts becomes easier, that our |
| We prefer to use Usui Sensei’s self-treatment | | | | behaviour is modifying itself, that there are more |
| meditation because it seems more intense and | | | | permanent changes in the way that we react and |
| versatile, but all self-treatment approaches are valid. | | | | behave and relate to other people. But this will only |
| Usui’s Sensei’s system was all about spiritual | | | | happen if we ‘chip away’ at our current |
| development and self-healing, so Hatsurei Ho and | | | | behaviour patterns, using the precepts as our guiding |
| self-treatment can lie at the very heart of your Reiki | | | | light. There are no quick fixes: the precepts are not |
| practice. You need to put yourself first, and the | | | | just for First Degree. The precepts are the essence |
| principle of kaizen means that by working on yourself | | | | of our Reiki practice. |
| consistently, great transformations are possible. You | | | | Now, we do not need to be perfect, we do not |
| owe it to yourself to allow yourself to obtain the | | | | need to beat ourselves up for not applying each and |
| benefits that are available to you through Reiki. | | | | every principle on all occasions, but by dedicating |
| Receive spiritual empowerments throughout your | | | | ourselves, and by forgiving ourselves, and by trying |
| training and beyond. | | | | to do a little better each day than we did the day |
| Training with Usui was rather like martial arts training, | | | | before, we transform ourselves. |
| where you were in ongoing contact with your | | | | That is the key to our kaizen of Reiki: dedication and |
| teacher over an extended period of time. Part of | | | | commitment, patience and forgiveness, and openness |
| your training involved receiving simple spiritual | | | | to the source. Long term. |
| empowerments from Usui Sensei, repeatedly, at all | | | | |