Wisdom From Dr. Mikao Usui

Who was Dr. Usui? 

And what was the knowledge that he left behind?

It goes without saying that if he did not develop Reiki...

...we would not be here right now, sharing this moment.

The writings of Dr. Usui have profoundly affected my life...and I am eternally grateful to continue in his footsteps.

As a very wise man, Dr. Usui saw the need for healing in the world.

Too many people suffer from emotional, physical, and mental diseases...and we should put forth our best effort in helping others recover from these imbalances.

It's a mission that Dr. Usui gave his life to pursue. Fatally, he died of a stroke in 1926 after teaching over 2000 people how to use Reiki.

Nearly 100 years later...and millions of people are using Reiki to better their lives and heal from their pain.

This only goes to show how effective Reiki truly is for the body - if it wasn't, it would have died out a long time ago.

There have been many developments in Reiki since Dr. Usui's passing, and there are now many schools of Reiki around the world.

However, in this article, we're going to cover the wisdom that Dr. Usui (or as he is commonly referred to, Usui Sensei) specifically left behind before his passing. 

Universal Energy

One of the most important principles of Usui Style Reiki is the concept of Universal Energy.

For beginners, you need to understand this concept before anything else.

For intermediate or advanced practitioners, it's always good to refresh yourself on what Universal Energy is.

Universal Energy can be understood as the energy that flows both within and around us.

We are not separate from this Universal Energy - we are a small part of it.

This energy is not located somewhere on a mountaintop away from us...

...it is here, wherever you are, waiting to be harnessed.

Humans are naturally attune to Universal Energy, but we seem to lose this ability over time.

As a result of this lost connection, we begin to develop emotional and energetic imbalances, which cause physical and mental strain.

At its worst, these imbalances can lead to disease, dysfunction, and even, in some cases, premature death.

Dr. Usui recognized this as an issue and sought to help people reclaim their connection to Universal Energy.

This very principle is the basis for our Reiki practice, and it can be understood in one simple phrase:

Help others reconnect their lives to Universal Energy.

This connection is so powerful that it cleans out our Chakras, balances them, and wipes away the negative or dark energy that lurks inside each and every one of us.

It even helps heal our physical pain, emotional disturbances, and our trauma.

The power of Reiki is that it can do all of this and much more...but Dr. Usui carefully warns us that we need to be cautious not to view it as a dogma or a doctrine.

Rather, we must look at every individual before imprinting a style of healing.

You may be thinking that this is counterintuitive, but it is true - each individual needs to be examined as an individual before a healing technique is used. If you don't, you'll just be 'blanketing' the person.

In other words, you will try to use one technique for all people...and it will fail.

Dr. Usui's wisdom lied in his ability to accurately diagnose individuals...and so he left behind an entire catalogue of healing techniques for people to use in each different scenario.

Our job as healers is to do exactly that - first, examine the individual, and then administer the healing.

Reversing the order can lead to negative effects, both in the client's or patient's mind and our own.

When I first started Reiki healing, I thought that I could use any technique for any individual.

I soon learned that I was completely wrong...and had I not realized the error of my ways, I may have never become the Reiki Master I am today.

Dr. Usui's wisdom continues to guide me until this day.

Next, we'll cover the wisdom of Dr. Usui's mission...to spread Reiki.

Spreading Reiki

Now, it is said that Dr. Usui is not actually the founder of Reiki. According to several texts, there were at least 2 other practitioners at that time.

However, what separated Dr. Usui from the others was his ability to share the practice.

To some, Reiki was a sacred practice only meant to be learned by immediate family or the priesthood.

Dr. Usui saw this as a travesty...and instead of keeping it to himself, he embarked on a journey to spread it to as many people as he could.

We may be in awe of his work, but he always emphasized to his students to, "share Reiki with the world."

When his training center became too small for the amount of guests and students that he was getting, he had to travel all over Japan and the world to heal people.

For many of us, including myself, starting Reiki was the beginning of our own personal healing. Not many people I know start Reiki because they want to heal the world - they just want to heal themselves!

After all, how can you heal others if you yourself are not yet healed?

However, Dr. Usui already recognized this. He recognized that all of his students needed to better themselves first before they were ready to spread the message.

Otherwise, Reiki would be seen as useless! 

So he trained them tirelessly until they were ready to embark on this journey.

If you're not ready to share your Reiki gifts with the world, I understand. You're not ready for it yet.

However, when you are, it is imperative to share your gifts with the world. You'd be doing people an injustice by not doing so.

Now, you don't need to necessarily travel the world...but you can start in your local community and find a group of healers to connect with.

This will give you the tools and confidence to move forward.

Next, we will cover the greatest gift that Dr. Usui left behind...the Reiki Principles.

The 5 Reiki Principles

The 5 Reiki Principles are perhaps Dr. Usui's greatest work.

It's the layer on top of Universal Energy that really sets our practice in motion.

Knowing and understanding that it is our goal to connect with Universal Energy is like the root of the tree...while the 5 Reiki Principles stand firm as our trunk.

These guiding principles help us realize what it means to be a Reiki practitioner...

...what it means to be at peace and in full connection to Universal Energy.

The Five Principles are as follows:

1) Just for today, I will not be angry.

2) Just for today, I will not worry.

3) Just for today, I will be thankful.

4) Just for today, I will work earnestly.

5) Just for today, I will be kind.

These 5 Principles contain so much wisdom...it'd be difficult to summarize them all in one article.

I want to touch on just one point of these 5 principles...and that's the first part of them all. 

Dr. Usui realized that when we are anxious, we think of the future. When we are sad or worrisome, we tend to think of the past.

Only by realizing that all we have is the present moment can we truly be at peace.

This is one of those things where we tend to gloss them over because of how inconsequential they sound...but it's one of the most profound things when you take a closer look.

You don't need to be thankful everyday. You just need to be thankful today.

You don't need to be kind everyday. You just need to be kind today.

This kind of thinking makes you realize that if you take it step by step...you can achieve a lot more than if you had overloaded your time.

So just for today, reflect on the wisdom that Dr. Usui left behind...

...and see how you can apply it into your own life!

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