Plato asked, “What whole way of life would make living more worthwhile for each of us”. Usui-Sensei said, "This is surely a secret process to bring a good fortune and also a miraculous medicine to remedy all kinds of disease."   Link these two together, think for a moment, and then read on.

 

 

The word advanced is often coupled with the word secret, which implies something hidden that has never before been seen or heard.

As you read down you might have the response that many people have to styles of Mikao Usui's spiritual practice that have not been altered -- "Wow". 

The spiritual practice Mikao Usui founded is profound and amazing, yet simple in that it does not require a lot of training wheels. Once a qualified Usui Reiki Shihan (teacher) has invited you into the light (attunement), your pathway to the universal vibrations of unconditional love and harmony opens and you learn such things as Byosen Reikan-ho and experience balance and harmony in all areas of your life. 

Usui Reiki Ryoho enhances all other positive healing modalities, but because it is a universal energy nothing enhances it. 

Mikao Usui was a very intelligent, insighful and humble man.  With all his studies in life and the spiritual practice he founded following his second awakening, he never claimed to have a method that was better than anything.  His method, which we call Usui Reiki Ryoho is unique and original, yet he never sought to make claims that would bring him fame and fortune. 

As you read down on this page you will see how some of Roberta Barnes's students have blended Reiki into their lives as they found their authentic self through Gendai Reiki Ho or Komyo Reiki Kai.  This page will continue to update as more students of all levels give their permission to have their stories appear here.

In Shoden (the first level in Japanese Reiki), you learn about Mikao Usui's first awakening, which lead to his second awakening from which Usui Reiki Ryoho was founded.  Living by the essence of his first awakening is advanced Reiki; once you accept your present as it is, you can move froward from that point andbecome better and better each day in every way.     

Advanced Usui Reiki is opening up, recognizing harmonic and inharmonic vibrations and trusting in Reiki/ universal wisdom. When you learn to do this you improve the qualilty of your life and the lives around you. 

When you stop expecting to find exciting secrets and simply let go, the balance and harmony that heals simply is. The balance and harmony in Usui Reiki Ryoho simply is, without anything added to it.  

As you move down on this page you will see two photographs that are visuals showing the  light/color/energy that your eyes might miss, but the camera sometimes can capture. 

 One of the most powerful secrets uncovered when studying the method Usui Mikao (Mikao Usui in English) founded is the peaceful freedom experienced when you let go of anger and worry, and simply feel grateful for what you have Now.

 When you surrender to the wave of universal unconditional love and harmony you can discover talents within you that may have laid dormant.  Mikao Usui said, “My Reiki Ryoho is an original method based on intuitive power in the universe”. 

Universal energy was present long before human beings first walked on this planet, and Usui-Sensei (honorable teacher) never claimed to be the first to connect to universal energy, or to know secrets that others never knew.  In his humble way he shared a wonderful gift that has spread around the world.  Since Usui Reiki Ryoho left Japan various poeple have changed the original method, resulting in hundreds of style of Usui Reiki.  Nevertheless no Reiki Shihan (teacher) of any style honoring Usui Reiki Ryoho will ever claim to know more or teach a better system; not claiming to be better is one of the things that makes Usui Reiki Ryoho so harmonious.  

Usui-Sensei was said to have taught each person with the experience he or she came to him with, so perhaps no one person ever knew all of his method. Then again only members of the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai know what is taught within the Gakkai.  What all those open to Reiki know, is the balance and harmony that improves the quality of their life. 

 The healing of mind, body and spirit that occurs with the balance and harmony of the spiritual practice Usui Reiki is known by millions of people around the world. The freedom and healing that occurs when you are able to leave symbols and other training wheels behind is also known by millions. So, with these important things known, why should we care about what is not known?  

Mikao Usui's spiritual practice is not broken down into people Reiki, animal Reiki, bird Reiki, wildlife Reiki, fish Reiki, plant Reiki, or any other name. Learning the spiritual practice of Usui Reiki is learning oneness. There is no bias in universal energy, so it flows the same to all cells/atoms/molecules. 

Mikao Usui said, "My method is an original, there is nothing like this in the world. So I would like to release this method to the public for everyone’s benefit and hope for everyone’s happiness.”  

When you take the time to learn the factual history surrounding the method Usui-Sensei created, you erase the word secret from your mind and replace with 'out of this world', or 'awesome', or 'humbling', or 'astonishing', or similar adjectives. 

 We can all have negative reactions to drugs, various herbs, materials such as latex, dyes, and other things. No one has a negative reaction to universal unconditional love and harmony, a.k.a Usui Reiki because universal wisdom knows where energy should flow and what it should do when it gets there.  This is one of the reasons why a Reiki practitioner or Shihan with not direct energy to a certain area, but rather allow it to flow to the whole life form.  

King Solomon’s words reflect those of many other wise people through the centuries, “That which you know in your heart is that which you are".  This also reflects the basics of Mikao Usui's spirituatl practice, which is living the 5 short simple lines of the Gokai (five precepts or five principles).  When you say these from your heart, place of true knowledge not emotion, they become who you are.

Reaching Daianshin, a state where the mind is perpetually filled with peace, tranquility and joy is one of the goals in Usui Reiki. Imagine what you will attract when you are in that state.

Advanced Reiki is actually cultivation of the mind. It takes time and practice to bench your mind and ego, but when you do this you will find yourself in that warm, harmonious, safe place, which becomes your reality.

As you slowly advance on your Reiki journey, at a pace that is right for you, you will begin to notice changes happening within you as your inner vibration goes to a higher level.  This does not happen with the introduction of more fingers pointing/training wheels (commonly called Reiki symbols), but by embracing the light your Reiki Shihan have invited you into, benching your thinking mind, and letting go your ego. 

Letting go your ego allows the "true universal you" to surface, and your skiils to unfold and bloom.  When you authentic-self shines you might be amazed.

 Following is a photograph taken in the Natural Healing & Healing Center of Patty Caldwell, who even though an accomplilshed quilter, watched her talents unfold in a new exciting way during that space between completing the Okuden and Shinpiden levels.

           Patty is showing some of her elegant quilts that she created as her quilting skills bloomed. You can see more of her quilts at  www.etsy.com/shop/thebutterflyquilter.  If you click on the learning page to your left you will see what she wrote about her Gendai Reiki-Ho journey to that point. Gendai Reiki-ho can also allow your unqiue talents to unfold and bloom.

When Universal love and harmony is allowed to flow uninterrupted, what occurs in mind, body, and spirit can be amazing.  Keep reading down and you will see more.

Light is energy, and life is light. 

 Life is also love, which is also energy. 

Usui Reiki is universal unconditional love, which is light, which is energy. 

 While Reiki is a different form of energy than your  Qi/Ki/Prana, it replenishes your life force energy when depleted by things such as worry, anger and all those other negtive emotions.  Reiki also complements medical science and all positive healing modalities.

Styles of Usui Reiki Ryoho that have not been altered by adding in other healing modalities bridge that gap between mind and body that is often  created by modern professional medical treatments such as surgery, and reconnects mind and body.

Usui Reiki is like Ki/Qi/Prana only in that it cannot be described in any dictionary or encyclopedia; Qi/Ki and Reiki go beyond any form of energy that can be proven with documentation in triplicate.  All styles honoring Usui Reiki Ryoho require, after a person have been opened by a qualified Reiki Shihan, is  the thinking mind being benched, lots of practice and trust in universal wisdom.    

 Reiki is not fretful worry about whether the glass is half-full or half-empty, but rather accepting what is in the glass. Once the acceptance happens, you can move forward doing your best, letting go, and allowing the universe to take care of the rest. (Hiroshi Doi © 2002)  

Reiki will flow to imbalances that you might not even know exist, regardless of how many years you may have invested in formal educational.  Keep in mind, that the incredibly intelligent and insightful man who founded this wondrous spiritual practice put his trust in universal energy.

Roberta Barnes was blessed that three of her Usui Reiki Shihans impressed upon her how important it is to blend Reiki into life 24/7.

A quote from Abraham Lincoln, a United States president, reflects on Mikao Usui’s meditation that allowed for his second awakening  (first awakening is intellectual and the second is spiritual).    “If you want something you’ve never had before, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done before.”  If you want universal love and harmony to emanate from you, you must allow a form of energy new to you, to freely flow through you once a qualified Reiki Shihan has opened your pathway to the universe.

As you go deeper in the spiritual practice of Usui Reiki the phrase used often in this century,“you are a spiritual being experiencing life as a human being” makes sense. When you study the spiritual practice Mikao Usui founded, you see concepts reflecting those of Dr. Wayne Dyer, Louise Hay, Hunter Patch Adams, Dale Carnegie and many more. Mikao Usui connected to Universal energy in 1921 and passed on in 1926, butmuch of the wisdom he shared is from the ageless universe.

If you are looking for advanced Reiki symbols, think for a moment about the peace symbol commonly use in the nineteen sixties/seventies.  If symbols had strength this world would be at peace following all the peace symbols used since the 1960s. The peace symbol is a perfect example of how symbols only point in the right direction. 

Reiki symbols are excellent traing wheels, but once you have achieved being the clear vessel for universal love and harmony you have the freedom to move forward.  To be the clear vessel through which universal energy can flow without interruption requires practice in mindfulness without ego in different areas for each individual.

Regardless of how many initiations/empowerments/attunements you receive, each is only the beginning. If you are now using symbols, try simply allowing Reiki to flow  and experience the freedom of trusting in the universe.

Roberta R. Barnes teaches Gendai Reiki-ho and Komyo Reiki Kai.  Both focus on connecting to the light of Reiki within and feeling that vibration in you that resonates with the cords of universal unconditional love and harmony.

Roberta Barnes feels one of the most important things shared with her by two of her Japanese Reiki Shihans was, "Trust in Reiki".  Dale Carnegie gives a perfect example of trusting in the universe when a young blind boy was asked to find a mouse that was lost in the classroom. The teacher asking, recognized that the universe had given Stevie Morris something no one else in the class had, a remarkable awareness of hearing, to compensate for his lack of visual sight. That teacher’s trust in the universe seeded that young boy’s trust and he came to be known as one of the great pop singers and songwriters of the seventies, Stevie Wonder.

Usui Reiki allows those with physical challenges that medical science lists in the 'cannot be cured' category to experience happiness in the manner best for him or her. Curable from within can take many forms, and Reiki helps those forms to be uncovered.

It takes time to form actual knowledge, and there is no instant download for the essence of universal love and harmony to be embodied by your jing. In spite of this, each step of the journey is blissful, if you allow it to be so.

The colors in this photograph were not expected or intended by Roberta Barnes  This simply appears in the middle of the film roll of the photographs she was shooting   The photograph at the top of  Reiki healing sessions page came from a roll of film.  Roberta shot these using the self-timer on her 35mm camera, upstairs in her Natural Healing & Learning Center.  

The colors that appeared in the photograph to your left were beyond human control.  Roberta's intent was for the flame of a candle in her hands to represent the light of Reiki that flows through such places as the palms of the hands.

This photograph overwhelmed Roberta as she sat looking at the prints she had just picked up from the film processor/printer.     Even though she was thrilled with what she saw, she looked for a logical reason. She began immediately by going back to the film processor for glitches in processing, checking all negatives on that roll, and then having the camera checked for any light leaks.

 Just as with Usui Reiki, the only answer after looking at all technical possibilities, is that the colors in the photograph above are a form of energy/light that came from the universe.

If you have been opened to Reiki, create your own situation to give universal energy the opportunity to reflect your reality.  Connect to Reiki, believe, allow, bench your thinking mind, expect nothing and anything, and enjoy the results. 

Once your channel has been opened it is a wonderful feelings to join in a Reiki Mawashi preformed during a Reiki Koryukai.  Check the calendar page for the next Reiki Koryukai Roberta Barnes hosts at Natural Healing & Learning Center.

We cannot visually see all that is within each of the zillions of atoms within the mind, body, and spirit. We cannot know the source of all symptoms the body chooses to show. We do not need to see or know, because Reiki knows where to flow and what to do when it arrives. If this sounds a bit magical, it perhaps is because universal energy is one of those things beyond logical reason.

There is no force greater then universal energy. That said it is obvious why no one since Mikao Usui has opened fully to the universal vibrations called Reiki, and why Richard Rivard's research shows that no one in the URR Gakkai has rated themselves higher than a three on the scael of one to six.  Each time a person’s channel is opened a bit wider, by a qualified Reiki Shihan, the whole person assimilates those vibrations of a very powerful energy and raises that person's vibration a bit higher.

One of the things that helps with assimilation is knowing in your heart that you are being opened to that which is new to you and be grateful for the shifts  that take place in your mind, body or spirit. Reiki is a blissful journey that makes reaching the destination insignificant. Simple exercise such as Ken’yoku  and Hikari no Kokyu Ho, can stop panic, anxiety, and relieve you of fears and stress. Simply repeating the five short lines of the Gokai can make the world a brighter happier place.

Advanced Reiki is to live  by the Usui Reiki Gaien, which is the backbone of Reiki. Study of those five very short lines of the Gokai gives an understanding to even the strength of today.

The ability to allow Reiki to flow through you (channel) begins as soon as you receive your first invitation into the light/empowerment/attunement. The ability improves not only by each level you complete, but by self-purifying, self-growth and lots of practice. The further a Reiki practitioner or teacher grows spiritually the purer universal love and harmony flowing through them becomes.

The photograph below, taken by one of Roberta Barnes' students, shows a variation of light not expected. At first glance, this photograph looks like it should be tossed. As always, the word “should” is best tossed. At second glance, what appears above her upward turned palms makes it a perfect photograph.

It is the message within the photograph below that makes it perfect.

 That white circle above Roberta's hands is an energy circle. Many forms of energy create visuals. Roberta never expected energy circles to appear in any  photographs taken of her. Universal energy does not go by human expectations. This photograph shows that the balance and harmony that flows through a person outshines physical appearance.

Roberta Barnes' physical form is out-of focus in this photograph even though the camera used was set on automatic focus and the photograph was intended to be of her. No one intended the energy circle to appear in this photograph or her to be out-of-focus.

 The focus of life is not on a person’s features, skin, hair, or the clothing worn.  The focus is on the energy that flows through her or him; when balance and harmony flows the unexpected positive can happen.

Take a moment and think about the various people that impressed you throughout your life. It is the energy flowing from a person that makes the biggest impression.

Regardless of what molecule you examine, energy is at the core. The spiritual practice Mikao Usui founded uses universal energy. Techniques in different styles vary in the way in which the energy is allowed to flow to the receiver. One very powerful technique Roberta was shown by three of her Reiki Shihans is a smile that comes from the heart. Reiki flows through the eyes and breathe, so a smile and words that come from that place of true knowledge are vehicles that can carry a lot of power. The place of true knowledge is in your heart area, and not your thinking mind.

Some techniques such as Gendai Reiju depend upon a pure connection and intent only. This is only taught to those having completed the highest leveland transcended the use of symbols. Reiju’s meaning can be broken down as giving or accepting(ju) a spiritual property or knowledge(rei). The Reiju used by the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai is based upon the original way in which Usui-Sensei opened others’ channels to the light, but is not the same. The form of Reiju used by the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai is shared only within the society itself. Gendai Reiju has many uses depending upon the Reiki Shihan’s intent.

In today’s world, attunements being rituals vary greatly. Rituals only require, an intention, a plan that can be remembered, something material or visual that has meaning to you, a designated space, and an ending meaningful to you. The next time your family has dinner or friends have tea, make it a ritual and enjoy. Do a ritual just for you to end your day in a pleasant relaxing way.

Run a bath, do the Reiki technique to cleanse the bathroom (or the whole house), then do Hatsurei-Hoor a similar exercise, light some scented candles, allow Reiki to flow into the bath water, and soak away all imbalances of the day while repeating the Gokai. One of the nice things about studying each level over days or weeks is learning all the different ways in which Reiki can flow daily into all areas of life, and choosing what resonates with you.

Gendai Reiki-ho and Komyo Reiki , the styles Robeta Barnes enjoys teaching, are often called Japanese Reiki.  At URRI 2002 in Canada, Roberta met approximately eighty other Reiki Shihans (master/teachers) from around the world, each with their own chi/qi/ki/prana going along with Reiki to share with others.  No style honoring the tradition of Usui Reiki Ryoho is better then any other.

Following are the words of one of Roberta Barnes' Reiki Shihans, Doi-Sensei, Hiroshi Doi.  These words are copyright 1998, 1999 Hiroshi.   He speaks Japanese, but one who understands the meaning behind the words translated this.

“We are not Reiki, we are not the author of Reiki, we are simply and always the empty vessel (flute, tube, whatever) through which Reiki flows into another. We cannot control it, we cannot demand it, command it, or even deny it as it comes for the Universal Author (Authoress) of Life – God/Goddess. We are truly the instruments and as such we cannot claim to be better, wiser, or anything else than any other practitioner or teacher. That determination is left up to those who come to us for assistance or teaching, and to Creator who knows all.”  

Reiki is energy from the timeless universe and cannot be rushed. Each person’s channel will only open as much as he or she is ready for at a given junction in time regardless of age, sex, educational level, or religious background. 

Reiki will blend with and enhance everything positive. A practitioner/teacher can blend Reiki into any tool/practice in which he or she has completed separate study. When one reaches into the collection of tools gathered there is a tingle as the heart, mind, and soul form a triangle to express the pure white light of love and harmony, healing in new ways. Light body, guided journeys, nature’s energy, and herbs are what Roberta Barnes most commonly blends with Reiki.

When blending things into one’s Reiki practice it is good to remember that while different combinations can be an excellent synergy in one situation they can be inappropriate in another. Massage therapists, all other medical professionals, and artists of all mediums blending Reiki into his or her practice is perfect.

If you indulge yourself in Japanese history you will see why poems were read at each of the Reiki gatherings Usui-sensei held.  You will also see why the receiver laying down and receiving through hands-on was added into the practice of Usui Reiki Ryoho at a later time.   While Usui-sensei became one with the light and lived in higher dimensions spirituality his body, relatives, and friends were still subjected to follow the political rule of the day. Stories are a wonderful way to get one’s point across, and the imagination is a wonderful gift.  Each person has the right to believe whatever he or she wishes.  Whatever a person chooses to believe about the history of Usui Reiki Ryoho it cannot take from the fact that the gift of connecting to a vibration of love and harmony that Mikao Usui passed on is among the ultimate of gifts.

As you advance and Byosen Reikan-ho becomes a part of your life you will feel that welcome relief as the worry of where to place your hands is let go. Hand positions like symbols are teaching tools. Trusting in Reiki to guide us, we do not need to know medical details, pressure points, the recognized 32 chakras, meridian (nadia) channels, colors, or other details used in various healing modalities.

Reiki can be allowed to flow into everything, even hobbies you may have. Sculpting is one of the things Roberta Barnes enjoys.  Roberta begins with a block and remove exposing the form that is within. At the bottom of this pageare photographs of one of her sculptures that appeared when her focus was on Reiki only. 

When she stepped back and looked at the form the words of one of her college professors came to mind, “form does not have to resemble details of life. Form flows, that is art.” Reiki can be compared to art in that it flows without any preconceived form; energy can take many forms.

Daily practice allows Reiki to flow in a pure way that can enhance all your skills and relationships, even those in the work place. As an Herbalist, I have found poultices work twice as well when Reiki is allowed to flow into them, and tinctures have extra energy.

At first glance, these might look like two separate sculptures.  However, they are shots taken of the same sculpture from different sides. The vibrations of love and harmony are always the same.  Different Reiki Shihans/practitioners go into the light and connect to the energies within in his or her own reality.  No side is better then another, simply different and once all the training tools and personal aids are put aside the unencumbered energy is the same. 

Mikao Usui lost consciousness and then continued to expand his connection and practice to the extent where it is possible that centuries will pass before another person gains the knowledge he did.   In the meantime, we can all enjoy the journey as we toss any obsolete training wheels and props along the way.

Contact me if you have any comments.