Dr. Mikao Usui discovered the system of accessing Universal Life Energy, known as Reiki, in the late 1800's. He was a Dr. of Philosophy in Kyoto Japan and his Students had asked him why there were no miraculous healings occurring, as in the time of Jesus or Buddha.
In the Shinto tradition, if a Master cannot answer a question posed by a Student he goes in search of the answer. This search led him to study many ancient Sanskrit and Tibetan writings for over 20 years, but still he did not have the answer. So he went to a holy mountain outside Kyoto, Japan and fasted and meditated for 21 days. He had the intention of finding the answer, or not coming down from the mountain alive-- the ol' sword-through-the-belly Shinto thing.
Before dawn on the 21st day, Dr Usui saw a blinding streak of light come at him. It struck him on the head and knocked him out. While unconscious, he had a vision where he saw bubbles of light surrounding kanji symbols and heard the words "Remember... Remember....". Dr Usui woke up, ran down the mountain (remember this is the condensed version!) and went to live among, and teach Reiki to, the beggars in Kyoto. After 7 years he started seeing the same people return after having been cured and finding better lives through Reiki. These people told him it was easier to be a beggar than to work for a living. Dr. Usui came to the conclusion that if one gets something for free, then one places no value on it. He decided to take Reiki to where it would be appreciated and utilized. He went to the affluent suburbs of Kyoto and taught it to hundreds of people.
He taught it to Dr Hayashi, a Physician and Officer in the Japanese Navy, who standardized the system into 3 levels and set the uniform hand positions for treatments that I teach today. Hayashi taught it to Hawayo Takata, a woman of Japanese ancestry born in the Hawaiian Islands, before it became a state. Takata went to Japan for treatment of huge ovarian tumors and physical exhaustion. Reiki healed her so completely that she didn't need the surgery that she had gone to Japan to get. Takata was brazen enough to ask Hayashi to teach Reiki to her so that she could continue to give Reiki to herself after she returned to Hawaii. Teaching Reiki to 'outsiders', as Takata was, not having been born in Japan, and teaching to women, was just not done. After refusing her requests for over a year, Hayashi finally did teach Takata and Attuned her, but only after she had completed a 2 year apprenticeship. He had his reasons for breaking tradition.
Hayashi taught Reiki to Takata because he knew the war was coming and felt that the best place to put Reiki for safekeeping would be with a woman. So Hayashi Attuned his wife to keep Reiki safe in Japan, and Takata to keep Reiki safe in Hawaii. Takata went on to teach 22 Masters, one of whom was her granddaughter, Phyllis Furumoto. Phyliis declared that before Takata's death, her grandmother had made Phyllis Grand Master for all Reiki Practitioners. Not many Practitioners honor her as such, nor accept that part of the story as true.
The Reiki Alliance, Phyllis's group, insists on charging lots of money for being attuned to Reiki. A Master's Initiation will set one back $10,000, up front and in cash. The Alliance also has strict guidelines of what is, and isn't, Reiki. These are just 2 of the many reasons most Practitioners have not joined the Alliance.
A Practitioner's lineage is considered important in Reiki. Until recently, Reiki was an oral tradition. At the end of a class, all students' notes were burned . Now with so many Reiki books and websites, information about Reiki is easy to find --not that the plethora of Reiki sites and books means any of it is reliable. I still believe that lineage is important because of the old 'telephone game' syndrome: I tell you, you tell them and they get it wrong. I believe, and it has been my experience, that the shorter the lineage, the clearer the message.
Reiki cannot be learned from a book. One must be Attuned, just as a radio is 'tuned', to make sense out of static. A Reiki Master tunes a person to focus the Universal Life Energy that surrounds us and is in everything. A Reiki Practitioner is a channel for the Reiki to flow through. Think of it this way ... a Reiki Master hooks a new Practitioner up to the faucet of Universal Energy, they then become the Garden Hose and their hands are the Nozzle thru which the Reiki energy pours out. Simple.
Reiki is different from other hands-on energy healing because the Energy is from outside of oneself. A Practitioner can Reiki all day and not get tired or depleted of energy. A person can give themselves Reiki, which is very different from other forms of energy healing. Because it is energy from outside of one's own energy, one can channel it to themselves.
Reiki is not an energy that can be directed by intent. Intent turns it on, but then Reiki goes where it is needed. It is an intelligent energy system in that it goes exactly where it is needed, a bit like water seeking its own level. And unlike other energy systems, Reiki can never cause harm or be used for dark purposes.
My lineage is very short ... Usui, Hayashi, Takata, Furumoto, Belle, ME! .... I traded for my attunements by providing room, board, and the use of a car, which totals far more than $10,000 and so I could, if I desire, become a member of the Alliance, as was my Master. I have no intention to do so. I am not interested in the Politics of Reiki, just the practice of Reiki.
And that is the condensed version!
