It's unlikely to have been that simple.

In the US, people tend to think they have to belong to 1 religion. That is not the case in Japan, especially during Usui's lifetime.

It is common today for Japanese to have Shinto birth ceremonies, Christian marriages and Buddhist funerals. They may make offerings at their household shrine to their household gods, and spend much of their free time visiting temples and collecting onamori charms.. Then if you ask if they are religious, they say no.

Christianity was outlawed in Japan in the 1600's. Not long after Usui was born, the Meiji emperor took power (1887) and made the amazing decision to completely modernize the culture. Since all of the 'modern' countries were Christian, christianity became quickly very popular. Christianity was more popular then than now, now only about 2% of population claim to be Christian.

As a spiritual explorer, who in his own words 'was knowledgable about all the world's religions' Mikao Usui would certainly have been quite familiar with christianity and might have said "yes" to being Christian almost as readily as "yes" to being Buddhist.

He is buried in a Tendai Buddhist cemetary near (actually now in) Tokyo.

I have heard from one source (Tadao Yamaguchi) that Chujiro Hayashi was Methodist, so it is possible that some of the Christianization of the story might have come from him.

The biggest area for research on the history of Reiki is to locate real Japanese historical documents. Alot could be found out, but it will need someone who not only can do historical research and can read Japanese, but also who can read the pre-1947 form of the language.

{posted on Tribe.net ReikiMastery tribe 8/04}

Once upon a time, Mikao Usui came down from the mountain with the basic energies we know as Reiki. There were 4 energies, which later came to be called symbols; a power symbol, a mental/emotional symbol, a distant symbol, and a master symbol. The energies were passed from teacher to student using a process called an attuenement.

Since that time a number of different people have 'seen' symbols, often in meditations or during attunements. Usually these are private symbols for use by the person seeing them, but sometimes these symbols have more general value, and a number of teachers have collected them together into systems.

William trained in a number of such systems I believe, including Ms Milners.. He felt there was more potential there than had been previously accessed. So he meditated and worked with and talked to his guides and experimented and created a new attunement method and ended up with Karuna, an energy I believe is still evolving. I was not involved in Karuna in the beginning, so I cant speak to the specifics of what he got from who.

I have had several students who have taken Karuna with me who had learned Tera Mai first. There are definitely symbol names/drawings they have in common. However, After being attuned to Karuna, I have them think of Tera Mai and draw a symbol such as Zonar. Then I have them think of Karuna and draw the 'same symbol', and compare the energies. In all cases so far, the Karuna version of the symbol was far more powerful and multidimensional.

As far as I understand, TeraMai is taught as a Reiki 1&2 equivalent, which seems about right considering what I have felt of its energy. I (and the center) strongly recommend at least 6 months to a year at the Reiki Master level before taking Karuna, because it is a lot of energy. I also recommend reviewing Karuna at least twice because the energy continues to deepen into the practioner in a way that is very different from regular Reiki,

There are two kinds of symbols in the world. One type is connected to sacred geometry, where the shape itself holds the energy. Pyramids are a good example. Small differences in the proportion of the symbol create noticable differences in its energy, and no attunement is needed to use them. Reiki symbols are the other kind of symbols, they are more like handwriting. If two different people write my name, I will still know it means me, even if they use a different handwritting style, or even misspell it. In Reiki, if two people draw the distant symbol even if they draw it differently, both will connect to the same energy.

Conversely, if one person writes my name and thinks of me, and a little later writes a message to another person with my name, one name will refer to two different people/energies. Just as in the example i used previously, drawing the same symbol and thinking of different energy systems will result in different energies based on the intention.

Because Karuna Reiki is William's baby has trademarked Reiki and created a registered teacher program. To call it Karuna Reiki, the teacher must use the same attunements and symbols as are in the book. If anyone wants to do something different with the symbols, or do different attunements or otherwise change the system they are welcome to do so, just don't call it Karuna Reiki. To me this feels like a very clean way to handle it.

Karuna Reiki is typically taught as a 3 day intensive (im teaching i5 pasadena columbus day weekend 2004 if anyone is interested)

Karuna Reiki is taught to those who have 6 months to a year or more of experience at the Reiki Mastery level. (at any Reiki school)

Karuna Reiki symbols tend to be more multidimensional than Usui. The energy is more powerful, and seems to work on more levels simultaneously. While Usui Reiki tends to come down to earth to the level the client is at to help them their, with Karuna I often sense this wierd sense that the client is being brought to the energy. Especially in sessions using sound healing with the symbols (taught the third day), there is a sense of healing sessions being multiplied, and sometimes I get the sense of being awake on multiple dimensions of reality. Sometimes when lying on the table perfectly still, I get a sense of my body moving, and almost swimming at the same time.

I also get a strong sense that multiple lifetimes and multiple pieces of my greater soul are getting healed all at once, and that I only sense the tip of the iceberg of what is going on with a session.

I don't do Karuna with everyone. I personnally tend to save it for those who are ready to make major shifts and change in their lives, those who are committed to enlightenment and growth.

To specifics:

Karuna 1 and Karuna 2 each have 4 practitioner symbols. There is also 1 master symbol (a version of the OM) plus the Usui Master symbol, and the 2 other 'master' symbols used by the ICRT for their attunements.

Karuna 1 symbols focus on releasing cellular ingrained issues, refilling the body with energy, and grounding. It is ideal for those who wish to get past the areas in their life where they are blocked by physical or emotional issues.

Karuna 2 symbols focus on reconnecting to aspects of the universe to help them achieve their life missions and goals. There are symbols for divine knowlege, clarity of action, divine cocreative will and divine peace.

Which is more powerful Karuna 1 or Karuna 2 depends on what is most important to the student at the time of taking the class. Students who take Karuna multiple times are often startled to find that what is most powerful for them changes.

Karuna Reiki is my favorite of all the kinds of Reiki I have experienced, it awakens a kind of fierce joy in me, and almost a sense of adventure in exploring the divine universe. It is also the most powerful energy I have experience that I am willing to teach to complete strangers.

The 3rd day teaches the attunements and also introduces sound healing using the Karuna symbols which multiplies the power of the session.

{posted on Tribe.net ReikiMastery tribe 8/04}

How much you charge has a lot to do with how much your teaching them.

I occasionally teach:

An evening "Introduction to Reiki 1" class should be between 1-2 hours and should cost between free to about $50. I usually charge $25. Class consists 10-20 minutes of introduction/general info 5-10 minutes of history, 10-15 minutes on energy healing, a Reiki 1 attunement, an exercise to let each person try the energy on another person, a demonstration of hand positions, and answering whatever questions time allows.. Students get a basic information sheet with contact information, a little basic info, and some suggestions for books and websites for more info. Students are encouraged to try Reiki for a while, and if they feel guided to do so are given a discount coupon towards my full Reiki 1&2 course.

I use this class primarily to teach to groups. I have taught it to Marines, to pagans, and to friends who I thought could really use Reiki, but for whom a weekend long course was not appropriate.

I have worked on a number of people with Diabetes using Reiki with good result.

You may wish to have them watch their insulin levels in case the session affects it, but they probably do that anyways, and I dont see a need for any more concern about that.

Most Reiki practitioners use Reiki hands down adding energy to the body. I recommend alternating this with using Reiki empowered hands to lift energy out of the aura, as diabetics energy field is often kind of 'dirty'

Reiki is great for many of the side effects of diabetes, including wounds that don't heal, bloating, and other problems. I have not personally seen it erase the diabetes but it sure makes it easier to live with.

"The only time not to do Reiki is when your intuition tells you not too"

I have worked with people with pacemakers.

Reiki is not as electrical as some other forms of energy healing, and doesnt seem to interfere with the pacemaker, and can even help the body to accept the foreign object as part of the body.

If it remains a concern in your mind, just do a little at a time, doing more with each session.

{posted on Tribe.net ReikiMastery tribe 8/04}