Mt Kurama

Have you ever wondered why Usui Sensei chose this particular place and why This Kurama Mountain... why Kuramayama? 

When I was lucky enough to visit in the spring of 2014, on a trip to Japan led by Frank Arjava Petter, it all began to make sense.

Three days of climbing all over Mt Kurama in the misty rain and sunshine. Learning about the ancient history of this place, with its folklores and many Shinto shrines and Buddhist Temples, was a wonderful experience. This remote area, north of Kyoto city has been a sacred place for Japanese people for thousands of years. There are still monkeys, goats, bears and deer living in this mountainous area. Many people still come on the train to explore and just be with this beautiful, serene mountain. 

Who wouldn't chose to come here... if this was the last place you were going to see, before dying... whilst seeking enlightenment, Anjin Ruymei.  

As we climbed higher in the misty rain, with the air filled with the aroma of pine, cedar and cypress trees, it cleared my head... a head that had been pulsating with energy, from the moment I had got out of the taxi at Kurama Onsen, where we stayed. The village, nestled in the steep valley below. Onsen, are natural volcanic hot springs, perfect for soothing away our aches and pains at the end of the day. 

Those amazing, gnarled tree roots on the trail, known as the Kinone Sando (Tree Root Pilgrim Path) we saw! Some thick as your arm, helping the trees cling to the steep mountain sides. It was clear to see how you could trip over them and rip off a toenail... especially if you were only wearing traditional rope sandals, the ones worn by pilgrims, as Usui Sensei would surely have done. When he grabbed his sore, bleeding foot... and it healed quickly, he knew something was different. Haven't we all rubbed an area we have just banged or bumped, to soothe the pain? To his surprise though, the pain disappeared and the bleeding stopped and the toe healed... completely!

The sandals pictured on the Shoden Level page; those are the ones pilgrims wear and they are still worn today. They were hanging by the entrance gate, before we climbed the many steps up to the Kurama temple. 

The cedar trees on Kuramaya were So tall and when you hugged them, it just felt so good inside! It was a bit like the feeling from Reiju... calm, peaceful and glowing from the insides out. 

And that's the true beauty of the Reiki system that Usui Sensei went on to develop, after Mt Kurama. We can all channel Reiki from the first Reiju, without years of aesthetic training or dying... and that ability never goes away. Yet, the more we let Reiki into our daily life, the better it flows...

Habits form new ways of being...

When I wake up, I thank Reiki for flowing through my body each day and healing me. The louder I chant the Gokai in Japanese, so the Kototama (the word spirit energy) resonates through me, the better I feel... my hands glow with Reiki as I sit in Gassho meditation. Placing my hands on others, Reiki flows to them, but first and foremost, Usui Sensei developed his system of Reiki so we could heal ourselves. Be healthy in our heart/mind and body. The more we do this, our daily habit or practice, so it becomes continual improvement... the meaning of Japanese word kaizen. There is an ancient zen saying: "When I change the whole world changes." 

These daily habits have now been spread worldwide, in their original from, thanks to the Yamaguchi family. They created Jikiden Reiki to help remind the world of these traditional concepts, that were common place in Japan only 100 years ago. 

We Reiki practitioners have much to be thankful for and All because Mikao Usui tripped over some tree roots, on his way down from Mt Kurama.