I spent the year attending talks and workshops on different forms of healing as well as continuing with my work as a photographer in London. During a visit to the London Mind, Body and Spirit Festival, I happened upon Reiki for the first time. Something about its name interested me though I knew nothing about it. As I approached the stall a friend with me at the time said” Oh you don’t want to do that, they only care about making money!” Letting her opinion override my interest, I left without taking any information with me, little realising how significant Reiki was to become in my life.

The following summer my heart yearned for the connection I had felt with Spirit in Findhorn and so I made my way back to Scotland. During the bus ride to Edinburgh the woman sitting next to me had her hands on her heart and solar plexus at one point. “What were you doing ?” I asked when she had finished. “Reiki” she replied. Intrigued I asked more and she went on to explain what it was. Once in Findhorn, I felt myself open again to the natural surroundings. The days are beautifully long in summer with the sun setting briefly into the ocean at midnight in the north west. Its orange glow still visible on the horizon until it reappears four hours later out of the ocean a little further east. Time seems to stand still allowing you to slow down and not feel hurried by the day passing. My stay as always was deeply nurturing and through the people I met Reiki called to me gently…On arrival back in London there were two events of significance. Firstly a phone call from a person I had met at Findhorn called Mo asking if I would like to come back up in a week to join her for a Reiki course she had arranged with a master living in the community, secondly two letters. The first was information about Reiki, the second a letter from the woman I had met on the bus on the way to Edinburgh. The gentle calling was becoming a lot louder….

June Woods my Reiki master said “Place your hand here” and she guided my hand over Mo’s solar plexus. At first I felt a tingling sensation then great heat in the palm of my hand. “Are you doing that?” I asked. “No my dear Reiki is doing that, just relax and let it flow”. Those simple words will stay with me forever. It was neither June nor myself creating the flow of energy through my hands, Reiki was doing that, but by me relaxing and letting it flow I was allowing it to happen. I always feel profoundly grateful that I learned Reiki with June, her approach was always simple, she would never get involved in great discussions about it, she far preferred a good gossip over a cup of tea and some battenburg cake. Healing for her was a way of life, she had been a nurse in the second world war and discovered healing talents early on. She practised healing through the British Federation of Spiritual Healers for many years before discovering Reiki. ‘Indomitable June’ as she was affectionately known was always available whenever asked and when not healing, or running an errand for someone, could be found pottering about in her garden with its huge crystal and wind chimes. Her home a mobile bungalow set in the heart of the Findhorn community near the nature sanctuary had walls adorned with nick nacks given to her by her many visitors from around the world. She loved dolphins and Native American culture and a picture of Jeronimo looked down at us from above the fireplace proudly. Among the many things she introduced to me was Aurasoma. ( Colour vibration essences that work in the auric field) She had the whole set mounted on a clear perspex display cabinet near the window and would always say “Want a bit of unconditional love dear” referring to the pink bottle of ‘Lady Nada Quintessence’. One of her favourite uses for it which is probably not on the Aurasoma list of uses was to add it to the water in her steam iron before pressing her clothes. Whatever she did it seemed to work and I found her humanness and no nonsense approach to Reiki a great foundation for me to build on.

Becoming a Reiki Teacher

Approximately half a mile from Junes bungalow sits RAF Kinloss, a search and rescue facility for antiquated Nimrod aircraft that were a derivative of the comet the first jet airliner in public use. Consequently they are not the quietest of aircraft particularly during take-off. It had been a year since I received second level Reiki and this afternoon in May 1995 the day of my Master initiation they were practising circuits and bumps which meant every fifteen minutes a great roar could be heard that would shake poor Junes bungalow to the core as the Nimrod attempted once again to break free of Earth’s pull. It is times like this where you find out the level of unconditional love you have managed to attain; “$!”£$%^&*()_??’” I thought why today! Obviously not doing very well.

“Don’t worry dear just ignore them” said June “Lets do a little meditation”

‘Meditation? How on earth are you supposed to be able to meditate with..ROARRRRRR…..the Nimrod headed off for another circuit.

“Ask for help” she said trying to be heard above the roar.

So with me on the sofa, Junes cat curled up next to me and June opposite in her arm chair we closed our eyes. ‘Its no good’ I thought, my mind looking at a great opportunity to sabotage me, ‘I am not supposed to become a master. That’s it, that’s what all this is about! I tried to ignore the thoughts and settle into my heart. I asked the Grand masters for help Dr Usui, Dr Hayashi, Hawayo Takata please be with me……

I remember feeling and hearing June stand up, I felt the breeze on my right shoulder and cheek as she brushed past me. She stood behind me and stepped into my body. My breath became rapid as I felt an expansion. Then I felt a guide step into me then another and another, each time an expansion of my being.

When I opened my eyes there was absolute silence. June was looking at me from her armchair a little concerned. “you all right?” she asked. “I had no idea that’s how you did it” I said “Did what? I haven’t started yet, I haven’t moved from here”. “I have just received the master initiation”.. I said and I went on to describe what had happened.

This served to pacify all my insecurities about becoming a Reiki master and once again confirmed to me it is not us doing it. “Just relax and let it flow” as June said. It appears the process of initiation has little to do with the master giving it, other than them being present and acting as an anchor for the process to take place.

Later once I was teaching Reiki myself and passing on initiations I was always very aware that if the masters didn’t choose to turn up, nothing I could do would have much effect. Fortunately for me they have never failed to be present. A recurring vision or insight that many of my students have reported seeing independently of each other has always warmed my heart. This vision is of me placing my hands on their shoulders and behind me Dr Usui placing his right hand on my left shoulder. Behind him Dr Hayashi placing his right hand on Dr Usui’s left shoulder and so on with Hawayo Takata, and hundreds of other masters doing the same, forming a train of people until they disappeared into light.

Perception Versus Reality

Going back to the time I spent in Hawaii, there was an experience I had very similar to the occurrence on the Venus hill in Scotland. I had joined a group that were heading up to the top of Mount Haleakala on Maui for the winter solstice, to meditate and align with the new energies. There was a lot of expectancy within the group and after driving as far as we could get by car, we set out on foot. After around twenty minutes the focaliser of the group stopped and pointing to a clearing said “this is the spot”. I felt very strongly to continue and so carried on up the path with the image of the crater vivid in my mind. I soon realised that some people were following me, including the group focaliser. By this time wisps of cloud were beginning to obscure the view and the mountain was taking on an other worldly feeling about it. As I reached the edge of the crater I saw a beautiful piece of grass like a mattress beckoning me to lie down . By now the whole of the mountain was covered in thick cloud and visibility was down to a few metres. I laid down on the earth mattress and almost immediately started to experience strong surges of energy through me and soon realised I was once again releasing blocked energy through my central channel. My body was shaking quite violently and several people came to support me through the process, placing their hands over my body to channel healing energy, I was aware of others sitting back and watching. Then the group leader who had taken up position at my head exclaimed “He has the codes for the ninth dimension!”

The whole experience lasted some 10 to 15 minutes, when I opened my eyes the mist and clouds were gone, replaced by a beautiful blue sky. As I stood up many people came up to me to talk about what had happened. I soon realised that just as in an accident you never get 2 witnesses who saw the same thing, so in this situation people all presented their version of what they had perceived to have occurred. The most amusing to me was a man who simply said “How long have you suffered from epilepsy?” My point in telling this story is that our perception of an occurrence such as this is very much coloured by our beliefs. We all have stories that we believe about reality and we look for experiences that match in order to validate them. Most times they just aren’t true. My body shaking that day on top of that mountain was from my perspective a release, a healing if you like. What was the specific cause of that healing I may never understand in its entirety. What I do know is the right set of circumstances came together at a time when I felt open and receptive to healing. This helped me fully trust I was safe to let go of what I was holding on to. The less attention I give to the event the less likely I will be caught up in the glamour of it and the quicker I will let go and move on to other experiences. Also it is important to stay with one’s own feeling about an event. If we get caught up in other peoples perceptions of an event especially surrounding an apparent metaphysical experience, we can become side-tracked by unnecessary drama.

It has been 7 years since those first tentative steps with June into the world of Reiki and I have learned much. I know now to be careful not to define myself as a healer and certainly not by the label of Master. I have listened to the discontent within the Reiki community and kept my distance. The first thing I had heard about Reiki back in the mind body & spirit festival was “you don’t want to do that, they only care about making money!” That is sometimes a justifiable label put on Reiki and an issue which will have to be resolved by the people practising this healing art. But for me, I found I did want to do Reiki and continue to want to do so and the quality of my life as a result and the healing that has taken place is something I am deeply grateful for. I found a doorway through Reiki and it connected me to a part of myself that I often searched for. The part that spoke in whispers from within, that called to me gently and warmed my heart again. The part that recognises the same searching in everyone. The part that is filled with wonder by the incredible beauty this world offers us. I choose Reiki because I know that it’s essence is pure and comes from truth. My experience is that by simply placing my hands on someone and “Relaxing and letting it flow” something beautiful happens and my life would be much the poorer without it.

Love to you all Richard