Usui Retreat 3rd week announcement

Greetings Friends, Family and Students of Mari Hall and Wisechoices,

I am starting the 3rd week of our virtual Usui Retreat with a few articles and part of Frank Arjava Petter’s Reiki newsletter that you may find interesting; followed by the link to the third meditation written by Adonea in Sedona, Arizona. I certainly welcome all of you to join with us to be part of this retreat honoring Usui as well as sending energy to our Mother Earth. You can do as much or as little as you would like, there is no one to check on you. Even a minute a day of conscious intention brings great benefit to our Earth and to all of us.May Peace be part of our reality each and every day of this coming New Year.

Brightest Blessings,Love, Mari


Inner Guides
Seeking Advice From Yourself

Since we probably know ourselves better than anyone else does, then we may very well be the best person to ask for advice when we are in a quandary. One interesting exercise is to try asking for advice from your past and future selves. There is the younger self that you used to be and the older, more mature self that you will become. You can gain a different perspective when you view present situations through your younger self's eyes or your mature self's more experienced point of view. Perhaps, your younger self would view a current dilemma in a more innocent, less cynical way. Likewise, your older, hopefully wiser, self may offer advice from a more compassionate, experienced perspective. Think back to how you viewed the world when you were younger. What were your thoughts on happiness, love, and injustice? Think about how you would have reacted to a dilemma you are currently facing. The perspective may shed a different light on relationships, money matters, or life decisions. Likewise, think about the person you will become. A more mature version of you might mull a problem or conflict over carefully before taking action right away... or perhaps not. Maybe your older self would be more willing to take risks, care less about what other people think, and want to enjoy life more. You can even set up an advisory panel of your past, present, and future selves. You might even want to try to have a written dialogue with your selves to record the thoughts, feelings, and advice that your younger and older selves might have for your present self regarding a current situation. Your different selves can give you some invaluable answers. After all, no one can know you better than your selves. You are your wisest guide.

Creative Cuts
Editing Your Life

Our lives can be compared to an ongoing movie script over which we have complete creative control. Within us lies the power to examine what works or isn't working in our lives and make "edits" to our life's script, accordingly. Choosing to actively edit your life can be incredibly empowering. As you evolve, you have the choice to accept the script you've written thus far or edit it so you can create a life that fulfills you. You can cut out from your life's script what is no longer working for you. Acknowledging that you are responsible for the experience you create gives you the ability to create the life you've always longed for. Granted, editing your real life isn't always as easy as erasing a line of text. If you've carried emotional baggage or held on to an unhealthy relationship for a long time, these may be difficult to edit out. But when you do cut out what isn't working from your life, you'll feel lighter and more alive. Editing out activities that you find stressful, disassociating yourself from people that drain your energy, and letting go of your emotional baggage are all beneficial cuts you can make. In the empty spaces that are left behind, you can add in anything you like. Just as you have the power to edit out negative situations or beliefs that you no longer wish to have as part of your life, you can now include the kinds of positive experiences, people, and beliefs that you would like to fill your life with. The manifestation of these thoughts and images as realities in your life will inevitably follow. As you make changes to your life, you can also add in the bits where you choose mo! re intimate, healthier relationships, seek out adventure over tedium, and are no longer negatively impacted by old experiences.
To begin editing your life, simply think about your positive and negative experiences. When you determine what parts of your life are no longer serving you, make the commitment to remove them - though, it is important to remember that there is no proper timing or way to do this, and patience and compassion for yourself are always important during this process. Then, ask yourself what has brought you profound bliss and consider how you can make those experiences and beliefs part of your life now. With a little editing, you'll be able to clear out what is no longer serving you and make room in your life for more happiness, love, and wisdom.

From Arjava’s January 2006 Newsletter

Reiki Lineage

I would like to talk about an important and much discussed issue: Reiki Lineage- your Reiki family tree.

Reiki- Lineage has many aspects. One may think that it is not very important, because all that it is has happened in the past, and you are here and now, in this eternal present moment. But the fact is that time is an invention of man, and in terms of our Reiki Lineage it does not exist. Your teacher is always here with you. Through him you are connected to the source- so- hold him dear.

Remember your teachers for a moment. Are they not here with you right now right now? Do you feel them? Do you bow down to them, or is there some unfinished business in between you two? If there is, finish it before the year grows too old...

Modern Megalomania

Modern technology has many advantages and disadvantages. One advantage/disadvantage is that we can communicate at unbelievable speed and in a way that transcends space completely. In Reiki this has created a problem. Many of us have begun to teach distant attunements. A distant attunement is one executed between two people who potentially don’t know each other, and who have no serious relationship with one another. What can I learn from my teacher if I am not even ready to meet him? Of course in an emergency situation this would be a good option for a start. Then after the emergency you can continue the training in person.

The relationship between student and Teacher

In the oriental way this relationship is more of a commitment than marriage, because there is no possibility of divorce. Once you have chosen your teacher, you have chosen him for life; what is being taught becomes in a sense, less important. You learn in your teacher’s presence. You learn from the way he touches you, he looks at you and the way he speaks to you. You learn from the way he solves his daily challenges and from the way he acts with his family...

The importance of the Lineage

The Lineage connects you and your teacher and, most importantly, it connects you and Usui Sensei- through the medium of your teacher. And for Reiki to be a spiritual path, your connection to Usui Sensei must be as solid as anything can be. Especially when the going gets rough, your connection to Usui Sensei can save your sanity- and your life.

What is important?

Your root teacher is the one with whom you studied the teacher’s class. He is the one who gave you the permission to teach in his lineage. So, this is the teacher whose name will appear in your Reiki lineage. When I teach in my Western Reiki lineage, my lineage goes: Usui- Hayashi-Takata-Furumoto- Helbling- Gilgen- Popat- Petter. When I teach in my Japanese Reiki lineage it goes Usui – Hayashi- Sugano-Yamaguchi- Petter. It is important not mix your different lineages, to keep things straight. Having received an attunement from someone does not make him part of your teaching lineage.

Over the years I have received countless attunements from others- but they don’t appear in my lineage. I have received spiritual attunements from Osho and from others, but they have nothing to do with Reiki and my Reiki teaching lineage.
Please make sure that we keep these things clear.

The emailed Attunement process

Imagine you see the Dalai Lama perform an attunement on TV. Would you go ahead and perform this ritual with your students the next day? The same goes for an attunement process that you have not been taught and given permission to practice or teach by your teacher.

The permission of your teacher

In this sense the most valuable gift your teacher may give you is the permission to teach. If he has not given that to you, you are not able to teach in his lineage, however capable you may think you are. It may even point to a personal problem of the teacher, but nevertheless...You must then go to another teacher who is ready to certify you.

My Japanese teacher, Chiyoko Yamaguchi had a good way of letting her students know whether they were ready to teach or not. Of course her students received a certificate with the title “Shihan Kaku (assistant teacher) or Shihan (teacher) on it. Those who completed the Shihan Kaku course were permitted to teach Reiki One. Those who completed the Shihan level (teacher’s level) with her were granted the great honor to buy a scroll from her, as a sign of their Shihan status. This was not a business...This scroll has the Reiki principles written on it in Hayashi Sensei’s hand- writing. Please check the Hayashi Reiki Manual to take a look at it- it is truly beautiful and has tremendous energy. The Shihan who trained with her (or her son) has to have the scroll to be able to teach the first two levels- and he must hang it in the place that he teaches in.... This way you will always recognize who has and has not received her teaching permission. Additionally, in her lineage only! She herself was allowed to train another teacher. After her death this honor has been given to her son, Tadao Yamaguchi exclusively. If you would like to come to the source, I suggest you study with him. He is as far as I know the only person in the Reiki world who has the permission to teach teachers and he does it, too!

In the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai only the president, Mr. Kondo, is allowed to teach another teacher. If you hear of anyone else teaching Teachers the "original Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai” style – or in their lineage, you know that it is not true...

Checking your Reiki Lineage

It may be important to make sure that your teacher has really trained with someone. An example from my own experience: My first Reiki Teacher was my brother. After a while I found out that his Reiki Lineage always stopped with him. There seemed to be no way of finding out that he had learned from. Feeling uncomfortable with this, I went ahead and trained again with a dear friend, Agehanand Popat, in Hamburg. For this reason it is helpful to pass on the names of your teacher, your teacher’s teacher and so on, back to Mrs. Takata., to your master/teacher students. I have heard of so many people who allegedly studied with me, but the fact is that not many people have. In one book on Reiki it is said that I taught 30.000 people in Japan. But the real number is about 300(in 9 years).

Publishing the names of your certified students

Tadao Yamaguchi solved this problem by posting the names of the people who hold the Shihan (Teacher) level in his lineage, on his website. If anyone says that he learned form him or his mother, you can easily check whether this is so or not by looking at his website. Currently there is someone Japanese teaching in Mrs. Yamaguchi’s name, who does not have her permission to teach. If in doubt, please check it at the (Japanese) Jikiden Reiki.com website.

To avoid problems

I suggest that you always issue a certificate, and that you publish your student’s names on your website. This way we can avoid all sorts of complications.

Wishing you all the best, from heart to heart, your friend

Frank Arjava Petter
Reprinted by Arjava’s Written Permission. Copyright © 2006 by Frank Arjava Petter


Here’s the link to the 3rd weeks Usui Retrea meditation. http://www.wisechoices.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=7