The Origin and Validity of the Grandmaster Title and Other Important Issues This letter was written by Carell Ann Farmer who was the fourth master initiated by Phyllis Furumoto and was present at the first masters meeting in 1982 and at the meeting to form the Reiki Alliance in 1983. Carell has given permission for anyone to make copies of this letter to share with others. December 31, 1997 Dear Reiki Masters, I am writing this letter to share my truth in response to the present events that surround the practice of Reiki, in particular, the design of Office of the Grand Master, the concept of a sole and rightful heir, lineage bearer, trade marking and licensing. I write to provide a more complete picture of the growth of the Usui System of Reiki. I write because I have the courage and understanding now to do so. I write to encourage other people to speak their truth. I write so that I can honor the life force as it lives within me. I was trained by Phyllis Furumoto in January, 1981 in the first two levels of Reiki. During my 1st level seminar, I received three gifts: the knowing that I was a teacher of this natural healing art (it was know then as Reiki - A Japanese Natural Healing Art), the knowing that it was an individual path and that my inner wisdom would always guide me, the knowing that when I touched healing happened. The actualization of this wisdom has strengthened over the ensuing years with the challenges presented to me. I was initiated as a Reiki Master on April 1, 1982. I was the fourth Reiki Master that Phyllis initiated. I paid Phyllis $10,000. Phyllis asked me to make two commitments: to honor Reiki as an oral tradition and for it to be my sole source of income. I committed. I also committed to bringing forth the master in me. I have upheld my commitment to the oral tradition. At the time of making that commitment I did not really understand what it meant to commit to an oral tradition. I was a single parent with two children and no other source of income. It was a huge leap of faith to trust that the universe would totally provide all that I needed to raise and provide for my family. My work as a teacher of natural healing and my life have been supported by this practice. I have been invited to travel extensively to give seminars and treatments. It has been a profound experience of support and love. It has taught me the essence of Reiki. I have upheld the commitment to it being my sole source of income. On April 1, 1996, I took my healing work into the corporate world, where I have gained experience and strength in standing strong in the face of politics and the bottom line of making a profit. I live the practice quietly and continue to deepen my understanding of what it is to follow my inner wisdom and to dedicate my life to mastery. Some of the memories that I want to share are parts of conversations that Phyllis had with me during my seminars in the first two levels of Reiki, my subsequent training as a Reiki Master and my friendship with her that extended over several years. I have held these conversations in confidence based on my personal ethics. The interactive relationship with Phyllis no longer exists and that is of my choosing. I have felt for many years that I cannot align with the control and power which she exerts in her role. Phyllis and I were strong catalysts for each other. We each have our own destiny to fulfill. As in all relationships, we have the right to agree and disagree. I want to state clearly that I have no interest in making Phyllis appear "wrong" for her choices. I wish only to speak from my heart and some of what I have to say is in disagreement with her choices. It was a difficult path for me because she was my teacher and friend. I was taught that one of the Reiki precepts was to honor one's teacher. I met Phyllis shortly after her grandmother, Hawayo Takata died. Over a period of several years (1981 - 1984) we were in close association. Phyllis confided in me. She talked to me in great detail of her confusion over her grandmother's death, her grandmother's lack of clarifying Phyllis's future role, her lack of direction in her own life and her fear of the opportunity that was before her to step forward into the position that her grandmother had filled. I remember the day that she arrived at my house and pronounced that she had made a decision. Her decision was clear. She said, "I will go for the money." She had decided to pursue her grandmother's work � teaching classes, initiating Masters - for the income potential. She initiated four Masters between Feb.1981 and April 1982. She began to plan the first gathering of Reiki Masters in Hawaii ( April 1982) and the memorial service for her grandmother. In many ways, she was already acting as though she was walking in her grandmother's shoes. Her statement of " I will go for the money" impacted me deeply. It felt wrong to me given my own experience of Reiki. Even though I was a neophyte, I had felt the depth inherent in Reiki. I had felt the spiritual impact. Her decision was a materialistic decision. In my experience, there was no spiritual awareness associated with it and I felt the paradox of that. My confusion regarding "honoring my teacher" deepened. I sat in the circle at the first gathering of Reiki Masters in Hawaii in 1982. I had been an initiated Master for 10 days. I listened to the stories of how Takata had taught each master differently. We drew the symbols together. It was quite shocking to the group to find out that they were different, similar in some respects and different in others. What did this mean? Discussion around this led to an agreement that we would all use the same symbols. I no longer remember exactly how we determined the correct symbols. It marked the beginning of attempted standardization. Takata's unique method of teaching was a source of great upset. We did not understand the uniqueness and came to it with our Western notion of uniformity and standardization. It was not apparent from the discussion that anyone in the group understood the real relationship of the symbols as a catalyst for inner awakening and connection to the Energy. If this had been understood at the time, we would not have engaged in the process of needing to have everyone's symbols be exactly the same. Is this understood now? Do we understand that Takata's way of teaching allowed each master freedom to discover their own uniqueness? Do we understand that each Master is unique? |
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