Shihando (Way of the Master) Reiki (Universal Life Force) is an evolution of the traditional Japanese healing art of the laying on of hands known as Reiki. It comprises symbols found in the traditional healing art as well as additional symbols found in the Shaolin-style martial arts system known as Juai Kung Karbo (Mastery through Movement).

Reiki is a form of energy healing based upon a science of calligraphies or geometric patterns which were found in the Sanskrit Sutras. It was developed in the 1800’s by a Japanese theologian, Dr. Mikao Usui. He found calligraphies in the Sutras that are inherent in the forms of Tai Chi (Grand Ultimate; Universal Life Force) and Kung Fu (Work Man; Work the Body). The symbols he discovered, however, are different from those that have been studied by traditional martial artists. These symbols were heretofore unknown to exist in the katas. The discovery of their existence in the martial arts forms is ultimately significant to students of the higher order of both martial arts and Reiki.

As he did not understand that the drawings he was seeing were actually pictorial representations of movements of the physical body, Dr. Usui created a process whereby he could attune an individual to these symbols through a ritualistic process of implanting the calligraphies in an initiate’s energy field using the symbols in specific sequential order. He called this process Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki: the Usui System of Natural Healing with Universal Life Force.

Karuna Reiki (Reiki of compassion), developed in 1995 by William Lee Rand as an outgrowth of traditional Reiki, does incorporate some of the martial arts symbols in their practice. However, the symbols were not broken down to their most basic state, and some are combined, as they are in the practice of form. While valid and empowering in their own right, these symbols have been broken down completely and individualized in the practice of and attunement to Shihando Reiki to ensure true clarity of the energies and language created by the symbols.

The traditional healing system of Reiki vibrates and resonates with the violet flame energy. It is transmutive, and therein lies its healing power. Shihando Reiki, however, is even more transmutive as it resonates multidimensionally with pure white light. This higher energy level vibration increases the level of acceleration attained with each attunement, as well as enhancing any healing work done at the table. By breaking down all martial arts symbols to their original form and adding them to the attunements in specific sequential order, Shihando Reiki takes energy work and personal acceleration to the next level. The result is multidimensional, white light Reiki, as opposed to the traditional Usui System of violet flame energy.

To have a body without a soul is to have nothing more than an empty shell. To have a thought without an emotion is to have an empty process that has no more value than a body void of spirit. For without form, there is no substance; and without substance, there can be no form. When we work with both form and substance to achieve our highest goals, we work to harmonize within ourselves and thereby find the synergy of the yin/yang essence that we are. Through this harmonic synergy, we are able to connect to that which lies beyond the physical. Through this understanding and awareness, we are able to find and touch and know our ch’i (ki)—our soul.

Anyone can learn the movements and symbols of the Universal Life Force, but what of the essence of those movements and symbols? The challenge is to study and learn of the depths of meaning within each geometric in terms of the language that is being spoken, which is the language of our soul, and what those symbols are doing to alter our perception of who we are. At its core, the true study is of ourselves.

Lynn Montana Freemãn is founder of Masters’ Dojo, in Lithia. A Shihando Reiki Master with 30 years’ experience, she provides private and group healing and training sessions, by appointment. Reach her by phone at 267-474-4717 or email [email protected].