Customer Reviews

Hand to Hand: The Longest-Practicing Reiki Master Tells His Story

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having about 20 years of study and practice in various healing systems, I recommend this book as a practical and comprehensive tool for the study of Reiki and life energy. It will be of interest to newcomers for the history and basic techniques of Reiki. It will be instructive to practitioners and teachers through the case histories and integration with chakra energetics model. The knowledge presented is in the tradition of the original method which provides energy balancing at all levels-physical,mental,emotional, spiritual. This book illustrates the on-going development of Reiki as a growing complentary modality in the healing arts. John Harvey Gray is one of the original US Masters and has dedicated his life to sharing and teaching Reiki through classes and the establishment of Reiki wellness centers.

This author studied under Takata. He will give you information not available in other books. Most of the books on Reiki are either repetitive of what's been written, or are the author's own theories. This book is neither. For anyone who has been attuned and is interested in Reiki's History, this book is a highly recommended sourcebook.

Note that the author disagrees with Modern Reiki Masters in that he states that personal, in person, attunements from an authentic Reiki Master who has ALSO been attuned in person from another Reiki Master (the lineage) is the only way to go, to be attuned to real, pure Reiki.

MRM's will argue that you can get attuned from a video, from the Internet, or even attune yourself (the usual babble and claims.). Nonsense. Something may happen, but It ain't Reiki.

If I'd pick a half-dozen books on Reiki that I would consider essential, this book would be about #3. Learn about Takata and Reiki from someone who was there during her peak years.

I highly reccomend this book to all my Reiki friends. It is written by one of the twenty two original Reiki masters initiated by Hawayo Takata. John Harvey Gray was the third to receive this initiation from her, and is the longest currently practicing in the west.

In addition to a nice historical context, Hand to Hand also provides photo illustrations of hand positions for a complete treatment, both for oneself and others, useful techniques and advice, and another translation of Hayashi sensei's Ryoho Shishin (Hayashi healing guide).

John and his wife Lourdes wrote a wonderful addition to the Reiki library.

John Gray was one of the first students of Sensei Hawayo Takata, who was at that time the only Reiki master practicing outside of Japan. The author's autobiographical memories, and biographical stories of those who learned and practiced Reiki in its earliest days in the United States, are very poignant. There are a only handful of writings from those who knew Mrs Takata firsthand, biographies by Helen Haberly and Fran Brown, a book by Anneli Twan, and a very rare book by Virginia Samdahl. Alongside these works, this book is an important contribution. It shares recollections and memories of the early times of Reiki in America. The author's intentions are focused on compassionate healing, and on honoring the tradition and method of his teacher. Those drawn to Reiki will find this book fascinating and valuable.

Didn't expect to be highjacked by such an interesting story. Very well put together. Although the editor missed a few errors.

This book was an excellent resource on Reiki for both practitioners and anyone who is interested in learning about the subject. I highly recommend it.

After a still-unexplained loss of my voice (and my vocation) I became interested in Reiki and began searching for a Master Teacher. Bewildered and frustrated by the hundreds of "Masters" - both online and off - and the conflicting and misleading books on the subject, I became rather discouraged and decided to wait until I "found" the right Master - or they found me. On a trip to New England, I discovered that John Harvey Gray, one of the original 22 Masters trained by Hawayo Takata herself, and his wife Lourdes, also a Reiki Master, lived and taught 90 minutes away from my second home in New Hampshire. My Masters had simply been waiting for me to find them.

I quickly enrolled in their next class and am currently enrolled in their Master Practitioner program. My 15 year old son is set to begin his training this weekend. John is 92 now, still leading and teaching and giving attunements, and Lourdes is a powerful and very knowledgeable Master in her own right. Their story is told simply and directly from the heart and the Reiki information contained in this book is accurate and uncolored by the typical misinformation found in nearly every other Reiki book. Contrary to what other authors may claim, it is NOT OK to "make up" your own symbols, "reverse" them, or become attuned through a DVD or an online program. If you wish to have a taste of the source, do yourself a favor and read this book, then decide for yourself. Reiki is simple, direct, and loving - just like the authors themselves.

I had the distinct honor of studying under John and Lourdes. The book is very well written and a good handbook for the beginner and as a reference down the road after a year and a half I still refer back to it. . They are wonderful teachers!