QUALITY
TRAINING ASSURED:
- an extract from Reiki Master Betty J. Hassenblatter's
newsletter
Copyright © 2006 James Deacon
So,
you don't know your lineage, eh? Perhaps it would be helpful if
you could find out about it, but then again...
Quality
Training Assured by Betty J. Hassenblatter
To
the 60 students I have made Reiki Masters
It
seems a couple of you wanted to know about my Reiki- what was
it you called it? oh yes thats right: 'Lineage' .
(I must admit, as I've only been teaching Reiki for just over
two weeks now, I didn't know what you were on about, so I've had
to get a book from the library. Well, I only received my level
1 and 2 attunements at a Tarot-reading party on the Saturday,
and became a Reiki Master on the Sunday, and as I had never even
heard of Reiki before the Saturday - and started attuning
students on the Monday, I didn't really have any time to learn
about the more obscure and esoteric elements of Reiki - like this
lineage thing)
So, I phoned Eunice, the lady who put the attunement on me (She
said that as she did not provide them, I should really make myself
a Reiki Certificate, as a lot of people like to see that sort
of thing - so as they know you are a proper trained Reiki Master.
She recommended I look on the internet as sometimes you can find
certificates to download and just fill in your details on them.
She did also tell me that, unless I wanted to mail the certificate
to her, with additional stamps to cover its return, I would have
to sign it with her signature [or as close as I could get it]
- just to make it authentic)
So, anyway, Eunice said she would email me the following details
about the lineage thing.
Apparently this is how we prove that we have received proper Reiki
training, and that the person who gave it to us had also
had proper training, and so on back to whoever it was that started
the whole thing - Eunice did mention the name but, I can't quite
recall it at the moment - Mrs Alice Hayashikata, or someone ?
Eunice also said something about how, many people try to play
down the importance of lineage, but that this is often because
there are some 'anomalies' in certain lineages - things that some
people might not really want publicised. [I must admit I've no
idea what she meant by this...]
So, for those people who were asking, here is my lineage, working
backwards from
- well I guess, me: Reiki Master Betty J. Hassenblatter.
[Along with the list of names, Eunice has even provided some details
about several of the other lineagers ( - is that the right word?)
including actual quotes from some of the people themselves.]
Reiki
Master Eunice Foggis
"I
received the 'combined level' single Reiki attunement by accident
(walked into the wrong tent at a Mind Body Spirit show - thought
I'd been queueing up for the five-minute shoulder massage!) I've
never received a Reiki treatment and have no real interest in
using Reiki myself, but selling attunements does help put my son
through college."
Reiki
Master Arleene
MacEndry
"I
added my name to an attunement list on a Reiki news forum - at
least I think it was an attunement list (The forum was Indonesian-Language,
and as I don't speak Indonesian - it did have the word 'Reiki'
in it though). I hope they understood my request?
Anyhoo - then I found a 300 word description of how to do the
attunements in a crystal healing magazine. The article was written
by Bryann Jaycobs, so technically I can claim him as part
of my lineage, can't I?"
Reiki
Master Briann
Jaycobs
Briann
says that he had dreams over three consecutive nights in which
an unseen figure, believed by Briann to be Reiki Master
Peter O'Farrelle,
attuned him to all three levels, as well as providing indepth
tuition in the various developmental techniques and treatment
practices associated with Reiki (On each of the three nights in
question Briann had consumed considerable quantities of bananas
and cheese, and had been avidly speed-reading his way through
a stack of Reiki books, directly before settling down to sleep...)
Reiki
Master Peter
O'Farrelle
At
first, Peter, who had never even heard of Briann Jaycobs, refused
to associate himself with Briann's claims, but, after Briann offered
to pay Peter for the 'Astral training' he had received ( - a sum
above and beyond the 'going rate' for formal training in all three
levels), Peter suddenly relented, admitting that he did indeed
have the ability enter his student's dreams and train them while
they slept. Peter now dedicates himself solely to teaching Reiki
in this way. He requires students to prepare for his nocturnal
training course by eating lots of cheese, lots of bananas, and
speed-reading several Reiki books, directly before settling down
to sleep...
Enoria
Finkelstiene
"Principles?
Really? Gee, its a good thing you mentioned that! I thought it
was the Five Reiki Principals - y'know, like five people
who were heads of different schools of Reiki or something. So,
these Principles then, what..."
Todd
Hamillton-Kay
"Well,
when people come to my Reiki classes, I attune them to Reiki obviously,
but as I am also worshiper of Renithratria: Lord of the Seven
Prothrassean Hells, and Right Hand of Satan - I also perform an
initiation to bind them as a servant of Renithratria. Well, no
of course I don't ask their permission, I don't even tell them
I've done it; though most of them usually figure it out
for themselves - when the 'signs' start appearing..."
Reiki
Master Alberto
'Fingers' Posman
"Use
Reiki? Whadda ya mean use it? Its just multi-level-marketing,
right? (some folks maybe call it 'pyramid selling', but its still
da same thing) Ya find some stake money, buy ya'self in, then
away ya go: just place a few ads, they roll up all starry-eyed,
ya just wave your hands over 'em, do that hui yin thing,
blow on 'em - then sell 'em a certificate. Then they can go out
- do the same; an' hope they recoup their stake an' something more
on top before the market's flooded, the whole thing collapses
- an' they gotta move on to the next town. I know Ms Sung talked
about 'spiritual principles' an' stuff, but I always kinda thought
that was just additional sales spiel, right?
What? No, ya kiddin' me - straight up? Ya mean I coulda used it
to get ridda my back ache? - I coulda saved a fortune in chiropractor's
bills!"
Reiki
Master Joely
Ling Sung
"I
was at a shamanic drumming seminar, run by Cary Fassenbascher's
sister. The whole Reiki Level 1, 2, & Master thing was just
a freebie incentive really. An extra half-hour course thrown in
as a bonus certificate, when you signed up for the residential,
advanced shamanic drumming seminar. So remind me - what
am I supposed to do with this attunement thingy?"
Reiki
Master Rev.
Cary Fassenbascher
"Well,
being a very advanced spiritual person - I mean, I do Tai Chi
an' everything - when I heard about this Reiki thing and how you
got to have this really cool title (always wanted people to address
me as 'Master') well, I just had to get the certificate
(oh yeah, and of course learn all that info about business cards,
and advertising for students, and stuff)
How much time do I spend treating clients compared with running
Reiki Training seminars? - Treating clients.... let me see, I'm
sure I must have done at least one treatment? I
did actually do a couple of self-treatments way back when
I first became a Reiki master, but, really I don't have time for
that sort of thing y'know?
Ethel
Marelli
"I
was originally intending to get my Reiki attunement from
this video a friend of mine was going to buy - all you had to
do was follow the instructions on the tape and the tape itself
would attune you - but my friend spent the $500 on some beauty
treatments instead, so that was the end of that idea!
Eventually, received my Reiki ability by Distant Attunement from
some Master in India. Or rather, I thought I did! Seems
the guy completely forgot to actually do the attunement! I only
found out after I'd already attuned Cary and about 6 other new
masters, and they had already started attuning students of their
own. But then I met Dean, and he said that because I had
believed that I was a Reiki Master at the time I attuned those
people, it would be OK, and suggested I needn't bother disheartening
them by telling them about the mix-up. Dean said he'd attune me
'retrospectively' - something about sending the attunement into
the past so that would mean Cary and the others were attuned
afterall - at least I think that was it? Dean was a great
help; he lent me a Reiki book and everything."
Reiki
Master Dean... (something-or-other)
Dean,
who was very much into the whole Positive Affirmations thing (even
though he'd never actually had any discernable results
from all his 10 years of 'wishing'), had watched with interest
an interview with a Reiki practitioner on one of the cable channels.
He thought Reiki would be something he'd really like to 'get into',
but being an 'I know best' type of person, and not really wanting
to get caught up in that whole thing of having to receive attunements,
learn to work with the energy, or admit that there might actually
be something to be gained from receiving hands-on tuition from
a real-life, experienced Reiki Master, Dean decided that
he would use the power of Affirmations to instantly become
an experienced Reiki Master himself (and while he was at it, he
would throw in a few extra affirmations to the effect that he
had received some Reiki treatments - something he had in fact
never actually done).
So lighting a candle, he sat down, affirmed that he was a Reiki
Master, skilled in his art - and hey presto...
{Though, Dean now claims that a little while later - about six
or seven months ago now - he did infact also receive an attunement
from an Andalucian Reiki Master named Delores Maria Xavier, while
working in a beach-side bar in Torremolinos, Spain]
Delores
Maria Xavier
We
are told that ex-Carmelite nun, Delores has very recently given
up all involvement with Reiki, taken a new name and is believed
to be living in an 'Eco-Spiritual' commune somewhere in New Zealand.
After
Delores Maria Xavier, so Eunice tells me, there is apparently
a gap in the lineage thing...
At
least a couple of the links in the chain are said to be missing
(O.K., so, Eunice reckons it might actually be nearer to
15 or 16 links)
But
apparently the other side of the gap the lineage goes back
to a:
Dr.
Hawayo Takata
Dr.
Hayashi
and
then to someone called... Mister Usui?
[Though
personally, I don't know if these last three people (from their
names it sounds as if they might possibly be Japanese or something?)
actually have anything to do with this Reiki - I mean, I've not
heard anything about Reiki having any connection with Japan.
Eunice seems to think Reiki was developed in Tibet by a couple
of British Explorers who were members of the Theosophical Society.
But based on my own experience as a Reiki Master (17 days, 21
hours and counting? Yeee!), and what with all the
esoteric-y type techniques and stuff that makes up most of the
Reiki course, I'm sure it must have originated in the West: Europe
somewhere - with Anton Mesmer perhaps - he was into all that sort
of thing - always talking about something called Universal Fluid
- I guess thats where we get the term Universal Energy?
And in lots of old illustrations of people doing his 'Animal Magnetism',
well it looks just like how Eunice taught me to do Reiki.]
Well,
any way, there you have it, my Reiki lineage - and now, I suppose,
yours too!
So
you see, everyone who signs up for my Reiki courses can rest secure
in the knowledge they are receiving the fullest, purest training
possible in this wonderful practice that has been passed down
for hundreds of years with care and integrity, from one highly
experienced Master to the next...
Best
wishes
Your
loving Reiki Master, Betty J. Hassenblatter.
______________________
O.K. - so the 'extract' above is fictional. Well, technically
fictional
You see (and to me, this is the scary part),
except for literally a couple of 'exaggerations' (and I'll leave
it to you to figure out what they are), everything in the
piece is closely based on real things I have observed and encountered
over the years in my interactions with ('master' level) members
of the Reiki community, both face to face and online .
I have simply woven them together into a single
tale, changing the names and other identifiable information -
in order to protect ...
