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

Reiki, pronounced "ray-key," means Universal Life Force. This energy is all around us and we can channel it.

The Reiki method of hands-on healing is an ancient one, rediscovered by Mikao Usui in early 20th Century Japan. John Harvey Gray was the third of the original twenty-two Reiki Master Instructors created to carry on the Reiki Tradition by Hawayo Takata, a Japanese-American woman who first brought Reiki to the West. Mrs. Takata was trained in Japan by Chujiro Hayashi, a direct disciple of Usui. John Harvey Gray received his entire training from Mrs. Takata. He is considered to be the longest-practicing Reiki Master Instructor in the West.

John and his wife Lourdes offer the authentic Reiki method as Takata taught it, along with a wealth of information distilled from their combined experience teaching over 750 workshops and treating thousands of clients. Discover the history of Reiki, how it works and how attitudes that create dis-ease in the mind and emotions affect the physical body. Learn specific techniques including body-scanning procedures to discover areas of reduced vitality flow, hand positioning to maximize the effects of a Reiki treatment, self-treatment and emergency procedures. John and Lourdes tell their personal stories and discuss the meaning of Reiki mastership.

Hand to Hand offers both beginner and experienced master a rich and solid foundation for the practice of this popular method of energy healing.

Reverend John Harvey Gray has been a Reiki Master Instructor since 1976, actively teaching and practicing Reiki longer than any other living teacher. He has taught over 750 workshops and trained more than 10,000 students. In 1974, John became one of the first three of the original 22 Reiki Master Instructors trained by Hawayo Takata, the woman who brought Reiki to the United States from Japan. He took his entire Reiki training with Mrs. Takata and continues to teach according to her time-honored tradition. John's early education took place in California and the Far East. He later graduated from Dartmouth College. After serving in World War II, his careers before Reiki included banking, computer systems development and research at Stanford Research Institute.

John's wife and business partner, Lourdes Gray, has taught over 200 Reiki workshops since becoming a Reiki Master Instructor, certified by John from Hawayo Takata in 1996. Born in Cuba, Lourdes worked in real estate and mortgage banking before becoming a full-time Reiki practitioner. Her Reiki practice includes the treatment of chronic diseases as well as emotional problems. Her classes incorporate her lifelong interest in both scientific and esoteric energy theories while continuing to work within the Usui-Gray tradition. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Health.

Both John and Lourdes are ordained ministers in the Church of the Loving Servant, a non-denominational church founded by John and devoted to spiritual healing. Together they continue to share a life of Reiki teaching, research, healing and development of the Usui-Gray Integrated Reiki SystemÒ.

Journalist Steven McFadden is also the author of Profiles in Wisdom: Native Elders Speak About the Earth (iUniverse.com, 2000), Legend of the Rainbow Warriors (2001) and Farms of Tomorrow Revisited (1998). In August, 2000, under the instruction of John and Lourdes, he became a Reiki Master in the Usui-Gray tradition.

Elisabeth Clark, artist, writer, ethnic dancer and world traveler has been publishing articles, stories and poems for over a decade. She became acquainted with Reiki in 1998 through her painting. She is presently training with John and Lourdes for her Reiki mastership.

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The John Harvey Gray Center for Reiki Healing is located on Lake Monomonac, nestled in the foothills of New Hampshire's famed Mount Monadnock. Reiki classes, private instruction and treatments are held here, along with bi-monthly donation-based Reiki healing sessions.

The John Harvey Gray Center for Reiki Healing P.O. Box 696, Rindge, NH 03461