Diminuative Dynamo

As a child, I always LOVED it when my mama told stories of 'the Olden Days,' when she was growing up. Many of the stories of Reiki that have come down to us were told by the the Dynamic woman who brought Reiki to the West in 1938, Hawayo Takata. I've always loved the stories she told of her own experiences.

Born Christmas Day, 1900 in Hanamaula, Kaui, Hawaii; Hawayo Kawamura's mother had big dreams for her tiny daughter, so named her after the Big Island of Hawaii. As a young girl, Hawayo quickly moved from field work to working in a Store, & March 10, 1917, she married Saichi Takata. They had two daughter, and remained in Hawaii, while the Kawamuras returned to Japan.

By 1930, she had been widowed, & in 1935, her sister died. Her own health had deteriorated, both from continuing to work hard, & from grief. She decided to take the news of her sister's death to her parents directly, & visited them in Japan to do so.

After the services were finished, Hawayo checked into the local hospital, with 'stomach pains,' & was diagnosed with a uterine tumor, gall stones,                    appendicitis; and had suffered with asthma since childhood. Because of the asthma, she was told to 'think of the hospital as a fancy resort hotel, & rest up!' before surgery was attempted. And so she did.

Now the head surgeon's sister was the hospital dietician, & several years before Mrs. Takata's admission to the hospital, the Dietician had passed out, & been in a coma. Their family was related to the Hayashis, so when Dr Hayashi heard of her illness, he'd treated her with Reiki, & she'd made a full recovery.

So daily, the surgeon's sister, the dietician, would prepare nourishing food for Mrs Takata, & bless it with Reiki.
Daily, she wondered if she should try to tell Mrs Takata about Reiki ... but she was a foreigner ... what would she think?

Finally, they felt Hawayo Takata was strong enough for the surgery, & began preparations. Now, imagine this scene in a hospital today, 2013 ... the patient has been prepped, the surgeon is scrubbing, ...

when the patient begins to hear a small voice, (her departed husband? The dietician?) in her head saying 'Surgery not necessary' ... (well, if I hear it 3 times) 'Surgery not necessary ... Surgery NOT NECESSARY!' ...

(what should I do??)

'Ask .... Ask .... Ask!'

(WHO should I ask?)

'The surgeon! The surgeon! THE SURGEON!'

So
...........

She
...............

GOT OFF THE OPERATING TABLE!!

Can you IMAGINE? 1935. Japan. A woman ... got of the operating table!
What a fuss! The nurses were in an uproar! What had she done? Did she need a chamber pot?? Why hadn't she simply TOLD them! All their hard work ...Was she frightened? ... 'No .... um, could I speak to the doctor?'

The surgeon came in - again the question - was she frightened? No ... (how to expain? Without sounding crazy?!!)
'Since I'm in Japan ... I just wondered ... if there was any OTHER treatment that might be possible, might be preferable ... ??'

Ah.
"I'll get my sister, she's the dietician here ..."

So the problem was explained, & the Dietician offered to take Hawayo Takata to Dr Hayashi's Reiki clinic.
She explained about her own coma, & how Reiki had helped.
She explained that it could take months, but it was a powerful healing technique ... did she want to try that?

YES, Why, YES, she DID!

So the dietician took Mrs Takata to the Clinic. She lay on one of the futons, with a healer at her head, & one at her feet. And they would mention - over her eyes (linked to liver/gall bladder) 'a lot of draw here ...'
Over her liver/gall bladder 'a lot of energy here ...'
Over her appendix, Over her belly ... how did they KNOW? They hadn't brought her charts along ... And their hands! They had such HOT hands!!

The next day when the dietician brought her for the second treatment at Hayashi's clinic, Mrs Takata was ready! After the treatment began, she slapped the practitioner's sleeves (long traditional kimono sleeves) to see if they were attached to battery wires! And WORSE - she began asking questions!
A woman. 
In Japan. 
In 1935!! 
Mr Hayashi came out of his office, to see what the fuss was about - & laughed along with the practitioners at the silly Western Woman!

On the way back to the hospital ('continue thinking of it as a Fancy Resort Hotel!') the dietician suggested she would come to Mrs Takata's room each evening, & give her another Reiki session. Then, if Mrs Takata had questions, she could ask HER! 'They just don't understand why you ask so many questions!' 

After receiving Reiki daily for 4 months, Mrs Takata had recovered her health, & was ready for the next step ....

learning how to do this wonderful Reiki! 
(photo - Fran Brown: Takata in 1974)