Dragonfly Reiki

A wish for the week ahead. ♥️ ~ Nanea

My husband and I finally took the RV on its first real trip — back to the Atlanta area! 😂 We had a couple of things to do up here, and decided to spend a few days at the campground at Stone Mountain Park.

Although the hike up the mountain is very popular with visitors, we much prefer the hikes around the base and the lake. It's wooded, far more peaceful, and we can take our dog.

I was walking along the trail, carefully stepping around the exposed tree roots on the path — and was reminded of hiking up Mt. Kurama in Kyoto and seeing the Kinone Michi, the Path of Roots. ⛰️

When I teach the history of Reiki to my students, I describe how the founder, Mikao Usui, engaged in an intense practice of fasting and meditation on Mt. Kurama. This austerity culminates in Usui Sensei experiencing "the one great Reiki" while at Kinone Michi among the great cedars. ✨️

The natural setting of Kinone Michi is so central to the Reiki story that it is instantly recognizable to students when they visit Kurama-yama in person. The giant cedars, the sunlight filtering through, the aromatic air, and the massive network of entwined tree roots feel almost otherworldly, even if you knew nothing about Reiki.....

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Wishing Hyakuten Inamoto Sensei a happy and healthy birthday! 🎂

I had the privilege of enjoying lunch and conversation with Sensei while in Kyoto in May with Dr. Justin B. Stein - Reiki Research on his Reiki Pilgrimage Tour, which is when this photo was taken.

Although he travels the world teaching and sharing Komyo ReikiDo, it was very special to meet up with Sensei in his hometown and spend that time in his company.

あらし吹く世にも動くな人ごころ
いはほに根ざす松のごとくに

Like a pine tree rooted in the earth
is the heart of a person
who stays strong when the world is stormy.

(Photo taken at Ryōan-ji Temple, May 2026)

Celebrating the birthdate of Mikao Usui, who brought Reiki to the world.⁠
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Mikao Usui 15th August 1865 to 9th March 1926⁠
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Mikao Usui was born on August 15, 1865, in Taniai, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Usui Sensei was born at a critical time in Japanese history: the end of the Edo period, the age of Feudalism. Japan was ruled by the Shogunate, which commanded the armies of Samurai warriors. In 1867, political dominion and rule were returned to the Emperor of Japan, and the age of Modernism began.⁠
⁠
Usui Mikao was the son and grandson of a merchant family whose ancestry can be traced back to the Chiba Samurai clan. He was not a samurai. Details of his childhood are unknown, so many of the stories on the internet are fabrications.⁠
⁠
In the small village of Taniai, there is only one Buddhist temple of the Jodo Shu (Pure Land) sect, where generation after generation of the Usui family’s remains are located. In the same village, there is a Shinto Shrine with a huge stone Torii (gate) where Usui Mikao and his younger brother’s names, Sanya and Kuniji, are engraved. Usui Sanya was a medical doctor in the army and opened a clinic in Tokyo after retirement. Usui Kuniji was a Police Officer in the local area where Usui Mikao was born. Kuniji retired and became a Shihan of the Gakkai and was teaching Reiki Ryoho to local people. ⁠
⁠
In 1922, Usui Mikao climbed Kurama Yama (Mount Kurama) north of Kyoto, the ancient capital city of Japan. At the time, he was almost 57 years old, an elderly man whose average lifespan was less than 50 years in Japan. Here, he undertook severe training by fasting and meditating for 21 days. He felt one Great Reiki and became enlightened, it is believed in March 1922. The exact date is not known. Usui Sensei accidentally realised that he had been given a wonderful gift, a mysterious healing ability, in his hands. Why Usui Sensei climbed the mountain and undertook severe training for 21 days is unknown.⁠

Today, I was offering Reiki sessions in my friend Laura's treatment room at and was accompanied by these gorgeous stones and crystals! 🥰

Although I am very discerning about when and if I incorporate crystals and stone medicine into my Reiki sessions, I do love being surrounded by them when I'm working.

Laura has a stunning personal collection AND she sells amazing specimens (including some pieces from my grandfather's collection) in her shop. Y'all need to go there and soak in ALL the good vibes! 🔮 💫

Healing is both an individual and a collective effort. We must individually take responsibility for our own healing journey, while recognizing that we also bear a responsibility to lift up and affirm those of us who were born into and live under oppression and systemic injustice.

Today, the Black and African-American community in the United States celebrates Juneteenth, just as their ancestors have since slavery was abolished in this country. Although it is now formally recognized as a federal holiday, the work of achieving full liberation and freedom for Black people - and other communities of color - is still ongoing.

The Reiki community should also be equally committed to the work of healing these deep social, systemic, and ancestral wounds that keep so many from realizing their fullest potential and purpose.

The system of Reiki originated in Japan, and its very existence and survival here was precarious until the end of the last century, due to anti-Japanese sentiment and racism. Hawayo Takata, the Japanese-American woman who worked on a sugar cane plantation in Hawai'i and later brought this practice over from Japan, intentionally made changes to the system to make it more appealing to a white, American audience.

We no longer have to "whitewash" our Reiki practice.

As practitioners of this spiritual healing art, we should feel called to honor our Reiki ancestors and elders by committing ourselves to the path of healing, freedom, and liberation for all people in our lives and in our work.

As a Reiki Teacher/Master, I am also aware of the overall lack of diversity I see in our Reiki communities here in the United States. It's one thing to say, "All are welcome." It's another thing to intentionally cultivate a practice or community where people DO feel welcome and safe.

If you are a Reiki practitioner or teacher, I urge you to join me in being explicitly anti-racist and anti-colonialist in your own practices. This is an evolving and ongoing process, because it is a form of heart-mind healing. We are actively replacing subconscious and harmful beliefs, thoughts, and actions with ones that are more empathetic, inclusive, diverse, and compassionate.

Becoming anti-racist and anti-colonial is a spiritual practice too, because spiritual practices are at their core, about recognizing and living into our interconnected, unbounded freedom that is the birthright of everyone and everything in the universe.

May every day be a Juneteenth celebration of liberation for our Black and African-American siblings, family, and community. Freedom is not a day; it is a way of life. It is what healing looks and feels like.