In the fall of 2017, Susan Mitchell fulfilled a lifelong dream to make a Reiki pilgrimage to Japan. She visited Mount Kurama, where Reiki lineage founder Mikao Usui had his spiritual awakening.

Now an internationally respected Reiki teacher, Susan learned First and Second degree from Hawayo Takata. Susan has practiced daily self Reiki since 1978 and offered treatment and classes since 1985.  Susan was the executive director of The Reiki Alliance for 11 years and an editor of Reiki Magazine International for 7 years.

A Reiki Pilgrim’s Progress
by Susan Mitchell

I looked up the steep forested trail and felt the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who’d walked this path before me. For the first time in my life, I experienced the profound power of pilgrimage: an inner stripping away and opening to a truth I’d known but experienced now with new eyes.

After passing through the torii gate (traditional entrances to sacred temples and sites), I stopped at a stone font to wash my hands and rinse my mouth, purifying myself before beginning the ascent.

Walking the path, I stopped to make frequent offerings and prayers before sacred stones, falling waters, ancient cedars, Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. I was touched by the thinness of the veil between my small self and the ineffable.

The farther I walked, the more I felt sacredness emanating from the mountain and nature. I could imagine Mikao Usui seeking out such a place in hopes of realizing his longing for awakening.*

After my Reiki pilgrimage

Now at home, I continue to reflect on my Reiki pilgrimage. Yet most of the blessings of my Reiki pilgrimage elude words.

I can say I’m filled with a sense of wonder and awe, and the desire to fully embody my practice. I also have a greater sense of what embodiment is.

And I suspect my desire to embody my practice will require at least a lifetime of dedication and practice.

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Can’t make a Reiki pilgrimage to Mount Kurama this week? Me neither. But you can take the Usui Virtual Retreat at home, on your own schedule, for free!

Or come rejuvenate yourself and deepen your Reiki practice at the Heart of Practice Reiki Retreat in Mexico!

Also by Susan Mitchell:
Reiki and Money
Reiki Nerve Stroke
Is the Reiki Practitioner Safe?

This content was originally published here.