Byosen Part One

ReikiDharma NewsletterVolume#25, November 3, 2008

Dear friend!
Hello again from your friend Frank Arjava Petter. Today I would like to share more insights on how to work with the byosen with you. If you have not yet read the first part of this article that appeared in the last issue of the ReikiDharmaNewsletter (#24), please do so before you continue reading. You will find it at ReikiDharma.com in the Article Archive.

To refresh your memory, the byosen has been discovered to have five distinct levels:

Levels of byosen

1. Heat. This heat is above normal body temperature.
2. Strong heat. This heat makes your palms sweat.
3. Tingling. The tingling can be experienced as pins and needles, as a magnetic feeling, or as your hands falling asleep.
4. Pulsation, cold. The pulsation can be strong or weak, slow or fast. When the place you touch feels cold, it is not the fault of your hands, but a sign of byosen level four.
5. Pain in the hand of the practitioner. This pain may be felt in the hand, in the fingers or in the back of the hand. It may move up your hand into the forearm, and may continue all the way up to your shoulder.

Working with the Byosen

In Japan only a beginner is taught standard hand positions for certain illnesses. Both Usui Sensei and Hayashi Sensei gave their beginner students handbooks that explained what to do with the most common ailments of that time.

This was done so the students could get to work before they understood the art of byosen. With time he will learn from his teacher how to listen to the body of the client, and to the workings of the energy. But please don’t misunderstand that to be a psychic ability, or intuition. The Japanese approach is not exclusively intuitive.

Instead it is perception. To be perceptive can be learned, and this happens most easily in the presence of a skilled teacher. We have noticed over the years that the teacher’s expertise flows naturally to his students in his physical presence. This is the natural law of the spirit. The higher vibration transforms the lower. However, understanding the way the body works is a good beginning.

The first thing one needs to train in order to be perceptive is awareness. Begin with being aware of all the information that your senses supply you with. Look at the body of your client with the utmost attention and awareness. Notice every little thing.

The client may not know what he needs, but his body does. His body will give you the abovementioned signs in the form of the five levels of byosen. The byosen attracts your attention, it pulls your hands to itself. Also the byosen tells you how the healing is going as well as how to proceed. There are three traditional ways to aid you in your work.

1. The first technique is really not a technique at all.
A client comes to you and tells you what his physical problem is. He has been diagnosed by a health- care practitioner and maybe he experiences pain or discomfort. You place your hands on that body part and feel the byosen. If you feel a strong byosen, level four or five, you know that something serious is happening there which needs serious and possibly time- consuming attention. As you keep your hands on this area you watch the peaks and valleys of the byosen. It comes and goes in waves.
You keep working with the client until the peaks have diminished to level two or one. One example: A seminar participant was supposed to have his gall bladder removed a few days after the workshop. She had developed very painful stones and the doctors saw no other way for her than surgery. Every day, for five days I worked on her with the group. On the first day I felt a strong byosen, level five. During the treatment one of us held her head, one held her feet, two or three held other positions and I placed my hands on the gallbladder for the whole duration. The byosen changed after two peaks and dropped to a strong level four. I felt the area cold, and imagined the stones turning to dust. The next day we began again with a light level five and from then on the byosen dropped dramatically. On the third day, all I felt was a strong tingle- level three. By the end of the training, after five days, there was only heat to be felt. I asked her quite strongly to have a checkup before surgery, because I knew that the body was taking good care of itself. Her healing powers were activated and I was confident that the body could heal itself now. All the others felt it too. The surgery was cancelled by a surprised physician.

2. The second technique is called Reiji- Ho in Japanese. It comes directly from Usui Sensei, who taught it to his students. In the Usui Reiki Ryoho Gakkai (Usui Reiki Healing Method Association) this technique is thought to be one of the Pillars of Reiki. They suggest to practice and perfect it over the course of many years. This may seem strange to you, because the technique is rather innocent looking. But I promise you, it is a tiger in a sheep skin. The words Reiji- Ho mean “indication of the spirit” or in our case, indication of the Reiki Energy. These are the instruction for this technique:

Step One: Fold your hands in Gassho* and bow lightly. Now become aware of the Reiki flowing through you. (Someone who has been attuned to Reiki will feel this instantly. Most of us feel a pulsation, or waves of energy in between your palms.)

Step Two: Pray for the healing and wellbeing of the client on all levels (without judgment).

Step Three: Lift your hands up in front of your forehead, thus activating the third eye, and ask the Reiki energy to take your hands to where they are most needed in this moment.

Now you will receive an inspiration that tells you where you shall place your hands. This may come in a variety of forms. It may come to you as a thought or as an emotion. You may see an inner image, or an etheric one. You may just know where to go. You may hear an inner voice telling you where to go. You may sense what is happening to your client. Or you may feel a subtle sensation in your own body, pointing you in the right direction. Once you follow this perception by placing your hand on the client’s respective body part, the sensation in your own body disappears.

After you have received the information in whatever form, you place your hand on the body, and pay attention to the byosen. Depending on the strength of the signal, remain there until it decreases to level one or two. The first part of this technique is linked to your intuition, but the second part is perception. And this is what I personally like about working with the byosen. You can always verify what you intuit by placing your hands on the body. I am not comfortable with the emperor’s invisible clothes…

Several years ago I showed this technique to an old friend who is an internationally well- known physician. I stood behind him for a couple of seconds and then told him which areas of his body needed attention. He could not believe his ears, and immediately invited me to a congress. This technique turns Reiki into a very serious healing art, and should be learned by everyone who practices Reiki.

After you have worked with this technique for a while, you may not need to go through the motions anymore, or you may find your own way of doing it. Maybe you just need to look at someone to be able to tell what is happening to his body. Personally I am not a very skilled at these things- and if I can learn it – I promise you that you will be really good at it!

This technique can be used for psychic development in other areas of life as well.

*The word Gassho means two hands coming together. The correct way to practice Gassho is to hold the hands up, with the palms close together. Each finger is supposed to lie upon the respective finger of the other hand. The hands are held so that the finger- tips are held just below the nose. The elbows are not touching the body, but there is enough space in between the inside of the upper arm and the armpit to fit in an egg. The back is held erect and the head floating up by itself as if held up by a helium- filled balloon.

3. The third technique is scanning the body. This is usually done by running your hands over the body through the aura of the client slowly and consciously. While doing so, you pay attention to the subtle changes in the perception of your hands. Scan the whole body and remember or write down the areas that were indicated. After you have covered the whole body, go to the place where the impulse was strongest, place your hands on it and wait for the byosen to develop. In both the second and the third technique, the byosen pulls your hands to the place that needs attention.

You can also scan the body from the inside. Place your hands on the body and listen carefully. Listen with love and devotion and you will hear the melody of the body you are touching. Body and mind will reveal their secrets to you.

Sensitivity and Perception

Your hands may already be sensitive, and they may require some perception training. One hand may be more sensitive than the other at the moment, but eventually both are able to feel the energy equally well. It is possible that you may feel the byosen with one hand or with both, depending on the size of the area that is afflicted. You may also feel it only in one finger, or, in the back of the hand. You will be surprised how accurate it can be. In the next issue of the ReikiDharma Newsletter, I will share with you how you can increase the perception in your hands.

With love from Germany, your friend

Frank Arjava Petter

Copyright© 2008 by Frank Arjava Petter

Personal News

I would like to thank all of you who have sent Reiki to my wife Bhakti and myself for the birth of our son Alexis. Alexis was born last night at 7:02 pm at Mother Mary’s hospital in Düsseldorf, Germany
(53 centimeters and 4110 grams). The birthing process took a mere 90 minutes and both Bhakti and Alexis are resting as we speak . You presence in the delivery room was well- felt and we both felt protected, loved and cared for. I bow to you in gratitude…

Workshop news

To celebrate the birth of our son I would like to offer a Reiki- Teacher/ Master Training in English from January 7- 13, 2009 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Please email me for further info.

Website News

Please check out a few of new features at ReikiDharma.com.
1-The Reiki Principles in Japanese
We have added a movie on how to pronounce the Reiki- Principles in Japanese under my guidance.
2- Distant Healing Network
If you are in need of Distant treatments (only for the seriously ill) please email me your name, your date of birth, a photograph of your self, the time of day you would like to receive the treatment, and the difficulty (illness) you are experiencing.
3- Japan Tours
Next year I will take two groups of friends to Japan. The tour in May still has a few vacancies, the tour in October is almost fully booked. For the tour in October 2010 there are four spaces left.

Thank you for listening to me again, with love and gratitude

Frank Arjava Petter