A Masters Path by Penelope Jewell

What is the nature of a Calling? Sometimes it cannot be explained - it simply has to be answered. A Masters Path is the story of my training in Personal Mastery, which at one time was a part of an apprenticeship to become a Teaching Master in the Usui System of Natural Healing, Reiki. Reiki is a Japanese form of energy healing, which anyone can learn and practice. The First Level is taught in a weekend - a simple technique that actually works to facilitate the bodys natural ability to heal itself. I bought a Reiki Session at a benefit auction, and found it quite interesting. I had never heard the word before, and could not find any reference to it in the library - which intrigued me. Several months later there was an opportunity to take the First Level training, to learn how to do Reiki for myself and others. Since Reiki can only be taught by a Master, and there were only two on the East Coast, this was rare occurrence in upstate New York - I was happy to sign up. I did not expect that the concept of natural healing with Reiki would change the course of my life. But it did. Eventually I sold my business to become a Teaching Master myself - quite a leap, with six sons, three dogs, two cats and a tank full of tropical fish at home. I ended up traveling around the world teaching Reiki classes - my students and I were among the first Reiki practitioners to bring Reiki into AIDS centers in Cleveland (The Living Center) and London (The Globe Center), and into leper communities in Bali, Indonesia, and Nepal. For me to become a Teaching Master in the mid-1980s took three years of dedicated learning, practice and apprenticeship, which was only the beginning of the journey. There were only about 500 Teaching Masters in the world in 1984 - Reiki had yet to become a common word and practice. Allah has no hands but yours, became my understanding and mantra - the Divine works in the world through us - through our hands and actions. Reiki became my gift.