Renate Heimann-Dari, 15 April 2025

Renate Heimann-Dari from Germany received her first Reiki treatment as a courtesy. It touched her and she decided to attend a course. This was in 1991 and Gisella Werner initiated her as a Master 2 years later.

After her initiation Renate attended as many events as possible with Phyllis in Germany and became a member of The Reiki Alliance. When Phyllis started a licensing program in 1996, she offered her services as she was passionate about development and teaching. Licensing was a request from The Reiki Alliance, but it ultimately did not happen because there was too much resistance to the consequences. The Master Training Program, which was part of the licensing, remained and was further developed under Phyllis’ leadership. Erika Breiter and Renate took over the leadership of the non-profit, there was a group of masters who acted as curriculum team, facilitators and as a support team for the program. At that time Renate did not speak English, but after a while Phyllis urged her to learn the language, which she did.

In this way, Renate worked intensively with Phyllis for about 10 years. She also attended many seminars, such as “Responding with Compassion”. In 2013, Phyllis officially became her mentor. When Phyllis founded the Succession Core Team to explore what succession and shared leadership means, Renate was a committed member. In March 2019, she traveled to Arizona to be with Phyllis and provide helpful support where possible.

Renate shares her experiences with Phyllis, both as a friend and as a lineage holder, and the impact Phyllis has had on her practice.

Renate also gives us insights into what Phyllis has meant to Reiki and to the community. She experienced Phyllis as a visionary who was usually at least one step ahead and, above all, often saw undiscovered potential in people and encouraged it.

Interview Nora Belton, 11 March 2025

Nora Belton is an American Reiki master living in Ibiza, Spain. In 1988, when she was exploring different paths of spirituality, a friend of hers invited her to a talk about Reiki. She felt drawn, but knew it wasn’t the right time. That time came a few years later when she met a Reiki master in Ibiza, Lydia Hatvani.

Nora took Reiki 1 and 2 and explains what drew her and why. She practised Reiki a lot and around 1996 she felt the calling to become a master and start teaching. Lydia recommended to ask Phyllis to initiate her.

From then on, Nora, went to a lot of events with Phyllis. She shares what things she appreciated in Phylis’s teachings, how Phyllis both inspired and challenged her. She also tells us what changed for her after she was initiated in 2010.

She recalls how it was to translate for Phyllis. And shares about the beautiful parting gift Phyllis had for her when they met for the last time in 2018.

Boris Ushakov, 18 September 2024

Boris Ushakov from Almaty, Kazakhstan, was initiated into Reiki 1 by Galina Balekovic, who had also initiated his wife Svetlana. He says his real Reiki path started when he attended a meeting Phyllis held in Kazakhstan in 2009. He then realised Reiki is not only a healing practice but also a spiritual one. He also felt that Phyllis was an unusual person, very different from most people, and his life would never be the same.

He took Reiki more seriously from then on. Took the second degree with Svetlana and asked Phyllis to initiate him as a master.

Boris attended all meetings Phyllis organised, in Kazakhstan, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands and Kenyon Ranch in Arizona, US, 2-3 times per year.

Then he got a letter from Phyllis saying she would only initiate 10 more masters. Boris was happy to be one of them. He was initiated in Wales in 2018.

Unfortunately he wasn’t able to meet Phyllis after that. But in the years before, he had built up a close friendship with her. Boris shares special memories of master-candidate retreats and workshops Reiki for a Better World, some of which he helped organise for her in Kazakhstan. He tells us about taking Phyllis to a special place in the mountains she always wanted to visit when she came. He explains how his life changed in many ways and what he sees as her greatest legacy.

The interpretation of this interview from Russian is kindly provided by Rita Slotnikov from Israel.

Elfie Schlumberger, 25 February 2025

Elfie Schlumberger from Germany was initiated into Reiki 1 in1983 by Birgitte Müller in a class she gave together with Phyllis Furumoto. It was the first time Phyllis visited Germany.

Elfie tells us how she loved Reiki and decided to go to a self-assessment workshop Phyllis gave. She shares how Phyllis kindled her desire to explore questions like: what is Truth, what is Essence?

In 1986 Phyllis invited Elfie to come to New Mexico, where she initiated her as a master. At the time, Phyllis was the only one initiating masters. Elfie explains why she would never have chosen anyone else.

And shares about how Phyllis touched her and her family and how she changed Elfie’s life.

Elfie started teaching Reiki and became active in the Reiki community in different ways. She set up a centre for holistic health with her then husband and invited Phyllis and also Paul Mitchell to come and teach in Germany.

She is an active member of the Reiki Alliance from the beginning, went to a lot of gatherings Phyllis organised, and attended OGM retreats. Together with other masters from different nationalities, Elfie was involved in the development of a Master Education Program with Phyllis and witnessed the process of describing the 4 aspects and 9 elements, evolving from conversations about What is Reiki, can it be trademarked, what defines our system?

From her rich experience, Elfie gives us many examples of the gifts Phyllis brought to the Reiki community over the years, always bringing people together and stimulating connections, sharings and conversations.

Rebecca Bredenhof, 7 March 2025

Rebeca Bredenhof from the Netherlands met Reiki in 1991 when she received a short treatment. She knew in her heart that this was her path and took Reiki 1 and 2 classes from Horst Pielich. She received her master degree in 1996 from Netty Hakkaart. Two years later she went with Netty to the first Reiki Festival organised by Rolf and Li-Li Holm. Phyllis was there as a guest speaker. At the end of the festival, Rebecca went up to Phyllis to ask if she could send her a letter with a personal question. Phyllis invited her for a drink in the bar, a very touching experience for Rebecca.

From 2001 Rebecca attended many events with Phyllis. Phyllis also asked her to organise Public Practice conferences in The Netherlands and several times she rented Rebecca’s Reiki Centre in The Hague for events.

Working with Phyllis so much, gives Rebecca many lessons, both on a practical and a personal level, always stimulated to do things she didn’t know she could. She shares with us how Phyllis formalised their relationship into a mentorship in a beautiful ceremony together with Netty.

Rebecca has wonderful sharings about what she experienced of the Succession process to a new Lineage Bearer. And she tells us what she sees as Phyllis’s legacy to the world.

Rick Bockner, 9 January 2025

Rick Bockner lives in the west of Canada. He is one of the 22 masters who were initiated by Hawayo Takata and one of the few who are still alive. His initiation was just months before her passing in 1980.

From his first meeting with Mrs Takata, Phyllis was present. For Phyllis, it was the first time she accompanied her grandmother. Rick tells us how he and Phyllis quickly became friends and have remained so until Phyllis passed away in 2019.

He shares how he witnessed Phyllis’s process to embody being a Grandmaster, finding her own way to teach Reiki, responding to needs expressed by the community and developing her understanding of the system of Usui Shiki Ryoho.

Rick also tells us how a group of young, enthusiastic masters grew in the community in the Kootenay mountains where he lived in the eighties. Stimulated by Phyllis, they were the first to start traveling and teaching Reiki, not only in Canada, but also in Europe and further afield. That was the beginning of the growth of Reiki on a global scale.

Rick is one of the founders of the Reiki Alliance and served on the board of Reiki Foundation International/Reiki Home for 13 years. Both organisations were set up to support Phyllis in her work.

From his unique experience, Rick tells us lots of stories and shares how his relationship with Phyllis Furumoto evolved, his view on the role she played in the Reiki community and what her legacy is.

Shelley Easthope, 11 January 2025

Shelley Easthope is living in British Columbia, Canada. She was initiated in Reiki 1 and 2 by L’ani Kaito. Very soon, she knew she wanted to become a master and in 1988 she asked Phyllis to initiate her. Shelley tells us how this happened on a mountaintop in New Mexico. Afterwards, she stayed in touch with Phyllis, who had also become a friend. Shelley visited her every few years and they corresponded on a regular basis. On the other hand, Phyllis coming to visit and being at Reiki gatherings helped a lot to make Shelley’s community aware of Reiki and supporting it.

Shelley shares how she experienced being with Phyllis both as a friend and as the Lineage Bearer. And how going to gatherings inspired her own practice.

She tells about what she saw of Phyllis and the Reiki Alliance, and the formation of the Office of the Grand Master with Paul Mitchell. How Phyllis grew into the place of Lineage Bearer. And how she continued to teach and engage with the Reiki community after her diagnosis of cancer.

Shelley was very engaged with Reiki Home at its beginnings and worked with Phyllis in that capacity as well. She witnessed how Phyllis introduced Regenerative Thinking in the Reiki community and how important it was for Phyllis personally.

We also hear from Shelley what according to her is the biggest legacy Phyllis left behind, creating a different world than it would have been without her.

Treechild, 16 September 2024

Treechild was initiated into Reiki in 1982 by one of Takata’s masters, Patricia Bowling Ewing.

After Reiki 2, she felt the calling to become a Master. At the time, only Phyllis initiated masters, so after a few years of apprenticeship with Patricia, Treechild went to Phyllis. She met her for the first time in 1985. From then on, she attended many events with Phyllis: Self-assessment workshops, women’s circles, and, after becoming a master in 1985, Reiki Alliance conferences. She also cooked for several of these retreats.

She recalls skiing lessons, singing workshops, dancing and a lot more. She was present when Phyllis wrote some of her songs and when she announced at a conference in Frankfurt in 1988 that she wouldn’t be the only one initiating masters anymore.

Treechild shares with us why Phyllis has been so important for her personally and what she meant for the Reiki community and the wider world. This sharing is enriched with meaningful dreams, songs and a beautiful poem.

Charlotte Bessels, 9 September 2024

Charlotte Bessels from the Netherlands did Reiki 1 in 1991 and felt like coming home. After a year she longed for a deeper connection and took Reiki 2 with the same master, Hans Slutter who was initiated by Phyllis master Li-li Holm.

When she felt ready to become a master herself, she asked Phyllis, because she wanted to be close to the source and was looking for someone who would challenge her.

Charlotte tells us about her journey with Phyllis as her master, indeed challenging her in many ways to go deeper and further that she had ever imagined.

She shares her experiences with Phyllis as the Grandmaster/Lineage Bearer: introducing the 4 Aspects and 9 Elements to the community, to describe the practice of Usui Shiki Ryoho, inviting explorations on what it means to have a Public Practice, thinking about Succession. She was basically (almost) everywhere Phyllis offered her teachings. She also worked with Phyllis in Reiki Home.

Having taught for 18 years herself, initiating a few hundred people into Reiki, Charlotte shares her insights in what Phyllis meant for Reiki, the system and the community.

Svetlana Ushakova, 17 October 2024

Svetlana Ushakova from Kazakhstan was initiated in Reiki 1 by Rosa Musaeva (Onita) in 2003 and already felt she would become a master. That happened in 2006 with Galina Belyakovich, her astrology teacher, who had also initiated her in Reiki 2.

The first meeting with Phyllis was a year later, when Phyllis gave a seminar ’Earn your living honestly’ in Moskow. Svetlana, with others, was asked to facilitate the common meeting, something she had never done before. During this time she experienced how every word Phyllis spoke stayed with her.

Svetlana attended almost all OGM retreats and many other events and worked with Phyllis in the Reiki Home project. She gives us examples of the lessons she learned from Phyllis over the years, that are still working in her today, especially about money.

She shares about miracles with Reiki, deep work during events Phyllis organised and moments with Phyllis that were very important in her life. Svetlana also points out how Phyllis asked questions that are still living in the Reiki community today.

The interpretation from Russian of this interview is kindly provided by Rita Slotnikov from Israel.

Dima Satori, 7 September 2024

Dima Satori, living in Israel, was initiated as a master in 2010 by Tatiana Upasana from Ukraine. He felt drawn to USUI 1 with Phyllis and Paul in 2013 in Holland and met Phyllis a second time in Vladivostok in 2017. These two encounters left a lasting impression on him. He felt a strong commitment to embody her vision and to “become her voice,” as he puts it.

In 2019, he founded an international master group called Phyllis’ Legacy.
The group’s work is to explore the practice and its impact on the world based on Phyllis’ spiritual legacy, using elements of regenerative thinking. The group has organized 2 international online festivals.

Dima has new and exciting ideas on how to preserve Phyllis’ legacy, and he is sharing them with the public for the first time.

Laurence Fontaine, 6 September 2024

Laurence Fontaine is living in Mexico and was initiated as a master in 2001 by Upasana Grugan, a Reiki master initiated by Phyllis. Even before Laurence became a master, she was already interpreting for Phyllis. She continued doing so for many years, for French and Spanish, and shares what an extraordinary place that was for her.

Laurence also attended many events as a student. In 2018, Phyllis asked Laurence to become a co-facilitator for an Usui 1 workshop. Laurence was a member of the Succession Core Team Phyllis created to prepare an energy field for her succession. She was present at the occasion when Phyllis acknowledged Johannes Reindl as her successor.

Meeting Phyllis in so many ways, Laurence has lovely stories to tell about her personal relationship and her experiences with Phyllis in her role as Grandmaster/Lineage Bearer. She also shares her insights about Phyllis’s legacy, for her personally, the Reiki community and the wider world.