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Furumoto Legacy interviews

Interviews about the legacy of Phyllis Lei Furumoto
– honoring the oral tradition of Usui Shiki Ryoho –

When Phyllis Lei Furumoto, the former Grandmaster/Lineage Bearer of Usui Shiki Ryoho passed away in 2019, she had served the Reiki community for more than 40 years. In those years she had travelled around the world, initiating thousands of people into Reiki and training and initiating approximately 300 masters. She also designed numerous workshops and retreats for all Reiki students to deepen their practice.

The Office of the Grandmaster has set up a project to conduct interviews with people who had a relationship with Phyllis. They are asked to share their experiences, insights, favorite stories etcetera, honoring our oral tradition.

In this way, Reiki students, researchers and the wider public have an opportunity to get an impression of how much Phyllis has meant for the practice of Reiki, its community and the wider world.

Below you will find links to the recordings of these interviews, in order of the date they are held. New recordings will be added on an ongoing basis.

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.


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.


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.


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.


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.