Hawayo Takata: Through Phyllis Lei Furumoto’s Eyes Podcast

Phyllis Furumoto

Frans and Bronwen Stiene were inspired to discover more about the human side of Phyllis Lei Furutmoto and her grandmother, and the origins of the Western history of the system of Reiki.

Phyllis Lei (pronounced ‘lay’) Furumoto is the granddaughter of Hawayo Takata, she currently lives in Idaho in the USA and has taught Reiki all around the world.

In Reiki circles Phyllis may not need much of an introduction, both her and her grandmother’s name are well known, along with some aspects of their lives – but does the Reiki community have a human connection to their stories?

For example, this interview begins with something like… “Hawayo Takata brought Reiki to the West in the late 1930s”… and this is a statement that you will often find being taught in Reiki classes and described on the internet – but who was Hawayo Takata? What made her into the icon she later became? In this podcast, Phyllis takes that basic fact about her grandmother and then draws us further into her world.

In this interview Phyllis talks to Bronwen and Frans about her understanding of:

• Her grandmother’s character.
• What made Hawayo Takata’s students believe she was a true Master.
• Her relationship with her grandmother.
• Her family’s involvement with Reiki.
• Her future move out of the USA.
• Hawayo Takata and the New Age Movement.
• Hawayo Takata and Japan. Her grandmother’s Reiki treatments.
• Her insight into her grandmother’s statements about Reiki.

Bronwen and Frans Stiene

Bronwen and Frans Stiene are the co-founders of the International House of Reiki and co-authors of The Reiki Sourcebook, The Japanese Art of Reiki, Your Reiki Treatment, The A-Z of Reiki Pocketbook and the Reiki Techniques Card Deck. Bronwen and Frans teach in the USA, Europe and Australia. Visit the Courses page to find a course near you.