Steve's Journey

In 1995, after a successful career as a teacher of art and design, I found myself in search of a new direction and new career.

I had spent a number of years exploring different spiritual paths, and learning meditation. This had taken me through study with The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids , The Arcane School , The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University - with whom I learnt Raja Yoga meditation, The White Eagle Lodge , a dalliance with the Qaballah, and a wide reading and practice from a range of spiritual traditions. I took up Karate for a short period of time and also practiced extensively in Tai Chi, Qi Gong and later yoga. The one thing I lacked was a focus; a set of defining principles that could pull all of this knowledge and experience into a whole.

I also had a fairly wide-ranging, though shallow understanding of a number of complementary therapies. It was this direction that I intended to go in to establish a new career. But what should I study first? I scanned through the directory section of an alternative press magazine ( Kindred Spirit ) in search of courses in various complementary therapies, and came across something called "Reiki". There was also an article on the subject in that issue of the magazine. I read it with interest and felt immediately drawn to exploring the subject further. I sent off for details of all the Reiki classes that were being advertised in that particular issue - one of the classes was run by Gordon and Dorothy Bell in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. It was clear, even on first perusal of the literature that I had been sent by various Reiki Masters, that Gordon & Dorothy's classes contained a much broader and deeper level of study than anyone else was offering. I decided that I would go to them.

In May 1996, I headed for Newcastle with lots of trepidation. I was not convinced that I was doing the right thing at all, but something seemed to push me to the Reiki class in any case.

During the attunement process, and afterwards I was somewhat disappointed that I hadn't seen all the psychedelic and exotic stuff such as colours and lights and energy waves that some of the other students on the class were describing, but the sense of heat and tingling that was growing in my hands during that weekend had a profound effect on me. I resolved there and then that I was going to do the 2 nd Degree. In September 1996, I went back to Gordon & Dorothy for the 2 nd Degree class.

At the beginning of November 1996, I received a phone call from Dorothy offering me training as a Reiki Master. I was ecstatic, and immediately said yes. I started the Masters training in January 1997 and completed Stage One a year later, teaching my first 1 st Degree class in April of 1998.

I completed my Masters training in full in April 1999, at the same time that I took Buddho-EnerSense Level 1. I taught Reiki to dozens of people in the UK but still felt that something was missing in my life.

In the summer of 2000 I moved to Egypt. The freedom from the restrictive and narrow-focus on life that I was accustomed to in the UK allowed me to really get to grips with my own inner promptings and life goals. As a result, I realized that the role of complementary therapist was not for me - at least not on a full time basis.

During the three years that I spent living in Egypt, I taught Reiki to the local people of Cairo and was the first person to teach the tradition of Reiki Jin Kei Do in the country and one of only two Reiki Masters teaching from any tradition in Egypt. In June 2001 I returned briefly to the UK and took Buddho-EnerSense Level 2 with Gordon and Dorothy.

In the summer of 2003 I returned to the UK having resolved to follow my life's dream and carve out a career for myself as a writer and artist, as well as a teacher of Reiki. Egypt had been like a breath of fresh air and my outlook on life was totally transformed by the experience and thus my presentation of Reiki was also transformed. In the Spring of 2005 I took a break from teaching Reiki classes and I began work on my first book. By the end of that year I had written the world's first book on the tradition of Reiki Jin Kei Do, which was finally published in the summer of 2006. I also now write regularly for my own weblog called 'Reiki Jin Kei Do: A Personal Journey' and My Amazon Blog.

My journey continues; I have much yet to learn and a strong desire to extend my study of the Eastern Lineage of Takamori. A second book on the teachings of the lineage of Reiki Jin Kei Do is now underway. It is being written by Masters of the lineage and the lineage Head, Dr Ranga Premaratna with me as editor and co-contributor. Further details will be posted on this site when the book is finished. A third book is also planned, though this is very much in a nebulous form at present.

Other, non-Reiki works are in the pipeline and I am now developing some new art-based projects. My personal practice and teaching of Reiki continue to be important parts of what makes me, me however.

I now constantly live in a state of gratitude, not only to my Reiki Masters, Gordon & Dorothy for what they have given me, but also to the very process of life itself, which has revealed itself to be the adventure that I always suspected it was, but had never quite believed before. The adventure continues..