Jikiden Reiki

Jikiden Reiki is the Reiki from its birth place, Japan.
Nothing is added or amended from its original teaching from Mr. Chujiro Hayashi, one of the 20 students of Mr. Usui, the founder of Reiki.

16 Apr 2012

Jikiden Reiki class in Japanese !

It has been already 5 years, since I have started to teach Jikiden Reiki, my vocation.

I am Japanese, and my first language is Japanese, but most of my Reiki classes
are in English. Because I live in a small town far away from Vancouver, and population
of Japanese itself is small.


But this weekend class was in Japanese! It has been two years since I taught
Jikiden Reiki class in Japanese last time! 

In the 5 years, this class was only the 4th time for me to offer in Japanese.  

I did not realize how much I was excited, nervous and joyful, to be able to share my vocation in my own language until I started the past weekend !


"Nervousness"

Reiki started from Japan, I am from Japan, my first language is Japanese, and 
all the participants are Japanese, so I thought the class would be easier than
the ones in English.  However, I was more nervous than the English class! 

Probably, I am already used to teach the Reiki class in English.  
I noticed that I could not come up with a suitable Japanese word.
"What do I say this word in Japanese?" 

In addition, I am used to type on the computer and the computer picks
the characters for me, so I realized that I am forgetting to write Japanese!
I couldn't write the ordinary characters like "治療" on the whiteboard...

Also, I wasn't reading well, especially, the old style Japanese.



"Joy"

Reiki was born in Japan. 
Before the WW2, there were over 1 million Reiki practitioners and many of them 
had a signboard like "REIKI HOUSE" upfront for their own livelihood. 
Just like a massage therapist have the sign board out. 
However, after Japan lost the WW2, the alternative therapies received strict regulations and they disappeared very quickly, include Reiki treatments.

While Reiki was disappearing in Japan, it has been kept spreading to the West. Many
Reiki practitioners and teachers have been active in North America, Europe and many other countries. 

Despite the fact that Reiki started in Japan, many Japanese people do not know reiki, 
and do not take it seriously, or less people accept it. I am not sure why. Maybe they misunderstand reiki and the modern weird religious group. 


That is why I was filled with JOY this time for the fact there were 5 Japanese
ladies came to learn Jikiden Reiki !!! 


Anothe JOY is, the food!  Masako always caters lunch and desserts for our Reiki class!
My Reiki class in Chilliwack can not be completed without her food.

We had a request for a Vegan food from one of the participant. 
Here is the Masako's creation.
Sushi ball with smoke salmon and pea.


Delicious !!!
It was like a new years special menu !
Originally, Japanese diet was fish-vegetarian. Eating the meat and 
drinking milk were introduced to Japan from the western culture. Especially drinking 
milk was introduced by the American soldiers after WW2. They taught us to drink milk, so then Japanese people will be taller, like American.  That is why there are many Japanese people whocan not digest milk, because genetically, Japanese body are not used to 
digest milk.


In the conversation over the weekend, I learned that Macrobiotics diet are originally 
from Japan. It started from Japan as "Genmai Saishoku(brown rice vegetarian)" and 
went out to the Western culture, and named as Macrobiotics. 
I learned a new thing again!



"Excitement"

Excitement, as usual. 
Reiki is such a simple and easy to learn technique. Complete beginner can start doing reiki
right after the first class. 

There was a lady who had a belly ache during the first day, and her pain was
starting to unbearable towards the end of the class.

When it was the time to do a group practice at the end of the class, 
she humblyasked
"...Can I be the receiver of the practice? My belly ache is becoming unbearable..."

Well, well, she is in a right place! 
"Even though this is a practice time, it should make you feel better after good 25minutes
treatment from those two ladies."

But, those two ladies just learned reiki and they have another day to learn. 
All of them are a bit doubtful, "Really, would it work even we are the beginners...?"

25minutes passed...

"How are you doing? It has been 25minutes now."


"Ummm, really? I just don't understand. I feel no pain now. My pain was almost 
unbearable just 25 minutes ago, but I don't feel any pain.  How did that work? 
How did you do that? " 

The two new practitioners were as surprised as her. 

"Oh really! It really worked!" I, who taught them how,  was as surprised as them. 

This is the moment of my excitement !!!


Reiki is such a simple, and everyone can do it, also effective treatment technique. 
I just want many people to know about it, and use it, then the world will be
such a gentle place, I think. 


No matter how old the child is, if a mother or someone can lie down with them and 
place her hand on a child's belly, head, back when a child gets sick or injured. .
How wonderful for them to feel the warmth of their mother's hand and fall asleep. 
How much better than taking Tylenol and lie down by themselves...


It does not have to be mother's hands.  It's the human's touch. 




Human's touch touches heart. 





 

6 Apr 2012

Mission as a translator 3

Continues from Mission as a translator 2




Translator.

Finally after 3rd time of doing this work, I realized that a translator might be a 
physically demanding job. 


First time in 2008, I was more excited to learn the Shihan teacher course,
and also was excited to be able to stay in a hotel for 4 nights! It was like 
a vacation for me!

End of the Shihan course. First time to do the translation.


However, I developed a very high fever, 40.2c (105F) and ended up in a ER. Probably,
my brain was in shock by being used too much.


The second time in 2009, I was still excited from the past seminar and my adrenalin 
was going strong!  I even organized the entire seminar, did the translation, and we even
did a small talk show for people. 

I was just fine during the seminar and event.

A small talk show in Vancouver.

Although, every time when we finished seminar, I felt like I burnt out, and 
could not do anything for 2~3days.  I was a useless mom.
Did not do laundries, and a delivery pizza for dinner... 


2010 Vancouver seminar. 


In 2010, I travelled to Seattle, just to do translation. Other people were organizing
the seminar, so I could only focus on my duty as a translator. It seemed a lot 
easier for me, but again, I  ran down after the seminar ...

I thought,
"Translation is only 'talking'. I must be aging, because I get tired by only
talking !" 



By the way, the style of translation is not a simultaneous interpreting,
but consecutive interpreting.
 A person talk for one sentence, and interpreter translate the sentence. It takes a lot 
longer than simultaneous interpreting which translation happens while a person
is talking.  But consecutive interpreting can pass the information more correctly.
  

In Jikiden Reiki seminar, there are seminar participants who speaks English only, Japanese only, and also people who understand both English and Japanese. 


That means, during the lecture, Mr.Yamaguchi speaks in Japanese, and I translate in English.
English speakers ask some question, and I translate in Japanese for Mr.Yamaguchi.
Mr.Yamaguchi answers the question in Japanese, and I translate in English.
Japanese only speaker ask question in Japanese, and I translate in English
for other English speaking people.
Yamaguchi-sensei answer the question in Japanese, and I translate in English.


In my head, there are 4 times conversation going around, and I hardly have
time to grab water, because I do not want to miss any words, and constantly
thinking what is the best way to translate into English....


In addition, Japanese often have deep meaning in just one word.

For example,
"Itadakimasu" 
This is one single word we say before we eat meal. Nice and short.

But it translates 
”Thank you for the nature, Thank you for the farmer, thank you for the cook, 
thank you for the life in the food that gives us the life." 

Turns into a long sentence by explaining a deep meaning behind it.


There are so many Japanese word which can be done only one single word, but often
it turns into 3~4 sentences by translating into English and also explaining the cultural back ground of the word.  

My brain works in full speed !!!


I have never taken a proper "interpreter's course", so I have no idea what other
interpreters are experiencing.  Probably, they are all experiencing the similar situation.

Despite the physically demanding work, I still love doing this work!  It is such
a fulfilling duty !!!  Please do not stop asking question during the class !!! 




 Anyways, we had a Vancouver seminar in 2011, and that time, I leaned a lesson.
In a hard way. 


Usually, the semnar can be done in 4 days. But we started to offer teacher's course.
So entire seminar became 6 days, instead of 4 days.

In addition, there were many people who were wishing to learn Jikiden Reiki in
2011, so we did  2 sets of the seminar.
8~10hours/day for 6 days, one day break, and 8~10hours/day for 3 more days. 
2011 seminar. 


Well, I just about fainted.

Probably, my brain was over worked for 9 days.  I lost my ability to think,
I could not understand conversations, I have to really focus to stay in 
the conversation, and I couldn't even order pizza, because I could not
make any decision !!!


Eventually, I recovered from it, but I thought I should not do such a long seminar.
I learned a lesson.


In the following fall, I travelled to Halifax, just to do the translation part. It should be
easy for me, and I was feeling just fine during the 6 days seminar. 
However, on the way back from Halifax, I started to have a massive headache,
and I threw up in the airplane...


Why is this happening all the time for me? 


I blamed myself, and thought,
"Translation is talking. Am I too weak to do a translation? 
Don't I even have a stamina just for talking? Am I really aging?" 
 
But at the same time,
"Wait a minute.  Let me research about other translators job. How are they
doing at their job? "

I was curious to know about other translator's work and researched about them.


In Wikipedia 

  ”Simultaneous interpreter is a physically demanding job. It usually offered by 2~3 interpreters
         in shifts, as short as 15 minutes. " 

"What ? 2~3 people in shifts, as short as 15 minutes each???"  

OK,OK. I am normal to get so tired. If there was a private question from participants
to Yamaguchi-sensei in a break time, lunch time, I am there to translate
the conversation.  That means, break time is not a break time. We continue to talk
for 8~10 hours a day. 

In my case, I am not doing the simultaneous interpreting, and it is not an international
governers meeting. But I found out that usual consecutive interpreting also offered in shifts by few translators. 


I felt relieved !  It's not me who is being too weak and whimpy! I am normal !


From the lesson that I learned, I made a small changes for the 2012 seminar.




Lesson 1 "Ask for help."


For me, it is usually hard thing to ask for help. But once I received helps, 
I felt so much gratitude from the help that were given to me. 


This is how people feel when I help others !  


Thank you so much for my friends who helped me at the seminar !!! 




Lesson 2 " Sit down when I need to." 


I felt impolite and rude by sitting beside my teacher who was standing and 
giving a lecture. 
But I had to keep my pace to be able to stay strong !!! 


Lesson 3 "Have a break, in a break time." 

Break time is for everyone, include me. 


Lesson 4 " After the seminar, take full 4 days rest and do nothing." 


I stick with my lessons and was able to solve the problem !!!



I did not faint, I did not lose my ability to think, I was able to get back to
the normal life after 4 days of resting. 


I was so happy !!! 


This duty is only once or twice a year, and I love, love, love to be able to
be a bridge between Japan and Canada.


Maybe I should take a proper translator training course.



Enough about a translation???








5 Apr 2012

Mission as a translator 2

Continues from Mission as a translator.






Translator.


My old memory about a translator.
When Michael Jacson or Madonna visited Japan, there was always a lady standing
behind them and whispering to them.

They translate the conversation from Japanese to English, and English to Japanese.
I always thought,
"It is such a big responsibility as a translator.  There are many people watching
this show who understand both English and Japanese. If this translator made
a mistake, or did not translate any part of the conversation, there must be
some complains come to them..." 


That is my old memory.




My duty as a translator is only once or twice a year. Although, I always speak
in Japanese to my children in my house, however, the response from them
are always in English.
99% of the conversation with my husband is in English. There are few
sentences he uses in Japanese, "Arigato - thank you" "Itadaki masu - thank you
for the food" "Chotto Dake - just a little bit"

Also he uses Japanese words for the Japanese food, "Miso, Wakame, Konbu, Mirin,
Tenpura, Gohan" etc etc. 


Also, if my children don't seem to be understanding what I just said in Japanese,
I switched to English, so then they understand.
  Well, I regret a little bit about it. Because they are losing the ability to understand
Japanese, so I should have spoken only Japanese no matter what....  

Anyways, my mission as a translator came to me 3 years after I started to learn
Jikiden Reiki. (9 years after my arrival to Canada.)

I started to learn Jikiden Reiki in 2006. Back then, the Vancouver seminar was 
only offered in Japanese for Japanese people who live in Vancouver area.
The next year, 2007, was also in Japanese.


I asked my teacher, Mr.Yamaguchi,
"You are coming all the way from Japan to Vancouver, and only offering your seminar
in Japanese.  Why don't you offer your seminar in English?"


He said,
"I would love to do so, but I do not speak English, so we need a translator." 


I thought, 
”I speak both language in my house, and it wouldn't be so hard to
translate the subject that I already know. " 

and I told him,
"I would love to translate your seminar. I do not have any certificate as 
a translator, but I think I should be able to do it. " 


In 2008, we were able to offer the Jikiden Reiki seminar in English for the first time
in Vancouver !!!


I was so excited to myself and I almost wanted to tap my shoulder and said to me,
"You did it, Mari !" 


In 1999 summer, the only perfect sentence that I could say was

"Where is the bathroom?"


So you can imagine how much I was excited when I finished translating
the whole entire Jikiden Reiki seminar. 






To be continued ...