On October 19th, 2025, at the sacred Okunoin on Mount Kurama in Kyoto, Japan — the heart of Reiki’s spiritual heritage — I had the deep honor of initiating Brian Battjer of New York City as a Reiki Master in the Usui System of Natural Healing, Usui Shiki Ryoho.
This initiation was witnessed and held in supportive presence by a circle of loving Reiki Masters — Christopher Tellez, Dave Hadley, Lies Pennings, and Kanji Hashimoto, all of whom helped to hold space for Brian’s initiation with steady attention and heart.
Brian’s journey through Reiki has been one of deep commitment, sustained practice, and quiet unfolding. His integrity, clarity, and devotion to the precepts have been evident at every stage of his training and practice. Over years of study, practice, and service, Brian has honored Reiki not as a technique but as a way of living — as a steady, disciplined presence in his life and in the lives of those he touches.
At the Okunoin — a place of profound stillness, ancestral presence, and luminous quiet — Brian received the final Master initiation. This moment was more than a ceremonial rite. It was a deep recognition of Reiki already lived and embodied, catalyzed in one of the most resonant spiritual landscapes on Earth — the same mountain where Mikao Usui himself entered into the experience that birthed this healing tradition.
Please join me in congratulating Brian Battjer, Reiki Master Teacher (RMT). May his life and work continue to radiate compassion, clarity, and healing presence.
💫 Welcome into Mastership, Brian.
— Brian Brunius
