It was the winter of 1998 and my mother and I had traveled to her home country of Japan to visit family and friends for a couple weeks. I had turned 20-years-old a few months earlier so it was my Coming-of-Age year. In Japan, on a particular day in January, all children who had turned 20 during the previous year would celebrate their official entry into adulthood. For girls, this rite of passage was accomplished by donning a special type of kimono. My mother and her best friend, Sachie-san, decided they would dress me in one of Sachie-san’s many beautiful kimono from her impressive collection.

As it was winter, Sachie-san’s apartment was slightly chilly. I was thinly dressed in undergarments while my mother and Sachie-san admired and selected the many inner layers of the kimono I would wear. This activity took three or four hours. About halfway through, Sachie-san’s husband stepped into the apartment for a moment to say hello. He had a thin frame, peppery gray hair, and wore a white doctor’s coat and spectacles. I did not know what he did but I assumed he was a doctor of some kind.

After some phototaking and removing 14 layers of fabric, it was dinner time and I was not feeling well. Sachie-san suggested that her husband could see me after he finished work and my mother agreed, telling me Uncle used ‘kiko’ to treat people. This was the first time I had heard the word ‘kiko’ and I had no idea what ‘kiko’ was. I was not in the habit of asking many questions of my mother, so I nodded and waited.

Uncle entered through the front door of the apartment, still in his white medical coat, and asked me to describe my symptoms. Between sneezes I managed to describe my achy head, running nose, and congestion. For a moment, he looked thoughtful. I fully expected him to pull out a small notepad and write me a prescription. Instead, he stepped back two feet behind me and held his palms up. Suddenly, I felt strong and fast vibrations running up and down my spine. I turned my head to look at my uncle, but there were no instruments in his hands or hidden in his sleeves. How was he able to do this? The pulsations on my back were very strong, the sensation akin to swimming past an underwater pump in a swimming pool.

After about 10 minutes of this, Uncle was finished. My nose had stopped running and I felt better. He told me I would feel warmth in my belly for a couple days.

My understanding of the world, of reality, as I knew it, was completely turned on its head. My mother explained that Uncle had developed his kiko ability after a car accident. That people from all over the country sought his help. To me, what he did was magic. I left Japan believing Uncle was a unique and singular phenomenon. His kiko energy treatment on me was my rite of passage into a new perception of the world.

Thank you, friend, for listening to my story…just for today.

With Love and Light,
Crystal Chen
Reiki Master, Teacher, Practitioner