Johrei

Channeled through the palm of its administrator towards the patient's body, Johrei does not involve any therapeutic touch or laying on of hands. It is usually delivered while the recipient is seated, and the receiver may be asked to turn around during the session so Johrei can be channeled to their back. It can be delivered by a trained leader to a group. It can also be offered to animals and plants, or given via distance healing by focusing on the recipient's name, details and/or photo. Okada mentions that the sun is a good analogy for the work of his church, and members sometimes imagine the sun when sending Johrei. Johrei is often practiced in homes and Johrei Centres, among families, Johrei members and to guests with no cost attached. In Johrei Centres, there is often a prayer offered at the start along with bowing, clapping in front of a sacred scroll with reverence shown to an image of Meishu-Sama. Prayers for the recipient are offered along with prayers for all their ancestors. A donation of gratitude may be given to the Centre. As part of the discipline, there is often a focus on the practice of which is described as an alignment of Reason, Will and Feeling with a heartfelt prayer to God for the wellbeing and happiness of all. Surrendering Another feature of Johrei is the practice of surrendering - offering up all human experience to God with gratitude in the knowledge that everything teaches us something, even though it may not be clear at the time. As each and every thought and feeling well up in the mind and heart, both good and bad, they can be surrendered into the hand of God, so the Johrei member is not overwhelmed by the purification and can carry on with an open heart and clear mind. Practitioners wear a blessed pendant called an which is hung at the solar plexus level. It has the Japanese symbol for 'light' written on or in it, copied from Okada's sacred art calligraphy and is blessed by the current Kyoshu Spiritual Leader. It is a symbol of membership of a Johrei organisation and the member's dedication to Meishu-Sama and his teachings. It is said to represent the member's connection to Heaven and when not worn, it should be kept in a high place or stored in a special box. If dropped, the O-Hikari should be blessed newly by the local Johrei Minister and the member should pray to understand how this situation could reflect their thoughts and beliefs about their relationship with Heaven, and they should seek to resolve whatever arises. == Philosophy ==

Johrei is based on the principle that illness originates in the spirit, so one must purify the spirit to heal the body. Expressed as "Soul is Principal and Body is its Subordinate" or that the "spiritual precedes the physical", it is explained in further detail in one of many of Mokichi Okada's teachings. Okada explained that we have a spiritual counterpart of the body and when the spiritual body is pure, the physical body receives the life/light energy it needs to stay healthy, but when the spiritual body is clouded, the light is blocked and clouds occur and toxins build up in the body. Johrei, the divine Light of Salvation, brings people back into the presence of God's light and reconnects their spirit with heaven. The light from God then bathes the recipient in Divine love, burning through the layers of clouds and melting the toxins in the body, which would be eliminated via usual elimination methods such as the breath and urine. Okada explained that this type of healing works was because synthetic substances or metabolic wastes in the body become toxins, which cause many forms of illnesses, and transform into defilement in the spirit. Furthermore, trauma or harmful behavior and ideas produce defilement in the spirit and become toxins in the body. Removal of toxins in the body, that is, elimination of defilement in the spirit, results in the fundamental solution of any type of illness and leads to true happiness. This is similar to the Chinese teachings about Qi and the meridian system but unlike in Traditional Chinese medicine, he did not recommend the traditional treatments. Okada warned that the use of drugs and medicinal herbs could cause further toxins to build up and create further pain or illness, although he did himself use medicine growing up. Okada said that colds and flu are the natural way of the body eliminating clouds and toxins via a fever, == Origin and history ==

Okada was born into a Buddhist family, and also practiced the traditional Japanese animist religion, Shinto. After many setbacks in life and in a search for meaning, Okada became a member of Oomoto, one of Japan's new religions that was preparing for the New Age of Light, where he practiced a traditional hands-on, massage style Shinto-based purifying therapy. Okada was familiar with (itself based on ()), an Oomoto spiritual healing practice from the 1920s that involved the use of rice ladles, which he later adapted to become johrei. There are links between Okada and Mikao Usui, who started the reiki healing technique, as they both were part of Omoto at the same time. Okada Purifying Therapy Okada started to develop a hands-on massage based therapy. During this time, he gained a dedicated following and published a number of magazines and books, personalising his healing technique into Okada Purifying Therapy. Johrei is born In 1925, Okada explained he had a vision of the Buddhist Bodhisattva Kannon (Kuan Yin) and she gave him the divine light, along with a command that Okada proclaim himself a prophet. Johrei centers throughout the United States, Thailand, Brazil, Europe, Africa, and many other countries worldwide. == Efficacy ==

Like other paranormal or spiritual healing programs, Johrei is not considered scientifically plausible. == Controversies ==

Cult concerns Edzard Ernst, in his book Alternative Medicine – A Critical Assessment of 150 Modalities, says that Johrei groups have many of the characteristics of a cult. Johrei notably gained a negative image due to complaints levelled against the Mahikari sect, a parallel organisation run by Okada Yoshikazu (not related to Okada Mokichi). Mahikari – meaning also practiced an almost identical form of Johrei and prayers but the movement attracted a lot of criticism for generating an environment of fear, power abuse and control, lying to followers, forgery of ancient artifacts, and promoting harmful activities and beliefs. No longer by hand In 2020 the World Church of Messiah, announced that Johrei via raising the hand is not the final will of Meishu Sama. The Church explained that Okada had told his followers repeatedly in the 1950s, “From now on, we enter the world of sonen. Johrei is not so important anymore. Sonen comes first, so pray in your hearts.” He taught that the divine work of salvation went from the phase of the visible form of Johrei of raising one's hand, to the world of the invisible form, the “world of sonen.” Okada said he received a message from God that the Age of Light had dawned for humanity and he should not raise his hand for Johrei any longer as God was sending Johrei all the time to everyone. Okada gave himself Johrei all the same, and found that he developed a headache. Thereafter he warned his followers, but after his death, this message was lost and people continued to practice Johrei in the way he had earlier shown them. The World Church of Messiah now maintains it is intended that Johrei be received directly from God, as "God is always facing us and is ministering Johrei to us". The Church clarified "Meishu-sama is teaching us that even for people whose illness is not healed, even for people for whom no miracles occur, even for people with incurable diseases, there is salvation. There is the light of eternal life. God radiates that light within us. Meishu-sama is teaching us to come, come to that light of God, and you, then, will be saved." and the Johrei Fellowship. ==See also==