“A Speech by David Burmeister Given in Many Locations”  –  from The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter, issue Number 79, Winter 2013:

Mary’s students spanned the spectrum of lifestyles and perspectives. I remember her working with lamas and with nuclear physicists, with movie stars and with hippies. Mary evolved and learned from them all. This was the “dawning of the Age of Aquarius”, and Mary’s students wanted to know how Jin Shin Jyutsu related to a vast array of subjects. Certainly Jin Shin Jyutsu has close ties with modern science and Traditional Oriental Medicine. However, through the questions and interests of her students, Mary also discovered Jin Shin Jyutsu’s interconnectedness with astrology, numerology, Kabbalah, the Tarot and many forms of ancient wisdom. All of these things are relationships that Mary would mention to her students, often saying, “For those of you who are interested, you can simply daydream about them.” Over the years, however, this message became somewhat misunderstood, and many people now believe that these things are Jin Shin Jyutsu, which they clearly are not. However, they reflect the convergence of truth in all great teachings.

Mary was truly a pioneer of higher consciousness and this was one of her greatest contributions to the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu: her deep awareness of the significance of the “Now”, of this “breath that I am”, and how she embodied this wisdom and was able to convey it to her students. She loved to speak about the “No Thing”, the ancient concept of emptiness, and then bring it to life for her students through words and actions. Like Jiro Murai, her studies and developments in Jin Shin Jyutsu never ended.

Some of Mary’s other great contributions to the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu include developing the Theory of the Depths, enabling us to view the human being and understanding our connection to the divine, and then show us how to utilize this awareness to help any project within the body. Mary also placed considerable emphasis on the practice of self-help and spent many years developing this knowledge and creating flows for the simple application of Jin Shin Jyutsu for “Myself”, so that each one can be their own source of healing and their own testimony.

In 1987, thankfully, Mom indulged my wishes to begin training instructors. Muriel Carlton, Philomena Dooley and Wayne Hackett were selected as the first group to begin their apprenticeship with Mary. This decision proved to be very timely because in March of 1990 Mary fell at home, sustaining a serious head injury which abruptly ended her career as our loving and gifted teacher. This immediately initiated our new teachers into presenting Jin Shin Jyutsu, and they continue to inspire our students to this day.

Besides being a profound example of balance and harmony to all who met her, Mary was a most excellent mother and friend. She was very blessed, as were we all, to be able to share her jumper cables, her joy and laughter and her amazing smile until she left us in January of 2008. The many treasures that Mary Burmeister and Jiro Murai left behind are what we are here to celebrate today and throughout 2012. It has been a supreme privilege for me to share some of what I know about these two exceptional human beings. As Mary loved to say, “We are all divinely guided.” Today with reverence and humility, we give thanks for the blessing of finding our way to the beautiful living legacy that is the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu.

Arigatou Gozaimasu, thank you very much…

David Burmeister

Thank you, Mary.

Thank you, David.

Gassho, Namaste, Blessings

All issues of The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter are available at http://www.jsjinc.net.