Or is it some kind of esoteric, ?out there with the fairies?, new age way to enlightenment?

Well, to be honest, it's a little bit of both?

?only it's not really new age, and it's definitely not ?out there with the fairies??

?though it can certainly lead you to a degree of enlightenment.

But, to better understand what Reiki is, we'll have to do a little bit of historical digging ? no, no, no? don't go all glassy eyed ? it'll only take a moment or two, honest.

So, come on, let's dig.

Reiki was discovered, some say rediscovered, in Japan by a man called Mikao Usui.

Why and how he made this discovery is quite hazy but the story goes that after experiencing business failure and great debt, he did what many of us do at times like this.

He went off on his own to have a long hard think?

?and ended up at one of his favorite thinking places on mount Kurama.

Here, whilst meditating - possibly under a waterfall - he experienced a satori, or sudden understanding, and sometime later formulated his natural healing system which he called Reiki.

There you are, history lesson over, told you it'd only take a moment.

So, what does this tell us about Reiki?

Well, it tells us that whatever it was that Usui discovered on the mountain?

?he discovered it inside himself.

For he was meditating ? or going within ? when he made his discovery?

?and, somewhat interestingly, he was also quite alone.

Is this important?

Well, yes it is if you want to fully understand the origins of Reiki - because it quite clearly shows that whatever it was Usui discovered, it was not something given to him by someone else.

It was something he found which was wholly within himself!

Meaning it's something that's already inside of you too.

Which ties in completely with what every Enlightened Master, Sage and Guru has been saying since time began?

?There is nothing you have to seek outside of yourself, everything lies within?.

Of course, all of the above goes completely against the grain of many of today's Reiki purists. They prefer to believe that the energy of Reiki is something that exists somewhere ?out there??

And that it has to be drawn down by someone else, who then gives it to you?

?completely ignoring the personal experience of the founder himself.

But not to worry ? that's the only anomaly worth bothering about in the story of Reiki and, considering the wisdom of Usui, may well have been done deliberately anyway.

All that's really important to know is that Reiki works?

It's an aspect of your own divine consciousness, and it doesn't matter whether you choose to access it by attuning yourself to the energy, as Usui did, or have it done for you by someone else.

The outcome is exactly the same.

You become a powerful healer who can make a real difference in this wonderful world we all call home?

And you never know ? along the way, you may very well become a little more enlightened too.