At any given moment, people all over the world are reassessing their life. They wonder if it is worthwhile getting up every morning; if there is any point in going to work, in eating dinner, falling asleep and then getting up to start all over again. They are told they can be anything they want to be and yet they're not even sure what that is.



Ask yourself what you want. Move past the initial expensive car, castle, super job extravaganza and keep asking ? what do I want?

Stop for one moment. Feel your physical body, notice your thoughts and draw one large deep breath. Now breathe out and sit quietly in this fresh space. Experience how the breath has briefly connected your mind and body together. Now ask, ?What is it that I truly want out of life??

You may eventually answer:

I want to feel happy.

I want to know who I am.

I want to feel free and light without any pressures at all.

I want to feel safe and warm and touched by life.

I want to know love - unlimited and unconditional.

I want to see the beauty around me.

I want to experience what this world is all about and understand why I am here.

In short: you want to feel connected.

You can be all of these things and more, because happiness comes from inside of you. Inside you there is a place that, when accessed, knows what each of these things feel like.

The system of Reiki aims to help you find that inner heart and learn from it. You have the aptitude, and the system has the tools. There are no secrets or magic to this ? all that is needed is you and your intention to remember. Everyone can find what the Japanese call ?honu no reik?,? the spiritual light that exists within.

Finding the spiritual light within you is possible because it has always lived there. You are this spiritual light. Beneath the clutter of everyday life exists this precious human self.

Working with a solid energetic practice such as the Japanese form of Reiki can guide you on this path back to your inner self. Originating in the early 1900s in Japan, it is the system's four major influences that give it its backbone. These are Japanese martial arts, Shintoism (the indigenous faith of the Japanese people), and two esoteric forms of Buddhism--Shugend? and Mikkyo. Elements taught in the Japanese Reiki system include breathing meditations, hands-on healing and simple daily precepts and guidelines. These elements help develop a spiritual practice that supports you in remembering your connection, no matter what religion you may be or what other techniques you may practice.

At the crux of many facets of Japanese culture, religion and philosophy are something we've called the three diamonds. These three diamonds are also at the very core of a traditional Japanese Reiki practice.

A diamond is an analogy for the self. Each and every day a Reiki practitioner polishes the diamond by performing his or her practice. This is a constant task for humans who, in this earthly realm, attract dirt, becoming muddy and tarnished. A diamond is so sharp that it can cut through almost anything humanity attaches itself to, bringing back the true essence of life, as seen in the perfection of a sparkling diamond.

Each of these three diamonds works with a different energetic part of you. The first is the physical, grounded aspect of you called Earth energy. The second is the mental, emotional aspect of you, called Sky energy, and lastly, the third diamond is Heart energy. It is in Heart energy that the Earth and the Sky are brought together to create wholeness.

Imagine a triangle: it has a lovely broad base with a point at its tip. If that base tried to balance at the top it would topple over. The human body is just like this triangle; it energetically needs a firm foundation before progressing further into deeper spiritual realms.

Therefore, energetic work begins with the first diamond, Earth energy, which symbolically occupies an area just beneath the navel. This is your base and foundation in life. It grounds you helping you feel relaxed, assured and capable, and offers your physical body the strength to perform well.

The second diamond of Sky energy is representative of the mind with its ethereal nature. Here your intuition is developed and your mental skills are honed.

Lastly, the third diamond of Heart energy is home to the integrated forces of these two human strengths: the body and the mind. If you have worked on the first two diamonds, you will find that the heart opens with ease and that the list of what you truly want out of life can become a reality. By clearing the elements of human nature and then drawing them all together, you have become whole.

So, go on, stop for one moment. Feel your physical body, notice your thoughts and draw one large deep breath. Breathe out and sit quietly in this fresh space. Experience how the breath has briefly connected your body and mind together. Now ask, ?What is it that I truly want out of life?"