Because You Are Loved .. Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Sunday, August 31, 2008

To a friend - I have been thinking about you a lot after what we shared yesterday.  I just have to write this.  And it is written with lots of prayers for your well being.  For your realization.  You become what you think about and I just want you to live a happy life.

It was, indeed, a beautiful Saturday night.  Thank You, my friend.  Thank You for coming to meet us.  Thank You for sharing.  Thank You for allowing ourselves to be just us.  Thank You.

We knew it was not easy for you to hear us.  To hear what we have always wanted to tell you.  To tell you what we think.  To share with you how we truly feel.  The time had come.  Personally, I was happy it happened. 

We decided to take off our masks together.  To bear it all.  To share.  We let our vulnerabilities shown.  And, it was because we wanted to stay true to each other.  We wanted to let you know that you are loved.

The biggest lesson we learned, that night, was when we decided to pull off our masks.  In doing so, we take away all the masquerade of our smiles, our laughters, our appearances and letting our true self to emerge.  It is sad that we have let our masks become a part of our everyday existence.  Unconsciously, we wear them at all our meetings.  We may want to deny it.  We then develop relationship with our masks and they hide our true identity.  And as time passed, our true identity become harder and harder to take off.  We become so good at hiding our problems and convince ourselves that there isn't one.

We have always loved you.  When things were shared that night, it was not about hate.  It was not about your soul.  It was not about your lack off.  It was not about walking on eggshell around you.  It was not about judgement.  It was not about we feel 'right'.  We just wanted to reach out to you.  We just wanted to walk with you, side by side.

We wanted you to own and recognize your anger problem in your life.  We want you to be aware of it.  It is about self realization.  It is about self justification.  Do know, my friend, that anger is not always a wrong response but handling anger rightly requires careful look at what it actually is and how it works.  Anger is about your strong feeling of irritation and displeasure.  The anger that has become your emotional readiness to defend and retaliate.  An anger that has internalized and produced you into a negative life form.

You have lived your life allowing anger to be an important component to affect your healthy living.  You let anger become a cloudy issue and let it manifested with severe problems.  Indeed, you have such a beautiful soul, my friend.  A soul that cries out for peace.  For love.  You have a mind that can think.  You have a mind that can be rational. 

It often saddens us to see you react with anger.  With respect, and as love flows amongst us, we just feel that you often deceive yourself into thinking that you are defending the truth and the right.  Anger has turned you into defending yourselves.  Your anger has led you to many mood swings and to many verbal jabs.  It has made you to live a life of misery.  It has weakened your health.  It has destroyed your hopes.  It has become your best company.

We understand your past.  We understand your unresolved life.  Your hurtful experiences.  Your unfulfilled expectations.  Your feeling misunderstood and unappreciated.  That night was about you to identify the sources without blaming and to take full responsiblity for all your thoughts and actions.  We want you to gain freedom.  To live true to your loving heart.

We know that you can do it.  We know because you are, without your anger, a loving friend.  We know that you care.  We know that you love us too. 

All said, and shared, is because we love you too.  We have never stopped, my friend.

For now, our prayers are with you.  We ask for your forgiveness if we hurt you.  The thing is, we do not want to let the sun go down losing this friendship.

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In Water, We Are Blessed Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Friday, August 29, 2008

We went through great lengths to achieve for a comfortable decision of our bathrooms.  We regard them an important integral of Reiki Sanctuary.  It is in these rooms that will remind us of the importance of a good shower.  A place for water blessings.

It is said that water helps to inspire us to re-pattern our thoughts and habits to transform our life experience.  It includes financial challenges, health issues and spiritual expansion.  There are scientific researches on this claim.  There was also a movie, 'What The Bleep Do We Know', that showed photos of water molecules that had been blessed versus those that were not.  The non-blessed water molecules looked rather indistinct and of shapeless form, whereas the blessed molecules were colourful and shaped like snowflakes.

Personally, we have always taken that, with gratitude, water density can change and enhances its nourishment.  It is the same way we prepare our food - that with positive energy, sort of like 'spiritual seasoning', the food just taste better.  Of cos, such a phenomenon is subjective.  For more reading on this, you may want to read it here - Wiki: Water Crystal and Entangled Minds: Effects of Distant Intention On Water Crystals.

The shower area, hence, becomes a sacred place for us.  It must provides us with the sense of cleansing and rejuvenation.  That, as we take our shower, or even brushing our teeth in the bathroom, we breathe new life that reinvigorates and restores our souls and minds.  That, we give new life everytime.  New vitality.  We allow this place to re-create the Law of Vacuum that will instill positivities as we flush the toxins and negative thoughts away with the daily water cleansing.

Chiauw introduced us the idea of an open bathroom concept for the Master toilet.  Though we were a little uncomfortable in the beginning, we challenged ourselves to go ahead.  We felt it will give a sense of space.  She also wanted to make the toilets a bathroom - that it will not be just another area but a perfect compromise between inside and outside.  She wanted to create the comfort and, at the same time, allowed freedom.  The end result should accomplish a look that is both minimalist and elegant.

Chiauw, indeed, surprised us.  Though we had a lot of headaches in choosing for the right tiles, sanitary ware and shower sets that must add texture, she managed to add depth and dynamic movement that allows for a freedom of decor and planning.

There are still tons of works not completed for the two bathrooms but we are pleased with the progress so far.

Some pictures:

The gentle ram introduced as we step into the bathrooms.

At the Guest Room:

Guest Bathroom Rams

At The Master Bathroom

Master Bathroom Ram

The Custom-Made Racks:

At the Guest Bathroom

Guest Bathroom Rack

At the Master Bathroom

MBR Bathroom Rack

View of the incomplete Master Bathroom:

Master Bathroom

The chiselled wall will be oil-glazed to give it shine and make it 'blacker'.

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The August Consciousness Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Thursday, August 28, 2008

Year:  2008

As we look around us, the month of August, year 2008, we seem to notice the collective consciousness of light is being focussed to our mothers.  How we start to reflect on their love.  How it will impact us.  The lesson it carries.  The experiences that emerge with a golden flame of ascended love.  The unfolding of our life plan.  The arising of consciousness of divine gift, through their love, and the evolution of our mind towards oneness.

August 2008 is a month of Fifth dimension - the formation of New Earth and Co-operation.  It is a magnificent month in which Mother Earth will be flooded with Golden Flame and the rebirth of great perfection and beauty.  It is the next step in our evolution to bring heaven to earth.

Just look around us.  Some of us are blessed that the lesson comes from our source - our mother.  There's a saying - If it was going to be easy, it never would have started with something called "labour".    That's what motherhood is about.  And, that is precisely what labour of love is.  We need to recognise this phenomenon.  We need to deeply understand its implication.

Mothers and August 2008 - they are not a separate entity.  They happen to bring us to the economy of love, of co-operation and sharing.  It is the beginning of a new creation of networks and structures for the fifth dimensional energy of oneness and unconditional love.  As the consciousness of light connects with our hearts, it will be immensely powerful.  This is the merging of spiritual, political and social forms of being and functions.

Let's just observe some of the world events happening in the month of August.  We have the 'One world, One dream' bringing the world to focus to Beijing; the political changes in Malaysia, Thailand and USA and the spiritual awakenings of individuals around us .  What is common here, is a desire to work from Love, the heart and with spirit.  It is, at this level, that the formation of networks of conscious and awakened individuals begins to take shape.

Simply, it is about renewing the old lesson for giving gratitude.  For rejoicing love.  For further development of acceptance and the possibilities that lie in front of us and that lie within us.  It is a spiritual realm of higher consciousness.  The time has come for us to draw into soul families and groups and to co-operate together.  With it, there is a need for us to forgive.  The need for us to realise.  The need for us to accept.  The need for us to open up with love.  The need for us to bring peace within.  And, the need for us to respect.  We need to look within and then to look out.

It is the consciousness level of crescendo change in us and in our environments - physcial, mental and spiritual.  It is the consciousness of love that will manifest the next phase.  It will assist us in accordance to our choices and to achieve divine management for the highest good of all.

We should take advantage of this fifth dimensional consciousness of light to understand ourselves.  To ask ourselves 'where do I fit in?'.  As we are awakened, we need to allow ourselves to express our roles.  We need to create the essence of the consciousness of one.  Just as in mother's labour, we need to express the motherhood's labour of love into us.  Only when we are able to think, to experience, to feel - 'internalisation' - that we serve life with purpose.  We re-create the legend that since God could not be physically present amongst all His people, He created mothers to take His place.  We should live life with enormous depth of commitment, just like our mothers, with the loveliest masterpiece of the heart of love.  It has to be filled with unselfish and endless devotions, joys, pains and sacrifices.

For us to embrace and harvest this fifth dimension, we must ask ourselves further questions.  'How do I go from here?'.  'What do I need to know?'.  'Where will it bring me?'

It starts with patient and forgiveness.  It must be filled with hopes, dreams, tears and pleasures.  It has to be a lifelong commitment.  More often, it requires much more giving than receiving.  But it is something that is given with delight, gratitude, enthusiasm and satisfaction.  It cannot be measured.  For it has no beginning.  No end.

Let the love for our mothers open up a wonderful transformation of our mind.  The awareness for prayers.  The desperation for continued joy.  The determination to live.  The ceremony for togetherness.  The celebration to forgive.  The integration of love.

It is a month of blessing of Light.  We only need to learn to surrender to the guidance of Love by being willing to participate.  By being willing to wait in patience.  When the time is right, there will be a heightened consciousness that will lead us to a perfect place in the emerging structure of August Consciousness.

Let love be love.  Let peace be our individual empowerment.  Each of us is a part of the whole, and each one of us is needed to create the whole.  This is the essence of the Consciousness of One.

Dedication:

My thoughts and prayers are with the mothers of my friends - JH, Roy, Sam.  Also, for the well being of these friends and their families.

This writing is also for all Mothers.

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Look Ma! There's No Skirts! Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Amongst the many things Chiauw and us have in common is the omission of skirting all throughout Reiki Sanctuary.  The event of the 'missing tiles' - blogged in "In Appreciation", indeed, served us with a highest purpose. 

It was a subtle incident, a gradual process, of realizing the blissful essence of everything in and around us.  Should we have kept the old floor tiles in the living and dining areas, we would not be able to achieve consistency.  And, as such, there would be conflicting harmony.  The previous owner had laid skirtings all around the living and dining areas.

Everything happen for a reason.  Often, it is to happen for good.  When we want to achieve total freedom and soul liberation, values of love and selflessness are usually generated as positive side effects.  It is not an aim in itself but a natural fragrance of endeavours to come. 

The main aim, in life generally, of an individual is about the liberation of oneself as well as to serve others.  Each human being is gifted with enormous moral and spiritual potential - the only thing we have to do is to work towards the discovery and development of that potential.

Importantly, in retrospect, it is about God's way in providing us to live in harmony with our desires.  And a subtle prayer for peace within us.  It is about providing the oneness in our resolutions, in our goals, hearts and minds.  The simplicity for the union of hearts and a oneness of spirit is about leting go and to accept for what 'Just Is'.  There is always a bigger thing ahead.

That incident is for our upliftment.  It was about our spiritual evolution.  It was about a subtle display, for us, to overcome courage, discipline, perseverance and hard work for a win-win situation.  It was about embracing the essence of life that we want.

Floor skirtings are laid for a purpose.  Basically, it is about concealing wires or pipes.  Overtime, it has become a decoration to line tiles, or wood, along the base of the wall.  It is, supposedly, to give a clean curve to hide the difference materials of the floor and the wall.  It is about concealing the gaps from the floor edge and the wall.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  For us, to go without skirtings gives a sense of a clean look - a floor is a floor and a wall is a wall.  However, the finished work of the floor tiles is crucial.  As there is nothing to conceal the gap to the wall, extra precision is required.

Skirt-less flooring:

The Main Entrance

Main Entrance Parquet

The Guest Room

Guest Room Skirtless Corner

Master Bedroom and Study Area

MBR n Study Area

The bad plastering in Living area:

Bad Plastering Works

Chiauw is to make sure that the wall plaster is corrected.

The teak parquet is being cured now.  It will take few days before further works are carried out and sanding it down.  We are trying to keep the colour light - hence, there'll be no varnishing.

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Renovation - Week 06A Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Monday, August 25, 2008

Quick Update

The Correction Works, highlighted in these previous entries - Renovation - Week 05B and Why Are Our Hearts So Heavy ... have been rectified.

The tiler had done a good job.  On inspection today, the rough edges from the previous portruding tiles are now smoothened and flushed well with the adjacent boxed-up wall.  It looks and feels much better now.

Before:

Side Wall at Kitchen To Be Corrected

After:

Right - Kitchen

New tiles are now completed laid.

Before:

Dining-Kitchen

After:

Kitchen Dining Divider

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Words From A Wise Young Man Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Sunday, August 24, 2008

Going through house renovation can be an emotional uphill task. 

Especially, when we want the house to be perfect.  Especially, when we want it to be more than just a liveable place.  Especially, when we want it to add zest and colourful ambient.  Especially, when we want an ultimate home dawned with full of comfort.  And, particularly, when the renovation cost overruns as high as 50 percent and at the strained end of your budget.

Renovation woes are common.  Sometimes, we do wonder what can be possibly go wrong.  What would set for a peaceful and trouble free renovation process.

In the world of architecture, it is said, "If we can draw up a longer preparation time, we will shorten the construction time which is usually more costly". 

We started to plan for Reiki Sanctuary as early as April this year.  We spent months on the Drawing Board and the actual renovation works only started in July.  In somewhat way, it is true that we are able to get good materials and labour prices.  There would be ample time to source around.  There would be pleasant satisfaction knowing the market.  It makes economical sense.  However, with time, comes the many choices.  The more well informed we become, there is always the desire to get for the best.  And, for Reiki Sanctuary, it is also about the constant change to the basic designs.

In one of our weekly meeting, Chiauw's partner casually mentioned, "If your clients want curry, don't introduce them tom yum or chicken soup or beef rendang.  For all you know, they want it all because each sounds yummy".  Ah, how true!  The more we get to know things, we thought 'since we can get apples, why not get the strawberries too'.  Such is the works of the human mind.  In our freewill, we are spoiled with choices.  We have tendencies wanting to explore.  We wander the unknown territories and letting ourselves dragged into experiments.  Only when the heart is satisfied that the mind can be at ease.

In renovation, to have hindsight often provides the best foresight.  We need to understand the procedures; be budget conscious and keep an up-to-date list of undertakings.  We are lucky to work with Chiauw early.  She guides us with choices involving design, quality of materials and levels of finish.  Reiki Sanctuary is 23 years old - an old HDB unit with lots of restrictions.  HDB, unlike a private development, sets many restrictions.  Everything outside the scope of a normal procedure requires a permit.

It will not be easy to transform our unit into a sanctuary.  It will be a challenge to create a sense of space in a small area.  We want an elevated clean-lined quality and allow Chiauw with a larger decision to personalize Reiki Sanctuary.  We allow her to fit her architectural design idea into place including wiring, walls and floors.  Reiki Sanctuary must have good basics for a long haul.

Chiauw fully understands our dream.  She can catch the indefinable thing in the air - like the energy and soul of Reiki, like the universal sense of being peacefully in Reiki Sanctuary that literally contained in our own thought.  Chiauw has done a good job in choosing us a design and in realizing it.

Unfortunate with all these months into it, mentally, we are getting tired.  Physically and emotionally too.  We are not used with all the renovation meticulous details.  We used to think that renovation is about sitting down with a designer, executing the jobs and all can be completed in two months.  Reiki Sanctuary is now in her fifth months, from the drawing stage, and we are not expecting it to complete till mid September.  It has taken a long time.

When we got Hertford, it was an easy transition.  We didn't do any renovation.  It was a moved-in condition.  Perhaps, we were young then.  And we didn't have the budget to renovate the place.

Every life journey encounters a turn.  With months passed, little that I realized my tired energy is showing.  My conversation with a dear friend earlier today, however, lifts my spirits.  You bring back my focus.  These are your words that gently knock me into realization.  They are simple yet profound.

[After some casual conversation ... ]

Jh  :  How's the reno?
me  :  Haha, how come that question suddenly?
Jh  :  Was about to ask you if everything's alright.  Cos you seemed a bit down.  From the energy of your words.
me  :  Wah.  *Faint*  And how did you figure that?
Jh  :  Just what your words are telling me.  So, what's wrong with the reno?
me  :  */me bows to god*
...
...
Jh  :  Oh.  You gonna pour your sorrows out on your blog?
me  :  LOL. No.
...
...
Jh  :  I think now you just wanna get the reno over and done with asap, right?  Dragging on for far too long .. everyone's tired too.
me  :  You are right!
...
And the sweetest remark:
Jh  :  Abundance will come to your new place in lots of ways.

It is little nudge, like this, that shakes our senses.  That brings us back into reality.  Yes, I am experiencing physical exhaustion.  Probably, a mental burn out too.  You make it all sound possible.  You can turn the negative into positive life forces.  You sure have a way to provide the light at the end of the tunnel.  You are that little voice of god that shines with higher consciousness.

It was a good conversation.  Greatly appreciate it.

Indeed, you are a wise and sensitive young lad.  And always so caring towards others.  Thank You, Jh!

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I Long To Be .. Close To You Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Sunday, August 24, 2008

We attended a wedding dinner yesterday.  Somewhere, in the middle of dinner, we had someone cited a beautiful message dedicated to the wedded couple.  It touched me.  It made a profound attachment to the mind.  And soul.  It uplifted my spirits. 

My thoughts were immediately drifted to Reiki Sanctuary.  How much she has grown in my heart.  In my thought.  In my emotion.  How much we long to be, just to be close to her.

The beautiful message:

Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It does not envy.  It does not boast.  It is not proud.  It is not rude.  It is not self-seeking.  It is not easily angered.  It keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects.  Always trusts.  Always hopes.  Always perseveres.  Love never fails.

Such shall be the conviction when we move and stay in Reiki Sanctuary.  Where we are today, we are rejoicing the beautiful days of mutual sharing.  Of the joys.  Of the pains.  Of the confusions.  We hope to ingrain this message into our hearts.  Let it be our mantra.  Our guide.  To remind us to stay positive.  To bring us higher in our consciousness.  To let us gain moral excellence.  To supply faith and hopes.

Perhaps the message was not only meant for the wedded couple.  We were there for a reason too.  We were not co-incidental guests - it was provided into us for a purpose.

You are loved.

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From A Distance Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Friday, August 22, 2008

We didn't go down to inspect Reiki Sanctuary's renovation progress for the whole of this week.  Nevertheless, Chiauw updates us daily.  We can only embrace her in our heart - so near yet so far.  As much as we want to see, and check, we trust that Chiauw is taking charge.  She knows best and she will, definitely, make sure that we get what we have asked for.

From a distance ... we can only visualize the progress.  We can only hope of hopes.  We can only love of loves.  From a distance, we need to learn to have faith.  And trust.  It should be the heart of every man.  It should be the adrenalin of peace.  Of joy.  And above all, letting the Universe to watch us.  To guide us.  To keep us in comfort. 

When there's a foundation, space is relative.  When there's courage, boundary is just another word.  When there's love, nothing is too much trouble.  It is what we keep inside our heart that counts.  Love conquers all.

Often, it is always the human emotion that sets the outcome.  When we lose track of what's important, of what's we truly desire, of the rainbows that connect .. the missing-you feeling can shape a different equilibrium.  What we want, and when it is already filled with peace and joy, with mutual understanding and respect, let love grow without the boundaries.  It is said, pure love can truly make a difference.  Love is the only factor in our lives that finds fulfillment, in just giving.

Since we decided to re-tile the living and dining areas, the hacking was done and completed last Friday.  Yes, it took only one day to do it.  That was Chiauw's instruction - as HDB permitted hacking and demolition from Friday till Sunday.  Of course, the saturday and sunday was kinda a joke, as stated in HDB letter to us.  To avoid unnecessary complaints from the neighbours, it was wise that Chiauw was strict.

The tilers started their works from Monday and scheduled to finish on Thursday.  We were told not to go down as the tilers would do "wet tiling".  Not kinda sure what is that, guess, it is about screeding cement on the floor and laying tiles above it.  It is, according to Chiauw, a gentle way to achieve a flatter levelled surface.  And the space in between tiles can be narrower. 

Another way to lay tiles is "dry tiling".  This method is best for marble flooring as marble, during manufacturing, has achieved a flat levelled finish.  For other types of tiles, using this method, will have a slightly bigger in-between tiles space.  It is to prevent tiles from popping in future.

The teak parquet installation, for all the bedrooms and study area, will start on Friday.  Hopefully, it can finish by Saturday.  Once the floors are done, Reiki Sanctuary should be about 50 percent completed.  Next, the electrician can start fixing the lights; the plumber can start installing the sanitaryware; the aircon men can fix the fan coils and the painter can start to paint.  We hope Uncle Chong, the joiner, can also start to do all the wood works.

We miss you, Reiki Sanctuary.  It is always good to see you grow each day.  And always beautiful.  That, with each of our visits, you have always something new to show us.  Something nice.  Something that makes us proud.  Something that we endear, greatly.  Something seems to be missing when you are not by our side.  Still, you are in our mind.  In our heart.  In our prayers.

We really wanna come to see you.  We really wish we could.  We are just missing you ..

A touching video:

Christian The Lion - Reunited
- A True Story

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You Light Up My Life Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Just like Viktor Frankl's best selling book, "Man's Search For Meaning" [do read it!], we spent hours searching for the perfect lights for Reiki Sanctuary. 

Hopped from one shop to another; from Jalan Sultan to Geylang to Balestier, it was the longest shopping for just one common item in a day last Monday.  We spent a good seven hours and not counting the other two days previously, on a separate occasion. 

And, all that we wanted was to find a suitable few to compliment the look, the feel and the right aesthetics of lights in Reiki Sanctuary for a full complete life.

In restrospect, do we need to go through all the hassles?  Letting ourselves to be exposed, and spoilt, with so many choices?  And the endless search that only adds to an anticipatory anxiety?  Yes, life has meaning under all circumstances and that we have freedom to find meaning in what we do, and what we experience.  However, there must always be conscious awareness of what is realistic and what constitute an idealistic framework.

Lights are important.  They brighten up a place.  A corner.  A cave.  A life.  They have come a long way from the days of the fire that brightened the way for cave to today's home.  They shine for right ambience.  For the right glow in the dark.  They illuminate the world so that we can enjoy the night and darkness.

The search for meaning, the search for perfect light - it needs to end with appreciation and awareness.  It is, with the will to meaning, that we limit the endless choices to fit our goals and purposes.  Importantly, we need to realize the primary motivation and its objective reality.  That, in finding the ones we like, we bring forth the possible best and the meaning of the 'moment' of today.  What is injected, what is felt, what is embraced and what have arrived - we need to honour it on the ground of our freedom and responsibility towards a fulfilled life in each and every situation.

In an endless search, there comes confusion.  Greed.  Dissatisfaction.  At times, it can also lead to self distancing thus creating certain attitudes and expectations that can only be obstacles to meaningful fulfillment.  While it is good to find possibilities for the best, specific awareness needs to be in check to raise into consciousness - the philosophical setting to end the freedom to fulfill.

We are happy that we ended the search for our lights.  We realise that we cannot, and must not, go on to think there's always a better one elsewhere.  For now, in this moment, we must learn to cherish.  We must be thankful.  Only when gratitude is given, those lights will reciprocate to adorn and amplified the meaning of life.

Lights, Lights for Reiki Sanctuary:
>br /> Eight Pendant Balls for Dining Room

Eight Pendant Balls Light

We first saw this hanging pendant light about a month ago.  We liked it - simple yet elegant.  And being asian, "8" will bring us luck.  But when we were told to look around 'for nicer ones' at other light shops, we put ourselves days of another tiring journey and endless search.

The Downlights for the whole house

Lightcraft Downlight

All scattered throughout the house, there are about 36 units of down lights.  We wonder if they are just too much?

Led Light Strips for Suspended Consoles

Led Light Strips

Now that the search is over, that Reiki Sanctuary will not be in darkness, the only thing we should do is to appreciate what we have.  We must learn to see the beauty in all of them.  We must have faith that each light will illuminate our spirits.  We must be proud.  We must make them a part of the whole house.  With tender loving care.

Welcome to Reiki Sanctuary.  From this moment, we shall walk side by side, complimenting each other and together, we shall make the effort to brighten the days ahead.  In our awareness, and in our heart, we shall pray for the new partnership.  For a joyful and peaceful life shared.  And, for all your soulful illumination, your beauty will glow in full glory.  In full wisdom.  In a desire to make this lifetime a wonderful experience. 

Chiauw made a remark that we are going to have an identical pendant light as someone we knew.  We understand her concern that she wants Reiki Sanctuary to be different.  It is only normal for a friend to advise us of possibilities.  For us to be aware.  For us to be informed.  That, when we make a well-informed decision, there will be no regrets.  Embracing what we shall own comes easier.  And, acceptance will only put our hearts at peace.

It actually does not matter anymore.  We had searched.  We had fooled ourselves that we would find something nicer.  Something better.  But what remains is the will to meaning - that in our freedom for choices and free to all-something, we are happy and deeply grateful that these lights are still in stock.  They are immediately available.  They are just meant for us.  And for that matter, for the right prices.

You, definitely, light up our life.

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When Love is Just Love .. Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Tuesday, August 19, 2008

It is how good things are always saved for the last.  It is the toil of hard work that brings a satisfaction.  It is the seeding that gives rise to propagation.  It is the end that brings a new beginning.

And when we get what we want, when we are brought to the height of achievements, when we are being endorsed with success and triumphant .. do we dismiss them as an entitlement?  Do we pat our shoulder and fooled ourselves that they are an undermined benefits?  Do we not fill it with gratitude? Do we not recognize it as blessing?

The only way for us to learn is when we go through the experience.  The process.  The Law of Gestation provides us with the understanding that we need to go through stages of growth.  Through time.  Though time is always relative, it is the consciousness of energy that will state the birth.  The consciousness of being.  The consciousness of recognition.  The consciousness of acceptance.

Often, we take our lives for granted.  We become so caught up in the daily chores that we, subconsciously, fail to realize our desires [our goals] until someone mentions it.  Change is gradual that it often goes unnoticed.  We see this phenomenon with our children, our friends, or even ourselves; much of their growth seems almost non-existent until someone comments on how big they are getting or how much they have changed.

In gratitude, in consciousness, we must ensure that we pay attention to these changes.  Lest, we can get discouraged by thinking we have not made any progress.

You're my everything.  Nothing really matters but the love you bring.

Reiki Sanctuary started with joy.  The joy of owning something new.  The joy of the future that holds dearly in our heart.  We found Reiki Sanctuary because we were looking for it.  We found her because we wanted a sanctuary for a peaceful future.  The discovery that led us to learn.  To experience.  To feel.  To intertwine.  To give.  The hunger for success.  The thirst for ultimate.  The joy that must be kept.  The blessings that need recognition.

Often, as we stand by her balcony over looking the green, there is a deep sense of satisfaction.  A gratifying hugs of love.  The kiss of love.  The yearning for everything safe and warm.  We forget about the mess from renovation behind us.  It fills us with hopes.  It soothes the aching heart of missing you.

Balcony View

Balcony View

The journey, towards where we are today, was full of challenges.  The uncertainties, the denials, the confusions - that was how we transformed our lives.  We encountered shortcomings during the process of renovation.  The delay.  SanMei gave up.  Tiles went missing.  Disgruntled neighbours.  The worries.  The anxieties.

Love is love.  Only when we start to surrender that we give ourselves the positive reinforcement.  A bountiful harvest comes with patience.  With care.  With nurture.  With faith.  With hopes.  These consciousness are vital for a continued motivation.  They open opportunities.  They hold emotional abundance.  They uplift mental freedom.  They inflate peace and joy.

Get ready to get drenched when we ask for rain.  Get ready for love when we want it.  Ask and it shall be given.  Seek and we shall find.  Knock and it shall be opened.  Faith without action is dead.  We must act on what we want to believe.  It is a process.  Love the process.

When I kiss your lips, I feel the rolling thunder to my fingertips. 

That much, I feel blessed.  That much Reiki Sanctuary has kept me warm.  All those days where the lesson 'timing for everything' was made known, I can only be thankful for its wisdom.  There is always time to tear and a time to rebuild.

Reiki Sanctuary has come for a reason.  And, the reason is "Love".

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I Bless The Day I Found You .. Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Sunday, August 17, 2008

Harmony.  Consistency.  Flow. 

These are the themes that Chiauw presented, to us, for the blending colour of our joinery works. 

Colours of Wood Works

From the time we stand outside the house looking at the main door and to the welcome feeling of the parquet teakwood at the entrance, Reiki Sanctuary is about engaging the mind and soul.  It is about fusion of love.  It should emanate an aura of conscious energy.  It is about mapping a higher level of consciousness and a start to experience greater heights of joy.

In these colours, it shall be a concept comparable to love.  Reiki Sanctuary must be the ground for an endless experience of love and outer senses.  It has to be a sanctuary filled with the simplicity of unconditional love, without any limits to our thoughts and feelings and constantly create the reality to focus our attention upon.

Love, as it greets and enters into our hearts, is an overwhelming passion.  When it happens, it is a greatest blessing.  It should be welcomed and embraced.  It empowers the spirit.  It cleanses the soul.  It is an enormous joy and must be accepted in faith.  In hopes.  The conscious vastness, and to the believers, awaits an overflow effect of divine fulfillment.  It is the highest respect of life forces. 

The harmony, the consistency and the flow -  these are the values we want to nurture.  These are the values that we want to share.  These are the values that will guide us to the future.  These are the values for you, for me and us together.  They shall be the haven and foundation for us to stop looking outside.  Only when we realise the love within, that acceptance, well being and understanding strike a balance.

I love you because you are such a beautiful harmony.

I love you because you are filled with consistent peace.

I love you because you are the strength, the joy, the realisation of life flow.

.. and I am so much in love with you.

Thank you.  Thank you.  And Thank you for everything.  You are a blessing in my life.  You've made me grow.  I am just feeling very thankful.

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The Works of Fire Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Saturday, August 16, 2008

Early August 15th, 2008.  Time was about 4 a.m.

We were awaken by thud sounds of electrical explosion outside the house.  Initially, we thought it was some kind of 'TV crime scene with police shooting robbers'.  We dismissed it.  We wanted to continue the good night sleep.  And the thud sounds continued.  It was getting louder.  Dogs started to bark.  We heard more noise.  This time, we had to dragged ourselves out of the bed.

Our friend, and also a neighbour, was knocking at our door.  She was shivering, and obviously scared, of the event that had just taken place.  We are, naturally, often afraid of fire.  An element that we often associate as a threat.  Just diaganolly across our place, a house was on fire.  By the time we were out of our house, the fire had engulfed the burning house.  No one was hurt but definitely it brought grief to the house owner.

Fires are themselves an expand of vibration of our collective consciousness to change the way in which humanity functions and relates to each other.  Whenever we witness a fury fire, in a similarly way, we view the world in its current state noticing the calamities, the war, the poverty, the disease, the grief.  There is always the tendency to lose hope to humanity, both individually and as a species.

Like a prophecy, the fire ceased and a new world will be born.  For all these years in Hertford, the fire was of completion and of new beginnings.  As we are preparing to move out, the fire was the sphere of our reality.  All that we see around us is of the same beginnings, the same energy and the same creation.  It was a message - it is up to us, the people of earth, to change our consciousness and live in harmony with each other and our environment.

This message is very important.  The significant of the fire is about the time we need to decide what reality we leave behind.  That if we continue to destroy vibrational energies and thought forms that we create further imbalance to our souls.

It is through the realization of fire that our wisdom contained within can be activated.  It is when this happens that we change our reality and step into a new world.  As we are awakened and recognized the damage, we are being given the consciousness in changing the way we live. 

It is up to us to choose whether we continue along the path of destruction, fear, anger and greed or change our choice to follow the path of universal peace and harmony.  We must raise our consciousness and the way in which we perceive the world.  How we perceive the people around us.  How we perceive the people that affected us.  How we perceive the people that shape our identity.  How we perceive our lives should be.  How we make choices.  How we want to live.

With fire, a column of light is created.  And this light is an opportunity for a change of our past choices and beliefs.  As more lights are activated through fire that the golden light of peace shines through.  It is a universal attempt to raise our consciousness and assist us to live in a more harmonious, joy filled and loving way.  It is about how we must incorporate these qualities into our lives we walk and live in into a good way, honouring each other for the beauty that we are and living in balance with lives and earth.

Fire

Fire and Neighbourhood

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And So We Think .. Ah! The Walls Have Ears .. Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Friday, August 15, 2008

The purpose of walls, in all houses, is about keeping the inhabitants safe and to control who enters.  Walls are security structure, an interactive demarcation between rooms and an entity to accommodate for a working system.  They limit a boundary and protect the space within.

Walls keep us safe.  They give us a sense of belonging.  They provide us with personal space and freedom.  We just need them.  Within the four walls, a true home is built.  It should be our own mini-world, our own Mother Earth.  It needs to be the kind of place which nurtures and makes us feel safe, and comfortable, yet also gives the freedom to be totally yourself.

We are very fussy with the final finish of the walls.  We want the old paint, from the previous owner, to be scrapped and followed with a good wall plaster.  To us, it is about giving Reiki Sanctuary a fresh bath.  A new spirit.  A new soul.  Basically, it is about the starting point of space cleansing.  It is about going back to basics of the security structure.

If walls have ears, we want to make sure what stays in Reiki Sanctuary stays within.  The walls must create a restful, energizing and healthful environment in a way similar to a holistic and spiritual wisdom and enhancement.  The walls must provide a psychological buffer for a quality life and to attract positive energy.

In many feng shui, walls are always treated with care to invite love and joy.  It is to prepare our bodies and minds for the uninhibited abundance that awaits us. 

We are happy with the painter's work on plastering the walls.

The materials used:

Wall Plaster

Stopping Compound

Stopping Compound is a plaster-based compound used for flushing joints of plaster board.  However, it can also be used as putty to touch up fibrous plaster board that produces a smooth fine finished using street trowel.

A good Wall Plaster should:

*  No visible crack from a distance of 1.5m
*  Unevenness should not be more than 3mm over 1.2m
*  No hollow sound when tapped with a hard object.
*  No mortar stains or paint drips

Finished False Ceiling and Plastered Walls:

Living Room

Living Room

Dining Room

Dining Room

Beam [Boxed up of Aircond Trunks] at Bedrooms Entrance

Boxed Up Aircon Trunk - Entrance to Bedrooms

View of Master Bedroom from Living Area

Bedrooms Door Frame

Study Area

Study Area

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In Appreciation Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Thursday, August 14, 2008

Energy is all about awareness.  It is about inward thinking.  It is a philosophy and science.

The primary reason we decided to go ahead re-tiling the living and dining areas is about giving a new orientation to bring about more harmony and tranquility to Reiki Sanctuary.  Sacred spaces, by extension of everything that exists around us, create a living energy and content soul.  These elements, from which the Universe was created, vibrate the positive and negative forces that are in everyone's lives.

In creating your own sacred space, for your home or office or any dwelling places, it is important to organize the life forces.  If you want to write a story, you need an empty page.  If you want to fill new juice, you need an empty new glass.  The Law of Vacuum explains the key concept to map your sacred space to all that you desire - it is for an optimal flow for an orderly and harmonious space to an orderly and harmonious inner life which is so necessary for good health of the body, mind and soul.

The co-incidental lost of tiles, left by our previous owners, was a subtle message of spirituality and efficiency.  It happened for good reason that best fits our unconscious constitution for inner peace.  With everything new, we are creating our own sacred space.  We are in charge of the life forces.  We are the author to convincingly champion the storyline.  We are literally saying, 'This is mine.  This is what I want.'  It will be a mirror of ourselves, through it we can interface with the abundance of the universe.

The 'missing tiles' that we have taken to be a blessing:

The Missing BrokenTiles

We do get affected when things do not go our way.  It always has to do with our expectation - the hopes that we built, the results that we desired and the wishful actions and reactions we anticipated.  Admittedly, we were a little disappointed when the tiles went missing.  We were denying ourselves towards the universe abundance, and all her gifts and blessings, just because we were very concerned with the increased renovation cost it could incur.

What we didn't realize was for bigger things to come - that we need to make sacrifices.  That we need to discover the need to plant a seed before it can grow into a huge tree.  We were focussing at the huge tree and forgot how and where it came from.  We can't never really find peace and joy, nor be able to give gratitude, if we choose not to recognise the source.

The beauty of a sacred space lies from the identity of inward thinking.  Fom the realization of compassion.  From the insightful essence of creativity and productivity.  From the revelation and acknowledgement of acceptance.  From the slightest and smallest gratitude to something larger than ourselves for greater purpose.  It is about creating an environment where a sense of the sacred can be realized in the details of our everyday lives, and in ourselves.

Creating this space becomes a search for meaning, or a process of discovering what has meaning.  It involves putting love, peace and joy - the spirituality, into physical form.  It is the wanting for the purity of life.

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Family That Eats Together, Bond Together Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Wednesday, August 13, 2008

We have always wanted to have a proper dining room.  Where we are now, at Hertford, there is no proper demarcation between our living and dining areas.  A proper dining room provides a proper place for family meals.  A place that brings the family to enjoy, and giving gratitude, of the shared meals.  Of the value.  Of the creation of a lifelong memories.

A family meal is the ideal time to bond and communicate with each other.  It provides conversation opportunities to bond, plan, connect and learn.  It's a chance to share information and news of the day.  It fosters warm, security and love, as well as feelings of belonging.  It can be a unifying experience. 

There has even been research on the link between family meals with healthy child development, better school performance, better nutrition and increased consumption of fruit and vegetable.

We have been looking around for a dining set.  We want a simple six to eight seaters with a rectangle table.  As there is size constraint in the dining area, we are limited to a maximum table size of 1800mm by 900mm.

Our search came to an end last weekend.  We saw a dining set that we liked.  Unfortunately, they can only deliver the set in November, earliest.  However, the company is willing to loan us a set when we move in.

XZQT Calligaris Baron Dining Table:

XZQTCalligaris Baron Dining Table

It is an extendable table.  When closed, it is only 1600mm.  The maximum length is 2200mm.  It is slightly shorter than what we want.

XZQT Calligaris Even Chair

XZQT Calligaris Even Chair

XZQT Calligaris Even Chair Set

We will have six chairs.

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Let's Be Merry Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Imagine tons of baggage in your soul and you are trying to stay positive.  That, with every breath, you pray harder for better things.  That, with all the concerted efforts, you can barely stay afloat yet you need to survive.  That, with all the smile and the laughter, you know something is just not going your way.  That, every road leads to a feeling of emptiness.  That, with all your friends around you and you still feel lonely.  That, the nights and days seem longer.

Guess, it will not be easy to be totally happy when you allow such things to take charge.  Even when you try to fake the feeling.  While it is good to acknowledge their presence, and embrace the pain, it is important to pick up the pieces and move on.  Yes, it will not be easy - words are easier said.  But feelings are real. 

There is always a glory at the end of a story.  There is always a reward for those who believe.  It is, always, not the end of the world.  Life is not a mystery when you allow all its twists and turns to be your teacher.  To be your guiding light.  To take them to be your wisdom.  We just need to, willingly, surrender with faith.  And to unfold the unknown into a beacon of light.

Reiki Sanctuary goes through it.  From joy to a period of little uncertainty.  It's the path that no man is spared.  It's the learning curve we must go through.  No compromise.  It's about how much we have faith about life.  About making it through.  About thousand dreams that we should not let go.  It's about swallowing pride and surrender everything to feel the chance to live a beautiful life.

We are glad that HDB has approved, for the third time, to extend our permitry application.  And we are allowed three days for hacking and demolition.  Chiauw assured us that the hacking, for the living and dining area, will finish in one day.  We are very glad.  We feel bad causing our neighbours with all the noise and dust for such a long period.

We want to do something when we move in.  We want to give gratitude to our neighbours.

Reiki Sanctuary deserves our love.  For all the inconveniences that she has gone through, she will be a haven of hope.  A sanctuary that will keep us safe.  A house that we will call Home, a place that we will not abandon.  A love that we will not let go.

.. and we are praying for all things well.

.. and we are praying for forgiveness.

.. and we are praying that we shall be open to wisdom.  And to the truth.  And the healing from within.

Perhaps, these experiences are about revelation.  Perhaps, they are about siphoning quantity and quality of life.  About what we should keep.  About what we should let go.  About change.  About ultimate.  About reaching out only to the truth. 

The Universe surely has a way to put a smile .. to put things right .. to tell us that everything is ok.  Just look at the notice we received from HDB - look at Point 4.  And look at Point 3 - 16/08 and 17/08 is Saturday and Sunday respectively!

It can only say that life is not perfect, afterall.  We just have to keep smiling.  And there's always faith and hope.

Pemitry Approval

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Renovation - Week 05B Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Monday, August 11, 2008

The only place that seems to progress rather well is the kitchen.  The black floor tiles have been laid, the plinths for the kitchen cabinets are done and the wall section where tiles are supposed to be erected is completed too.

Here in the kitchen, we are not going to tile the whole kitchen wall.  The walls will be painted instead.  We prefer it that way.  Though we received feedbacks that the walls should be tiled, we feel it will have an unconventional modern look without them.  Granted that cleaning, and especially after cooking, is easier with tiles.

For that reason, we designed the cooking area to face the window and to have an island hood to suck in all the oily stuffs when cooking.  We don't have much worries as we don't cook regularly nor do we do heavy cooking.

2D Layout of Kitchen:

Kitchen Layout: [A] - Kitchen Window

The Completed Works:

Plinth for Kitchen Hob and Island Hood

Plinth for Kitchen Cabinet

Can't see much of the black tiles on the floor as it has been protected.  Guess, it will remain this way till the kitchen cabinet is fully installed.

The purpose of the white tiles [near window] is supposedly to separate the kitchen area and our 'mini service yard'.

Plinth for Washing Machine and Dryer

Plinth for Washing Machine & Dryer

We are going to house the washing machine and dryer inside a cabinet.  Guess, washing and drying will only be done at night when we are sleeping.  This is so as we need to open the door to ventilate the heat during washing and drying.

Plinth on the Right Side

Plinth for Right Side Low Cabinet

When we went down to the site, we found out that tiler had done a mistake.  This wall [marked X] is to be painted and he had accidentally extended the white tiles from the Guest Toilet's entrance.  He has to correct by cutting off the edges of the tiles to flush with the walls.

Side Wall at Kitchen Right 1A

Side Wall at Kitchen To Be Corrected

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