Be Prepared for More Happiness Than Ever in 2011 Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Thursday, December 30, 2010

It has been a wonderful 2010.  It has been a good year.

For all its worth, I shall whiz past it with feelings that I have gained.  I need to discover, for myself, how truly fortunate I really am.  For all that were lost, it was a gain in return.  We gain many invaluable things in life, every day, only when we are (to be) thankful for all the events that have come and played into our life.

It is the experience that will make us wiser.  It is said 'Wisdom is knowing what to do with what we know'.

We hardly notice the things that really mean a lot until they are gone. I shall not ponder into the past with regrets but to set my mindset that happiness awaits in front.  Most of the time, even to live is an act of courage.  We make a fortune with love for our loved ones.  The only limitations we have are those we set for ourselves.

If we would create something, we must be something then.  This is something that I truly believe in all of us.  While it is difficult to prophesize, especially when it pertains to the future, the one who listens is the one who understands.

Charity should begin at home but should not stay there.  So is love.  So is hope.  So is faith.  We should give each a chance to move on.  To grow.  To rise.  Not all those who wonder are lost.  The day denies the promises of the night.  If we are to stick that every solution breeds new problems, which is often true, the house we shall build will be crooked as it is build to every man's advice.

Let's psyche our mind to be prepared for more happiness than ever for the year 2011.  Let me share this wonderful greeting from a great spiritual friend in her New Year's greeting to me:

"Some of us, in the year 2010, caught the happiness train, some the prosperity train and some the good fortune train.  But for this 2011, there will be more trains to catch.  And while we are busy trying to catch up with the rest of the world, do not forget to remember the beauty and the joy of the person we have become while we were busy looking into the future and/or running away from the past.

Let 2011 be the year where we live in the presence of ourselves and enjoy it thoroughly."

---

To all my loved ones, my family, my dearest friends and to all that have stayed to read Reiki Sanctuary, wishing all a good and blessed New Year, 2011.

Wish Upon A Star

Love and Joy and Happiness 
and the satisfaction of being yourself be with you always, 

in every moment of 2011.

With Love,

Reiki

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Happy Holidays Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Friday, December 24, 2010

Soon, and very soon, people all around the world would be celebrating Christmas.  Christmas is a celebration as the day of the birth of Jesus Christ into this world.  It symbolizes a very deeply significant truth of the spiritual life.

Reiki Sanctuary's Christmas Tree

Here, in Reiki Sanctuary, I am wishing all my family, my friends and my readers Happy Holidays.  Hoping for a season of peace and joy.

Merry Christmas! to all my Christian friends and readers.

Hopefully, it is a day where we will spend it joyously with all your loved ones.  And, shall this day bring special happiness into our souls.















At the same time, may I take this opportunity to wish all of you a Happy 2011.  May the new year be filled with joy, peace and abundance.

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Impact Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Monday, December 20, 2010

The Prelude To Forgiveness
(Part One)

This writing is dedicated to my late uncle who passed on on the day I departed for my holidays on 10 December, 2010. To a man whom I didn't get to pay my last respect. May your soul rest in peace.

One observation of the Malay custom, or perhaps it is an Islamic festival, during their Hari Raya celebration that I am full of awe and respect is when the people take the festive as a great occasion to ask for forgiveness.  These people would visit each other or greet one another, throughout the festive month of Hari Raya, with intention to  seek for forgiveness for sins which they may have committed.  It is a time for atonement as a result of cleansing and soul purification of the fasting.

Hari Raya is a very important occasion that is celebrated all over the world as the festival that marks the end of one month of fasting.  It is a day of celebration and, as many non-Malays would have thought, it is not the Muslim New Year.  Hari Raya is their day of celebration marking the end of a month of spiritual sacrifications.

Observing the act itself is heartwarming.  Usually, the younger members will approach the elders holding both their hands in unison and each expressing for forgiveness, reconciliation and for a renewed relationships.  It is an act done regardless of age and position.

Indeed, the act to ask for forgiveness is something we should adopt into our lifestyle. We don't have to wait for a festival nor shall we restrict its act to a particular time, place or situation. Nor should we restrict to certain circumstances.

Personally, I find it a great virtue to live our lives to forgive for all our physical and emotional wrong-doings. I like it when Neale Donald Walsh in his book "Conversation With God" wrote "At the critical juncture in all human relationships, there is only one question: What would love do now?"

It is the exact feeling one gets after the practice of forgiveness. It sets us free and enables us to release shame, guilt, pride and the illusion that we are perfect beings and without sins. It brings forth, and reaffirms, our worth and strengthens the need to love each other. It exudes renewed opportunity for love to make things right.

Forgiveness is to release the need to be right and to focus, not on our anger and disappointment, but on what is possible for ourselves and others if we are to make amends. When we look at every events and situations through the eyes of love, we become more compassionate. This, in turn, has us feeling less badly and more empowered. The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.

When we forgive, no matter how difficult, we experience freedom from our pain and sorrow. We become the people, the souls, who are more loved-based rather than fear-based and creating a better world to live with each other.

The practice of forgiveness is an invaluable stepping stone to peace. It is one means to healing our self and healing our relationship with others. When we ask for forgiveness, and being forgiven, we may feel more optimistic or lighter, feeling as if we have more energy. Forgiveness expresses kindness. Otherwise, without forgiveness, tremendous amounts of resentment or hurt can build-up within us.

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End of the year always makes me feel somewhat sad. It happens almost every year ever since I was a child. In a way, I do enjoy the festive mood of Christmas and New Year. But, most of all, I guess I regret the fact that another year is coming to an end and that I didn't get to do more.

True that a new year should be filled with new look and new vigor. New resolution and the spirit to be a better person. We need to look forward and to let go. We need to kick bad habits and start life anew. However, in moving forward with many unfinished business does not bring any mental and emotional peace.

Perhaps it will do me good that I should reflect on the last few days of the year to seek forgiveness and to be embraced with reconciliation and renewal. I strongly feel that a clean conscience sets a bigger path for a live well lived. For the Universe to reward us, we need to align our energy with our breath - the source of life. Only when our conscience is clean and clear that the right vibrations and attractions will lay further foundations.

A friend, in his Christmas and New Year's email, was rather profound with his notes. Hopefully, it will make us to think and to reflect. Personally, it certainly does make me to think deeper. It makes me to think that life is more than who we are. Life is more than the food we eat, more than the pretty cute face, more than savings we put in the bank.

He wrote:

"For Goodness' sake, during the remaining days of 2010, please do whatever you have been procrastinating all year long to do: touch base with a "long-lost" dear friend, meeting up, buying that clothing or bag that you have been eying on, going for a little get-away, hike Bt Timah or climb MacRitche tree-top ... aiya, you know what I mean lah! Just do something which your heart/souls has been wanting to do!!! That's the least you could shorten that list of unfinished businesses and then move on to other interesting stuff in your life!"

It is all about not to neglect the little things.  Never to skimp on that extra effort, that additional few minutes, that soft word of praises or thanks, that delivery of the very best that we can do.

I hope to live today, and every day, as though it is my last day.  One day at a time, and this is enough.  But, it is also important that I live my day knowing that I am forgiven for all my words and actions.  And, importantly, that I forgive the memories of people who have hurt me in some ways.

I hope, for the next few entries here in my blog, to seek for forgiveness from certain people.  It is about counting my blessings and coming to my true identity of light.  It does not matter what others think but it is of prime importance what I think about myself.

I am letting go ...

The one thing that I learned that people will forget what we said, people will forget what we did but people will never forget how we made them feel.

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We Are Not Stupid Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Saturday, November 13, 2010

I am a believer that we are all born with some form of intelligence.  We are not really stupid.  Our mind is a naturalist.  No matter what circumstances and of no matter the potentiality of the thoughts, we are gifted with life force.  The life force body is the flow of God, the Creator, in us.  It gives life to our physical body. It channels the life force energy to our mental, emotional and spiritual minds.

Alright, there is a degree of difference in each of us.  We as humans are not very specialized.  We, in general, do not do much of anything well.  But, that does not warrant us to be labelled 'no brainer'.  Despite the big role that genetic plays in determining intelligence, social and environmnetal factors can have an important influence too.

It is believed, through research, that genetics can account for 75% of our adult intelligence, with the environment being responsible for the remaining 25%.  Our social environment plays an important role in the development of our intelligence.  Geniuses are not only born but they can be made too.  Spiritual masters are not instant Buddha at birth but fully developed through realization of their intellectual abilities towards consciousness

Each of us is unique.  We have a set of finger prints that are unique, even for identical twins.  I understand that no two people can have the exact same prints; no two people can have an exact replica of each other's DNA too.

For the least, all of us can think.  And, we think we can think.  We are the ultimate generalists.  We can do a little of everything.  However, we are vastly varied but we can train ourselves to anything.

With training, we develop knowledge.  With training, we stretch our full potential, in our genes, to become a better person.  We take advantage of our skills.  Intelligence is an obvious successful evolutionary adaptation and survival strategy for humans.  We learn more about ourselves.   Connecting with our higher self provides a sense of knowing as we attune to a higher dimension.  Ideally, we should always reclaim our brain for further growth in life.

There's a common saying "a person is known by the company he keeps."  It sets the path for our IQ and EQ.  The 'Just Is' life easily absorbs vibrations emanating from the thoughts and activities of the events and people it associates with.  The company of thieves could make one think and act like a thief.  Whereas, the company of saintly and spiritual people could well influence the mind to emulate their awareness and consious thoughts and activities.

Learning can be fun only if we have the learning objective.  But when one's mind is already half filled with negativity, not wanting to improve, the learning process takes a little longer to accomplish.

Currently, I am in this situation.  It truly makes me to reflect the attitude of some of my recent students in my healing seminar.  Together, we are in a situation where we half closed the door to address for our onward personal growth.  We are too embroil with our past.  The past that has comforted us to be what and who we are today.

I must admit, after about two weeks with Apple's Macintosh, I am still struggling in the dark.  A lot of frustration comes at me every day as I sit down infront of this wonderful 27" iMac LCD.  The Apple support Switch 101 does not help much either.  Perhaps, I am too much a Microsoft person.

My students and me, obviously, have some bearing to accept something new.  Change, indeed, takes a little resistance.  For them, it is about breaking through towards living with their Higher Self.  About separating the body, mind and spirit and reaching for liberation from the self.  About constantly to bring forth consciousness with the daily experiences of self.

For me, it is about fighting a good fight to acquaint myself with Macintosh stuffs.  It is about shifting into a paradigm "when in Rome, be a Roman".  Truth is, it is kinda hard when I am already a hardcore PC enthusiast.  For the record, it is not so much that I am a PC loyalist.

The good thing about us, however, we take it, like the saying, "one failure is just a test away from being success".  Fact is, the energy that creates great ideas also creates errors.  Such should be the philosophy to all of us - when we think we are reasonable enough, we should adapt ourselves to the world.  Afterall, the only thing that is certain in life is that there are no certainties.  There are no boundaries.

For now, let me voice a little of my frustrations.  It will make me feel better.

The Hardware

With PC, I am in control of the DVD rom with its eject button.  I appreciate  Apple for its aesthetic but it leaves me with nightmare to eject the DVD during the Boot Camp's Windows 7 installation.  Eject is not manual but software driven.

Boot Camp is Apple.  It is a utility used for Windows installation in Mac operating system making it a dual boot operating system.  The only reason I am doing it is software driven.  There are just too many softwares written for windows than for Mac.

Dual Boot on Start-up

Mac hardware is robust for beauty.  Everthing about it, the built-in LCD, processor and memory and storage devices, webcam and mic, USB and Ethernet, is trimly fitted.  However, PC hardware can be a personal triumph.  With PC, you can pick and choose to fit your needs, and budget.

And just look at its wireless keyboard and the Magic mouse - Stylish and fashionable. For S$98 each, the keyboard lacks ergonomics. And, it short off some significant keys. There are no Home, End, PgUp, PgDown buttons. Well, I am fine without the PgUp or PgDown, but to do away with Home and End drive me crazy typing a simple document.

The mouse is somehow small for my big fat hand! Though it is kinda cool, it tires my whole hand after awhile.

What a stylish gadget but lack ergonomics

Sidetrack a little -- Geez, have just found out that the color of BootCamp on start-up is identical to the background color of my blog.  Synchronicity!, Watch My Thought?!  The power of Law of Attractions and Vibrations has had been planted sometime back without my realization.

The Software

The one thing that I notice about Mac OS, and in my own opinion, it just does not trust end users.  Mac acts like a parent that wants to protect the child, forever.  With Windows, you are allowed to Cut and Paste the whole folder and move it to where you want it to be.  Windows makes this task very easy.

With Mac, you can't just do that.  You need to Copy and Paste instead.  To Cut and Paste is not an option.  In another word, you are actually duplicating and utilizing more storage space for having a second identical folder.  Mac, as I found out, is protecting users for losing data.  Mac suggests, for such task, to delete the original folder only when Paste is done.

Like a good parent, Mac does not show the progress of your downloads.  Perhaps, it is better for end users not to know?  Unlike Windows, it always shows the download bar and its progress.

Another thing that kinda annoys me is the 'Mac trailers'.  Mac leaves all kinds of computing files after I plugged out my thumbdrive, or my external hard drive.  I wonder at the rational for such thing?

The annoying "Mac Trailers" that will just leave the marks everywhere it wants!

Mac is not made for torrents.  For the same machine,  the (almost) same settings, the same torrent file, Windows will leap and bound.  Mac, on  contrary, crawls!



It is going to take sometime for me to become productive and progressive.  Personally, that goal makes a huge deal.  Why so?  Obviously, it has to do with my attitude for knowledge.  For computing is something that I enjoy doing most.  The internet has provided me the broad range of interests which invoke much of my mental, physical, social and emotional.

Computers and computing are stimulating environmental conditions with great capacity to allow an individual to change.  They enhance the brain's ability to visualize and transform objects in space and time.

Apple Macintosh is keeping me up with challenges.  It is affecting my predisposition to learn and develop.  Afterall, computers will likely remain a necessity for most of us.

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Watch Your Thoughts Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Sunday, November 07, 2010

I become what I think about.



There's a long quote to what I am about to write.  And, for those who believe in the Law of Repetition, internalize it.  Here, the Law of Repetition is about citing these power phrases, to be affirmed, so that they 'become' us.

"Watch my thoughts, for they become words.

Watch my words, for they become actions.

Watch my actions, for they become habits.

Watch my habits, for they become character.

Watch my character, for it becomes MY destiny."

(How To Use the Law of Repetition :-  You just have to keep repeating the phrases and feel them in your heart)

It is just so true that all our thoughts lead on to purposes.  It is just a matter of realizing, and be conscious of, the results.  I believe such is the moral construction of the world.  That whatever we think in our mind, giving the idea into a dominant thought, will soon materialize.  The seed of what we sow produces the fruits in time.

The Law of Dominant Thought creates who we are from the way we think.  We become what we think about.  When we want to be positive, we have to plant positive seeds in our mind and make it into a structured cluster of dominant thoughts.  We have to internalize it deep and permanently ingrained the energy into our sub conscious mind.

Our mind cannot discern between reality and fiction.  It will simply just act on it.  Whether our thoughts are positive or negative, our mind will act on them.   When too much negative thought processes are being stored, we just tend to become negative.  Likewise, a positive person is an individual that is usually happy and successful.  When we think positive, we become positive.  When we think negative, we become negative.

Fundamentally, what we put into our sub-conscious will ultimately become our personality, our character, our attitude.  What we focus on expands.  We are the sum total of all our thoughts.  Our dominant thoughts create the life we have lived up to this point and will create our futures as well.

All of us grew up creating dominant thoughts, whether we realized it or not.  We formed a belief system.  Unfortunately, this system consumes too much in us that we resigned our life to fate.  Thing is, half hearted or fleeting thoughts will not bring about the desired intent.  Only a thought that consumes us, that dominates our waking moments, is strong enough to make it become a reality.

Words are energy; thoughts are things.  They carry powerful vibrations.  When we pass out a thought, an energy is being transmitted to effect us and transform the Universe.  Simply, it is just the Law of Attractions and Vibrations at work.  A thought captures one's intention and the dictionary.net defines it so appropriately.  It says, "intention is conception of a thing formed first by the direct application of the mind to the individual object, idea or image.  It is a stretching or bending of the mind toward an object."

I have seen how such a 'destiny' is being created; how thoughts manifest themselves and shape the results.  We are actually creating our world through actively internalizing every thought patterns.

It is good, at this point, to understand that life is 'Just Is'.  We are made to make it good.  There are reasons for everything and everything lies from what we believe in.  It is our thought process that separates good from evil.  He who loves love progresses, he who hates it declines.

Thoughts are electrical impulses and if a thought is strong enough, it can reach out into the quantum field which is also made up of various light vibrations.  Again, I am just going to repeat myself - it is just a matter of realizing the outcome.  I am a believer that our thoughts shape our reality.

I have friends that take this concept negatively and literally take it as a joke.  Perhaps, they have not come to connect their thoughts with their reality.  Perhaps, they often dismiss the results of their 'destiny' as an act of God and fate but not from their own thought processes.

Fundamentally, everything in the Universe is somehow connected even though we cannot see that connection.  Like attracts like and this is a fact.  It takes our higher awareness to realize it.  We tend to think that life is just a series of co-incidences.  We want to think that life events are pre-destined.

Weirdly, this is not another mambo jumbo.  It is not another New Age hocus pocus.  This principle has been around for ages.  Perhaps, understanding the works of Dr Masaru Emoto might bring light here.

Dr Emoto did a series of studies with water and intentions (thoughts).  He took pictures of water before and after with people passing a either positive or negative thought.  Water that received positive thoughts morphed into beautiful crystalline structures.

You, my readers, may want to read more -  Message From Water

Imagine, if our thoughts can do such things to water, what shall be the impact of our thoughts on our lives?

Thing is, when we want to think a thought can work, it just works.  Likewise, when we want to think that a thought won't work, it just simply does not work.  It lies with how we want to think; do we see a glass as half full or half empty.

Perhaps, I am open to receiving.  I believe that I am worthy and deserving of receiving my thoughts.  In my recent post, Evolution I decided on a thought to transform my PC Windows 7 into a Mac Operating System, which I eventually did. 

It started with a visit to an Apple Store.  First, I felt for iMac 27-inch large LCD.  Then, as I played with the display set, I liked the overall hardware - from the hardware compact devices and keyboard to the wireless mouse.  Slowly, an idea kept playing in my mind how tidy the system was.  I thought how neat my desktop shall be without all the electrical wires and my existing big CPU casing.

The Universe has just a way to connect with us.  It never abandons us.  What we focus on in our mind is ultimately reflected in our reality.  What transpired my visit to the Apple Store was a subtle energy that eventually unblocked and manifested itself.  No, I was not obsessed to own an iMac but I really won't mind to own a large 27-inch LCD monitor.

The other day, the Universe came to deliver my reality.  It allowed my desires to unfold in the perfect time and manner.  Next to the Law of Attractions and Vibrations, energetically it set off the Law of Process to the timeline.  Suddenly, one of our PC was giving problem.  The same day, and out of the blue, a friend was asking me about iMac.

The Universe had spoken.  It made me to think about synchronicity.  It probably tested me to wake my higher consciousness.  It was asking for my acceptance whether to believe in our co-creation of thoughts and reality.  I could either set empowering and positive thoughts or let the negative influences of the world shape it for me.

The new gadget in Reiki Sanctuary

I guess I have chosen to get connected with my wishful desire.  I am now a Mac user.  It is another evolution.  For the last few days, I am back to learning something new.  Learning to think 'Apple'.  And that is what life is all about.  We are to go on to learn new things to far widen our knowledge.  For us to be kept in harmony with the world around.  For abundance to open every doors.

Will I give up Windows 7 and forsake PC?  The answer is no.  While learning is lifelong, I would balance my timeline to install Windows 7 in iMac.  For now, I am filled with gratitude for new opportunity, for embracing the 'Just Is'.

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The Celebration Of Life - Part Five Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Sunday, October 31, 2010

Living With Tibetan Geomancy

"All my needs are taken care of
as I follow My Higher Path"


Over the last ten years, I have lived my life with Tibetan Geomancy.  Not into a detailed Tibetan astrology per se but with the basic philosphy and a styled spiritual practice of geomancy which supposedly to bring harmony and peace.  Reiki Sanctuary was bought and renovated according to it.  Hertford, our previous sanctuary, was re-aligned subsequently (after I got to know about Tibetan Geomancy) to fit into the nine Tibetan bagua. 

No, I am not much a feng shui believer.  I avoid, with respect, Chinese Feng Shui but not Tibetan Geomancy.  It is just me that I want to live a life free from anything superstitious.  To me, and perhaps it is due to my limited knowledge on the subject, Chinese Feng Shui is all about an audit of beliefs as to where and how things should be positioned to create the flow of balance and harmony. 

To me, there are just too many certain rules to abide and there are restrictions surround Chinese Feng Shui.  Perhaps, it is my confusion on the directions and representations of the five elements of water, wood, metal, earth and fire.  A wrong placement and combination of any of these five elements, as claimed, result in destructive and deconstructive environment.

However, whether it is Chinese Feng Shui or Tibetan Geomancy, the purpose is about creating an optimal balance to improve our health, wealth, love and good fortune.  It is about tapping into the invisible energies, or Chi, and invigorate them to manifest and radiate and regaining control over our lives.  When we attain the ideal energy, the balance and harmony to our life will unify.

I believe every house is a good house.  It is what we place inside, with love and treated with care, that will change the vibrations.  Every corners of the house possess a force of good energies or an indwelling nature spirit.  From this point of view, these corners carry certain vibrations that make each location a power place.

Tibetan Geomancy, unlike Chinese Feng Shui, is not so much with where and how things are positioned.  It does not ascertain on the specifications of the five elements, though it is interconnected.  In Tibetan Geomancy, it emphasizes on how we show our respect to every corners and how a location is treated.  The Tibetans believe there is some kind of force or energy connected to the way things have come together in any location, of the house, to make it what it is.

This ideology is something that I can closely connect.  There is some subtle, and perhaps indescribable energy, that makes a particular location (or area) "beautiful"; a place where we can just sense of a power or presence.

All things that happen in life can be reduced down to nine categories or life situations.  They are:

01.  Abundance

02.  Reputation

03.  Love

04.  Family

05.  Health

06.  Children

07.  Knowledge

08.  Career

09.  Compassion

All nine categories can be mapped in our home, and are each called a bagua grid.  These grids reveal how the different areas are connected to specific aspects of our life.  Understand each grid brings great revelation.  For the last ten years, I have observed the co-relations of these grids and how it affects the house dwellers.  Our lives and the house we occupy are inseparable.

My faith, and my teaching, with Tibetan Geomancy is plain simple - it is what we keep in each grid that will bring greater ease and harmony to that aspect of our life.  As mentioned earlier, Tibetan Geomancy is about how we show respect to every corners and how a location is treated.  Storing out and out junk in a specific grid can have a more serious effect.  A junk room in the abundance area, for example, can create financial problems in our life.

The Universe has conspired; giving us the good tidings of Tibetan Geomancy can fetch far reaching physical, mental, emotional and spiritual effects in our lives.  It is also a call to discipline ourselves to keep our house clean, neat and tidy away from clutters.  It is about creating that sacred space so that the Law of Vacuum could just fill it in tandem with every aspects of life.

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October is a month of celebration - The celebration of our life.

It is a month where we want to give our gratitude to Reiki Sanctuary. Without her, life makes no sense. With her, life is not miserable nor empty. It accomplishes the most basic level for our soul to find peace on earth. It is her existence that we are here to find purpose.

When the Universe created Reiki Sanctuary, it gives our soul the purpose-driven life. It should be a sanctuary to simplify decisions, to increase satisfaction and most importantly, it should be a place for us to prepare for eternity. Here is where we should learn about life lessons. Here is the place that shall provide for purpose, for meaning and for greater significance.

Reiki Sanctuary comes with the love of the Universe to us. We have to acknowledge that. We have to put our hearts to love for her. We have to recognize the purpose, and to live with greater hopes.

Thank You, Reiki Sanctuary.

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The Celebration Of Life - Part Four Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Everybody loves a clean house but nobody likes the maid




Cleanliness is a learned behavior as laziness tends to be.  Perhaps, it is just our nature to be untidy, messy and unclean.  The bad thing, we are only taught about cleanliness, and to be neat and tidy, when we have passed through the initial psychological learning stage. 

Our developmental stage as kids and through our adolescent, our parents tended not to instill in us the habit of clearing the mess we did.  They allowed us to be disorganized and seldom demanded for us to put the things back in order.  They would not scold if we refused to sweep the floor nor not wiping the milo stains that we spilled nor when we chose to leave the bed undone.  They  would not reprimand when we left the dirty plates unwashed in the sink.

Hence, we grew up taking for granted that house-cleaning had to be somebody else's job.

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I really like to say it again, "Everybody loves a clean house, but nobody likes the maid".  And, the same notion applies where "everybody loves a clean house, but nobody loves to 'maid' it".  Okay, okay, it is not everybody but almost all.

Hopefully, this writing will bring light to the way we see ourselves and how we treat another human being.  At the same time, it is about a mirror reflection, hopefully to shed some light as to where and how we place our mind and soul.


Everybody loves a clean house but nobody likes the maid

I have always felt, and with respect to those who have maids, that they (the 'Employers' in general) don't really have much compassion for their 'Employees', the maids.  Almost everywhere I see, almost everywhere I hear, the same thing is happening.

Eckhard Tolle refers to it as collective insanity.  Somehow, there is a belief there aren't good enough maids deserved to be appreciated and there are just too many generous and kind employers around.  Yes, I am being sarcastic here.  Fact is, I have heard too much of it.

To most, a maid is just a maid - an employee that is being paid to do the domestic works with minimum social interactions being adhered and developed.  Ironically, as much as she lives in and within the Employer's household, she is unlikely to become and to be fully accepted as one of the family member.  A line is usually drawn; there is the employer that needs to be served and there is an employee that is being paid to do the house works.

No, I am not arguing in favor that she has to be A family member but common courtesy should not be totally disregarded.  It is all about how we treat another human being.  Does not an individual be accepted to be closer when she is staying under the same roof?  Or, does not we feel estranged when we alienated her presence?  Somehow, the paycheck has become an exchanged for 'slavery'.

The other day, I overheard an Employer Ma'am said, "I hired you here to work, not to have Ah Ma fall in love with you and make you family.  I have to go out to work so you can get your pay every month!"  Wow!

Thing is, if ever a woman can choose on the kinds of any decent jobs that can bring in hard-earned money to buy food, shelter and clothing for her family, becoming a maid is hell of a Hobson's choice.  Maids are usually at employers' whims and fancies.  Their status, for their dignity as human beings, is often treated with little respect and little empathy for the hard work they put in day in and day out.  And mind you, houseworks are usually 24/7 365 days needing attention at all times.

Granted that many employers feel there is already an exchange of energy when hiring a maid:- that the maid is paid and being paid fairly and adequately.  Hmm, is she?, I wonder.  Hence, the only thing she should own in return is gratitude and not complaining?  Afterall, many Employer Ma'ams and Sirs would think, the maid is already getting free bed and board, free food, free rides and the occasional free clothes on top of the salary that is tax free.

The maid's role is just to finish all the typical domestic chores from cooking, ironing, washing, cleaning the house to taking care of the elders and the children.  Ah, and to many of us, these chores are simply just simple!  No need to think (easy job), no need to plan (easy job) and does not need much physical endurance (how can it be tiring?!).  While the employers are the 'bread-winners' that can sleep late and waking up later than the maid, the maid hardly gets her eight hours of rest daily.

I am amazed at how we have become fixated with the roles.  When we think we can afford to hire a maid, many of us forget the main humanitarian possibility that another poor woman may have to earn an income for her family in return.  Somehow, the maid is made to serve many 'Employers' within the household.  The children automatically become the sub-employer and so are the Employers' fathers and the mothers.
 
These children and the elders will no longer be cooking, ironing, doing the laundry, washing even the cups or lift the brooms to clean their own bedrooms.  Children are made to think they now owned a slave to do everything for them.  I have seen some children that don't even know how to bring their plates from the dining table, after they have finished the meal, and  wash that one plate.  And, some elders that cannot even move an inch of their hands to reach out for the TV remote control!  Unconsciously, we have turned ourselves to be some sorts of high dignitaries or Kings and Queens.

How many of us actually allow the maid to eat together with the whole family?  No, she has to eat our left-overs and her rightful place to eat is only in the kitchen.  Our dining table is too expensive and only meant for others but not the maid?  The other day, I overheard another disgruntle of a  Ma'am that feels her maid eats more than her! 

Do we watch our favourite TV shows together?  While we become (more) complacent, the maid must continue to make sure that the house is prim and proper.  That, the house is kept round the clock tidy, neat and clean.  We can become lazy but not them?

While we may complain of not getting enough annual leaves, we simply unable to pass down the same benefits to our maids.  We may demand for medical leaves for a headache but the maid can only have an hour's nap before resuming her duties.  We feel we have the rights to rest - perhaps, cos we think our job is nobler, but we grunted our reluctant approval when a maid asks for a day's off.

No, I am not advocating that the maid should work lesser hours than her employer and neglecting her main roles.  Nor should she treat herself as the "sir" or "ma'am" in the houe and ignoring all the dirty bowls-and-plates in the sink. 

But!, does not anyone think that, the minute we think we can afford a maid, we relinquish all kinds of domestic works?  We don't even know anymore as how to dish out a simple maggi? Fry an egg?  Iron just a clothes?   These simple tasks are automatically transferred to the maid, even while she is probably ironing clothes or washing the toilet at the time of request. 

Hmm, somehow, we become an OCDs overnight that all things in the house must be tidy, neat and clean but for the wrong reasons. A maid should be taught to do the things correctly. We have our own ways of arranging things in the house and the degree of neatness and cleanliness. We cannot assume a maid, and just because she is called a maid, should know everything related to house cleaning and maintenance. Just like our parents who didn't teach us when we were kids, the maid will just take for granted should there be no directions.


Everybody likes a clean house but nobody loves to 'maid' it

If doing house work is ever so easy, requiring not much a physical thing,  why aren't we doing it?  Why do we always find excuses not to clean and mop the house?  Why can't we stack our things neatly but to leave them disorganized?

Thing is, everyone loves a tidy, neat and clean house but we would prefer it if somebody else does the job.  Housework, somehow, is such a chore that can easily tire us.  It consumes much of our time when we can channel our energies to do other productive things instead.  But, are we that busy everyday? Try sit back and answer that question honestly.

When we can think and feel all of that, where then is our empathy?  We make a fuzz after a day of house cleaning that our body aches.  But, it is another story when a maid is taking a break.  We conveniently forget that a maid is another human, just like us, and that her body aches too.  Aren't we listening to our self hypocrisy?

A lot can be said about disorganized, disarrayed, messy and unclean people.  Their environment speaks loudly about their personality.  I am not claiming that their personality can be necessarily a negative one.  Nor, here am I saying that a messy house reflects on one's messy state of mind.

While we seek for everything clean, we are actually striving towards mindfulness for love, peace,  hope, courage, determination and inner strength.  We want to achieve for the ultimate sources of success in life.  But, why is it hard for us to spend an hour or so daily to organize things in the house?

We easily gloss over the untidy state in which we live with excuses that 'One day, I might need that', 'I am so attached to these stuffs', ' I won't be able to find anything if it is moved' or 'I have no time to clean up'.  Ultimately, we convince ourselves that clutter is synonymous with cosy and it is the inevitable result of creative nature.

The duality where we love clean things and our laziness towards them is our gap for compassion.  We lack the emotional capacities of empathy and sympathy.  We lack the greater social interconnectedness and humanism.  My belief, if we want to generate love and positive thoughts, it has to start from within us.  Our soul, and heart, has to be clean.

There should be a balance to achieve a good quality of life.  We should live a life bringing about mental peace and physical comfort.  When our environment is clean, we just feel clean.  So is the need of a soul.  We always find comfort in good souls and we always feel pleasantly inviting entering a clean house.

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Little Story

Hertford - The last few weeks before moved out

Up till now, I can never forget my reactions towards Chiauw during Reiki Sanctuary's renovation in 2008.  It was my worst bad behavior.  Chiauw had helped us tremendously.  Her service was professional and very thorough.  She had our best interests.  She made a good ID and was very kind towards us.  I will definitely be using her again when another abundance comes.

Looking back, it was the day when Hertford turned into such a messy and untidy place.  We were all stressed up then.  We lived in her energy for almost three months before moving out.  Slowly, her untidiness and messiness clouded my emotions and mind.  I breathed her energy and soaked in the disarrayed vibrations.  Unfortunately, the incident just had to happen where I burst out at Chiauw over a small thing.

More Mess!! Untidy Environment, Untidy Mind?

This is my story.  What's yours?

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Cleanliness and neatness in one's home bring about mindfulness in our thoughts and actions.  We should be mindful at every step not to cause any kind of inconvenience to any person in any ways.  Though there are no known scientific studies to link a tidy house to a tidy mind, Donna Smallin (an organizing expert and author) claims the rewards of an organized home are huge:

-  Imagine having more time to spend with the people you love
-  More energy for the things you want to do
-  Less stress
-  More money in your pocket
-  Better self-esteem
-  A simpler life

Here is an interesting site - A Tidy House Is A Tidy Mind for further read.

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Evolution Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Sunday, October 24, 2010

A PC enthusiast would probably call me an idiot.  Oh yes, there are just too many bad comments about what I have just done.  Hmm, and perhaps, I am.


Almost a year ago, I wrote an article CooL huh.  Then, I was excited when Microsoft released Windows 7 with 64 bits.  All the wait for me to upgrade my Windows XP, bypassing Vista, had finally arrived.  I was looking forward for a faster bootup and to windows new interface.

Frankly, there is nothing wrong with Windows 7.  In fact, I have always felt comfortable with most Microsoft's windows versions.  Each version is still a good operating system [OS], with exception - and it is just my opinion, of Windows Me and Vista.

You see, perhaps I am just a little too free and a little bored lately.  The combination is not making me any wiser.  It can actually be rather lethal if not handled properly.  Run of the mill boredom won't actually kill us but when the soul does not respond, it does.  As it turns out, being boring does not bring in motivation and only cause for adverse behavior to appear.

Few days back, while just window shopping, I visited the Apple Store.  The big 27-inch iMac LCD caught my eyes.  I like the graphic and the resolutions and oh!, I like the big screen too!  The LED-backlit glossy widescreen with 2560 by 1440 pixels beats all PC LCD monitors in the market.  The only competitor it has is Dell but that is another story. Geez, I thought how uncluttered my desktop screen, with many browser windows and other applications running simultaneously, can it be to have such a big LCD monitor.

The neat less wires system

The only Power wire needed to run an iMac

Things got worse as I was tidying up the wires around my PC.  It can be daunting for an OCD and a brilliant idea just pops! that I should just convert myself to Apple's iMac.  An iMac is kinda neat; it is brilliantly designed and I could save desktop space.  The only wire, should I go for wireless keyboard and mouse, is the power cord.  Now, how cool can that be for an OCD eh!

Oh, there is nothing wrong with a PC.  I still enjoy dabbling with a PC system.  Here, I can be in charge whenever I want to upgrade any devices.  Hmm, guess there's truth with Apple from its advertisement.  Indeed, I am getting old.  It occurs to me that I am upgrading less and I hardly monitor nor surf Hardware zone much lately.  Plus, I am not a gamer and the only game that I would probably indulge is the online mahjong game from Viwawa site.





Bad (Controversial) Apple Advertisement

Apple's controversial advertisement

Undeniably, a Mac OS is still virus free to-date but upgrading hardware for a PC system seems easier and cheaper.  I believe there is limited hardware support from accessory vendors that are not Apple.

While Windows 7 comes with Aero Peek, Mac has these animated icons that just make the OS interface livelier.  Haha, probably it is the 'young' thing.  Damn, advertisement does have psychological impact!

I am not going to give up PC.  I am not going to give up Windows 7.  This combo has served all my computing needs well.  Yes, why should I give up something that has worked all these years, a system that has well provided and served me, and to thread on another unfamiliar ground?  Just not now.  While evolution, with all the frequencies of thoughts and appearances change over time, it does not imply that my beliefs need to change too.

A Mac enthusiast might say that I can install windows 7, a dual boot, in Mac.  But, I would rather choose to have a Mac interface works with Windows 7 instead.  And not when I am still enjoying my 24-inch Samsung LCD.

.. but my boredom continues.

Just the other day, while surfing for more information about iMac, i stumble on a website, WinXSoft.com to transform Windows 7 interface to Mac OS X Snow Leopard.  It is a Windows 7 transformation pack where it changes the entire user interface to Mac OS X including the welcome screen, visual style, icons, wallpapers, sounds and dock.

Brilliant!  The Universe just conspires!  All I need is just to have a change in user interface.  Guess, it is spicing my boredom a little.  Whoever the creator is, I am thankful.  It is a good job done.  And for now, I am just loving it.

My New User Interface - Leopard in Windows 7 on Samsung 24-inch LCD

Yay!

As Apple ads goes, I guess it is alright, to evolve, for me to think young while changing nothing inside.  And, I just keep loving it.  Oh, for now la!

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The Celebration Of Life - Part Three Written by : Reiki Sanctuary Date : Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Happy Anniversary, Reiki Sanctuary!

Two years on, and on this date, we sit back to give our deepest gratitude to such a beautiful memorable day.  It is the day where a sanctuary makes its way into our life.  It has been a place where strength is built and hope is constantly teaching us as how to live through our journey onwards, restoring us to faith.  It is a place to envelope us in caring and love.

Reiki Sanctuary alters us.  She awakens us.  Our souls begin to notice beauty where we never noticed it before.  Our hearts learn to feel compassion.  Our paths shift.  As we make more prayers today, we seek for encouragement to live up to the potential that life offers.

We pray for the presence of the Universe, of God, in our lives.  It is a prayer, not for a request, but for our ultimate experience.  It is for a sense of being connected, of being part of something larger than ourselves.  It is our prayer towards an attempt to be in the presence of God.  And, letting our soul to dance towards our higher consciousness and awareness.

Every day, we are given the opportunity to remake ourselves and to remake the world we live in.  No matter what these opportunities are meant to be, we embrace with its potential to grow and learn and change.  No matter what the days may offer, we strive for its potential to give all that we have to offer.

 Today, let us to remember that Reiki Sanctuary is a gift, that our health is a blessing.  Teach us to see all the beauty of life that we so often ignore and to listen to the silent longing of our own soul.  Fill our hearts with compassion and open our hearts to love.

We are celebrating her second year with the presence of a grand water fountain.  It is our way of thanking her.  Water assumes many forms and characteristics.  It is essential to our existence.  The sound of water brings peace and serenity to her energies and vibrations.

The Dancing Couple (Infinity) Water Fountain

Reiki Sanctuary is our blessed home, for the last two years and for the many years ahead.  Whether we would want to realize it or not, we are walking our soul journey here.  We may be unconscious about it but at some point, we would be ready to find much grandeur meaning and purpose in our lives.  It would then that we awaken to the inner need to express the love that is the soul within.  That we develop and heal our consciousness and to discover our soul purpose.

Reiki Sanctuary is about trust, intuition, self-healing, creativity, expression, purpose and universal laws.  As my neighbour would say, let the pictures (and video) speak of it all:

The Video - Reiki Sanctuary, Two Years On

More Pictures [Two Years On ... ]

The Main Gate

The Gate .. as you are about to enter ..

The Main Entrance

With "The Magokoro" (Pure Heart) Painting guarding the Main Entrance

Divider between the main entrance and the Dining Area

The Living Room

The sitting area with the new Dancing Couple water fountain and the Explosion of Joy painting

The TV Console area with all the wood handicrafts from Bangkok

The Balcony

The Right Side

The Left Side

The Dining Area

The left side towards Kitchen

The right side towards Guest and Master Bed rooms

The Guest Room

Facing the Dining Area

The Storage Bench

The Master Bedroom

The Wardrobe Area and the Walkway to Study Room

The Wood Divider providing privacy when we are resting on the bed

The TV area and the open-concept Master Toilet

Ah, the comfort of the king-sized bed

The Master Toilet

The open-concept toilet with the vanity and the shower area

The 'business' area

The Study Room

Where we spend most of our time ..

The storage bench and cabinet [left]

The Kitchen Area

The Black and White Kitchen

The Wet Area

The Dry Area

The mini Service Yard

The Guest Toilet

The Shower Area - right side

The 'business' area

For more her pictures, go to Pictures - Two Years On ...

A quote from Mother Teresa, "If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other".  Today, and from time to time, we pray that Reiki Sanctuary shall be D place for us to think and to heal.  It shall be a sanctuary where the soulful beauty of thoughts, of actions and wisdom bless us and enable us to bless our lives in return.

Shall this day remind us that we have led a blessed life.  That we should focus on the wonderful things going on in our life.  Tomorrow, whether it is good or not so good, will still be there.  We just have to welcome every opportunities and take the challenges to be our lifetime lesson for our highest good.

Thank You, Reiki Sanctuary.  You are cared and loved.

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