Is it a powerful hands on healing art, as many people say?

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

Well, to be honest, its a little bit of both

only its not really new age, and its definitely not out there with the fairies

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

But, to better understand what Reiki is, well have to do a little bit of historical digging no, no, no dont go all glassy eyed itll only take a moment or two, honest.

So, come on, lets dig.

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

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

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

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

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

There you are, history lesson over, told you itd only take a moment.

So, what does this tell us about Reiki?

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

he discovered it inside himself.

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

and, somewhat interestingly, he was also quite alone.

Is this important?

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

It was something he found which was wholly within himself!

Meaning its something thats already inside of you too.

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

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

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

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

completely ignoring the personal experience of the founder himself.

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

All thats really important to know is that Reiki works

Its an aspect of your own divine consciousness, and it doesnt matter whether you choose to access it by attuning yourself to the energy, as Usui did, or have it done for you by someone else.

The outcome is exactly the same.

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

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