Experience of a Lifetime

When Mr Ong Chee Ming conveyed to the restless Year 1s that we were to embark on a National Education project in groups of four to five, the mood was one of confusion and disbelief. We were already as bogged down with reports and tests, and, at that point, it felt as if a sadist forgot to turn the tap off from the never-ceasing supply of projects. We were told to work on a project about Alternative Medicine in Singapore, which bode well for us since every member of our team took the Primer in Alternative Medicine course as an elective. We racked our brains for weeks as to what therapy on which we should place our focus, and decided to pick one of the following: Yoga, Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine or Reiki. In the end, we chose Reiki because of its uniqueness, and also because our competitors picked more mainstream therapies on which to base their research. Managing this project amidst our somewhat packed schedule was, at first, an arduous task. However, after the initial setbacks, a system of communication that made the job easier was devised. During the break after the first semester, the project picked up momentum. The concept was generated, and our roles were discussed. We procured the materials needed to get started. We were eager to complete most of the project as we did not want it to be a constant bugbear for the remainder of the year – so much so that we even spent our time at the class chalet discussing the project and calling up Reiki centers in the hope of securing an appointment!The project lost steam once the second semester started, receiving only sporadic bouts of attention. It did not help that some of the members had personal problems, and one of us was contemplating leaving the school. As such, we decided to not concentrate on the project until the final examinations were over. We took a two week breather after the examinations to wind down and relax. By the third week, we were getting restless and decided to meet to monitor our progress. We still had a lot to do, and we had not met with any success with finding a Reiki centre to host our experiential learning programme. Finding Reiki centres in Singapore was a difficult task. The centre with which we negotiated was booked on the days we were available, and the other leads we received were mainly of private practitioners practicing Reiki at their homes on a part-time basis. What we wanted was a bona-fide centre that provided quality Alternative Medical Therapies, with a focus on spiritual therapies such as Reiki. Some higher power must have noticed our state of desperation and taken mercy on us. After spending long hours and days on Google and Yahoo searching for contacts of Reiki centres, we stumbled upon a promising find: Sanctum Singapore. We contacted the centre with a feeling of trepidation. Would we finally hit the jackpot? The lady at the other end of the line, Ambika Menon, immediately acceded to our request to come down to her centre, and tried her best to accommodate our schedule, as well as our request for an interview. On Thursday, 23 March 2006, all five of us met at Raffles Place Interchange. As typical of a teenage gathering, some arrived later than the scheduled meeting time. After the cursory “Hello!”s and “Yo!’s, we quickly made our way out of the station, following our instincts and some of the signboards. We did not want to be late – we had to set a good impression as we felt that our reputation, along with NYP’s, was on the line! Not surprisingly, we were confused as to which turn to take, and in which direction to walk. The passers-by whose help we enlisted were unsure of where ‘Boon Sing’ building was located – we were not sure if that was the building’s name. Sheepishly, we called Ambika, who attempted to point us to the right path. We were blundering teenagers on a rampage! When we finally established our bearings, we found Ambika waiting for us at a nearby hawker centre with a smile on her face. We did not know she was there, and had probably embarrassed ourselves because our trip was punctuated by fairly loud, excited voices and bits of what seemed like dancing. However, her kind gesture set the tone for the excellent hospitality we received during our visit. Our shoes had to be removed before we set foot into heaven – that was what Sanctum felt like. The ambience was one that exuded a sense of calm and comfort. The place was clean and cosy, and it was tastefully and artfully decorated. Various cultural and religious pieces were integrated in a seamless fashion. This was a centre that clearly showed that people of all races, cultures and religions were more than welcome through its doors. Serenity-in-a-box, heaven-upon-earth, whatever you call it; we simply loved being there. The visit started off with a tour of the premises. Throughout our trip, we kept snapping photographs. Ambika was a pleasant and amiable hostess who urged us to do whatever we wanted and granted our requests. She invited us to try some of the tea that were in sachets that were, in turn, stacked in an inviting container. On further inspection, those were expensive sachets, and a couple of us prepared and sipped our tea curiously whilst she was giving therapy to one of our group members, using the hot water she prepared beforehand! After a tour of the facilities, we sat around the Buddha Room to begin the interview process. Ambika patiently and graciously answered all our questions, and explained the philosophy, mission and purpose of the centre, as well as the history, development, types and effects of Reiki in astonishing detail. Suffice to say, we learnt far more in that hour than we ever did in class. Following the interview, Ambika took us by surprise by offering to give Reiki to each and every member of the group. At first, we declined the kind offer as we felt that it would be too much of us to ask. However, she felt that basing our project on one member’s experiences would be undermining the accuracy of the report and defeat the purpose of our research of Reiki. We were ecstatic to receive the offer, and accepted it. Whilst someone was in the room receiving Reiki therapy, we made ourselves comfortable in the Tara room, which is the intimate and cosy indoor consultation room of the centre (the outdoor one being the Garden, an artfully decorated area). Some of our backs got sore when two of us went around massaging each other – and the victims amongst us made a mental note never to never again put ourselves under such torture. Each Reiki session lasted thirty minutes each, and by the time it ended, it was already past six o’clock. In addition to the therapy, she gave us a short consultation that accurately reflected our thoughts and emotional state based on the pulses of instinct she received from each of us. She was right – all of us had unique experiences during the therapy. As clichéd as it may sound, this has been a memorable and illuminating experience that all of us would cherish. We felt proud to be ambassadors of NYP, a role we performed excellently with pride and gusto. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our kind sponsor, Sanctum, and its founding partner, Ambika Menon, for providing us with the opportunity to grow and learn from first-hand experience and for spending close to six hours with us on that eventful day.