Name and brief background. My name is Eiji Takahara. At the time of this faith experience I was 57 years old. I am presently a retired Air Force Officer and I am also a retired Air Force Junior ROTC instructor.
Difficulty/situation faced (event, diagnosis, feelings, thoughts, etc): I have been trying to improve my relationship with God by committing to the precepts layed down by Meishu-sama. What has kept me on this spiritual journey is an amazing miracle concerning my daughter who was experiencing a mysterious pain which doctors could not diagnose. She is much better now. But that is a faith experience to be shared later. I have been experiencing blessings during the past five years of my spiritual growth and I would like to share a small aspect of these blessings.
Guidance received/Practices done (also can include challenges experienced): The five treasures are very important to me. I use to do it because I thought I had to do it. Now, it is part of my life. I think I would lose my way if I did not have God and Meishu-sama in my life. I admit to praying for the big blessings. But it is the little blessings which have finally got my attention.
How you overcame, results experienced, blessings: I believe, now, that praying for the little blessings are just as important as praying for the big blessings. Our ministers often mention, “what are we expecting when we pray? What is our sonen?” Well, I have to be truthful. Sometimes I have doubts as to my ability to channel God’s Divine Light. I don’t doubt God’s power but I definitely doubt my abilities. There is a chance you will read this and think that I am a crazy golfer. Well, I may be, but . . . it works for me. I try to play golf as often as I can. And I pray almost continuously while I am playing. Sometimes my prayers are answered and sometimes it appears that they are not. In either case, I am eternally grateful to God and Meishu sama for the health, money and time to be able to play a game which I love so dearly. And now, I can also work on my faith. Sinking a 5 foot putt is a small miracle. Sinking a 50 foot putt is a much larger miracle. And hitting a shot from 100 yards away into the hole for an “eagle” (two under par) is a much larger miracle (to put this into perspective: the last time I had an eagle was 24 years ago). All of these have occurred on the golf course within the last 5 months with the sonen of thanking God and Meishu-sama for a great shot and not so great shots. My relationship with God and Meishu-sama is much improved because I have included them into every aspect of my life. Including golf. ^_^
8/30/23 update – well I know what it feels like with no golf in my life. Looking back on it . . I should not have let that happen. My spiritual level depends on it. Over a period of 5 years golf became a distant memory. It is now coming back. I will read this blog periodically so I never let that happen again. Wouldn’t it be nice if . . . I read my own blog to keep my Journey into the Daylight Age on track. ^_^
How you expressed your gratitude (donation, etc): Yes I have. For me, the monetary donations are not significant enough. They will never be. Everything I earn is God’s. So everything I use the money for is now used to help God fulfill his divine plan. Including the money that I donate to Miroku Assn. USA. My commitment to the Center is foremost in my sonen. Whenever I visit I can feel and see the intensity of the Divine Light emanating from the Sacred Scroll. There are many reasons for my increased commitment to the Center. The presence of God and Meishu-sama in my life is the primary reason.
What have you learned from your experience, changes occurred in thinking: Until my golf experience, I believe I was just going thru the motions. I was doing the five treasures with an indifferent sonen. It was like doing something because I had to. Now that I want to do it, some amazing things have started to happen in my life. I will go into detail in all of these in subsequent faith experiences (God Shots) Something big is about to happen and I need to learn as much as possible . . . as quickly as possible.
My Journey into the Daylight Age 