My Journey into the Daylight Age

I have walked this path

Many times and it dawned on me

I am practicing

Living in the Physical World

God knows we need lots of practice.

The other day we decided to take a break from our daily routine of staying at home and squeezed a lot of different things into one day.  Sonia came by to brighten up the house.  Charlee grinned and willingly visited the Vet Hospital for a wash and nail clippings.  We headed up to our Sacred Grounds,  a Catholic retreat in Palos Verdes.  We decided to visit the maze and also enjoy a picnic there. 

I cannot remember the thoughts I carried with me starting out the walk but it occurred to me that, for me, the walk clearly symbolizes the difference between our destiny and our fate.  But before going into that . . .   let me share a thought with you from Meishu-sama which concerns good fortune and genuine happiness.  He wrote, ‘. . . Therefore, a person should avoid all evil and do only good deeds, purifying the spiritual body that much more, making it lighter.  This is the secret to attaining true happiness and good fortune. . . “ (Teachings of Meishu-sama, Volume 4)  Well, that advice is for everyone.  Including all the members of our church.  We also have a very important tool called Johrei.  Well, I am sharing a lot with you.  I am attempting to connect the dots on many different things.  I will try my best . . . but in case I lose you . . . feel free to reach out.  I look forward in having a good conversation about this matter. 

Ok, connecting the dots.  So, I am walking the maze.   If you follow the design of the maze it will eventually take you to your destination.  This particular maze does not have any dead ends.  Sometimes it may not appear to be taking you to the Center but if you trust God or trust the design of the maze you eventually will get there.  ^_^   The exercise of walking the maze confirms the importance of staying within the scope of your destiny while enjoying the journey.  We have many choices which may change our fate but not our destiny.   We could choose to stop and never get to the Center.  We could turn around and leave.  We could run and get there very quickly.  We could have a very relaxed walk and enjoy the company of our own thoughts as we look around and take in the beauty of the garden, the sea, the sky and the surrounding hills.   The feeling of bliss that I have achieved thru meditation, I have now achieved thru other things in life.  Sitting and enjoying a delicious meal.  Or washing all the dishes.  Or walking Charlee for his frequent visits to our neighbors.   Or walking the maze with my fiancée. 

I have stumbled upon a simple truth about Meishu-sama’s teachings.  They are written clearly and seem to be common sense but . . .  it turns out to be very difficult when we attempt to put it into practice in our lives.  With that in mind, I am proposing something which may not make sense as a possible solution.  Use very simple every day things to put the teachings into practice.  Waking up in the morning and saying ‘Thank you” one hundred times.  That is something we can do.  Being grateful for the gift of another day seems like a good beginning.  If you think 100 times is too difficult . . .  try five . . . in five different languages.  ^_^   Ok, so you are probably wondering what thank you has to do with the maze.  Well,  I would like to propose this . . . instead of being grateful only when you wake up.  Let’s say it and feel it while walking the maze.  I assure you . . .  you will not regret it.  The next time you take a drink of water, say and feel gratitude . . .  say thank you.  The next time you put a bite size of delicious fried mochi into your mouth say and feel “thank you”  For me this all started on the golf course but this simple act has slowly infiltrated my life.  I say and feel gratitude in all things including walking the maze and the illusive feeling of bliss sneaks up on me and I am there.  Wow!!  Thank you God and Meishu-sama. 

SECRET OF GOOD FORTUNE (continuation)

        

          As everybody knows, there isn’t anything more vague and elusive than good fortune.  This, I believe, is its nature.  Moreover, we have no power to do anything about it, therefore, we may as well leave it to destiny.

          It has been well-stated that “life is a big gamble.”  So, even those who are considered great seem to accept their fates, although it is not easy for them wholeheartedly to do so.  Perhaps we are destined to live under the shadow of this uncertainty.  The ardent desire for good fortune enables us to work actively.  This makes us strain our limited minds and toil and struggle constantly until the end of life to earn money or to attain distinction.  This is perhaps the way a person’s life is supposed to be.  Since nothing is more elusive than good fortune, the more we attempt to grasp it, the more quickly it seems to escape.

          From my long experience, I can say that I used to feel as though I was being mocked by fate; for, I often thought I could seize good luck easily, and yet I found it so hard to grasp.  It always seemed to be dangling in front of my eyes, but the moment I put out my hands to touch it, it slipped beyond my reach.  The faster I chased it, the faster it raced away.  It was indeed unmanageable!  But I know I have gotten hold of it now.

          I find it very difficult to try to explain this, because there are things that are hard for people with little knowledge of the world’s spiritual nature to understand.  I say this since many individuals are inclined to judge everything superficially, without seeing into the heart of it; that is, they cannot penetrate to the core.  And the source of good fortune or happiness – of all things – lies in that core, the invisible part.  Without knowing this, no one can ever grasp true happiness.

          When we move, our body does not do so of its own volition, but is directed by our mind.  The same principle applies to good fortune; it is the inner, invisible part that is important.  The surface, the superficial side is the physical world, and the interior part is the invisible world of ether, that which we call the spiritual world.  Such is the way the universe is constructed, the way God has created it.  The spiritual world activates the physical world, just as the mind activates the body, and in all matters the spiritual realm takes precedence over the physical.

          So, good fortune follows the same rule: a person can become fortunate only when the spiritual self has become fortunate in the spiritual realm.  One’s condition there reflects upon the physical plane to make that person fortunate in this world.

          Now, I am going to explain the spiritual world in detail.

          In the spiritual realm, the classification system is more strict and impartial than in the physical world.  It is divided into three strata: the upper, middle and lower, each stratum being subdivided into sixty levels, making a total of one hundred and eighty levels.  The highest plane is what is generally called heaven, the lowest plane is generally referred to as hell, and the middle is what we call the intermediate plane, which has approximately the same conditions as those of the physical world.

          Many people at present may find this difficult to believe.  However, it is the truth, revealed to me by God, which I can attest to from my own experience.  By thoroughly investigating into the relationship between the spiritual realm and the physical world, I have come to know its exact state to its very depth, so there can be no room for error.  There are innumerable individuals who have grasped good fortune and true happiness through expressing faith in this principle and actively living it.  I myself am one of them.  You will easily realize how true this is by looking at me objectively, because, I am now living in most fortunate circumstances.

          Let me go one step further and explain those different levels.  While the physical body lives in the physical world, the spiritual self resides in the spiritual realm, on one of the one hundred and eighty levels.  Its position is not stationary, however; it constantly moves upward or downward, depending on the degree and amount of its good deeds or lack of them.  This movement reflects on the physical plane, influencing the fate of the physical individual.  Therefore,
a person should do his or her utmost to elevate the position of the spiritual self.

          The lowest part of the spiritual realm is the region referred to as hell, with no light whatsoever, a world of suffering, lack and chaos, where evil spirits are actively working.  The highest part is heaven, full of Light, an ideal world of health, plenty and peace.  The central region is neither extremely good nor extremely bad.  The higher a spirit’s position is raised, the better the human environment becomes.

          The exact state of each individual’s spiritual being in the spiritual world reflects on the physical being, determining fortunes here; so, it is obvious that elevation of the spiritual being in the spiritual realm is essential for the attainment of true happiness.  We often hear of some individuals who have risen quickly in their circumstances until they are envied by many and feel elated about this, and then have failed suddenly and have returned to their original poorer conditions in spite of their expectations of continued success.  Their falls can be attributed to their ignorance of the spiritual truths and their being overly dependent on human power.  Such people are also inclined to mistreat others and overwork themselves.  Consequently, they may succeed on the surface, but their spiritual selves are on the lowest spiritual level, hell.  The condition of their spiritual counterparts is inevitably reflected on their physical beings, according to the law of the spiritual preceding the physical.

          Spiritual things have weight, just as material things do, and heavier beings sink to lower levels, whereas lighter beings ascend to higher ones.  What ancient people referred to as the burden of sin is accurate, because negative actions make a person’s spiritual body cloudy and heavy, whereas, virtuous acts purify it, making it lighter so the spiritual being can ascend.  Therefore, a person should avoid all evil and do only good deeds, purifying the spiritual body that much more, making it lighter.  This is the secret to attaining true happiness and good fortune.  This is the truth and I affirm that there is no other way to reach these goals.

          I am sure you understand this principle, but to put it into practice is not as simple as it may seem.  There is one way to make it easy, however, and that is through a genuine faith in God.  So, I would like to encourage all who wish to attain happiness and good fortune to faithfully walk the path of spiritual truth.

6/24/24 Update: As I was reading this Teaching a thought crossed my mind. Meishu-sama’s Teachings are clearly stated but often times difficult to include into our lives. His way of eventually adding the teachings into our lives was to read the teachings daily. (Read it mindfully) Another way would be to concentrate on Volume 3 because those teachings were chosen as teachings that could change our lives. Still another way would be to include it, lightheartedly, to a game or activity. My game of choice is not a game any more . . . it is an activity. I seldom play the game of golf but I try to swing a golf club everyday. If I include, thank you and the feeling of gratitude, to every swing then I am hoping it translates into other activities and thus into other areas of my life. Since pushups are now back in my life. Perhaps with every pushup I can say thank you and feel genuine gratitude for our lives. So let’s connect the dots. The position our spiritual bodies have in the spiritual world determines our level of good fortune. Let us consider doing the things which raises our spiritual level every day. (Age of Night . . . suffering. We don’t have to consider adding any more suffering. It is a natural phenomena.) The other two methods of raising the spiritual level of one’s soul is much preferred. Virtuous deeds and appreciation of art and beauty. The above Teaching mentions something else in the last paragraph.

Meishu-sama wrote, “I am sure you understand this principle, but to put it into practice is not as simple as it may seem.  There is one way to make it easy, however, and that is through a genuine faith in God.  So, I would like to encourage all who wish to attain happiness and good fortune to faithfully walk the path of spiritual truth.”

And how do you do that? Shin, Zen, Bi. Truth, Virtue and Beauty.