Compass of the Times 230

Letting Our Soul Move

Keiko Takahashi

Humans Live in the Current

We all live in a gigantic current.

Every society has its own trends of the times. These are what is popular in each era and can be seen as the current that moves toward the values demanded by society at that time. Unknowingly, we all live our lives being carried along by these trends of the times.

In the late 1960s, the student movement spread throughout the world. Our entire society was enveloped by the atmosphere of the class struggle of Marxism, and many people were influenced by such a mood. It is no exaggeration to say that this influence continues to this day.

The reality of the movement, however, was not at all a mature ideology. It conceptualized that the problems of society were only solvable in the form of revolution and strife, harboring immaturity that was incapable of showing respect to other beings. What was driving that era was indeed a frenzied current.

In the 1980s, the term “money management technique” became popular in Japan. Very many citizens were buying stocks and real estate. It became so commonplace that some determined that companies and individuals who did not invest money were insane.

Many of those companies and individuals who were swept along with the flow focused on investment without regard to their core business were severely hurt by the bursting of the bubble economy that happened later.

It is inevitable that those who live in the time are affected by the very current that is there. It is extremely difficult to be free from it.

Moving the Soul—A Way of Life That Resists the Current

Living by being swept along by the current is, of course, one way to live.

And yet, there are things that cannot be felt in this way of life. There are things we cannot see, things we cannot obtain. There are places that cannot be reached by that way of life because it cannot move our soul.

Have you ever felt your soul moving?

Your soul moves when you feel something so deeply as if your whole body is electrified or when you wish for something more intense than ever before.

At that moment, you should have a strong sense that you are alive and, beyond words, you should have found what you are meant to do.

Moving the soul is the best thing about living a life and becomes the key to manifesting a life that is truly irreplaceable.

That is why we must ask ourselves, “What kind of current are we in right now” without realizing it.

And sometimes, we should dare to resist the current. Sometimes it is necessary to do so.

Even if everyone around us is going the same way, we take a different path. Even if conventional wisdom encourages a certain way of life, we choose a different way of life. We cannot do that if we live only by being swept along by the current.

Take the First Step by Believing in Yourself

See for yourself, not by considering the public reputation. Even if those around you tell you that it is good enough, take a step further and delve into your mind on your own. Put aside your old ways and pursue a new way of life. Choose what your deepest self truly feels and what resonates with your soul.

The way of life that moves your soul begins with believing in yourself.

Believing in yourself means believing in the potential that lies within you.

You can change because you believe in your potential. As you believe in yourself, I hope that you will make preparations to draw forth the hidden power that has not yet manifested itself.

This month, GLA will begin its Age-Based Seminars¹.

For three days, participants will leave their usual place of living and concentrate on their studies in the wilderness of the Yatsugatake mountains. It will be a great opportunity to break through the invisible walls that cover us in our daily lives and move our souls.

It is time to reclaim your life from the gigantic current that is engulfing your life without you realizing it.

Editor’s Note

1. Age-Based Seminars

Just as nature’s four seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter—are irreplaceable, all the seasons of life—the time when we are a child, adolescent, middle age, and elderly— emit a precious light that cannot be compared. We are born into the World of Phenomena (this world) through the Gate of Birth, enjoy the seasons of life, return to the World of Real Existence (the other world) through the Gate of Death, and will be born into this world again when the time is fulfilled. This is a new view of life, the cyclical view of humanity that cannot be seen from the linear view of life that begins with birth and ends with death. In age-based seminars, participants can learn the secrets of fully living each season of life. Specifically, there is the Youth Seminar for adolescents (May), Frontier College and Heart Nursing School Joint Seminar for people of middle age (June), Hoshin College Seminar for seniors (May), and Kakehashi Seminar for parents and children (end of July to August).

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