Compass of the Times 228

Prepare for a New Cycle

Keiko Takahashi

How to Complete a Cycle

March is the month at the end of the fiscal year in Japan—the time when another cycle within the yearly cycle is concluded.

In Japan, many things reach a milestone in March and start anew in April. In our society, the school year begins in April and ends in March, and so does the fiscal year for many companies, organizations, and the government.

If you are a student, March is the time that an academic year ends to move on to the next grade. Or perhaps, some of you are about to graduate from school.

If you are working at a company, you may be preparing for a transfer, or a new job, starting in April. Some people may be newly employed.

This means that March could be said to be a month to conclude the previous cycle and prepare for a new one.

For you, too, there will be a cycle that comes to an end in March. How will you approach it?

Think About a Cycle

A cycle is a process in which a state continues to change before returning back to its original state.

Cycles abound all around us. First of all, each day is a cycle for us. It begins in the morning, and we go to school or work, do our chores, and then the evening comes. When night falls, we go to sleep and wake up in the morning once again.

The month that begins on the first of each month is also a cycle. There is also the cycle of a year, which comes when that monthly cycle is repeated 12 times. Fiscal years, which begin in April and end in March, and four seasons within a year are also cycles of a year.

Our life is also a cycle. We are born, grow up while learning, and graduate from school. We spend long periods of time in society as we work, continue research, or support our family, and eventually, grow old and face the time of graduation from this life. Thereafter, our soul returns to the World of Real Existence and waits for the time to be born again. That is the cycle of life.

Of course, the aforementioned series of events are not the only cycles. There may also be a cycle of meetings and partings with someone. If we are involved in individual projects at work, we will experience a cycle of those projects. A Wisdom (of GLA) with which we are familiar includes the cycle of things and events.

The important thing to remember is that, throughout our life, we constantly live cycles of several layered dimensions, from which we learn, absorb, and create new realities on our own, making them our life experiences. When we live in accordance with the blueprint entrusted to us in those cycles, we can gain the secret to a prosperous life. I would like you to keep this image in your mind at all times.

A cycle is not just a mechanical transition without purpose. There are some things to be achieved during those cycles. There are always blueprints to be fulfilled in the daily, monthly, and yearly cycles.

In the cycle of life, we aim to discover the purpose for which we live and to fulfill that purpose.

Prepare for a New Cycle

This month is a time of preparation for those who are beginning a new chapter in life.

Some are entering high school or college. Some will be starting work on their first job, and others will be beginning their work at a new place after changing jobs. Or some may be working in a new position.

Even if nothing seems to have changed, facing a new month of April means that we begin a new cycle.

Are you prepared for it?

Learning the basics of work in a new place can be a step toward that.

If you are familiar with the Study of the Soul, working on Wisdom can be an even more important step. It is of the utmost importance to think about the blueprint and define your wishes and objectives through Wisdom. Furthermore, drawing up a concrete action plan (Action Program) for the approaching future will surely become a rock-solid preparation for you.

Editor’s Note

1. Wisdom (In-En-Kaho Wisdom)

The In-En-Kaho Wisdom developed by Takahashi-sensei is a wisdom and method for solving various problems and creating a new future through the perspective of In-En-Kaho (cause and effect). First, we draw problems to the cause (In, ourselves) and grasp the energy flow of the cycle of dark transformation by which the cause (In) and conditions (En) intersect to create the result (Kaho, problems). Then, by transforming the cause (In) and changing and coordinating the conditions (En, i.e., partners, principles, and systems), the energy that is moving toward darkness will gradually stop, and the energy that generates the cycle of light transformation will gain momentum, and therefore we will be able to follow the path to resolution and creation.

2. Blueprint

Originally, a blueprint is referred to as plans showing how to build something, such as a building or a machine. From there, it has come to refer to diagrams or plans for just about anything or for diagrams of the future that ought to be. It is the reality that we seek to realize and aspire to achieve. In the Study of the Soul, the term is also imbued with the meanings of the Idea (ideal form) hidden in all things and the promise made with the Great Existence, God. (Excerpted from page 105 of The Golden Path by Keiko Takahashi)

3. Study of the Soul

The Study of the Soul is a system of theory and practice in which we seek a way of life by connecting the visible and invisible dimensions. In contrast to the study of phenomena, which science represents by dealing with the materialistic dimension, the Study of the Soul goes beyond that, dealing comprehensively with the materialistic dimension and the invisible dimension of the mind and soul. That is a principle that I have discovered from intensive studies of human beings and the individual life journeys of the many people whom I have met. By looking at the soul, mind, and reality as a whole, we observe human beings and hope to respond to every possible occasion. (Excerpted from page 40 of How to Make Your Life the Best by Keiko Takahashi)

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