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SANNYASIN NEWSLETTER SANNYASIN NEWSLETTER SANNYASIN NEWSLETTER

August 2002

1. ON GUIDANCE

* As spring turns into summer, I find myself once again in Japan. This time it is for a prolonged stay, having received guidance to come here, reunite with my family, and to work with children. Guidance, however, is not always what it seems at first reception. The ways of the Divine are not easily interpreted and comprehended by our one dimensional minds. My guidance in this case had been very clear.

From Sai Baba, simply: "HEAL MY CHILDREN"

From Babaji: "Go to Japan, unite with your wife and son, and heal the children. Help your wife to succeed with the children's English Conversation School which she tried to establish since January. Use your talents to empower her in this endevour. Do this not for yourself, but to be of service to her. In working with and helping to heal children, you will heal your own inner child. Then, you will use what you have learned to heal the inner child which lives within us all".

Beautiful I thought. So, Sai Baba was really saying "heal the inner child within us all", ie "HEAL ALL". Beautiful.

So with this purpose in mind, I prepared myself to move to Japan. I gave notice on my apartment in Switzerland, had yet another "thinning" of my possessions and moved what was left into storage. Packed up my suitcases with my allotted 40 kilos, hoisted my rucksack onto my back, packed my laptop computer into its bag, and hopped onto Lufthansa flight LH 3754 Geneva to Munich, and then LH 714 to Narita, Tokyo. I shared the plane from Munich with several groups of football supporters, mostly English with a smattering of Croatians and Irish, en route to the World Cup 2002.

Upon arriving at Narita I took the Keikyu Limousine Bus service (YCAT) to Yohohama City Air Terminal, where I was met by my son who is now 8 years old, and my wife. After a brief "Hello" I was told to follow as they set off briskly to a friend's waiting car. No grand welcome, “how have you been?”, “how was your flight?”, “are you tired?”, or any other such common nicety. The conversation in the car continued in Japanese (which I don't understand yet) and I was left to my own devices.

Arriving at the small rented house which is home in Japan, I saw that there had been no special preparation for me. There was no space cleared for my belongings. I had to begin by clearing many boxes out of a small 6 tatami room before I could lay down my suitcase to open it. The room already contained clothes, an ironing board and iron, plus a stack of ironing still to be done (my task in "helping" I later learned). The bookshelves which I had bought on my last visit for myself were now stuffed full of Japanese books.

During the two days I needed to recover from my jet-lag, I was often reminded of the house rules. The Japanese are very serious about recycling and waste avoidance. There are strict rules as to what you can/must recycle and how to do it. Most Japanese are very conscientious citizens and so take this very seriously. Everyone in the household must comply.

Now this might not seem so unusual. Every household has its routine, as without it, things don’t work. What grated with me was that I, as the man of the household, was expected to tow the line, to fit in and not make waves. Any transgressions on my part were pointed out quickly and unfailingly. This I was not prepared for.

In addition, upon discussing the children’s school which I came here to help her get started, my wife told me that she no longer wants to do that. She has changed her focus. She wants to create a web site to help young Japanese women, a safe place where they can ask questions and receive answers. She has already started doing this where she works and the response has encouraged her to expand her sphere of influence. What about the children’s school? She no longer wants to be involved. That is now assigned to me. So how does this tie in with my guidance?

Since arriving, I have pondered this question many times. This situation is not at all what I expected. Should I leave or should I stay? Should I flee because things are not how I want them to be, or should I accept things as they are, trust in my guidance, and go with the flow? What would you do?

Do you know that the Buddhists say that all suffering is caused by attachment. Attachment to possessions, to people, attachment to the outcome of situations. Attachment to the effect of our actions. Our inability to see and accept things as they are, and to go with the flow also causes suffering. Should I run away because this situation does not match my hopes and expectations? If I do, what am I really running away from? My present situation or myself?

Sometimes we think that if we receive guidance, and follow it without question or calculation, then everything thereafter should be easy, run smoothly and be without incident. If this is God’s will, then everything must work out perfectly, right? Yes, right, but using which yardstick? I do not yet have the ability to see things through the eyes of God, with Divine Mind. What I see through my personality eyes, through my own prejudices, through my own ego aspirations and vested interests, what seems to me like a disastrous, hopeless situation, may in fact be the perfect situation for my souls growth. I may look back on this time and see the perfect part it played in the perfection of the Divine Plan for me. I may see this as the test of faith, perseverance and patience that I suspect it really is.

Things are not at all how I expected them to be. Things are not at all as I want them to be. I don’t understand why I am here. I am not doing anything with children. And so it goes on and on. My mind finding endless reasons why I should leave here pronto. And my soul saying “stay where you are. This is a test. The healing of yourself and others will come to pass in God’s time, not yours. This really is a golden opportunity for growth that you were guided to enter into, to develop compassion, love and patience. Which is it? Reach for the highest thought, find the Higher Mind response”.

It is very simple. Stay in the present and look for the presence of God in everything.

Your task and mine are the same. To stay present so that when God shows himself you are there to see him. Am I staying in Japan? I think you already know the answer to that question.

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2. OTHER WEB SITES FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

There are two related web sites from the same person, Irving Feurst. The Spiritual Unfoldment Network (SUN) and “KHU” the Egyptian Mystery School. Both schools offer energy initiations.

http://www.egyptianmysteryschool.com/index.html

http://www.spiritunfold.com/

The official web site of Benjamin Crème.

http://www.share-international.org/

and another site linked to Benjamin Crème concerning Transmission Meditation

http://www.transmissionmeditation.org/

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3. WHAT'S NEW ON THIS WEB SITE

* An archive of previous newsletters has been added. There is an index on the newsletter subscription page at the bottom.

http://www.sannyasin.com/newsletter.html

* The dictionary has been expanded. Find the meaning and descriptions of Sanskrit words, Roman and Greek gods and goddesses and more.

http://www.sannyasin.com/dictionary.html

* Many more inspirational quotations have been added. These quotes are retrieved from the list randomly, so you should see a different one each time you hit “refresh” or “reload” in your browser.

http://www.sannyasin.com/affirmations.shtml

* There are also various other updates to the poems and jokes pages.

Until next time, may you walk in grace.

With love,

Michael

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