Click here for today’s photo slideshow from Japan.
Paul Kaye shares this quote from John-Roger:
You think you’ve got to go someplace. But there is no place to go, and there is nothing when you get there.
Nothing that you did in the last thirty seconds or before has any control over you at all, and none of it matters.
There are a lot of people around you who are going to try to run the past on you because they run it on themselves. And you can just say, “That’s past!”
Right now is the time to partake of everything. Right now is when the consciousness of reality is present. There is no time when it will be present other than right now. Therefore, you don’t have to go anyplace.
If you are talking to people while reflecting back to last week, you are splitting yourself. When you go into this or something similar, you are going into memory, and memory isn’t what the heart desires. The heart doesn’t want a memory; it wants a here and now.
-John-Roger
Angel Gibson shares:
We are now up in the mountains near Kuramoto. Our ryokan is a renowned onsein (bath). Today is magical and begins with S.E.’s and a Japanese breakfast. A treat is having a special warming plate on which we can scramble, fry or cook our eggs in any way we’d like. We’ve discovered that 3 spoonfuls of Nescafe makes a mean espresso – a nice counterpoint to green tea. There is lots of fun and laughter at breakfast. We find out that we’re going to spend the morning walking down the mountain and through some villages on our way to lunch. We are so happy to be outside. The air is clear, fresh and cool. Not even a 20-30% chance of rain dampens our delight at having walking time in nature.
We are in for a treat as we soon discover. The leaves have started to turn – the reds and golds are jumping out at us among the hunter greens of the pines and cryptomeria. Steve starts us at the top of a falls; the sound and smell of rushing water encompasses us as we descend the stairway, stopping every so often to capture another moment of this landscape that is unveiling its surprises for us at every turn. At the bottom of the long staircase we turn left and see what could be a devic playground; we turn right and the water cascades down, meandering around rocks of all sizes that make little paths across to the other side. Now we see the oranges and reds of trees emerging. At one point someone graciously offers to take a picture of me so I jump onto a rock midstream, stretch out my arms, and breathe in this beauty and healing. At that very moment the trees around us let go in a shower of colorful leaves. There are ooh’s and aah’s of appreciation of this magical display.
We go past a fire red tree and homes beautifully landscaped, past bamboo forests, yellow and orange flowers, bridges in the distance. We are accompanied by yellow gold butterflies that play tag with each other. We walk along a canal taking a breather at a neighborhood temple and garden. The Traveler walks with us, reaching out and embracing, joking, snapping pictures, fellowshipping, and looking to God like the rest of us – a flower is in his cap.
Boarding a bus we are ready for a special lunch at a bakery. There are sandwiches on freshly baked bread and rice balls, but best of all there is coffee and pie a la mode. We sing Happy Birthday to Angel and to John – it is a birth-day for each of us as once again we come present. But wait there’s more. Shopping of course. We stop at a little antique store. Most of us are trying on kimonos or obis; some have found brilliant pieces of decorative material and are pondering what we can do with these. Some of us just have a short visit and return by bus for some bathing. This is such a luxury to go into the hot springs that are outside. Stress and fatigue are pulled out of our bodies as we soak; our eyes pulling to us the fresh green of the foliage surrounding the bath. We take a cleansing shower, robe ourselves in our ukatas and head for our rooms to finish dressing.
Dinner is a grand affair – like a huge cookout set up at each table. There is a grill and with mounted fish and rice sticks. We dodge the plumes of smoke that erupt from the pits in front of us and we open the doors to get fresh air. So much food surrounds us we remind ourselves to breathe slowly and pace. Then we go to be with the Traveler. He speaks to us of trust and staying in the present. We are nurtured in body, mind and soul this day. We are prepared for the travel ahead of us tomorrow.
