Compass of the Times by Keiko Takahashi
September 2018
Compass of the Times 174
To Be Connected with the World
Keiko Takahashi
We Are One with Situations
As we did last month, I would like again to think about the perspective of Chaos.
The method for engaging Chaos does not merely mean that we should try perceiving the various encounters and events we face every day as Chaos.
Within the perspective of Chaos is contained the world view of the Study of the Soul1 and, in an integrated way, this includes the Concept of Energy Exchange2, in which we perceive situations as energy dynamics.
For example, when we grasp a situation as Chaos, it no longer is something separated from us, but becomes instead connected to us. The subsequent state of Chaos is determined by the combination of the energy of Chaos itself and the energy that we put into it.
While we see things absent-mindedly, it only seems that we are separated from the situation as different entities;
however, as soon as we perceive the situation as Chaos, we come to perceive it as something that is connected to us as a unified entity. This means that we are closely connected to the situation which we now face.
To Be Connected with the World
What is your understanding of the relationship between you and the rest of the world, the world that spreads around you? I have spoken about how we are now facing an era of turbulence and wavering.
On the other hand, even though we live in such a changing world, the image we hold toward the world is, I believe, one that is “immovable.”
The world is rigidly structured and is complete. It towers over us like a solid fortress. No matter how hard we try to work on it, it does not move even an inch.
Those students who are about to join the workforce, or those who have just started working, might be keenly aware of this fact. A particular infrastructure has developed in society in which economic activities are improved to a high level, and systems are fully matured. The world seems to be in a state of completion and all we can do is to adapt to it. Even if we attempt to get inside it, there is not even the
slightest opening, and we are driven back from it.
We feel that we are merely powerless beings who are severed from the world.
However, when we have the perspective of Chaos, we are able to connect to every situation to be united as one. No matter how solid the world seems, and appears to reject us, it can be viewed from the perspective of Chaos, a state that is soft and plastic enough to change into any shape together with us.
We Can Begin from a Blueprint
As I mentioned in the Introduction of the Study of the Soul 110 (February 2018, currently available only in Japanese), how we think about incidents is based on the circumstances of the past. As stated in the law of cause and effect“ a result exists because there is a cause,” we think that “a present exists because there was a past; and a future will exist because there is a present.
When we face incidents, we naturally fall into our former way of thinking. We are bound by circumstances of the past and repeat the past. Unless we identify this problem, we end up following the former way of doing things. That inertia
works on us and we are propelled by the force of habit; this can also be called a continuation of the past.
We can hardly deny how heavy the weight of the past is in our daily lives.
Each day, what will happen if we see every new situation as Chaos? At that moment, we will be able to be released from the gravity of the past and obtain a mindset with a perspective derived from the future. We will be able to see the present from the blueprint which belongs to the future.
Without being dragged by inertial forces or the circumstances of the past, we can start from the blueprint3 that inherently exists in Chaos and that awaits manifestation. How free that power is! What profound wisdom it has!
Editor's Notes
1. Study of the Soul
It is the perspective that grasps our lives from the dimension of the soul. It also refers to the system of the truth, the Divine Truth, that permeates every aspect of the human soul and the world. As opposed to the study of phenomena that is directed at the tangible world, the Study of the Soul is an investigation of all things, including the formless and intangible world.(excerpted and summarized from page 3 of The Reason Why You Were Born as You)
2. Concept of Energy Exchange
Our mind (inner world) and reality (outer world) are connected inseparably like two sides of a coin. The linkage is more intimate and solid than we can conceive, and the two greatly influence each other. I call this the inner-outer exchange of energy. Regardless whether we are conscious of it or not, we continue the exchange of mind and reality, our inner world and outer world at every moment without cessation. The thoughts in our mind will inevitably be reflected in reality, and the outer reality, accompanied by energy, will affect our minds.(excerpted and summarized from page 39 of The Soul Doctrine as a Way of Life )
3. Blueprint
There is a blueprint for everything. When we wish to accomplish something, we must first remember the fact that a blueprint exists—an image of what should be there from the start. This means there are answers to be sought in all cases and ways to access them. Putting it in other words, there is always a best possible path to take in any situation. (excerpted and summarized from pages 98-99 of The Soul Doctrine as a Way of Life)
Excerpt Translation of G. Monthly Journal September 2018 issue
Preliminary translation as of September, 2018
GLA member-volunteers translated Takahashi Sensei’s words.
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