Compass of the Times by Keiko Takahashi
September 2019
Compass of the Times 186
The Change of Dimensions
Keiko Takahashi
To Live in Three Dimensions
There are only four months left in the year. How has your journey been as the end of the year approaches?
There are countless events that occur one after another in our daily lives. They incessantly move our minds while they repeatedly appear and disappear like ripples created by a pebble thrown on the surface of the water.
Many ripples disappear naturally after a while; however, some do not disappear immediately but become more prominent and have a greater effect even to the whole.
Various events that occur in our daily lives repeatedly appear and disappear one after another, while affecting us at times in a major or minor way. Each time our minds may oscillate toward pleasure or pain; however, most will disappear from our memory in a day or two.
Nevertheless, some things remain in our minds without disappearing. Among many experiences that are linked to events, there are some that will be connected to the theme that
pierces through our life.
What are the encounters and events that are connected to the theme of our life?
The Study of the Soul1 encourages us always to perceive various phenomena and realities that occur around us in three dimensions.
Any everyday event is a phenomenon that exists in the dimension of reality. At the same time, it is connected to the dimension of our mind. Furthermore, it is connected to the aspiration and theme of life, which breathe deeply beneath our mind, and are also connected to the dimension of our soul.
Regardless of whether they are the various troubles that can arise in the family or trials at the workplace, they are not only limited to phenomena that occur in the dimension of reality but also harbor the sound that resonates with the dimensions of the mind and the soul. This perspective is nothing but the power that weaves the story of the dimension of life, the dimension of the soul, from the countless events that occur every day.
The Change of Dimensions: When Stories Switch Places
Recently, when I was listening to music, I came to think about
the crossing point of dimensions: the changing point of a tide that occurs in our life.
It was the first two pieces of music recomposed by the modern composer, Max Richter based on the original material, 'The Four Seasons" by Vivaldi. These are short pieces of music of about 3 minutes long in total. It starts with an ensemble of strings, expressing the brilliance of the spring season, such as the chirping of little birds, the rustling of young leaves, and sparkling sunlight. While this continues, the bottom flow of a bass line, that was hidden at the beginning, gradually surfaces as the music develops, and eventually, it becomes the mainstream.
While listening to the music, I had an image in my mind that at the foundation of various phenomena and incidents that occurred in the phenomenal world, a story in a different dimension was progressing simultaneously. I imagined that in parallel to our everyday story, the sound (=story) of the world of a higher dimension was born, growing little by little, and one day, suddenly emerged into the dimension of phenomena.
My imagination expanded and I thought that this is the crossing of the phenomenal world and the world of origin. It is the dimension of the soul and the theme of our life that emerges in our reality.
We humans perceive the world through our five senses and live
there. We connect reality and our mind and leave our footprints of life as we accumulate our feelings and thoughts.
However, at the same time, we humans harbor the dimension of the soul. We are tossed about by numerous incidents that happen in the dimension of phenomena. Concurrently, we possess the power to catch and respond to the sound of a higher dimension, the story of the dimension of the soul, that is born in the depths of the dimension of phenomena.
Our daily life is filled with familiar and ordinary sounds, such as conversations at home, the sound of the television, the bustle of the street, or the heated discussions of meetings at the workplace. We spend days in repeating joys and sorrows in response to such sounds.
However, no matter who, there is a time when an unfamiliar sound approaches us from the base of such familiar sounds. The sound is faint at the beginning but will strengthen gradually. If we catch the flow of the sound and live in a way that responds to it, one day we will find that the flow has become the mainstream of our daily life. At that moment, the dimension where we live will make a significant change.
Editor's Notes
1. The Study of the Soul
The Study of the Soul is the system of theory and practice by which we unify the visible and the invisible dimensions as one and seek for the way of life of humans. In contrast to the study of phenomena that is represented by science, the Study of the Soul tries to deal with comprehensively both the materialistic dimension and the dimension that surpasses it; the dimension of mind and soul. It is the principle discovered by Keiko Takahashi's research on human beings and the life history of many people. It is expected to observe human beings with a holistic perspective of soul-mind-reality and respond to all things and events.
(Quoted from How to Make Your Life the Best (p. 50) by Keiko Takahashi; available only in Japanese)
Excerpt Translation of G. Monthly Journal September 2019 issue
Preliminary translation as of September, 2019
GLA member-volunteers translated Takahashi Sensei’s words.
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