Compass of the Times by Keiko Takahashi
October 2019
Compass of the Times 187
To Believe in Yourself
Keiko Takahashi
Life Begins with the Aspiration to Be Born
We live in an era of turbulence in which our society changes at tremendous speed. Such a situation does not necessarily bring us joy, and instead, we may face more suffering and difficulties.
What is clear is that it is impossible to avoid the numerous trials in this world because of the Law of Disintegration. This law dominates the world, in which everything will become old, distorted, rusted away, and deteriorated if left untouched.
"I would wish that I had not been born if I knew this was going to be my life."
A countless number of people have indeed muttered phrases like this.
However, we did not hold such pessimistic views at least when life first begins.
Every one of us, existing as a soul, has hoped to be born into this world. It is because life is a journey that we can only begin when our souls harbor aspirations.
By being born into this world, our souls become able to connect the phenomenal world with the spiritual world, the outer world with the inner world.
For example, we can manifest our feelings and thoughts on the outside and crystallize aspirations of the soul into a concrete form. Through such a process, we can continue to deepen our paths of evolution and development. This experience becomes possible only because we were born, and it is the process that becomes possible only when we live in the phenomenal world.
I would like you to believe that our life, without exception, has begun with an aspiration of wanting to be born no matter what.
What Is a True Joy?
When we are born, we humans can do nothing. We can neither stand, walk, speak, nor see the outer world in the way we can now.
However, as time passes, many become able to stand, start walking, and move around freely. We are able to understand others' stories by listening to them and convey what we think by speaking to them. We become able to observe the world and act in response.
As time goes by, we draw forth our inner potentials and absorb from outside various ways of life to become the Initial Self. For
most people, this is the process of life that progresses without knowing.
From our birth, we naturally harbor such an innate power. This fact, in itself, is a wonderful thing. Such a power emits a unique radiance from within us.
However, there is a power that we must draw forth after the Initial Self was established with no conscious efforts through birth and upbringing. This time, starting from the Initial Self, we must draw forth that power by cumulative efforts.
This power is not the one that naturally emerges without being noticed, but it is the power of the mind that we consciously nurture through continuous efforts and training. It is the power of living that cannot be drawn forth merely by passive birth and upbringing.
That power emits radiance that is unique to each of us, and it is even more so than our innate power.
It is because our true self, our Final Form of Self emerges together with that radiance.
To bring out the power of living and live as a new self, is what is essential for us to achieve our goals in life.
Once we are born into this phenomenal world, we must draw
forth this power from within us and live the Next Self and approach the Final Form of Self. If we do not do so, it is not an exaggeration to say that we can never experience the real joy of savoring life.
Believe In Yourself
It is challenging to live our life filled with hardships and trials. At such times when you face trials, I would like you to believe in yourself.
To believe in yourself does not merely mean to believe in you who appears now. The true definition of believing in oneself is to believe in the self who can keep going forward toward the Final Form of Self hidden behind the Initial Self. Please do not forget that the power to bring out your Final Form of Selfis dormant within you.
Excerpt Translation of G. Monthly Journal October 2019 issue
Preliminary translation as of October, 2019
GLA member-volunteers translated Takahashi Sensei’s words.
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