Enjoy the Process

In this fierce competition oriented society, we tend to look for the answers outside. Sometimes we try to conquer our sense of inferiority by winning over other people in the scale defined by the society or someone else. The result is, most of the time, not what we expect.

In order for us to overcome the sense of inferiority, we have to achieve the sense of superiority. Achieving something better than other people is not really the answer for our quest. As soon as we arrive in the place we dreamed of, we will see more people even higher above that level as long as your satisfaction stems from comparison.

Yes, we can continue pursuing higher place, and it’s natural for us to do so. We are part of the Universe which is always expanding in an exponentinal speed.

We realize that such senses of superiority and inferiority are actually the same thing. Neither of them really can offer us a peace place to be. So, we need to focus on what brings us the true sense of joy, satisfaction or bliss, or even all in one.

When we start making a decision to enjoy the process of whatever we are doing or not doing, not choosing to compare your achievement with someone else’s, that is the time we discover the true sense of victory. That self-content feeling will even help us celebrate other people’s successes just like our own. We don’t need to finght for anything any longer in such world.

By. Keiko

Empower Your Cells.

Whether we accept disease or not is also our conscious decision. As we deliberately select right choices, we can have our cells fully functioning for us.

According to Gregg Braden’s recent speech at a Hay House event, some scientists are claiming that our bodies are made to last for 900 years. He mentioned that constantly finding reasons to smile and stretching are essential for healthy body. I agree.

I choose not to receive cold and flu. In order to protect my body, I do the following.

1. Drink 2 cups of 8 oz Kangen Water first thing in the morning.
2. Wrap my neck with silk scarf or cotton towel to keep it warm.
3. When I feel that my cells start vocal about some intruders in my body (this case virus or bacteria), I pay attention to them. I either use tapping, acupressure, or burning Moxa on certain meridian points.
4. I am determined to be healthy.
5. I always find reasons for happiness and appreciation.
6. I sing and laugh a lot.
7. I let the Love Energy flow into and out my body with less mental resistance and with deep breathing.
8. Of course, I drink antioxidant juice everyday (it’s been 6 years already).

I have been drinking 2 cups of water when I wake up for 2.5 years. Since I started to do so, my metabolic age went down from 26 to 12.  12 metabolic year old is the lowest my Tanita scale can measure. I noticed not only the wrinkles around eyes disappeared but my skin regained youthful translucency.

By. Keiko.

Choose Your Feelings.

As we live on, we cannot avoid experiences of loss. Even if you are being awaken and enlightened at the moment, still you will experience loss in your life. Even if you had infinite amount of money in the bank account, still you cannot avoid sad experiences. The reason is because we live in this physical world and the physical beings, materials, with no exception, go through cycles. It is natural for a physical being to depart us soon or later, and so do our bodies.

Important thing to remember is there is always mind (energy) over matters, and that energy lives forever. Energy is often called soul, love, or spirit as well. Or in many cultures it is also called god.

When I was small I encountered an eye opening event. My close friend’s mother died. He was handsome and athletic, and his smiles always made my days. Everybody knew that he was a mother’s boy. While he was away from school, I was wondering what to say to him and how I should say it when he would come back. I was hurt imagining what he was going through.

Several days later, he came back to school. He came late for the first class. When our teacher told us that he would be there, I had an anxiety attack and still didn’t know what to say or how to face him.. Then, he opened the door.

He opened the door with a big smile even with chuckles. That smile was even bigger than I ever saw anybody’s face before. He said, “Sorry, I am late..:-)”

It was a huge revelation to me. His smile gave us instant relieves. It was beyond my imagination how anybody could act like that right after such tragedy. Gradually I digested this situation. I learned from this incident that we don’t have to share all of our feelings, and probably nobody else would be able to share the same level of pain anyway. I also learned that losing someone can be a celebration of the person’s completion of fruitful life. Since that day, my biggest goal has been making the now moment the best moment in life. That way, I can smile when I depart this physical world. I want my loved ones to celebrate my completion of the fruitful life too.

We are given infinite number of choices in life. Sad things can happen to us, but we can always choose our feelings out of infinite possibilities. The event doesn’t have any meaning to it. It just happens. We are the one who attach the meaning to it.

I still clearly remember his huge smile that day. He was clearly not accepting self-pity in life. He didn’t need anybody’s consolation either.

In “The Secret”, Jack Canfield says “Bad things happen in life, but so what?” We have to have courage to say to oneself “So what?” when a sad thing happens. We also have to have courage to say to others the same.

We may be called as a “cold-blooded person”. Or that incident can be an extremely horrifying experience for that person. But I think it is OK. We just pray together for Love and opportunities to grow. This Universe would not give us any difficulties which we cannot overcome. By saying “So what?”, we are expressing our profound faith in that person’s ability to come out of it with grace.

With Divine Support, we will be OK because we are eternal beings just experiencing this Physical world.

By. Keiko

Power Questions.

Every word you say creates your realities.

Every question we ask forms who we really are.

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When I participated in a business seminar back in 2004, the instructor said this to us first thing in the class:

“In this course, I would not accept questions and complaints. If you have any, deal with them yourself.”

Instantly, I thought that this young instructor was avoiding complex questions because he may not be able to answer those. Also I assumed that he was not so familiar with running big seminars, and therefore he needed to protect himself from complaints.

I was wrong!!

Over the following 3 days, I had to deal with my own questions and complaints without any choice. On the first day, my head was filled with questions and complaints… complaints of not being able to ask them questions, for being forced with this unreasonable policy and etc.

However, like it or not, by placing myself in such an awkward position, I started to realize that the policy was the most profound lesson for life I ever received in years.

First, when you are trying to answer your questions, you realize that almost all questions you come up with can be answered by yourself. Either the answer has been already provided, is accessible in the resource you already have, easy to answer yourself, or it makes no difference if you know the answer or not.

Second, when you prohibit yourself from complaining to others, you start looking for something to be grateful for because that is the only way you can interact with others. Then, you can acknowledge how lucky you are, and how much effort and energy were provided by others.

During that 3-day seminar, I expanded so much. When you try to find answers yourself, without just throwing questions to others, you will learn so much in the process. You will know that you know more than you know. Now I understand that only quality questions should be asked and such questions will empower both parties.

****** ****** ****** ******

Are you giving Power Questions to the person you are talking to?

Are you raising yourself by asking Power Questions?

Or, are you pulling down yourself and the person you are talking to with unworthy questions?

Are you trusting yourself having unlimited potentials?

Or do you chat for the sake of chatting?

Everyone is Powerful beyond measure.

Keiko Marutani, MBA
Quantum Success Coach
Entrepreneur

Empowering Others to Shine From Within.

I used to be a ski instructor. A certified Ski Instructor by Ski Association of Japan (SAJ). I worked for a ski school at one of the most famous resorts, where the Winter Olympics took place in 1998. I skied for TV commercials, and ski magazines. I also acted as an Assistant Director when my mentor (Technical Delegate of SAJ who represented Japanese Ski Methodology at international conventions) directed and produced a series of educational TV shows with the Japanese national TV company (NHK).

I taught thousands of skiers, if not 10s of thousands, from complete beginners to black diamond advanced skiers. My teaching talent came very naturally maybe because my father used to be a school teacher. Or maybe because I was completely bored most of my childhood at school and was always in the imaginary world designing my own ideal educational philosophy. I guess I just applied that to my ski lessons, but retrospectively, it all makes sense even now.

For example, if I had 10 complete beginners in my group, I instantly analyzed each single student’s physical abilities, the quality of equipment, muscle powers, ambition level, and communication level. Then, I gave each single person customized assignments. I just stood in the middle of the slope and gave reviews and new assignments over and over again.

By doing this, what I could accomplish was enormous. Depending on the athletic ability and quality of equipment etc, one could do parallel at the end of the day (2 hour each in am and pm) while other could turn with plowing. Regardless of the level of the technical achievement, each single student could make most out of the day on the slope with joy of attaining their own maximum results.

It is challenging for the teachers or instructors to teach this way because they have to accurately, impartially analyze the students’ learning abilities and come up with unique solutions for each, but if they do so, the following can be accomplished.

1. No Comparison: Each has his/her unique abilities and pace. One can take 3 runs to learn one thing while another can take only 1 run to get it. Whatever they achieve is wonderful and everybody is happy not because they beat other people but they conquered their own unique challenges. This is based on Abundance Mentality. If we recognize Abundance in the Universe, there is no reason to compare the external performances. The variations brings Perfection to this Universe.

2. Self-Worth: Each experiences his/her own unique capacity. If they are not compared, nobody is left feeling unworthy by being compared with others. We are who we are not the performance by comparison. This way we can build confidence in being different and unique from others. From that vantage point, we can manifest Divine Creations.

3. Empowerment From Within: If each of us is happy and satisfied from within, we have enough room to celebrate other’s success as well. When we can celebrate other’s success, we feel more empowered. That’s how the Law of Rhythm works.

It may sound very basic, but we need to go back to basic when things get tough. I go back to basic on an easy slope when I lose touch in moguls.

We just need to empower ourselves from within to empower the world. As Within So Without. (The Law of Correspondence)

Keiko Marutani, MBA
Quantum Success Coach
Entrepreneur

The Joy of Imperfection.

Not long ago, I realized something as I stood in front of the mirror. Even if I squinted hard, even if the light was just right, even if I was wearing make-up and a flattering outfit, no one was ever going to mistake me for a sweet young thing anymore. I saw that the lines around my eyes didn’t disappear when I stopped smiling. I admitted that I was the sort of woman who looked perfectly at home in a mini-van.

And as I stood there, contemplating the changes that had somehow snuck up on me, at first I felt a twinge of sorrow for my lost youth (Where did it go? Where did I go?) — and then I began to appreciate how wabi-sabi my face looked.

The concept of wabi sabi is one that I think every woman (and man) should have in her mental bag of tricks, particularly after time’s winged chariot has pulled into the driveway. Wabi-sabi is a term that describes the beauty to be found in imperfection. It originates in Japan, where artists will often leave a crack in a piece of pottery or a flaw in the design of a kimono as a reminder of the wabi-sabi nature of life. Wabi-sabi recognizes that all of life is in a constant state of change, and that decay is as much a part of life as growth.

“Wabi-sabi is a concept that originated in sixteenth-century Japan with the tea ceremony, a ritual that provided a way to step out of the chaos of daily life and reconnect with that which was simple and tranquil,” says Diane Durston, author of Wabi-Sabi: The Art of Everyday Life and curator of culture, art, and education at the Portland Japanese Garden. “Through the centuries wabi-sabi came to mean an approach to life and art that is in harmony with nature, one that values the handmade and rustic and that recognizes the impermanence of life. It encourages us to be respectful of age, both in things and in ourselves, and it counsels us to be content with what we have rather than always striving for more. It’s a hard concept to define in words, because it’s about emotion as much as philosophy. Wabi-sabi has a hint of wistfulness about it.”

I loved the idea of wabi-sabi from the first time I heard of it a decade ago, but it’s only as I’ve grown older that I’ve come to fully appreciate its layers of meaning. The concept has helped me understand that while I enjoyed being young-its giddiness and newness and excitement-there’s also a serenity that comes from growing older and knowing better who I am. Age has a patina, a mellowness and comfortableness that I increasingly savor.

This understanding didn’t come upon me suddenly (“My, how cool it is look so much older!”). Instead my journey to wabi-sabi-dom has happened in fits and starts. Part of it has been seeing women I admire age with grace. I think of Jackie, 92-years-young, who teaches me that growing older can mean growing deeper, wiser, and more joyful, or Rebecca, who proves that gray hair can be stylish and sexy and who attracts men like she’s dabbed 200-proof pheromones behind her ears. And if I need further confirmation of the truths of wabi-sabi, I look at the celebrities who have obviously gone to the plastic surgeon’s office one too many times. I’ll take my lines, thank you very much, especially if the alternative means I’d have that permanent startled expression, a parody of true youth.

But living in a wabi-sabi way goes much deeper than just accepting the physical signs of aging. For me its most important lesson has been about the impermanence of all life. When one of my oldest and dearest friends committed suicide last year, it was a loud wake-up call for me. In my mourning, I’ve searched for how I could have been a better friend and vowed to more deeply cherish my loved ones while I have them. I know what scholars mean when they talk about the wistfulness of wabi-sabi, because I can feel it in my heart whenever I think of those faces I will see no more.

I think a little wabi-sabi wisdom is just what we need these days amid economic trials and our culture’s never-ending emphasis on success. Too many people live in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction with what they have. They throw away good relationships in a vain search for a perfect one, or continually pine for what they don’t have or once had and lost. I’ve seen friends deeply regret divorcing their spouses, for example, realizing what they’ve given up only when it was too late.

Wabi-sabi doesn’t mean simply settling for less than you deserve — and it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t work to improve your situation. Instead it’s about balance and contentment rather than striving for the unattainable.

Wabi-sabi encourages us to accept our own flaws as well. So you’re not a perfect mother, and your kids aren’t perfect either. Congratulations! Welcome to the human race. And all those people you think are perfect? They’re likely struggling too.

I know that my moments of joy will pass, but so will my pains and sorrows. I will try to live them, learn their lessons, and let them go. And in the meantime, a few laugh lines are proof that I’ve enjoyed the journey along the way.

This article appeared in the April 17th issue of Woman’s Day Magazine, and was written by
Lori Erickson,

YESTERDAY, TOMORROW. The journey’s our goal, our path is the point …

There are two days in every week we should never worry about,
two days that should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its aches and pains, its faults and blunders.
Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.

All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday.
We cannot undo a single act we performed, nor erase a single word we’ve said. Yesterday is gone.

The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow, with its impossible adversaries,
its burden, its hopeful promise and unknown performance.
Tomorrow is beyond our control.

Tomorrow’s sun will rise either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds …
but it will rise … and until it does.
We have no stake in tomorrow, for it is as yet unborn.

This leaves only one day: TODAY!
Anyone can fight the battles of just one day.
It is only when we add the burdens of yesterday and tomorrow that we break down.

It is not the experience of today that drives people mad.

It is the remorse of bitterness for something that happened
yesterday, and the dread of what tomorrow may bring.

Make TODAY the best day it can be,
and live one day at a time!

~ Author Unknown ~

Visit: http://www.inspirationline.com/rss/7JUN2010.htm

Great Work Quote 79.

You can always amend a big plan, but you can never expand a little one.
I don’t believe in little plans. I believe in plans big enough to meet a situation
which we can’t possibly foresee now.
~ Harry S. Truman

Speaking of mistakes…

Danish physicist, Nobel prize winner and all-round nice guy Niels Bohr once said this:

An expert is a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.

Remember that the next time someone calls themselves an expert. And, yes, I do it too :o)

15 Year old Adarsha Shivakumar. Well said.

If today were my last day on Earth and I could share 500 words of brilliance with the world, here are the important things I’d want to pass along to others…

All of us trip and fall at points in our lives. Some of us stay down, too scared from the pain to get up, or just too unwilling to work to get up. Some of us get up, but we are hesitant to go forward, and just stay where we are. Some of us get up and move forward, slowly, but never with the pace and confidence that we earlier had in our stride. But there are a few of us who get up, dust ourselves off, and go forward stronger, learning from our mistakes and ready to take on any obstacle.

We fear falling down, and consequently slow our pace or stop completely so that we don’t get hurt. We fear pain, so we shorten our goals so that we can’t hurt ourselves in trying to achieve them. But, is it worth giving up our dreams to avoid all pain? Is it worth giving up our hopes and goals to avoid something that is inevitable? Should we just lock ourselves away, along with everything we dream of doing? No. We cannot. We should not. We must not let fear dictate our lives.

We must not give up our dreams so easily. Too many of us live for others. Build our lives around what people want us, expect us, to be. Conform, mold, tear apart our true selves, our true ambitions, dreams, and goals, just to appease others. Your life is not somebody’s puppet, but you must take the strings into your own hands. Do not give weight to other people’s jeers, their insults. Take them in stride, reflect on them, but don’t let them dictate your actions, your choices, your life. Because in the end, it doesn’t matter what they think of you, what they see you as. Brave. Terror. Cold. Joyful. Heartless. Savior. All that matters is what you choose.

By: Adarsha Shivakumar

Adarsha is a fifteen year old Indian American out to change the world as the executive director of Project Jatropha