LYRICAL THERAPY-Poetic Outpour

Memoirs of..............
I'm lovin' it! I really am, and unlike the edible, this is actually healthy.
Well...like everyone says, time flies. But this fast?? So its time for a ramble..It has been long enough I think so let's start from the beginning.

Roll the beat somebody:
So I got here a year ago now
Good bye UK. Hajimemashite Japan.
Spent 3 days in Tokyo at the lovely Keio Plaza & Hilton mingling internationally
Wednesday felt the reality of moving away so far
Time actually stopped for those 2 days.

Previously, everything had been such a whirlwind-Nana leaving
Exams, finals, dissertation, stress of results
Moving house
A shuffle of hearts
A dose of the most desirable
Moving back home.
Packing. Unpacking. Packing. Flying
Everything still in boxes even now.

Empty apartment. Alien nation.
Zoned out. No tune. No frequency.
Lost out of touch
Telephone doesn't work
Friends far away
Daisy in a far away field.
Cry no sleep. Can anyone hear me?
No echo in this valley of mountains.
Two nights of de-emotionionalising
Empty, re-ground re-start.
A much needed pause.
Feel much better now the dam is empty.

Settling in nicely. Making good friends.
Genki welcomes and 'kawaii' encores.

Time begins to gain momentum.
Each weekend booked for the next 3 months
Right let's list them, test my memory

Weekend one sight-seeing around Kofu
The local lego town, but some nice shops
820 yen west of Otsuki

Next day, Hanna, Jana, Kayla and I
Join some other ALTs for rockpool 'fun' at Ojirogawa
Not fun for me though as I jumped when didn't want to
Bruised my eye and submerged from the pool
With no contacts in my eyes
Now that's bad news, considering the rocks are steep and dangerous
With the minor inconvenience of being minus ten –short sighted
Oh well I survived.

Fireworks amazing like I have never seen before
Ichikawa Daimon-a small town via Minobu Line
I meet Kenta and Aki on the train
We exchange mails and now are best of friends
Fireworks are finished so ten of us go to Amy's
Her house is a temple-no actually it is

August weekend shopping in Akihabara-Ronal & Janna
New Digi camera for snapshots of Fuji

September, weekend one
journey up the smokey mysterious mountain
Volcano supposed to have erupted any time now
Amazing pictures taken in anticipation.
Sunrise a spectacular colour show
Freezing chattering teeth at the top, bodies huddled
Noses glow
Down down down
Slip slip skid and fall
Sprays of red sand
Stones in trainers
Merrels are comfy though


Recover. Sleep. Ache.
Rejuvenate for the next weekend of business
Sarah, Fiona, Amy and I
Take the shinkansen for a fast ride
West of Japan to the city once centre of olden day hustle and bustle
Kyoto-Daitokuji, Ryoanji, Ginkakuji, Kin Kakuji, KioMizu
Sleep at Tanni House-nice grandma's Ryokan
She lets us hire the cycles, makes the travelling more fun.

Monday bank holiday we get back to Yamanashi
Tired of course and ‘templed’ out.

Time for body action next Saturday.
Ronal, Mhairi, Michelle and I take the Chuo line to Ryogoku
The first tremor-minor quake we experience at around 11 am
While watching the wrestlers prepare for the big fight
Spend the whole day there, lots of fun.
Then go out in Tokyo for dinner and cheesy music at Lexington Queens
Stay with Sarah, Mhairi, Caroline and Russ at the Asia Centre
Get back Sunday night after getting soaked in Harajuku.
I bought a blue T Shirt

Okay I think we move on to October-mine, Kayla's and Caroline's birthday month

October the 4, twenty five of us sit around a huge long table at Addagios
It's my birthday! Hiroshi san gives me a big cake and we celebrate
Convenient-opposite Otsuki Station, beautiful atmosphere and even a piano
We eat, people drink and have a really really nice night
I feel really happy and touched by all the amazing friends I have made
From Fuji to Kofu and around and about, both Japanese and foreign
We have created strong connections

Wednesday-on the eighth, I stay at Mhairi's and she sings me happy birthday
Throws balloons around the lounge
I open my presents at exactly 11.03-when I first became me

Weekend two-it's a long one for added fun and extra spending.
Let's celebrate again!
Mhairi comes round Friday night and we are too excited to sleep
looking forward to Disney!
I remember we remember faithfully, cheese, baked beans, and a bit of lasagne and garlic bread please!
Saturday morning, we meet Caro, Russ and their mate Laura
Wow Disney is fun. We even buy ears –mine are Minnie Mouse, Mars-Pooh San
Rides, giggles, fries and fizzy drinks
Now we sit and watch the firework show and special Halloween Parade.
Beautiful..amazing to feel like a little girl again.

Get back to the hotel-totally knackered-no going out tonight-just sleep is all we want
So we decline the offer to go to the pub and instead get rested for a big day of shopping
Sunday-at Harajuku-Zara-buy lots of jumpers and tops..run out money, ATM no luck!
Meet at the Raj Mahal for yummy Indian, go to the Keio Plaza for an expensive coffee.

Monday-again another bank holiday
we shop and meet Sarah and her friend Charlotte in Harajuku
Go to Pizza Express. I love olives
On the train now-it's an express.
Typically at ten o'clock-so late and tired, we miss our stop!
Comical but not amusing. I just want me bed and now this?!

That last Disney weekend was for me and Caroline to celebrate our birthdays
But there's more –its weekend number three of birthday fun
What an amazing fun night –we go to Kofu for a big night of Karaoke
Caroline's got curly hair and wearing her new Gap poncho.
Everyone's there-singing karaoke-ing their hearts out


Next weekend its Kayla' night and we all eat in Ryuo at an Izakaya
She gets a Bob Sapp mask-the pictures are scary as you can imagine!

Oh its mid year conference time..
By the way when we first arrived we had two sessions I forgot to mention:
Local orientation and JTE seminars.
Good way to meet everyone and learn a lot

Back to Mid-Year-craziness. All the JETS, years one, two and three
All attending seminars by the day
But having fun at night
One night especially-most people piled together in one room
Chains of massages
Josh S plays his mini ladybird decks
People take pictures
I have a good one of Amanda B and Gaz C
Next night Mhairi, Kayla and I take an onsen and have the best sleep.

And already now coming to November
Its time to go home!
I fly with Sal, we board the plane early in the morning
Direct BA, we're so tired and uncomfy
Getting home for graduation!

Arrive Saturday avo, see Aani, Krish, Sheree and uncle Hash
Mummy, Daddy & Summo come at night and we go to Kent
Arrive in Maidstone may be around ten
Its one year since Nana left..feel happy thinking of him
He's the best, so funny, such an amazing character
Made a big impact on me and all of us actually
He's sooo cool..i love his smile
Cheeky sneers as he makes fun of the grown ups
Winds Ba up with his sharp remarks
He's so strong and well built
We all used to walk on him when we were little
'Pelwan' is what he said he was!
Watching clips of what he had recorded over and over again
I was naughty when I was little
I remember sipping his drink when no one was looking
I don't drink now-but I did when I was six LOL
His cooking and Ba's too-SO AMAZING
I’m starving just thinking about how tasty
And filling, the shaaks, the seero, the sev, the athano
The adhu, the papadi, the papad, the dhokra
Oh and on and on, my mind is busy with these
Edible thoughts

Well anyway, I know he's out there, came to Japan with me too
And his jokes about my driving. The memories their endless
His parka was cool-in the 80's..the granddad I was lucky to have.
His morals so good and his knowledge high
He hated conniving people, arrogance he was against
Treat others as equal is what he used to say.

So weekend spent with Ba-she's feeling a little sad
But she's so strong and admirable
I love Ba.

Monday-shop-buy stuff for Japan
At night go to ZiZis to eat
Best friends from school all meet and greet
Ali, Reena, Shamim, Khadija, Sushma & Amy-who I meet later
They are amazing

Tuesday-sort it all out
Best friend in the world
Comes to stay

We all eat dinner and iron our shirts for the big spesh Wednesday
To Bristol. Brother, friend and me drive-get there early
Mother, father also arrive a little later but in time
I see university mates after a long time
We all wear robes with red hoods
And hats that feel like they will fall off
After that we all go to Browns
Eat lunch, say good bye
We all drive back to Leicester
Gosh the day is already over

Thursday & Friday-catch up with family
Saturday, just us four eat pizza
Like we have always done
Its yummy!

Sunday up early meet my mate
It's all a surprise..I drive and anticipate
Goodness friends can be amazing!
We land in Barcelona
So excited and touched by this special gift
We stroll the streets of Barcelona
See Gaudi architecture
Barcelona is my favourite city
Fly home Monday night and return to Leicester Tuesday after my European whirlwind
Spend the day with Mummy telling her about where we went!
I love my Mum she's my eternal best friend

She's so beautiful
The most beautiful in the world
Her soft cheeks I remember cuddling up to when I was and still am a little girl
She used to sing me a lullaby, especially when I was nervous
The night before new term started she would sit at my bed

She can be angry and gosh I used to make her scream
One time she ran and chased me with the vhellan
It was quite funny, but the more I laughed
The more she got frustrated
'Three times I called you-don't you listen to me??'

She made me work hard when I was little
Always testing me with my times tables
Mental arithmetic was our favourite
Seven eights plus fifty six multiplied by ten..quick!

My tenth birthday party was wicked fun
She bought me this lovely red dress from Marks and Sparks
We all went swimming at Evington Pool
Boys and girls fighting competing for the big floats
Then getting changed, hair still dripping
we all sat around the table an ate our specially ordered fish n chips
Oh so yummy! From the shop called 'Grimsby'
Then we all danced to Kyle Minougue
did the loco motion..
She's still cool now I'm in my twenties
I love Kylie she's so hot and I am as little as she
But her butt is better
Mine has deflated in the Japanese heat

Both Mum and Dad work so hard
They have given us everything
Even though we aren't rich with money
We are with with our hearts-or so we have been taught to be
We have always had the best
Good schools for both Summo and I
Sent on holidays even though with both Mum and Dad
We have never been away
We have been raised so beautifully
And the best thing is that we can laugh and joke about everything together
Sex education around the dinner table-it's okay

All that matters is what they think-not some
Old bitchy relatives and gossip in the community
I hate that
It makes me so angry how people think they have the right to judge
Talk and bitch
Bitch. For ****s sake take a look at your own
Your family's all messed up and about others' you moan?
Please shut up I don’t care what you say or think, for you are not my
Faith, my God, my conscience or karma
Nor are you my mother or father
Or anyone I love or care about actually
And by the way don't come to my wedding.
Sweetness by the face and all evil inside
I don’t want to waste my time in the company of shite

God is the one who watches
Everything and everyone
The two faced bitching
You heard of karma?
You have a conscience?
You writhe in excitement at the fall of others?

No mum don't feel sad at their remarks
You have your God-who cares about the sharks
Believe in yourself
That's all you have to do
If you are truthful to what is inside you
You don't need to waste time on the who said what when and to whom

Anyway that's enough energy on the Eminem style outpour
No more energy to waste on dirt and lies
Leave that to God-that's his job. He got the power.

I love Eminem. My mate, my 3 cousins, my brother and I
Saw him at Milton Keynes
Had a wicked time
I think he's really something and wasn't impressed by the scene
With him and Brittany Murphy-that was unnecessary

Back to the time spending with Mum.
Basically we did lots of house stuff
Choosing new doors, gas cookers, gadgets for the sink
Meetings with Stuart and the building company
My goodness-when will our house ever be finished
Oh and the moving back to number 45?
Its already a year over time
But that's building companies for you

Well we did this and did that and before I knew it,
Time in UK was over again
Back to Watford Saturday night
We all drove to Heathrow in good time
To catch the plane and say goodbyes in reverse order of course
Me and Sal a bit sad at first
Well we have each other even over the phone

And that was 2003, almost complete
Just December to go and then 2004.

So December came and you know how it went
Travelling around Kobe, Osaka and Nara
Saturday to Tuesday
Got back NYE, slept got ready
Took the Azusa to Shinjuku
Changed for Harajuku
Met Heather, Gayatri and Phil-Sal's mates from Ishikawa
Then we all went to Meiji Jingu Mae
Spent a traditional New Years throwing 'go-en' to the shrine
Cheering and celebrating the start of the new Year then ate
Got to Roppongi went to Media Bar
Cool DJ playing old school
Chilling on the white sofas
And then from here to there it was daylight again

Me and Sal feeling old missing our beds
We end up snoozing for 2 hrs in Starbucks
Get our stuff and head to the Asia Centre where we shower and sleep
Deep deep comfort

January second, we meet Laurie at the Imperial Palace and see the Emperor
Hirohito san and his family
All of us waving our red rising sun flags
Still got mine. It's by the door next to the calendar

And then after that, we eat, shop
Buy 2 pairs of shoes each from the sale at Zara
And tops from Gap in Harajuku
An then we go to Shibuya
The first time for both of us-well last time I came I didn't stay as it was raining
So we're lost in the high of the neon scrapers, at the world's busiest crossing
Admiring the wow factor
We decide to watch a movie at the movie theatre
Or the cinema-whatever. Get comfy, lights low
It's Tom, Watanabe and their gang.
We really enjoy it and love Japan
This whole week of travelling has been so much fun
Celebrating New Year Nihongo style
Japan is amazing – the old beautiful culture
Please youth and Westerners remember to preserve it and spread the word
Don't get lost in the Starbucks and McDonald's
Yes evolve but grow with your roots
Keep the old and the new
Mix them both carefully and enjoy the two.

Well Friday-last train home and straight to bed
Wake up next morning and meet Setsuko san and her lovely husband
Drive and see the wonderful lakes bowing to Mt Fuji
And then back home after the chills outside
Rest relax and then Sal says goodbye
On Sunday she leaves and we give big hugs and then back to routine for the new term.

Now its January, I need a break, got a lesson in a minute so will be back later.

Sonic Summer

Sonic Summer

["extremely exciting and fast-paced", slang from Latin sonus]

Part I: Sumeet lands Sunday July 12th

Well finally the day came when little Summo aka Sumeet, my baby brother now half a foot taller than me, landed in Japan!

I was quite nervous to see him beforehand. It had been over 8 months and certainly at that age, teenagers look diferent inshort spaces of time! Anyway, I was waiting for the Air France passengers to make their entrance at Narita North Wing Arrivals, and after about half the plane, Summo strolled in!
Wow, he looked so diferent. His hair, his hat, and looked so much older. Goodness. It was strange at first and took me a few minutes to readjust mentally, the fast-forwarding of time that we had missed spending together.
When I left UK after graduation last November, he looked and sounded much younger!
Regardless of appearances, we bounce straight back in to our usual roles and conversation as you do with anyone you are close to. I love his company as he has a very cynical dry sense of humour and when he makes fun of me [which is often], it is actually very funny!

So he had had a good trip from London to Paris and connected successfully and slept about 6 hours at least. The movies were terrible and both-yes all TWO were in French. That is in now way a reflection of French cine. Non, mais non! J'adore le cine francais. Mes favoris sont La Haine L'Appartement -le deux avec Vince Cassel.

I was proud of him-flying all the way on a connecting flight all by himself. It's is only a little thing-but a sure sign of independance when you do things like that by yourself. Or may be I'm just being a big sister?!

Well, we were thirsty and it was like 8am, so we chilled out at the Starbucks downstairs for a while to chat.
Apres ca, nous sont alles a Ueno, where we walk around the town and took in the hectic vibes of an older stlye Tokyo. Summo was quite quiet for the former part of the day-just adjusting and finding his feet on the new ground. 'I can't beleieve I'm in Japan! Woohoo, we're in Tokyo!'.

By lunchtime we were very hungry and rewarded ourselves with a big meal at Hard Rock Cafe. Yummy! I love that place-good vegetarian options and tasty in general, proper portions and a cool atmosphere.

Well I had school the next day and we both needed to rest after a hectice week and all that flying, so we toddled off home to Otsuki and enjoyed the afternoon unpacking all the goodies from UK and talking talking talking :)

Pink Lady!!

Tsuru High School Festival
Saturday 3rd July, Kaori Sensei and I transformed in to the Pink Ladys and sung to an audience of 1000 peeps!!

A well known pop duo from the 70's, most famous for songs UFO and Southpaw, the Pinky Twosome are known to don wacky pink outfits such as hotpants and such.....but we kept it quite modest.

The orchestra had just finished playing for Kyoto Sensei and now it was our turn. With just a couple of days in between lessons to practice the dance moves, but with the song words firmly glued in our minds, we stepped up on to the stage!

The act was a surprise for the students, and the crowd were a furor. Energy had been so high so far and thank goodness that it was maintained for us too.

We sung and the crowd surged forward and the genki 3rd years and audience were all stood up bouncing around insync with the performance. It was such a cool feeling and I'm glad to say they looked like they were enjoying it!

Towards the end, they all ran forward to the edge of the stage and grabbed my hand! I felt like I was actually famous for those few minutes! I in true buzz mode slung my pink visor out to the crowd to finish it off!

It was cool to get good 'street cred' at school because they enjoyed it so much! Respect! LOL...

I'm dreading to see the video though!

Genki Kodomo Part II

Genki Kodomo Part I

More randomness from me..

Feeling like I have turned a corner...Everything in life makes you grow and see things in a light you never knew you could...It's amazing how you think that something is too hard to do, but when you want it so much, you can reconstruct your original modes of function....

Just thinking about moles and chemistry and..

What I wasn't-has made me what I am today.

Child Time Life

This time last year uni had just finished, the last exam was May 29th, the Ball was June 4th and we all made our way back home. Can you believe it? 4 years just like that!! And 5 since school-when we used to wear uniforms and suits.

Sumeet is coming here exactly a month today!! I can still remember when he was just a baby! Now he's winding up Mum and Dad with 'having a designer suit collection' for 6th Form! Goodness! Does he know how you even earn enough money for a suit!! Oops, I'm sounding like a grownup!!

Still a little monkey though! Like all of us! Keep the kid alive I say!!

I still remember my Blubird A La Carte Kitchen! Red and Yellow. When Ajay used to come, our mums would talk and Ajay and I used to spend hours setting up our 'restaurant' and then it would be time to go!!

And, oh yeh! The cars!! Rajesh [my cousin in Kent] and I used to play with our Matchbox cars and had one of those garages!! Do you remember, some had windy lifts to get the car up to the top level!

One of my favourites was the Sweet Shop! It came with real jars [tiny] filled with Hundreds & Thousands!

I always wanted toys that I didn't have of course like any forever dissatisfied child! Like Roller Skates [when they first were out], and a Skate Board. But Mum always said 'you're too young, let's wait until your next birthday..' and now I'm going to be twenty-four-I'm not so bothered!

I have always wanted to play the piano..I would defo like one for my dream house when I'm 'older'. Do you remember what we used to say: 'bla bla bla when I grow up I bla bla bla'. When do we 'grow up'? And when are we 'older'?

I still feel young, but old and a little more focused than before. I think it is partly due to removing myself from everyday lifecycles that I was a part of in UK, and looking at life and people as an observer. Living alone, and the adventures and challenges that we embrace here in Japan, also make us a little stronger, wiser and at the same time impulsive. If I was the way I am here, I think I would have seen and done a huge amount of crazy travelling or just pushed myself beyond my 'old' boundaries, in the UK. I don't mean boundaries such as bad things or such. Boundaries that hold us back or rather keep us glued to our comfy spots. I mean, how often do we say, 'okay this weekend, I'm going to bla bla bla' without letting time & distance be the main priority and constraint? And money actually.

Looking at it all from afar makes you see who you are and what you want in life and how you want it to be. Not in terms of jobs though! Like that's a whole big bridge to cross next year! AAAAAAh!

Time really does fly. The only 2 facts we know are birth and death. When you're born, you're definitely going to die. It's nothing to be scared of, because life is eternal. Just the physical and materials, are of temporary states.

So what you do in between these 2 sides of taking your first breath and your last, is totally up to you. We as individuals are responsible for only our own karmas. Time is unknown and so is destiny. So it's up to you to go, live, enjoy and love. With that come all that I have spoken about before: the laws of truth, balance and your relationship with yourself. Who are you?

That is what you find out in life.

Baby Monkeys!

Yesterday I had one of the best days here in Japan and probably the most enjoyable in my whole life even. I think it was the most 'in touch with nature' experiences ever.
I spent the day amongst the company of monkeys living in the mountains of Nagano.

It is one of the most natural habitats I have had the freedom to be at one with the animals...no bars, cages, feeding or glass boxes and zoo keepers interefering with the monkeys daily life.

It was a long drive-and the first for me here in Japan. Uni mate Sal and I left from　Kanazawa　around 8am and we arrived in the tiny village-hidden in the tall trees at about 12pm. The driving was fun-listening to lots of music and singing along the way. The car was automatic [again, my first tiime with one of them] - Toyota Vitz, and had a Navigator-so directions were easy.

The actual monkey residence was up a wind cliff camouflaged in a forest in a place called Jigokudani in Shiga Heights. We had a good 20 minutes of wild woods to get through before we saw the cutest species on this planet.

It was so hard not to scream 'oh my gosh look at them' out loud. Instead we had to contain the excitement in honour of the residents of the natural habitat. The were hardly any people and hundreds of monkeys just chilling, having an onsen and relaxing in the 40 degree celcius water. There were babies too...like little new born cheeky monkeys being carried around by their mummy and daddys, there were some little brother and sister types chasing and fighting, there were some baby monkeys swimming under the water!

Sal and I were in our element, as monkeys are our favourite animals. We both agreed that really, there are no words to describe what we felt to sit and stroll amongst them. They didn't even act as if we were there.

Well, only pictures can do their cuteness justice.....

My Theory Of God..We are all students and teachers of wisdom..

My personal beliefs backed by theories of Sanatam Dharma [also known as Hinduism]and various other teachings from many 'faiths'

I like to see God as a strong beautiful flame burning blissfully in a coloured glass lantern. God is the flame of consciousness and the one who lights the flame. God is complete. All.

Whichever piece of coloured glass you look through, depends on what you see, because it is God that is already full of different personalities and able to show perfect messages, fit for those who receive them.

May be you see God as Jesus, or Allah or Krsna. However, it is not that you see it like that, because God actually is Jesus, Allah, and Krsna.

But we are all moulded with the same clay by the same hand

The teachings of the Vedas are not something to convert to...anyone can follow these philosophies..and most probably do whatever faith they 'belong' to or follow.

........I believe we are taught to see the light in all souls. As opposed to discriminating against them using material branding, religions and class.

.....to be compassionate and non-ignorant - not narrow minded to let labels dictate life [teachings of Krishna/Hinduism/vedas etc guide me to be like this]
Krsna taught Arjun that a good person has these virtues [from the Rig Vedas]: and again many of these overlap with scriptures of many faiths
Fearlessness, purity of heart, perseverance in the yoga of knowledge, charity, sense restraint, sacrifice, study of the scriptures, austerity, honesty; (16.01)

Non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, equanimity, abstaining from malicious talk, compassion for all creatures, freedom from greed, gentleness, modesty, absence of fickleness; (16.02)

Splendour, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, absence of malice, and absence of pride; these are the qualities of those endowed with divine virtues, O Arjun. (16.03)

It is these virtues by which we balance our karma. And God is Truth.

...also, to not discriminate against others using their beliefs as a benchmark to measure them by. But to see God - Not as a power that exists ONLY in one name, because otherwise this will lead you to think that others who believe in God of a different form are wrong.

Sanatam Dharam is a philosophy of life, not meant to bind, oppress or restrict, but guide. It is important to not go to the excess that doing everything we want and thinking everything we want is still sanatana dharma

One builds their karma through ones actions. And most importantly God is loving and compassionate. He doesn't see good in killing. Ahimsa is one of the highest virtues God has told us to live by.

The Dharma sastras and related texts support my thinking and theory:
1-The Law of Divine Unity
The whole universe is permeated with divine presence. Therefore one should deal with every object in it as if one is dealing with oneself or with God.

God is omnipresent and omniscient. Everything in this universe is thus very sacred and very divine. Because it is filled with the presence of God, every thing here deserves respect and consideration.

Those who seek harmony and peace in life understand this principle very well and treat every thing in the world with due respect and a sense of sacredness.


The Law of Inherent Balance

There is an inherent balance in all created things. If you want peace and happiness all around you and within you, you have to respect this law and keep this balance in your life as well as your environment.

Everything in this world is balanced. For every force here there is an opposite and balancing force. Pairs of opposites hold the world. You destroy one and you will destroy the other soon.
According to this law, happiness and peace are possible only when you do not disturb the harmony and the order that exists in yourself and in the whole creation around you.

This law demands that you have to treat every one as how you want to be treated by others.

He, who is aware of this truth, treats every object in the universe with unconditional respect, love and consideration.
He treats everything and everyone here the way he treats himself or the way he expects others to treat him.
He treats everyone and every thing as if it is a part of him or an aspect of God.


The Law of Individual Reality

You are the creator of your life and your reality. Your thoughts become your actions and your actions create the circumstances in your life. You are responsible for everything that happens to you in your life.

This is the simple law of as you sow so you reap.
It can also be called the law of motion and emotion.
Every thought that we send out into the universe comes back to us with accumulated energy of its own kind.
When negative thoughts go out of our minds, they will come back to us with redoubled negative energy and give us lot of pain and unhappiness.

Positive thoughts on the other hand bring in positive energy and energize us, establishing in the process peace and harmony in our consciousness.

Our actions too yield the same results. Our positive actions bring in positive rewards and our negative actions bring negative rewards.

The energy that we unleash, either in the form of a thought or action always comes back to us with increased force.
Thus through our actions and thoughts we are constantly creating our own realities.
Whatever we give comes back to us.


The Fifth Law: The Law of Harmony

Truth is Harmony; Truth is 'Rta', order.
The ancient believed in 'rta' (pronounced ritha) meaning the universal order or harmony. 'Rta' is an ancient word to which we can trace at least few important words that are known to us today. One is the Sanskrit world 'ritu', which means season. The others are the Latin word 'rhythmus', the French word 'rhythme', the Greek word 'rhuthmos' and the English word 'rhythm', all meaning, beat, pulse, metre, pattern, order, flowing, and harmony.
Let us understand why the concept of harmony and rhythm was considered so important by our ancient generations and why they elevated it to the level of highest divinity.

They did so because they considered Truth, harmony and order to be the Ultimate Reality lying beyond all realities, the hidden secret behind all manifest creation, or the Absolute Truth above all relative truths.

What is truth?

Truth does not necessarily mean only verbal truths.
Truth is the fundamental reality where there are no conflicts and confusion, no divisions and separation, but only unity and harmony. Truth is where there is movement without obstruction and where there is order without confusion.
Where there is conflict, separation and feeling of alienation, there is no truth.Where there is division and alignment of divisions into opposing parts there is no truth.

There is no truth in ones life and ones being unless there is total harmony in ones whole being, which include ones activities, thoughts and environment.

Truth resolves all conflicts, divisions and differences and establishes permanent peace, order and harmony in ones life.
There is conflict when you consider the world outside is different and separate from you.
There is conflict when you consider others are different and separate from you.

There is conflict when you consider that some one is good, or some one is bad; that some thing is this or some thing is that. There is conflict as long as you pass petty judgements about yourself or about the world around you.

Unless you learn to resolve these differences, by expanding your consciousness, and learn to appreciate them in their own light, you cannot have real harmony and peace in your life.
The ordinary mind cannot understand this truth because it is still steeped in ignorance.

But at the highest level of consciousness, all conflicts and confusion resolve themselves into one beautiful, harmonious whole. You may call it divine. You may call it God, This or That. The fact is, it is one, it is whole, it is harmony and order, without any divisions and without any conflicts.

At that level even in the seemingly chaotic conditions of life one can perceive harmony and certain order. That which we understand as good or that we understand as bad, become but the facets of the same Truth.

He lives in harmony with himself and with others, with the world within himself and with the world external to him. He suffers not from fear or insecurity, or from worries and anxieties about himself or his life.

This is the truth.

If you want to live in peace, stop categorizing and grouping things and people, and it includes you also.

Stop judging things from the relative state of your mind, against the partial truths you know and believe in.

Understand that harmony comes when you live in peace with the world around you, and when you accept it whole heatedly and unconditionally without measuring it against your limited knowledge.

It happens when you become an embodiment of 'Rta', the rhythm of life and creation, in which the ancients believed so much.

Rundown of the latest.......New Years in Tokyo!

Sorry it has been a LONG time and YES I have been neglecting the Blog!

WINTER & NEW YEARS IN JAPAN:

December 26th - Spent night on coach to Kyoto and met with Sal!!

December 27th
Big hugs after we finally found eachother. That station is huge!
Slowly waking up we made our way to Kobe. Reminds me of San Fran-the sea breeze, modern buildings, lots of boats by the piers. We act like 5 year olds running around playing with the huge moving animals that you can sit on and control. After a FANTASTIC big meal at Hard Rock Cafe we toddle off to Osaka...

December 28th - Okay we thought we would be random and leave the trip full of surprises.
This actually translates to "we didn't book any accomodaton". Well it resulted in us sharing a sickly pink room at a Love Hotel. 5K each for the night! Very non dodgy and actually very nice. There was even a karaoke machine and a glass cabinet of things that Sal and wouldn't be interested in-but thanks anyway!
So we toddle around, seeing the sights and chilling!
In the evening we walk around the beautifully lit, moon white Osaka Castle. A nice lady helped us find our way in the park with her dog. Sal also decided to make me scream at the top of my lungs by scaring me in the pitch black empty park! Thanks love!
Apres ca, we go to the Floating Garden Observatory...It's amazing...the view is cool and the lights gleam, the wind is very forceful indeed all the way up there. We can see a few planes taking off too. A bit disheveled we go to the highly expensive hotel below and freshen up...wouldn't it be cool if we were actually staying. Oh anyway, feeling hungry [it's winter and cold] we search Dotombori for places, although it's already 10pm now. Ah but there is hope - St James Jazz bar.....WOW what a gold mine! There are some wicked musicians 'jamming' and a couple of singers just join in. My favourite is an older middle aged lady who sings a song 'Day by Day'....and then the whole ensemble takes off in to an unplanned jam...with solos from each of the instruments. We are defo going to buy the CD.....but then the bill comes and its aaahh sixty quid. But we still think it was worth every minute.
Err another problem. The new place we are at 'Capsule Inn -Namba 31' is a mystery to the 5 taxi drivers we ask to take us there. But we finally get there after a few fonecalls.

December 29th
Yay its big fun at Universal Studios!! Woohoo...do you remember Back to the Future....Honey I Shrunk the Kids, E.T. Jurassic Park and Jaws? Hee!!
The Jaws ride is funny..."ARE!!!Sukoshi omachi kudasai"..said the boatman..."Abunai desu kara"...!!!heheeh

Night 2 at the Capsule...very cheap-for a reason..but its all good!

December 30th
Last day-Tuesday we head to Nara and enjoy the parks of Daibutsuen..there are lots of dears so Sal is happy. I think I have lost count the number of times we stopped randomly in the street to pet a stray animal. But it keeps her happy!
In the evening we dash around to find a decent place to eat...DJ Ban san helps us in Gap...he's a cool drum n base dude who DJs in Osaka! Still keeps in touch too!
After some scrummy Italian..it's time for the overnight coach to Yamanashi!

December 31st New Years Eve!!
Feeling ruff and looking worse..we sluggishly make our way back to Little Otsuki at 7am after arriving in Kofu all tired...
Back to mine...we do laundry, sleep, wake up, panic about the ATM, shower, pack and glam up for tonights all niter in Tokyo!

We get to Harajuku around 8pm and eat some Thai at the crossing after which we mett up with Gayatri, Phillip and Heather-Sal's neighbours in Kanazawa! We celebrate the New Year Nihongo stylee with go-yen coin throwing at Meiji Jingu Mae [shrine]...it's a fantastic night!!..people by the masses, stalls by the hundreds...music, voices celebration!! How cool is that! New Years in Tokyo!!

Two Thousand and Four

January 1st
Partying in Tokyo includes a coolio bar-all white with flat screen Internet ports..and a wicked DJ playing old school RnB -do you remember Jagged Edge, 112....wicked. The Media Cafe [MDA-Roppongi]
After that we hop around a few places including some dives that are full of these guys immitating P Diddy and his Bad Boy crew. Big guys with little Japanese women surrounding them-as if they were actually playas or something. It's amusing and we leave.
The last place is where we stay until it closes at 8am!
Now we are knackered and counting down the hours to check-in! Sal gets told off a few times by the Shinjuku Starbucks staff for sleeping. I'm bored and want to write but can't find any paper.

At 2pm we fall in to a DEEP sleep after showers. At night we wake up and hunt for a restaurant. Grr the Indian is closed and after ageeeees we come accross a Pub. Finally-at least something is open! It all goes well until we find meat at the bottom of our meal..eugh grosss! Does there ahve to be flesh in everything!!

Back to hotel. Back to sleep.

January 2nd

Day of the Emperor! We go to Imperial Palace to see the Emperor and his family at their home in Tokyo. This plus his birthday [Dec. 23rd] are the only two days the public is allowed to enjoy the royalty! Laurie meets us and we wave away with our red and white flags.

After that we head back to Harajuku for some shop shop shoppping!! How cool!! We both buy 2 pairs of shoes at Zara [including funky boxer boots-retro chique] and tops at Gap. Topped off with cheese at Pizza Express. Yummmmy!

And then....its not over yet!!
We head to hyper hyper Shibuya...manic or what! Sal wants these shoes so we go to Zara but then impulsively decide to go and see old Tom in the Lasto Samurai!! Last train back to Otsuki for some sleep!