Compass of the Times 159

Experiencing Being the Soul

Keiko Takahashi

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The Month to Deepen the Meaning of Having a Physical Body (Utsushi-mi)

In the month of June when it is officially the beginning of summer, GLA holds the Gathering of Utsushi-mi to commemorate the day when the founder of GLA, Master Shinji Takahashi returned to heaven.

This gathering is to ascertain the meaning of the eternal soul to live in this world in the physical body or Utsushi-mi.

Having a physical body is the very reason why we can create various realities in the phenomenal world, and learn much from incidents and encounters that happen in reality.

It also enables us to continue to express our inner thoughts and aspirations to outer realities (Inside-Out); and perceive outer realities as a calling to us (Outside-In). Without a physical body, such an exchange would not be possible and the level of training of our soul would be greatly limited.

The Sense of the Soul Has Already Been Manifested

In the phenomenal world, it will seem like a special life experience if you actually feel your soul, or draw out the sense of the soul. Many of you may think “I have not had such experiences, so it is irrelevant to me.”

However, even if you, at first, appear to lead a life far from the sense of the soul, there will be a time when you are using that sense in many different scenes of life without being aware.

For example, human beings possess a pleasure-seeking principle upon birth that is to avoid pain and seek pleasure. When you try to transcend this principle to carry out something important or to inquire the essence of an issue rather than simply viewing this as good or bad, you are drawing out and using your power of the soul, even if you are unaware of it. At such a time, you are experiencing your soul.

For you, who pursue and practice the Study of the Soul¹, such occasions are not something unusual.

Day by day, you perceive incidents you encounter as Chaos². You think about light and darkness, as well as the possibilities and limitations that lie in Chaos, and touch it with your hand with your utmost sincerity to actualize the blueprint³.

When you meet people, you think about the passage of life that they have gone through. You think, “What kind of parents were they born to?” or “What kind of three streams of influence⁴ did they undertake?” or “What kind of aspiration did they have when they fought against their situations of life?”

These are clear signs that your soul is breathing within you in each scene of your life.

Directly Experience the Existence of the Soul

As we go through the various twists and turns of our lives, we fight against the conditions that are given to us in an attempt to search for our undying aspirations and realize our life’s mission. At such times, the manifestation of the soul becomes even more certain.

In life, there are times when we experience our soul more directly:

– The sense of openness and connection to the great existence that results from deepening our prayers in daily life

– The sense of direct contact with the soul that is brought to a person who until then had difficulties in relating to others, resulting in a wholehearted collaboration in resonance*5.

– The feeling of presence of a deceased soul brought to a person who was intimately reminiscing about the deceased.

– The feeling of firm connection and reality we feel when the barrier that had separated us from the world or from others, and that had separated the visible world from the invisible world is now melted.

In GLA, we place greatest importance on such direct experiences of the soul.

Many people have had the moment to directly experience the existence of the soul in various occasions, such as the four sacred gatherings*6, the seminars for different generations, the voluntary activities of the GLA Projects*7, and the special memorial services. Such experiences enable us to transcend our own framework that once bounded us to envision a new world. This experience, combined with a true understanding of the Divine Truth, will bring the unwavering center to us.

2017.06.01