Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Two Roads Diverged, Which One to Take?

Sometimes, talking is too much. Words are too much. Or are they too little?

But what are we to do if that is all that we have at hand?


*

Emotions are more difficult to handle than thoughts. They need and require to be handled with honesty.

I am back in Fethiye for quite a long while. I really missed this city. I feel complete when I am here and feel connected to a different part of my soul that I seem to connect only here.

Then I will be going to Japan for a few weeks. I will be visiting various sites of the Japanese Shumei Foundation mainly in the Osaka, Kyoto and Okayama regions. I feel very close to the Japanese traditions. The Japanese energy healing and balancing technique “Reiki” is one the techniques that I use the most. Reiki is a wonderful energy, gentle, intelligent and strong.

The other Japanese energy technique that I learned this winter is called “Jyorei” It is a technique developed by the founder of the Shumei Foundaiton, Mokichi Okada. Mokichi Okada is also known as Meishusama “Master of Light.” Jyorei is a frequency that supports the purification of the soul, and to create health, prosperity and happiness in our daily lives.

The Shumei Foundation, through supporting energy purification healing technique Jyorei, through supporting natural agriculture and supporting art and increasing the awareness of the importance of beauty in our lives, wants to help create a peaceful and better world. The Shumei Foundation is a UN recognised NGO.

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I am excited about this trip. Naturally I am excited when I am to visit new places.

However, I feel that this will be different. On May 4th, I will have the chance to give a short speech in front of a couple of thousand Japanese people in Misono, at the Meishuhama Hall at the Shigaraki Mountains north of Kyoto.



I am excited not because I will visit this sacred location or talk in front of such a crowd.

It was in a meditation that I heard a voice say “When you go to Kyoto, you will find some missing parts of your soul”...

I feel it to be true. I feel that something new waits for me and I am at a loss for words to describe it.

*

What to do when I am at a loss for words?

Then I turn to poetry.

I used to write poems; much more that I do now.

I was not that fond of prose. I loved poems.


*

I love Robert Frost’s poems. I think I read them first when I was in 8th or 9th grade.

In my freshman year in college my best friend’s sister gave me a book by M. Scott Peck, “The Road Less Travelled”. This was during the Thanksgiving holiday in 1988 in Boston. Looking back I feel that my journey might have begun with that book Renin game me. I was impressed and happy and sad and motivated. It definitely is a timeless book.

Remembering my own travels, I want to share with you Robert Frost’s famous poem of diverging roads. I see that there is a path, and with our choices we move along. I believe that we decide on a path as we plan to come to this world. How we decide to act when we start walking seems to be more difficult.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

….

How do I choose my path?

I cannot help but think that at each step, I am creating my life and destiny. However, I also believe that there is also a best scenario waiting to be discovered.

What to do? I try to take the one road that seems to call me - the one that my heart and soul wants. I believe that when I am able to listen to my mind, my heart and soul in union – then gateways open, even new roads are created. I believe that we are meant to discover our bliss when we are willing to hear.

I believe that– that has made the difference for me.


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And I would like to share some inspiration from Eileen Caddy's book “Opening Doors Within”. She is one of the founders of the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland. In October 2007 and in February 2008, I had the chance to meet various teachers from Findhorn. This is a community that is trying to make sustainable living possible on this planet. I am also thankful for their efforts and their contribution to Turkey.
From “Opening Doors Within”:

It is important that there is balance in every situation at all times. You will find when everything you undertake is done under My guidance, there will always be perfect balance. That is why you have to allow life to unfold without trying to force anything, for as you do, nothing can go wrong and nothing can be out of timing. It does not mean that you sit and do nothing, expecting everything to fall into your lap. You have to keep ever alert; you have to keep your consciousness raised; you have to expect the very best; you have to have faith that all is very, very well. You have to wait upon Me in absolute faith and confidence. You have to know without a shadow of a doubt that I AM your constant guide and companion. You have to know that your ways are guided by Me and by Me alone, so that every step you take is firm and sure and everything you do is done in love.”

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As Leroy Bornlow said “There are times when silence has the loudest voice”.

May you find your answers in the sweet silence of your soul. Please listen.

May all your paths always be filled with love and light.

Z.


______________________________________________________________________
Affirmation of the Week:
“I am excited about growing and becoming even more of who I am.”
By Angeles Arrien
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Quote of the Week:
“What I am looking for is a blessing that’s not in disguise.”
Kitty O’Neill Collins
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Suggested Reading:
“Tuesdays with Morrie” By Mitch Albom.
This book is one of my favourites of all times. There is also a movie of this book out, with Jack Lemmon as Morrie.
The Turkish translation of the book may be found under the name “Öğretmenim Mori ile Salı Buluşmaları”.