Learning Space No. 7 [Hinako Tanaka]

Touching life

Over the past few years, I have spent my days confronting the concept of "life."

And even now, after my family has passed away, I continue to have more and more experiences that bring me more realizations within myself.

Just at the time when I had my own realization about "touching life," I received a call asking me to give a talk about touching communication in learning settings.

Even when our family members are no longer in this world, we can certainly feel their presence; we can "sense their presence," receive messages in the form of "inspiration," or experience events that, when we look back, make us feel that they helped pave the way for us; however, there are some things that we just cannot do.

It's a matter of direct contact.

When a friend asked me, "What is your favorite past time right now?" I answered, "Hugging Shanti (my dog)."

Now that she no longer has a physical body, she is unable to hug either Shanti or her master.

Perhaps the best part of living in this world is that we have this physical body.

To touch the body is to touch the workings of life.

In this learning environment, I hope to share the world of "touching life" that I have experienced and felt so far, so that we can all resonate with each other.

The Structure of Life (What are we made of?)

Our lives are made up of a visible body and various layers of life that are invisible but certainly exist.

I was taught that we are made up of body, energy, mind, intuition and soul.

In Ayurveda, the human body is considered a microcosm made up of five elements.

It is said that we use our five senses as a gateway to connect with the macrocosm of nature and the microcosm of ourselves.

What if we experience the light of the five elements coming into our inner self through our everyday feelings?

What sensations do I want to capture?

I want to incorporate a sense of beauty and comfort.

I believe that the conscious choices I make each day create my world and my life.

Touching energy (sharpening your inner senses)

I believe that touching life means touching not only the body but also energy.

It's not something that only people with psychic abilities can understand, it's something that exists within everyone, but we usually overlook it unconsciously. I think that by using mudras (hand shapes), observing the breath, and feeling the pulse, we can evoke the sensation of energy touching the physical body, such as tingling, cold, warm, flowing, and pulsating energy.

What is inside of us appears when we "turn our attention to it." Human life is full of mysteries.

Physical touch (communication beyond words)

A simple home massage can be very meditative and sacred, depending on how it's done.

Sitting quietly in a quiet place and listening to the voice of my body using my five senses allows me to return to the present moment, and massaging others allows me to come into contact with a life other than my own, freeing me from the invisible blocks that separate me from others and connecting me to a greater sense of relief and love. I think it is the joy of finding this peace that keeps me doing my current job.

Keep learning

June is the month that my life was born into this world. I unexpectedly had my birthday celebrated by the Utsushiki family, and experienced the joy of being celebrated no matter how old I get.

As I live longer, I truly believe that life is about continuing to learn.

When I was younger, I imagined that adults my age knew everything, but now I'm here, quite grown up and still not knowing anything.

I also think that "learning" is a little different from "studying." There is a difference between knowledge you know in your head and experience you have gained through your own experiences. There are many things that are generally considered correct in society, but that are different from what you experience.

I believe that learning is not about memorizing, but about thinking for yourself, experiencing things for yourself, learning things through your own experiences, and incorporating things deeply, as a way of growing throughout your life.

In that sense, why are we born? Who are we?

I believe that the deep theme of this interaction with life is that we are experiencing both good and bad things right now in order to learn and unravel it throughout our lives.

I would like to use what I learn as a hint to realize important things such as how I want to live and who I want to be.