Home at last!

Sitting in the airport just before boarding, we all experienced another quake. Almost immediately, the TV monitor came up showing a Japan map, with 6.2 magnitude at the center, off the coast near Sendai. Also, they have a system which monitors how much it would be 'felt' in various places. 4's showed on the coast, 3's in Tokyo and at airport, and 2's farther away.

Not a big deal, as I had felt at least 5 other quakes of similar intensity during my month here, just a little unnerving. So, I was glad to get on the plane and fly away. Even though I will miss Japan, and the wonderful people I work with there, and even though it is still dry and dusty in Marfa, I am glad to be on Terra Firma!

These parrots - a sign from the subway system - show not to fall asleep on your neighbor! Even the signs prohibiting something are cute and polite.

Here is another fun sign. There are cafes for cat lovers, where you sit inside with kittens and cats on the loose, just waiting for a lap invitation. Probably a wild and wonderful adventure, perfect for those who don't get to have their own pets in apartments, but we didn't go in. Maybe next time.


The last day before leaving, I took the train west of Tokyo for about 1 hour, to a place called Kichijoji. Not damaged in the war (as was most of Tokyo), there are still old buildings and shops. The floor plan was like a hundred little forts built by kids, with only a hallway's space between, and two or three stories up. You could see the sky and power lines between them, but if you didn't look up, you would think you were totally indoors.


Here are photos at the nearby park, complete with lake, giant schools of koi fish, and temple (for Abundance). I was shown how to bless my money by putting it in a sieve and pouring sacred water (from a fountain) through it. Money laundering! Love the stripes patterns of my dress and red railing.

This bird is actually quite large, though hard to tell here. Probably a foot tall. The trees are very old and swaying way over the water. Instead of pruning or removing them, they prop the heavy branches up and then build a fence around them, to keep the little paddle boats away. I think if it were the US, they'd be cut down as 'messy.' Constantly, I notice a way much more respectful of nature, even if it is a bit more trouble.

This trip has been a very good one, and I am excited to return in February. Next time, Steve will join me again and we will enlist the aid of a Japanese friend to join us on an adventure to an art island called Naoshima. It will be much less stressful to travel that way! Hopefully, I will master a bit more ability to read menus, signs, etc. before then.

I thought this Interstate 10 sign, being sold in a Japanese shop, would be the perfect last photo for my blog. I'll be busy working on my new writing project, catching up with local clients and events, and doing some fix-up projects around the house. I'm sure time will fly.

Thanks for taking this adventure with me. Until next time!
Love Daeryl

Time for fun!

Hello all,

Sorry I haven't posted in a bunch of days. The ends of my trips seemed to get filled with so much. The last week of sessions, I went out to dinner with friends and also SJ staff. Then I taught my last seminar on the weekend, followed by a final meeting, and two days of fun outings. Now I am packing and prepping for my long travel back to US.

Saturday evening, I returned home to my condo after teaching, to discover a neighborhood street festival. It was beautiful and moving. All the locals come out and dance to a Taiko-drummer and other traditional music. Their movements reminded me of watching hula, including moves that looked like cranes. A very happy occasion, with children running around.
They were handing out flashing rubber plastic rings, which everyone were wearing - now one of my prized possessions!

Monday's meeting went very well, and I will be busy when I return home! Voice (the publishing branch of Synchronicity Japan) is going to produce two projects for sale in Japan! One is a 2 hour DVD, which will be filmed next trip in February. So I'll be preparing 6 - 20 minute inspirational talks with revisioning meditations. The other project will be like a game, to help people connect with their Spirit Guides. I'll be developing and creating artwork for a board, plus writing a booklet describing the system. Lots of work on a tight deadline! Good thing I had all those years experience working in graphics/advertising.

So Tuesday, finally, a fun day out of Tokyo. My friends Stacey and Koji escorted me to the top of Mt. Takao, an ancient shrine site about an hour and a half from the city center. It was still hot, but the ancient forests were a welcome relief. We took the chair lift up, hiked up and down for about 2 hours, ate ice cream, and then took the cable car down.

Here's Koji, over the 'safety' net - no risk for the Japanese. And me, enjoying the ride and feeling free!

Great to be out in nature, though even then, there are tourist shops and restaurants. The Japanese are always good at providing services (and not missing a chance for commerce!).

Here we are at the top, with the huge city sprawl behind us - it seems to go on forever! And unlike our US city suburbs, even 2 hours away from the center it is densely populated with tall buildings.

So after a day of lots of hiking, eating, sharing, laughing, and making fun plans for future trips, we rode the very steep cable car down the mountain. It was pretty much a 45 degree angle the whole way down, through tunnels and super tall trees. We met and talked with the main CEO of the place, who was also going down. He had a great sense of humor, and with Koji there, I was able to jokingly ask him to pilot the way down. So when we reached the bottom, he gave me his hat, found another for Stacey, and insisted on a photo! (Peace signs were his idea too!) What fun!

Though tired and excited to see Steve, there is a big piece of my heart that is sad to leave. I am making such wonderful friends and client connections and rewarding work. The Japanese are kind people, very open to learning new things. And they seem to like me too!

I'll post one more blog once I'm home - my day with my interpreter friend Yu-san. We went to a lake and park called Kichijoji.

Love to all,
Daeryl

Yoyogi Park

This is one of my favorite Japanese friends, my interpreter, Yu-san. She and I had a wonderful dinner out and many stories to share. This is one of those restaurants, where you leave your shoes at the entrance - the waiters stow them away in cubbies - and walk on old hardwood floor to your table, which has a hole space for your feet. Essentially, you are sitting on cushions on the floor, but you are also sitting at a table. Beautiful traditional setting, and Oishi! (That means delicious!) Afterwards, we giggled endlessly when we realized we had both just made a snide comment about some rather loud 'foreigners', as if I wasn't 'one of them!'


Finished teaching Level 2 weekend seminar to a fabulous open-hearted group of people. The Japanese students are so open to receiving information and apply what they learn in their lives. It feels great to be helping them bloom into beautiful flowers! This was a smaller group, and I will see many of them again next weekend in Level 3.



I took a morning excursion to Yoyogi Park, a wooded area which is apparently less of a tourist place and more a local spot for groups and just regular people to enjoy some space. I saw many people nodding off on the benches - not homeless folks. People live in close quarters here and work very long hours, so it's not uncommon to see people in pubic places trying to catch on some sleep or down time.

This fountain was one of three set in a lake surrounded by trees. You can slightly see one of the high rise buildings of the city in the background. The area directly in front of the railing and benches is a deck that is reflecting because it was pouring rain!!! I have been avoiding the crowds this trip. The fountains were set to rise tall, and then shut down and start small again.


The blue painting is a 20 foot high wall mural on one side of a cement pedestrian overpass. The other was an equally wild red dragon. (face at the bottom is a tiger).

And this was the largest rose trellis I have ever seen! See the bicycle rider for scale.



(Trying to work out the page layout on this blog. It's driving me crazy! Everything moves, but not where I want it to!)




So this tree caught my attention. There was a placard in Japanese, showing a very old photo, where the tree was split, no roots showing. The first branch is maybe 10 feet tall. My guess is that this tree was part of the original Meiji Emperor's garden. (This whole park is connected to the Meiji Palace and Shrine I visited last winter). Much of it was destroyed in the bombing and fire of WWII. There is a notion of honoring such a tree as sacred, having been a survivor, so they worked to keep it going, until it grew new roots from the opening. Sort of like the Japanese people themselves!

I enjoyed spending some time in a wooded, less crowded spot. And even hunkered down in a ladies bathroom with a group of teenage girls, who were very friendly. Public bathrooms are becoming my new favorite rain sanctuary!


And Mr. Crow here was just too perfectly posed on this bike. Wonder what happened to the rider!!!

I'm doing my three days of sessions this week, with Friday free and then my last weekend seminar. The last part of the trip has several social dinners. It's nice to have friends here that get together outside of work. I've also been invited to an African Xylophone music performance at a Yoga studio, which should be something different!

I'll try to post again in a few days. Hope all is well where ever you are.

Love Daeryl

More adventures!

Too many days since my last post. It's a really busy trip this time, and not as much free time for adventures or writing. All good! And many exciting things happening.



So finally...
This is a flower off a giant shrub on one of my walks. Above is a park sign to keep people's pet out so they don't kill the wild life - sympathetic appeal rather than direct orders!

Been learning quite a bit about the Japanese perspective this trip. Some from client sessions and work meetings, but also Japanese friends who are more comfortable sharing with me, as well as those involved in the volunteer efforts to the tsunami areas. Many people are looking at big changes, having to let go of 'how it has always been' especially those who now need to find a different home. The government has stopped supplying aid and with no plan to reestablish schools or government offices in tsunami areas it deems a bad idea to rebuild. There is some wisdom in this, but the people are averse to leaving, even though the flooded areas are buried under toxic mud. It is hard for Americans to imagine living on the same land as ancestors back hundreds of years. I was told that for them, leaving that spot would be like leaving a child. The land is part of the family. Also, since WWII, the cost of homes was so out of reach, that most have mortgages that will last for several generations, and they do not want to leave that which their grandparents and parents worked so hard for.



This cute little snack was left on my desk by a student at the seminar! Filled with chocolate.
The shot above right is my friend Stacey with me at a historic home turned restaurant in the Tokyo suburb of Saitama. We had an amazing 10 course, 2 hour meal, served by ladies in kimono, sitting in the elegant setting which looked out on this garden. The tree is a 100 year old Pomegranate. Quite a treat which would not have been possible without Stacey's command of the language and customs. She has been teaching English in Tokyo for 21 years.

Here's more beautiful food. They pride themselves in the feast for the eyes as much as the stomach! Everything was delicious, except the green frothy tea stuff served with desert, which was too bitter for my taste. It's what is served in the traditional tea ceremony. Below is the first course, and Stacey displaying the 2nd course. The place mat is the written history of the family.



After lunch, we took a walk around the city park. Hard to photograph as it was turning towards dark. The whole lake is circled in 200 year old cedar trees and used to be a marsh. There was a Shinto shrine in jutting into the lake (touching my forehead!), amidst playgrounds and a padded running track.



During the last 3 days, I have been working so I didn't get out much, but amused myself with TV adventures. Watched the Japanese version of MTV, a special "Teenage Lock Fest 2011." I am getting used to the interchangeable use of L and R, since there are so many slip ups I make in their language! The crowds at the concert all had matching fans that they waved. Great idea - I imagine they hand them out at entry - keeps everyone cool. One of the bands was named "Shit Happening!"

The good news for today is that the company has decided that they will definitely publish one of my projects. My Spirit Blocks, which will be a tool to help students 'play' with the idea of calling in guides. I will be developing a board and graphic images (good thing I know how to do this!) as well as a complete instruction book. So, I'll be busy when I return home. The seminars and sessions are going well, and I am always relieved to move past the '2nd meeting' phase, which is where we discuss plans for the next trip and promotions. Also, where I am on the spot to make YouTube videos and am interviewed for their magazine. Lots of thinking and being well behaved! But today felt like a big breakthrough for us all. Everyone left very satisfied and feeling like a powerful team.

Looking forward to a day off tomorrow, though I may just stay put. There's a typhoon moving through. Don't worry, it's quite a ways away, but we'll experience enough rain to put a major damper on exploration!

Love to all,
Daeryl