The Matrix, Vol. 2

When I was searching on the Internet, I came across a blog-article passionately talking about the film.  It was written in 2004 and he had watched it 35 times.  In the same way as I did, he found the movie about life, freedom, and destiny, rather than about chasing, gun-fighting, and explosions.

Yet, the first time he saw the movie with his son, he did not notice the philosophical aspect of the movie.  It was when he started his transition... to real-self.  Now he is a beautiful lady, mentioning when she went to see the Matrix, she was still living as a guy.  I believe that this Wachowski’s piece of art served as her inspiration, encouragement and/or wake-up call in her daily life.  It seems like she is leading a fulfilled life as being true to "oneself".

In the end of the article, she chose three critical quotes from the entire movie.  Interestingly enough, I found my choice of two among hers.  The first one is the Oracles' advice that I mentioned yesterday.  The second one is what Morpheus said after he was miraculously saved by Neo.

I would like to close today's article with this profound statement.

  M:  Do you believe it now, Trinity?
  N:  Morpheus, the Oracle… She told me I'm…
  M:  She told you exactly what you needed to hear.  That’s all.
        Neo, sooner or later, you’re going to realize, just as I did.
        There’s a difference between knowing the path... and walking the path...

The Matrix

The Matrix (1999), featuring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne, written and directed by the Wachowski brothers, is one of the artwork that I admire.  I am not a Sci-Fi fan nor fond of violence, but I like this film for its philosophical plane and there is a scene that has been harboring in my mind since I first saw this.

It is the scene that Neo (the main character) comes to see the Oracle (a fortune teller) to ask for her insight on him and the dialogue goes like this:

   O: So... What do you think?  Do you think you are the One?
   N: Honestly, I don't know.
   O: You know what that means? (Pointing a sign over the door.)
        It's Latin.  Means, "Know thyself".
        I'm going to let you in on a little secret.  Being the One is
        just like being in love.  No one can tell you you're in love.
        You just know it.  Through and through.  Balls to bones.

I had a "a-ha!" moment here.  Yes, no one can tell you whether you are in love with someone or not.  You are the only one who will know.  (Well, there may be some people who are not aware that they are in love.)  You do not have to be a savior of the planet like Neo, but everyone should be "the One" for some missions, or for someone.  In order to realize for what or for whom you are the One, you must "Know yourself" like the Oracle said.

Gratitude

On one of the job interviews I had in Japan, there was a writing test and one of the questions was "What was the recent experience that you felt gratitude?"

About six months prior to the interview, I was hit by a car while riding a moped, resulting in walking with crutches for three weeks and taking physical therapy for a month after that.  As you may easily imagine, it was very hard to maneuver myself with or without crutches.  Since my right knee was immobilized with a cast for three weeks, I could not bend the knee at all when the cast was taken off.  It is amazing how our body works, especially muscles; if you do not use certain muscles, they get stiff and you become incapable of moving them.  Luckily, my knee started functioning again after the physical therapy that I attended.

This whole incident was a meaningful experience to me because it gave me the opportunity to realize how great it is to walk without crutches or knee pain.  That was something I had not been aware of.

Of course, I wrote this episode in the writing test.  It seemed like the writing was well-received since I was the first one called for an individual interview afterwards.

Taiki Bansei (Late Bloomer)

There is a saying in Japanese "Taiki Bansei", meaning "Great talents mature late" or "Late Bloomer".  This may be used to describe a person who made a remarkable achievement later in his life, or used as an encouragement for someone who is not-yet so successful.

I used to like going to see fortune tellers, such as a tarot reader or a palm reader, when I had some issue to solve.  I had no proof that what they told me was true, but it was good enough for me to believe.  Besides, going through the process of reading was enjoyable: contemplate the issue and get frustrated, decide to see a teller, have discussion with the teller on my issue, listen to what they see with their "mystic" power, and put my own thoughts to the verdict afterwards.  A lot of thinking was going on during the process.

When I was in my early twenties, I saw a teller of Four Pillar astrology (a method of fortune-telling based on the time, date, month and year of a person's birth) to ask about my career.  Only thing I still remember among his reading is: "You are a Taiki Bansei type of person; you are going to make a great success later in your life, but you are kind of a slow starter."

I do not know whether his fortune-telling was right or not.  All I can say is that I have been believing it.

Honesty

One of the mottoes that I have is "Being honest".  Without being honest to one another, you can unlikely build a healthy relationship with the other.  While no one intentionally tries to be dishonest, there are many who try to hide the fact that they do not want others to know by lying or not mentioning.  I believe this happens to people who are being trapped with a competitive mind, either consciously or unconsciously.  In order to keep something imperative to them, such as status, self-esteem, or money, they fall into the place where they have to justify themselves to go along with somehow distorted fact.  This may be why Wattles says it is laborious to think TRUTH regardless of appearances.

Today, I met someone who is free from a competitive mind.  It is precious to meet such a good soul.  I would like to keep being honest to cherish the friendship.

Inspired Action

According to Rhonda Byrne in "The Secret", there are two types of action: Action and Inspired Action.  While Action can simply imply "work", Inspired Action will not feel like work at all and it is when you are acting to receive.  Inspired Action is effortless and it feels good as you are on the frequency of receiving.

I was wondering what would be my version of Inspired Action.  Something I can do effortlessly and makes me feel good.

I just remembered that I wrote a poem to dedicate to the celebration on my former employer's 20th anniversary of his law firm.  For the night of the anniversary ceremony, a contest was held to gather any type of artwork from the employees.  Anyone could contribute anything like stories, poems, drawings, etc.  Somehow, I chose to write a poem, in English.  I was not perfectly confident with what I wrote, but I tried to have a positive mind: "It is just a gift and my expression of art, no one would care if there is any mistake in it".  I entered the contest without expecting anything, just to participate in the celebration event.

On the night of the ceremony, it was announced that my poem won the second prize.  On stage, I received the prize directly from the head of the firm, and recited the poem in front of the entire firm.  The prize made my day.  Some of the co-workers gave me a positive comment on the poem; one even said "I was moved by your poem.  I'll treasure it in my desk drawer for inspiration."

Someone asked me if I was a poem reader or a poem writer.  Neither applied.  The words just swiftly came up to my mind and I composed a poem without much effort.  I do not remember how long it took to complete the poem but it did not matter because I am sure I was enjoying myself while working on it.  Maybe that was my version of "Inspired Action".

I will close today's article with the above-mentioned poem, written in 1999, in Japan.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

STAR

Once you find a star up in the sky

All you need is to reach for

No matter how far it may seem

There is a way for every little star

No one tells you how and when

Only desire will light your way

The more you wish, the closer you get

Believe in yourself... then the star will be yours

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

Power of Thought

To address my chronic issues with my bone structure, I see a chiropractor monthly and her session was today.  Since I started taking her treatment and advice, many of my physical issues have been cured or alleviated over the last 18 months.  It is amazing to learn how human body can heal itself.

I am not going to list up all the symptoms that are cured but one.  I had had a bruise on my right shin, about 1"x 2" in size, from felling off of stairs 20 years ago.  The bruised part was sore when I touched but I was simply thinking that was not curable and staying there forever.  During one of her sessions, she found the spot that had been sacred for the last two decades and started rubbing with her fist.  That was nothing but pain and I had to tell her that she was rubbing my age-long bruise.  To my surprise, she responded "Yeah, you have a scar tissue there but that can be gone".  I was still in denial at that time but started breaking down the scar tissue by massaging as suggested, even though it was unbelievably painful.  After a couple of weeks, the longstanding bruise disappeared amazingly.

If I had not met her, I would still have had the bruise on my leg since my mind was believing that the bruise was incurable.  With the doctor's advice, I shifted my thought on the bruise from "incurable" to "curable", and thus it went away.  Here, I witnessed the power of thought.

Belief, Faith, and Knowing

I was wondering what the difference is between "belief" and "faith" and searched on the Internet.  I found a long article devoted to this matter, entitled "Belief, Faith, and Knowing".  In brief, the author says that belief is what our mind thinks is true, while faith is inner affirmation of what our mind thinks is true and our heart wants to be true.  Belief is like one's opinion; everyone can have their own belief and thus the truth of beliefs is relative.  On the other hand, faith is nothing to do with relative truths but with the absolute truths, the truths that exist all time.  Since faith is believing something invisible, supported by no tangible proof, it can be easily faded away from people's mind.

As for knowing, to know something means to experience something.  The one who experienced  perceives it so deeply within himself as true that he does not have to discuss it, and others' opinions do not matter.  In order to create your future the way you want, you must keep faith until you KNOW the thing you have faith in is true.

Love Finds Its Own Way

I liked reading books as well as creative-writing in my childhood.  When I was in the 5th or 6th grade, the story I wrote in my Japanese class was chosen to broadcast to the entire school.  When I was in the 7th through 9th grade, my essay won in the annual essay-contest three consecutive years and I recited what I wrote on stage, in front of the entire school, during the annual school festival every year.  When I was in high school, I do not recall any highlight scene in terms of "writing", but my interest in English was higher than any other subject so I selected as many English-related classes as possible and earned excellent scores in those classes.

When deciding what major to study in college, I picked out three to start with: Philosophy, Psychology and English.  I was very intrigued by studying human nature, thus wanted to major in Philosophy or Psychology.  However, I moved onto the path which is more practical and promising in the future; majoring in English to secure a decent, high-earning job after completing the degree.

I am not regretting with the path I chose.  Without the English degree, I would not be here now.  I just find it funny that I have been leaning English even after graduating school, I have been studying philosophy on my own term, and I have always liked writing -- And now I am WRITING in ENGLISH on PHILOSOPHY.

Love finds its own way...

Think What You Want to Think

Wallace Wattles introduces that the first step toward getting rich is to think the way you want to think.  This does not sound so hard to do but he continues saying that to think what you want to think is to think TRUTH, regardless of appearances.  Everyone is capable of thinking truth but it takes far more effort than thinking as suggested by appearances.  He even states that to think truth requires the expenditure of more power than any other work man is called upon to perform.

I tend to analyze (or over-analyze) what people said or did to seek the reasoning behind their statements or actions.  I also tend to speak of too much truth, or at least what I think is trute, sometimes resulting in offending others.  To maintain trouble-free relationships with people around you, most of the people just say what is expected or what would please the others.  This may distort the truth and you may lose the sight of truth unless your third eye is open.  I believe that I have been thinking the way Wattles suggests here.  It does require a lot of energy to figure out what is going on behind what appears in front of your eyes.  Besides, what you consider is truth may not be so to others, but you have to keep faith to what YOU think is truth.

When I was back in Japan where the majority is heavily influenced by the cultural ethics or superiors’ opinions, it was not so easy to think without getting any influence by “appearances”.  (Plus, I was younger.)  I am very grateful that now, living with my mentor/husband, I can think freely in the way I want to think.

Love of Ease

I bake a homemade bread, from scratch.  Since I put a lot of time and effort, the bread tastes good and I appreciate it more.  It is definitely easier to pick up some at a store, but I enjoy baking.  It gives me a feeling of creation.  With flour, yeast and other basic ingredients, you knead the dough with your hands, allow it to rise in a warm-atmosphere, gently roll out and fold the dough and bake it in the oven.  The best part of baking is that you can get to watch the bread to puff up in its proofing process and again in the oven.  That act of "puffing" makes me happy and gives me some  extra energy and a sense of accomplishment.  It is like you see your child growing up in a rapid pace; you give a birth, dedicate your time and effort, give a lot of love, and see them grow.

According to Wallace Wattles, his methods work for people whose desire for riches is strong enough to overcome mental laziness and the love of ease.  I hope I am one of them.

Efficient Action, Vol. 2

In order to be efficient, you need to know what you want in your life clearly.  Without knowing which way to go, you can never be efficient to navigate yourself.

My current goals are becoming an efficient homemaker/loving mother to build a happy family, getting back in shape to where I was before this pregnancy, and writing to create wealth and help others.  I try to make the most of my time on home-making and taking care of two children, and squeeze time for writing to improve my skills everyday.  For these goals, I do what I can do on that day in an efficient manner and thus I should be on the right track.  As for the apperance matter, I just did some exercise today for the first time in weeks, so unless I keep working out, I would not be able to get back to where I was.

The Wattles law seems very simple.  If your actions are efficient, meaning you are not wasting your time, effort or resources, you will get what you want; if your actions are inefficient, you will never get it.

Efficient Action

I have been listening to Wallace D. Wattles' "The Science of Getting Rich" everyday since my husband introduced the book to me last month.  I was quite impressed with this book.  Having read so many self-help books on success, wealth and inner peace, this Wattles' theory outstandingly makes sense to me and his direct, succinct and efficient manner of writing is fascinating as well.

Speaking of efficiency, this how-to-get-rich manual offers a chapter entitled "Efficient Action".  Wattles suggests there, "Do, every day, all that you can do that day, and do each act in an efficient manner."  He says your efficient action is a success and inefficient one is a failure.  Efficient actions make your day a success and inefficient actions make it a failure.  Successful days, in turn, lead you to a successful life and days of failure lead you to an unsuccessful one.  Makes sense.  (To be continued.)

Believing in Possibilities

I still remember how excited I was when I first came across Joseph Murphy's idea of "Thoughts become things".  I felt like I found a gemstone; it was not brightly shining yet but holding a great potential to glow if you keep polishing, with faith.

I also remember how enthusiastically I had my mother read the book.  To my surprise, her reaction was totally different from mine.  For her, it was just another positive-thinking book and she did not show any passion to the idea.  Most likely, she had tried out the idea in her own way, things had not become manifested, thus she did not buy the idea.

It was sad that I could not share the enthusiasm with her, but her denial did not fade my belief toward the idea at all.  I just simply wanted to believe that the idea was true.  Then, I started to experience more things becoming manifested and my faith to the idea has been growing.  I am blessed that I encountered the idea, "Thoughts become things", twenty years ago.

Whether You Think You Can or You Can't...

In the hit DVD-movie released in 2006 by Rhonda Byrne, The Secret, a quote made by Henry Ford is mentioned: "Whether you think you can or you can't, either way, you are right."

Since I started writing, some unwelcome thoughts have popped into my mind such as "It'd be impossible to keep writing everyday while taking care of two little kids." or "If I try to spare time for writing, I'm going to have to take an easy way in my daily work."  Then, I remembered the Henry Ford's quote.  Whether I admit those negative thoughts or deny them, either way, I am right since my thoughts yield the results in the future.  As soon as I realized the fact, I switched those involuntarily popped-up ideas to questions: "How can I spare time for writing?" "How can I keep writing while doing my best with daily tasks?"

I did not get a quick answer for those questions but I can say that I am getting more efficient on what I am doing day by day and now I think I CAN keep up with writing without cutting corners in my responsibilities.

Solution Lies within You

I saw the new Julia Roberts' movie "Eat Pray Love" yesterday.  It was about a playwright/journalist who lost love, and herself, in her hustle-bustle life in New York to go on a journey to reset her life.  Starting with Italy, she regained her once lost appetite to food as well as to life; moving to India, she prayed to regain peace in her mind; and in the final destination, Bali, she regained balance in her life and someone to devote her love to.

One of the things that I noticed in the movie was the suffer people struggle with are all created in their mind and whether you can liberate yourself from it or not is all up to you.  You can travel around the world to seek for a solution to your problem, then, you will realize the solution is not out there.  All the people you encounter, experience you go through, and things you see are merely influence on the way you think.  The solution is always lying within you because the problem was created within you.

I was leading a busy life like the character in the movice when I was back in Kyoto, Japan.  My mind was constantly busy working and being tired.  Fortunately, at least I knew what I wanted then: Moving to the States to start over a new life, to meet new people, to look for a happier life.  Now I am having a more content life here outside of Japan and it seems like my solution was "moving to the States".  The truth is, however, that I have changed, or evolved, my thoughts in a new environment with a new set of people, and found peace inside of myself.

Two Weeks!

This is my brand new record on a "writing marathon" in my life.  Back in school, we were assigned to keep a journal during the summer vacation and I was among the kids who procrastinate writing until the end of the summer, trying to catch up with the journal retrospectively.

I am writing this blog for the sake of “writing”, hoping to find a good cause.  This blog, or a journal, may serve as a record to prove the idea “Thoughts become things”.  This may help me tap into my subconscious mind to retrieve an intriguing idea for a screenplay.  Or, this may be used as a draft to compose a book to publish in the future.

In any way, I believe I am doing the right thing and I am now proud of myself for having kept writing, no matter what.

Akira Kurosawa's Yume (Dreams)

Before moving to the United States, I saw this movie and periodically I get flashbacks of some of the scenes from the movie.  Actually, I just got one and luckily the movie was available to watch on the Internet, so I reviewed the scene for the first time in the last nine years or so.

It is a conversation between the main character and Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch artist.  (I have just learned the van Gogh was played by Martin Scorsese who is a Kurosawa admirer.)  What struck me was how hasty van Gogh was in the scene: He is standing alone in an open field, focusing on painting the nature on his canvas.  When a Japanese guy with a canvas and painting kit approaches him and asks if he is Vincent van Gogh, he just briefly glances him and nods while keeping on painting.  Noticing the guy still standing behind him, he asks "Why aren't you painting?  To me, this scene is unbelievable."  Then, he passionately talks about how beautiful the nature is and how precious the time is.  After that, he hastily moves on to look for another beautiful scene to paint.

Since this movie is supposed to be based on Kurosawa's own dreams, this scene may be depicting how earnestly the worldly-renowned director dedicated his time, and thus his life, to what he felt his passion for: the movies.

Now I hear with the van Gogh's voice, "Why aren't you writing?"

My Goals - Now

My major was in English at college and the most important thing that I learned there was nothing to do with the language but about subconscious mind.  One day, in my grammar class, the professor started talking about power of your subconscious; Basically he stated that you may think your conscious mind controls your thoughts and actions but it is only a tip of the iceberg and you are greatly influenced by your subconscious.  That was my first lesson on power of the subconscious mind, which lead me to ideas introduced by Joseph Murphy, Napoleon Hill and Wallace Wattles.

Twenty years ago, I found a book written in Japanese by Shimazu Koichi who had studied Murphy's teachings and collected one to two sentence-long phrases of Murphy's ideas on how to manifest what you want in your life.  The book became my source of energy and encouragement.  I believed and practiced his ideas and I have manifested so many things that I wanted in my life since then.  With my husband's help, I read many other books, including Hill's and Wattles', on your conscious and subconscious minds and how to manifest things in your life.  Now I am working on my new goals: I am creating wealth by writing, I am becoming a screenwriter, I am getting richer and happier.

Write to Create

I started this blog to create my own future.  I thought I can organize, develop and confirm my ideas in mind by writing and it is happening.  I can see what I should do NOW clearer day by day.  Sometimes it is overwhelming how much responsibilities you are required to perform everyday, but it is all up to you whether you can do it or not since how you think creates your life.

Setting Specific Goal

January 15th is the first deadline for this year's script contest that I have been contemplating to participate in for the last two years.  The second deadline is March 1st, the final April 1st.  There is no script having submitted nor written... yet; Let me decide here that I am going to submit one by April 1st, 2011.  No matter what.

I have two months and a half, eleven weeks and four days, or 81 days to choose a theme, create charcters, and write scenes to develop a story to compose a 110-page script by April 1st, 2011.

Never Break the Chain

I learned last night the productivity tip of my beloved comedian, Jerry Seinfeld; write everyday.  His method is writing a new material every single day and crossing off the day on his calendar with a big red X.  The essence of this method is not to break the chain - keep writing daily no matter what.  That is a big commitment since it is very easy to give an excuse or two not to write that day.  Once you stop writing, however, you will lose the momentum; longer you swift away from the routine, harder it will get to return to where you were.

Besides, doing something everyday gives you confidence in whatever you do because you are showing your passion and commitment by acting on it on daily-basis.  That is something ANYONE can do but FEW stick to.  I would say this is the difference between a miracle-maker and a day-dreamer: The universe treats you fair after all.

As my year 2011's resolution is to "write everyday", I will make sure to cross off the day when I publish a new post (or work on a script), without breaking the chain.

Plan Your Day Ahead

Today, I got up a little earlier for my Saturday morning and went out with my family in the morning.  Usually, we do not make plans for the weekends and time passes very quick.  I thought that if I had made today's plans yesterday, we could have spent a day more efficiently.  Probably this is an obvious fact and recommended by anyone everywhere and I must have heard this so many times, but today, the idea truly hit me.

Now, I am going to work on tomorrow's plans.

Ideas for Screenplay

I thought I have plenty of ideas to write a screenplay with but when I sit down and try to decide on what to write, I hesitate to choose any of them.  I do not know why.  Maybe I have fear in disclosing my ideas or try too hard to be "perfect" on my first story.  Joe Vitale says that you should try to do something you are afraid of most.  What would it be in my case...?

Inspiration

It seems like I have ability to inspire others.  Several people in the past told me that they were inspired by my action, especially when I manifested what I had wanted such as getting accepted by school that I had aimed at, getting a job that I had been longing for, moving into the United States as I had dreamed of, etc.  To me, those accomplishments were merely results of my day-to-day activities; I set a goal, work hard, and make it happen.  I believe that this is called "Creative Process" (Bob Proctor in "The Secret") or "Increasing Life" (Wallace Wattles in "The Science of Getting Rich").

I am now in a creative process of becoming a professional writer.  I want to express myself, receive wealth, and help others by writing.  How can I manifest those desires?  I have been interested to write a screenplay.  Like I gained so much encouragement and inspiration from the American films, I would like to write a story to have it filmed and distributed throughout the world so I can inspire a lonely, sensitive, drepressed or confused boy or girl, man or woman, to start something new for betterment of their life.

Happily Married Couple

One of my life-long dreams is "to build a happy family".  Before I met my husband, I had almost convinced myself that there was no happily married couple on this planet. The couples around me did not seem happy or I just had not met any happy couple back then. I thought that the beautiful, romantic love you see in the movies existed only as a fairy tale.

Luckily, I met my husband and married to him, now I am leading a quite happy life. His parents and grandparents seem to be very happy couples as well.  My thought here is... was I just lucky to meet him, or did I attract him by badly wishing the dream over the last twenty years...?

Competitive or Creative Mind

When you have something you want and there is an obstacle before you, your brain works rapidly to seek for a solution.  There must be more than one idea computed by your brain.  It is very important for you to decide which way you are going because the solution should be somewhat "friendly" to everyone involved, not solely to you and people around you.  When you just focus on winning what you want and do not care about others or its consequences, you will be treated as you do eventually.  You must think as flexible as possible to come up with the best possible solution for the planet.

Why I belive "Thoughts Become Things"

My belief of "thoughts become things" stems from, of course, my own experience.  The most significant experience that I am proud of is coming to the United States.  With no connection or funds, I made it.  Even though it took me about ten years, my dream of "going-to-live-in-America" came true because I persistently longed for the thought to be manifested.  It almost appeared like miracle when I was hired by a law firm here in the States while I was still in Kyoto.

In my new life in my dream land, things have been going much smoother; one of the reasons is that I met my husband, two weeks after landing here.  Then I got married, bought a house, blessed with children...  Creating my life as I had wanted before.

Now, what I want is to write to express myself, write to help others, write to live my life to the fullest potential.  I believe everyone has divinity inside of themselves.  People who find what that is are successful ones.  I want to be one of them.

English or Japanese

Which would be more beneficial: writing this blog in English or Japanese?  As a Japanese native-speaker, it is obviously easier for me to write in my mother-tongue, but obviously that would narrow the audience by far compared to when writing in English, since it is the official international language after all.

For a long time, I was limiting my possibility by thinking that I must write in Japanese since I am Japanese (and my English is not perfect enough to be a writer).  Then, after I encountered the theory from "The Secret", I realized that I can write in English if I want to; it does not have to be perfect, no one would stop me from writing in English, if I think I can, I can (if I don't think I can, I can't).  So, I am here writing in English for a larger audience on the planet.

Two Thousand Eleven

It is January 1, 2011 today.  The year I will turn forty when I should be able to identify myself as a "writer".  As so, my new year resolution will be "write every day" which has not been easy for me somehow.  For the past decade, I have been repeatedly telling myself to become a writer by the age of forty; as in Wallace D. Wattles' theory of thoguhts creating things, I am now natually writing, as if a timing-device were set in, to seek for a new, exciting development of my life.