It is a grayish Thursday today at Gyeonggi English Village. I am not working as my days off have shifted to Wednesday and Thursday. Much to my relief, Spring is making herself known in more clear displays lately. It makes a big difference to walk out to a fresh, warmish sometimes sunny day.
Here are some sure signs of Spring I captured in Paju and English Village!
This past weekend I took the day off on Sunday and traveled to Seoul to visit with my Soka Gakkai Buddhist friends. With the preceding cold winter months plus my weekends occupied by work, it has been a while since we have connected. In their typical generous form, they set aside a portion of their day and we met in a member’s home to study, share and chant. It never fails that our time together serves as an attitude shift and a wake-up call for me. I arrived a little down and left feeling changed somehow.
My biggest insight of the day was when one of the members offered this perspective. He said sometimes when a fellow SGI member hears you are going through a challenge or a hard-time their response may be, “Congratulations!” Sound strange? The teachings of SGI invite me to consider that challenges are truly the key to happiness. They bring us new opportunities for growth and lessons. Additionally, they provide the circumstances to practice staying in the space of optimism, joy and persistence and build an unshakable foundation of happiness. “Congratulations!” is a great reminder to me to shift my attitude, to not be faltered by whatever challenge or disappointment I might be facing, and to continue courageously on my journey.
My past three years as a member of SGI and particularly my time with my group in Seoul has helped me to reframe my ideas about happiness. While many good things have come my way, I have also faced and continue to face many challenges. SGI helps me to have a grateful attitude regarding challenges and to consider within this pursuit is… happiness.
Are you facing some challenges in your life right now? If so, congratulations! Feel better? I did. Just this simple response helped me to shift the space from being a victim to someone who could handle whatever was presenting itself. It helped me to feel my power. And of course, chanting “nam myoho renge kyo” helps too! Are you curious about chanting? If so, check out this video that briefly introduces how to chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.
This past week we saw once again the big energy and more hectic Spring pace at GEV. We continue to receive busloads of students for their brief 2 night 3 day escapade in the land of English. We also explore the balance of creating a fun and engaging environment for kids with the limitations of our current curriculum and program structure.
As Spring shows her face and life wakes up after the cold, quiet days of winter, it seems well-suited to continue to explore the Reiki Precepts. As I introduced in last week’s blog, Reiki is a healing art that originated in Japan and has been a big part of my life for the past ten years. There are Five Precepts in Reiki that are simply guidelines for happy living. If you are curious about last week’s blog, you can visit it here. This week we will explore the second precept.
Just for today to not anger.
This one has always been a doozie for me. Historically, anger has been my right hand man and a habit that can be easily triggered in myself and my life. I think the message of this precept is to bring some mindfulness to our tendencies with anger. When I pay attention to this precept in my life, I can notice my inclination to turn to my friend anger in situations that may be frustrating or challenging and simply choose not to go there. When I am mindful I am aware that I am the one brewing up the fire of anger in me. I can turn up the heat and I can turn it off too. This one is not easy for me, but like Reiki, it is simply a practice. I may succeed one moment and fail another. The gift is to continue to practice and do my best not to judge.
I think for a long time I thought that I needed anger to be safe and protect myself. This precept is a gentle reminder that “do not anger” is earnestly for our own happiness and that as we continue to cultivate this awareness, it is our own selves who benefit most.
(A side note… While finishing this blog I got an interesting workout with this precept with a finicky internet connection and quirky blog program…)
The artwork above is one in a series I created on all five of the precepts. If you would like to view them all or even purchase a print or card for yourself, please visit fineartamerica.com/profiles/nancie-teresa-biver.html.
My mid-week-weekend is winding down. I went to Seoul today for my first dental visit in Korea. Overall, it was a mostly non-traumatic experience. The dentist spoke English. The office was posh and inviting. I was a little shocked when the hygienist threw something on my face that covered everything but my mouth during the cleaning… but ultimately, I recovered. Just a restful evening ahead before I roll into a new week.
How are things in your world? It is always good to hear from you!
Gypsy Woman 
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