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March 31 Shinto: An excerpt from class readings"For instance, Shinto has a strong tinge of Nature mysticism. Shinto has long maintained that there should not be a rational interpretation of it. It has no sacred scripture corresponding to the Bible of Christianity of the holy Sutras of Buddhism. A faithful believer would come to the simple hall of a Shinto sanctuary, which is located in a groe with a quiet and holy atmosphere. He may stand still quite a while in front of the sanctuary, calp his hands, bow deeply, and try to feel the deity in his heart. He would not try to build up rational proof for the existence of an invisible deity. For him, the proof of divine existence depends on wether or not he can feel the deity directly in his heart." January 18 Love... (This is one of my favouriate Abdu'l Baha quotes)Know thou of a certainty that Love is the secret of God’s holy Dispensation, the manifestation of the All-Merciful, the fountain of spiritual outpourings. Love is heaven’s kindly light, the Holy Spirit’s eternal breath that vivifieth the human soul. Love is the cause of God’s revelation unto man, the vital bond inherent, in accordance with the divine creation, in the realities of things. Love is the one means that ensureth true felicity both in this world and the next. Love is the light that guideth in darkness, the living link that uniteth God with man, that assureth the progress of every illumined soul. Love is the most great law that ruleth this mighty and heavenly cycle, the unique power that bindeth together the divers elements of this material world, the supreme magnetic force that directeth the movements of the spheres in the celestial realms. Love revealeth with unfailing and limitless power the mysteries latent in the universe. Love is the spirit of life unto the adorned body of mankind, the establisher of true civilization in this mortal world, and the shedder of imperishable glory upon every high-aiming race and nation.
Whatsoever people is graciously favoured therewith by God, its name shall surely be magnified and extolled by the 28 Concourse from on high, by the company of angels, and the denizens of the Abhá Kingdom. And whatsoever people turneth its heart away from this Divine Love—the revelation of the Merciful—shall err grievously, shall fall into despair, and be utterly destroyed. That people shall be denied all refuge, shall become even as the vilest creatures of the earth, victims of degradation and shame.
O ye beloved of the Lord! Strive to become the manifestations of the love of God, the lamps of divine guidance shining amongst the kindreds of the earth with the light of love and concord.
All hail to the revealers of this glorious light!
-Abdu'l Baha December 01 Back home and trying to make wise choicesDear friends,
Since my last entry several things have changed in terms of where I am and what I am doing with my life. The service trip in Japan has come to an end but the experience continues to permeate all aspects of my life. It would be untrue to say that I haven't looked back at times and wished that I had done some things very differently and it would also be far from the truth to say that I've been able to change my life in all the ways I imagined I would when I returned. Let's look at a few examples just for fun: Instead of sleeping in a lot of the time because I did not have any "planned commitments" until later in the day, I would wake up bright and early just like the Japanese people who I lived with. This would have made them really happy. It is obvious to me now that they were a little bothered at times by what appeared to by my North American typical laziness. It was true though, I was lazy physically and mentally sometimes. I slept too much and did not think enough about the feelings of the Japanese people around me who lead a greatly organized and systematic lifestyle so different from the comparatively chaotic, sometimes deadly fast, sometimes slugishly slow lifestyle that many a Westerner has. And as for what I feel that I could be doing a much better job at now, well let me tell you, I am still not half as organized and healthy as I would like to be. As I've said many times, the wisdom and simplicity of Japanese life amazes me. People organize their lives very efficiently. They get jobs done fast and well. They work had and sleep little. They exercise routinely and keep their physical, social, spiritual, emotional, career aspects of their lives very balanced. Now, I am making these observations as very geral statements only because I find that the Japanese culture, which is diverse but very much unified and harmonious, to be very true to these attributes on a signicantly large scale. Yes, indeed, I have not been able to make that much desired change in my life just yet for I have not yet attained the the knowledge neccessary to make these transitions. I've got to cut out most of the fast food, I have to keep my home very clean, I should study more diligently and consistently, I should practive humility always, I need to live a more balanced life in physical exercise and spiritual exercise, and on and on. The outlook is good though. I've seen people living with these traits and I've managed to incorporate some of them into my own life on ane on. With every day my prayers and meditation as well as the practice of good deeds draws me closer to God who is indeed the remover of all difficulties.
Time is tight so let me wrap this up in a nice little package. Family life is good and getting better. I've got wonderful friends everywhere. The one who will be my partner for a life of love, family and service is still unknown but I pray for that too and I can feel that God is working His magic. This January I wil begin studying at the University of Waterloo in a variety of subjects that interest me: There's Psychology, Sociology, Social Development Studies, and East Asian Religions. Soon, I will have an interview to see if I qualify to study Japanese at the second level because the entry level courses are full right now. HattsOff (my place of work) has opened up two brain injury clinics in Stratford where I work full time and then some. There I make enough money to pay back my current debts and to start paying for the first year of University. Yes, indeed, when you realize how perfect life is you will tilt your head back, look up at the sky and laugh.
I'm afraid that is all for now. I've got to be heading off for work. Please leave comments if you like. Also, I don't have time to proofread this blog so please excuse any spelling and grammatical mistakes.
Many warm and loving greetings to all!
Eric Miller September 29 Ishigaki daysHello my dear friends,
I wish that you are all really happy and full of love.
The days go by too quickly as my trip comes to a close. However, I am beyond grateful for all the great experiences that I've had. Everyone is treating me so kindly that I often feel as if I am being served much more that I am serving. Let me tell you, the food people practically pile in front of me everyday is the best food in the world. Please come to Japan and see what I am talking about. This country is amazingly beautiful and if you can, come and visit and meet some of the wonderful Japanese people.
Today I don't wish to say very much, just that I miss everyone back home and to let you all know that I love you and you are remembered in my prayers. Also, the same types of services activities that I have mentioned before are continuing. If you look at my pictures and videos you may see many of the smiling (and sometimes funny-faces) of the friends I've made here. I especially love all of those young people who are students at my homestay here and also at the elementary and jr.high schools that I volunteer at. They are such beautiful souls and they will indeed grow up to be wonderful plants and flowers in the garden of Humanity!
Also, I have to thank God here. I wish everyone to know that I feel as if all of my powers come from God. Without His love I would be as a balloon without air; I could never be lifted from the ground and float in the winds and skies of wonder. Also, although true understanding of God is infinitely beyond my comprehension, His signs are as apparent as the sun in the sky; they shine brightly and illuminate the whole world. It's great.
Yes, so, like I said, I have taken many pictures and some videos, so please enjoy them. That's the end of this blog. Write to me anytime. Here is my address: eric_m_miller25@hotmail.com
Happy thoughts,
Eric September 14 Reporting from OkinawaReporting from Okinawa This just in: I miss and love all of my friends and family back home!!! Hello everyone. It is my continually cherished prayer that all of you are happy and enjoying this beautiful life. Day by day, little by little, we can all uplift humanity through education and good deeds. Let us strive to be a source of joy to all people that we encounter in our everyday lives. Truly, even the most seemingly small act can diffuse its power throughout the entire world and cause mankind to progress thereby. Indeed, I cannot name the top winners at the Oscars last year, or the most valuable players for the national sports teams, or even more than a few of the hundreds of grossly wealthy business people in the world, however, I can recall clearly the gentle demeanor of the sweet and helpful librarians at the local library, and the wise and loving encouragement of my kindergarten teacher, and the beaming smile of the child with down sydrome who I crossed paths with one day. These "little" beautiful acts inspired me to be a responsible member of humanity, to smile at people in public, to offer people my seat on the subway, to pray for the good of humanity, to study the Holy writings, to strive to be a cause of cheer and joy to all the people around me. It is those types of people, who inspired me, who are the shining lights that enable us to see when we are battling the darkness. Praise be to God for allowing us to reflect His attributes, be they limited to the degree of comparison as a drop is to an Ocean. The past few weeks have been memorable. James and I left our homestay in Yamaguchi city on September 10th. There had been several other youth serving in Yamaguchi with us, however, they left gradually until it was just James and I left at the Sonda's home. While there were other youth on service there we spent our time performing various types of service. We organized study circles and gave Firesides, we had devotionals (kind of like a "prayer meeting") and deepenings on the Sacred Texts, we taught English and practiced music, and we helped out different individuals by assisting them with different chores like housecleaning, wood-chopping, taking garbage to the dump, etc. Now, all of these things are really fun to do if you go about it with a prayerful attitude. But we can never have enough fun so we did some other activities that everyone could enjoy. We went to karaoke, lit off fireworks, went to Onsen, went to a comedy performance, visited friends, ate out at restaurants, wandered the streets, checked out the beautiful temples, gardens and the famous underground caverns. The last days in Yamaguchi were great fun! Then, near the end, there was only James and I left from all of the visiting youth. So, we hung out with some friends of course and had a really good time. On the last night we had a going away party and many people showed up and brought gifts and we talked and ate and so on. James and I said a few words about Baha'i youth service. Then we slept... our last night in Yamaguchi. The next morning James headed back to Canada, and I down south the Okinawa! So, here I am now on Ishigaki island. This place is one of the most southern islands of Japan and is very different from the mainlands. There's all kinds of amazing beaches, blue and green waters, mountains, coral, resort hotels, palm trees, tropical fish, etc. It is indeed an aesthetic and spiritual paradise. I've been here for 4 days and already the teaching is going very well. There are many service opportunities available. Yesterday I participated in the inauguration of a Baha'i inspired moral education class at an elementary school on the island. Tomorrow I will be going to plant some trees with a Jr. highschool. I will be soon doing volunteer English teaching. It looks like I may be doing some volunteer work with a snorkling/scuba diving company. Oh yes, I look quite forward to swimming with the fishies. On top of this I hope to participate in an already active study circle, have many conversations about Baha'i Faith and spiritual principles in general, and continue to be of assistance in any spiritually uplifting way possible. Here's some awesome news. I've discovered that I can put videos on this homepage. All you have to do is click on the links to see the videos. Unfortunately, taking videos has not been a priority and therefore I have very few and they are not that good. In the future I will try to take some nice videos when the opportunity arises. One last thing. I have been really horrible about not calling or writing to people, so please forgive me in advance, I will try to make it up to you!!! In the meantime, just read my blog and look and my videos and pictures. Stay fit and have fun!!! just kidding, I mean... Love always, Eric September 13 VideosDear Friends,
I've discovered another great way to share my experience in Japan with you. I will be uploading videos to the Internet. The links will be on this homepage in the "videos" section. Enjoy! Also, I will soon write a nice blog to share the recent happenings.
Peace!
Eric August 22 Peace Relay, Summer School and Everything InbetweenHello one and all,
Welcome to my blog. I truly wish that you are having a wonderful day, wether you are my old friend or a member of this glorious human family who I have not yet met.
I had to cut my last blog short. There was just one more thing that I wished to mention about the "Peace Relay". Indeed, the commeration held at the "Peace Park" in Nagasaki was very memorable and the museum was educational and interesting. But, there was something else that we got to experience which made more of an impression on me. That is the following account. About a dozen of us went to visit a local Baha'i who was one of the direct victims of the tragic bombing. He was three years old at the time and as a result he was missing several fingers and apparently has lived with many diseases his entire life. He has always had to have medicines, living assistance by hospitals and various caretakers, and has never had a family of his own. This sounds so sad, but when we went to visit him in his little apartment, across from the hospital where he is a permanent patient, he instilled great cheer and joy within our hearts. Our visit was short and his apartment was bordering on unbearably hot, but it was more meaningful to us than a visit to any museum. He shared his stories and we prayed and talked about the beauty of life. That was one thing that I admired, that he was happy, despite his huge tests, thanks to his connection with God. I hope that we can all face our tests in life with such courage, love, strength... such virtues.
We hardly had enough time between the Peace Relay and the Summer School to get our laundry done. This has been one of the most exciting and enjoyable summers of my life. These two events make me really happy. One day recently I realized that, at times like this, when I feel a relatively strong connection with God, I feel as if everyday is like Christmas, with all the excitement, food, family, celebration, and friends. And I mean this, even more so now that I am a Baha'i and my perception of both Christmas and, on a much larger scale, life have been changing drastically. Anyhow, this feeling remained strong throughout the week that we spent at the summer school. The location was a great campgrounds up in some beautiful, verdant mountains, teeming with life and energy. There we met many new friends and old friends. According to the custom, we officially introduced ourselves to the other groups who shared the grounds. Our group numbered about 130 or so throughout the week, with an average of about 70 to 80 people or so. Each day was planned for us to have a delightful time. We could choose between study groups, inspirational and informative talks, arts and crafts, sports, alone time, and much more. I particularly enjoyed the Thai massage myself. Also we put on dance and music performances almost daily. In fact all summer has been packed with arts performances, from dance to music to acting, etc. On top of all this we ate a lot of good food and go to take a couple of day trips to historical sites and to a great place for swimming and biking in the wilderness. You will be able to seem some of these things in my pictures. Once again, the most beautiful part was the people. I got closer with so many old friends and made so many great new ones. Many of us engaged in uplifting spiritual discussions. It was quite clear that we all loved each other and that we all have love for all of humanity. I hope that you all have had very nice summers as well. Oh, and yes, the weather was very pleasing.
Now all of these events have come to an end and those of us who remain in Yamaguchi are spending our time reflecting, relaxing, and making plans for the future. We all feel that we have done a pretty good job. We are all here to serve humanity. Over the past month we have been having a very fun time but we have worked very hard too. In the end, we shared so much with so many people and we learned much more. Now, more people know about the glorious, glad-tidings of Baha'u'llah. We've promoted love and unity, and more specifically: the oneness of humanity, the elimination of all prejudices, the erradication of the extremes of wealth and poverty, universal education, the importance of spiritual education, a focus on exalting young people, the negativity of various forms of abuse, and more. So many people were attracted to this message, and a handful of them are even sticking around to learn more about the approaches that the world Baha'i community are taking to improve the conditions in the world. Clearly, these summer events are something that will be continued and refined in the future.
So, after all, I am really happy. We've learned a lot and we've served. It has been very extraordinary. It really is impressive to see so many people from so many different cultural backgrounds come together to work for the betterment of the world, and to remain unified the whole time. And we're really doing something that is sustainable, not something that works for a short time but does not address the underlying problems. Indeed, this has all been a very inspirational and educational experience. Thank you all my dear friends.
Now I am just going to stay here, serving in Yamaguchi, until further notice. Other youth will be coming and going for the next few weeks, so I should have lots to do. Please keep my efforts in your prayers. Farewell and Allah'u'Abha dear friends.
With love and compassion,
Eric August 19 Peace Relay timeHello my dear friends,
How are all my beautiful brothers and sisters doing? Let me tell you friends, every day I think I know more and more what happiness is. Also, every day I know more about sadness. This doesn't mean that I let the sadness keep me feeling down, but when I think about certain things it is not possible to keep the tears from shedding forth as a flood from my eyes. Anyway, let me tell you about the past few weeks so you can understand what I mean.
A few weeks ago, wonderful Baha'i youth (about 20) from around the world started to arrive in Yamaguchi. They are staying at a few different homes of friends in the area. One lady, who is friends with the Baha'is here has been kind enough to offer the use of her home to about 5 or 6 of the girls for several weeks. Anyhow, we come from Japan, Korea, England, Malaysia, Botswana, Vanuatu, U.S.A., and Canada. Our ethnic/cultural heritage extends even further to China, Iran, India, and further. You can see picture of them in the photo album that I will create after I post this blog.
These young people gathered in Japan for the annual "International Peace Relay" held by the worldwide Baha'i community. In this event we travel from Hiroshima to Nagasaki and promote peace through the arts, converstaion, prayers, building friendships, raising awareness, promoting unifying principles of humanity, and so on. We start in Hiroshima in the day that the atomic bomb was dropped there and we finish in Nagasaki to commerate the atomic bombing that happened there three days later. Many different individuals and organiziations perform similar and beautiful services that bring attention to need of love and education in the world. We have two teams .The biking team and the performance team. The biking team biked over three days from Hiroshima to Nagasaki and engaged in coverations with people about spiritual principles and the educational materials that are offered by the Baha'i community. The performance team trained for about two weeks. The music team had a wonderful set of songs from several different cultures. The songs were fun and inspirational. Many people were very moved by the lyrics and the spirit with which the music was played. The dancers put together an amazing set of dances that are used all over the world by Baha'i performers. The dances are about an array of topics related to peace. We had a dances on poverty, racism, unity, violence, equality of men and women, and also some fun multi-cultural dances. Everybody worked very hard and in the end we were able to put on eloquent shows with dances that told stories that are powerful enough to influence great groth in human hearts. Many people, old friends and new friends, came to support us and share in the message of unity in diversity. Some people showed their gratitude by allowing us to stay at their homes, some prepared food, some cleaned and organized the places where we performed, and much, much more. The most important thing was that their prayers were with us all the way. All in all, even though we may never see the results of the service, we are assured that God's blessings descend upon all those who make mention of Him, and upon all people and things. In my opinion, I think that we should all consider serving humanity in our own way, and we should all make sacrifices for the benefit of the whole of humanity.
Indeed, it has been an incredibly enriching experience to be surrounded by all the lovely people here. I had a friend come to Japan from Korea for tourism and she visited me here in Yamaguchi for a few days and took part in all the youth activities. We have been studying the Baha'i writings together and have been saying beautiful prayers daily. As long as I am in the company of pure hearts, I feel no need for the physical things of this world (but, of course, I LOVE food, especially here in Japan, so if I habe a choice then I will eat lots!). I keep mentioning "youth" over and over, but I should mention that there are many adults who are are friends as well and who do all of these things with us. We love them and tehy love us and we don't feel an artificial "generation gap", we just feel love and unity. We are all learning from each other and inpsiring each other to be of more service to humanity and to deepen our own connection with God.
I have to apologize, I actually have to leave right now to go to a beautiful stone garden with some friends. I will continue this blog later. Sorry friends.
Much love,
Eric July 24 James, Korea, Yamaguchi, deepeningWarm and loving greetings my brothers and sisters in the family of humanity,
I hope that you are all doing great. Life has been truly exciting over the past couple of weeks. Let me share just a few of the experiences with you here.
A couple of weeks ago I went to visit my dear brother James Hopkins in Kumumoto. James and I live in the same town in Canada and we became Baha'is around the same time. Since then we have been friends seeing the world through different eyes and discovering that this world is more or less " a classroom in which we make choices that are progressive for our soul or just the opposite". Indeed, we've seen some tests and are better people for it. Being inspired by our love for God and humanity and our desire to be of service to both of the aforementioned, we decided to rise up and forsake our homes to pioneer overseas in Japan. We are Baha'i youth pioneers. We promote universal education (physical, material and spiritual), the oneness of humanity, the equality of men and women, the establishment of a universal auxillary language, the elimination of all prejudices, the oneness of God, the harmony of science and religion, the abolishment of extremes of wealth and poverty, and the independent investigation of truth. We strive to do all these things in a loving manner that avoids confontation and people being made uncomfortable. Anyhow, James came to Japan about a month after me and we hadn't seen each other until this point. By car it took about 4 hours to get to his home. He stays with the most lovely family. Of course, we also regard each other as friends simply because we are part of the same human family, it matters not what your religious beliefs are, God's love is unconditional and so maybe we should strive to reflect that to the extent of our own capacities. So, we deepened together and had fun and met friends and just had a jolly old time seeing the sites and meeting people. We even met a couple of police officers who asked us for our passports. It may have had something to do with James' ridiculously long hair and his crazy beard!!! Just kidding buddy.
Wow, I can tell that this blog will be way too long, and there is so much more that I want to say. Forgive me for trying to be concise from this point on. Ok. After I left James I headed straight for Korea. Surely, I could not have hoped for a nicer host family. The first night there they treated me to a traditional Korean meal and then we said and sang prayers. The daughter sang such beautiful prayers that my heart was given the energy it needed to pour love unto all the people I would meet at the summer school the next weekend. And I hope that I did pour out lots of love. I sure had lots coming my way. At the Baha'i summer school (suitable for all people, not just Baha'is, of course) I made many friends. We went to Karaoke, on a boat tour, walks in the park, sang songs, prayed, played games and shared stories and riddles. One of the most memorbale parts was staying awak all night simply because I could not close my eyes when there was such inspired discussions about spiritual principles and practices taking place. We all had a good time and learned a lot from each other. We were humbled and felt great gratitude for life. There were people there from America, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and probaly some other countries. There were probably about thirty of us. There was one soul who I met who I spoke with for hours that night that I did not sleep. She wants to know about Baha'u'llah and His revelation. I told her what I could, including that the greatest proof is Baha'u'llah's writings. Surely, our souls bonded that night. I am eternally grateful for the bounty of meeting all these beautiful people.
Now I am back in Yamaguchi. It was a pain getting here. Travel arrangements did not go smooth and I had to carry a lot of luggage around in circles. I went to Chikushino to say goodbye to my original host family before I returned here. I also dropped by an English class that in that city which I used to visit. It was so nice to see those lovely people again. Since I have arrived here, two more youth have showed up to serve in Japan, and several more are coming over the following week. We will practice dances and biking for the "peace relay" to commerate the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and of course to promote peace. Also, most of us will participate in the Japan Baha'i summer school here in this area. I am looking very forward to it. Meeting all these loving, pure and open-minded people from around the world is an incredibly beautiful and enriching experience.
Lastly, how I am feeling now. I read recently that Shoghi Effendi recommended that Baha'i youth thoroughly acquaint themselves with "The Dawnbreakers", "Gleanings from the writings of Baha'u'llah", and "Some Answered Questions". I've begun deepening with these books. It seems that sometimes I can almost feel the veils being torn away from my vision that are keeping me form recognizing God, according to my capacity. This feeling is most vivid during my intensified prayers and meditations. I have this ardour for God that is more consistent and progressive than I can recall from previous experiences. It's truly beautiful. All things seem to be shining in a new light that grows brighter every day. The value systems that I have grown attached to in the past are disappearing and being replaced by new and better ones, ones that are inspired by the writings and through service, prayer and meditation. And although I feel all this growth, I feel more aware than ever that I am able to fall, at anytime, from whatever height I may reach... some of the best of us have. I think that I should stop here and not over burden anyone who might like reading this blog about my experiences in Japan. Thanks my dear friends.
Regards,
Eric July 09 Another wonderful weekHello friends,
This past week has bee full of fun and spending time with friends. I am packing right now for Korea. I'm bringing a lot of Japanese study material with me. Tonight I will go to Kumumoto, to the homestay of my friend James. James is also on Baha'i youth service. We both found the Faith around the same time and we both live in Stratford, Ontatio. Last night was a great social night which ended with some Okinawan dancing and a Japanese movie. The ESS groups I am working with are blossoming llike glorious flowers. I am very proud of them, and I feel good about my own progress with Japanese. Learning a language can be great fun! Today was the commeration of the Martyrdom of the Bab. This is a Baha'i Holy day. It has been a very spiritual day full of beautiful people coming together. Tonight some of my open-minded friends will come to a potluck dinner and a fireside where we will talk about religion from a Baha'i perspective. I am very happy because this will help them to know me better and hopefully everyone will grow from this experience. I've got to get back to packing. I love all of you beautiful people.
"consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of the utmost kindliness and love".
Of course, Baha'u'llah tells us to consort with all people in a "spirit of the utmost kindliness and love". This means everybody, not just "followers of religions". We are all part of one human family. Don't judge each other. Do not think that you are better than anyone. Do not focus on the shortcomings of others.
Warm and loving greetings,
Eric July 01 Getting better all the timeWarm and loving greetings,
I wish that you may all be happy. These are some of the best days of my life. Let me fill you in on what is new. If English is your second language, do not be intimidated. I will write very basically.
Lately I have made so many friends that I cannot count them all. Every day I receive many e mails. I really enjoy hearing from everyone. Excuse me if I forget your name. Japanese names are still hard to remember. My time in Japan is very nice because of all the kind people that I meet. Thank you friends.
Last Saturday several of us went to Ube for a musical devotional. We met in the back of a restaurant owned by a Christian couple who allow us to use their back room. We sang songs, played instruments, put on a skit, and said prayers. Afterwards, a few of us went to Joy-full restaurant where we ate ice cream with some lovely jr. high students. These youth were very inspiring. They study hard and have very admirable dreams. One of them said she wants to be a volunteer doctor in Africa. After returning from Ube, we had social night. Once again we had a great time. Please ask me about social night. On monday night I went to an ESS party at Yamaguchi University where I met many wonderful people. We had a nice potluck, made friends, talked and played games. Some really funny guys put on some short, funny skits. It made me feel nice that I could understand some of the Japanese. One game we played is called "fruit basket". You should try this game, I shared it with the students at the nursing school on Friday. I will put up pictures of that today. After the party, I walked around the campus and met several groups and individuals who were practicing for the Universtiy Festival which will take place today (Canada Day). I was very impressed bythe singers and I am looking forward to seeing the acappella groups tonight. Surely I will get pictures of that too. Next is Tuesday. Well, everyday this week I attended English classes at various schools and had a really great time. On Tuesday night I went to an ESS group at Yamaguchi Prefectural University. I met a wonderful girl there. It seems like I am being lead to people who are compassionate about social development. I am thankful for this. We will go to see a movie tomorrow. Here is the link for it: http://kaminoko.office4-pro.com/ . On Thursday night I went to a great birthday party. It was at a little nomia type of place but we did not go to drink, of course. I think the name of the place is "Kintaro". We celebrated Natsuki's 19th birthday. We had one of the best meals I have ever had. I think it was about six courses and two desserts. Then on Friday night I went to my friend Yurika's home and she cooked an excellent dinner and we watched a really awful movie about surfing. We had a nice time. I studied Japanese almost every day this week. Studying Japanese is very fun and useful. Nihongo-wa omoshiro-kute yakuni tachi-masu.
The future is not clear but it is very exciting. My Baha'i teaching activites may take me all over Japan for all I know. I want to stay here in Yamaguchi very much because of all the great frienships. It looks like I may go to Okinawa for one month. I will spend several days biking and driving from Hiroshima to Nagasaki. I would really like to go way up north but I must do what is best for others, not necessarily what is most fun for me. It looks like I may even get an apartment with my good buddy James and another Canadian guy. I'm really looking forward to everything.
Indeed this is an incredibly enriching experience. The culture, the art, the language, the people, the scenery, the nature, the spirituality....ahhhhhh. Once again, I am very thankful. Have a really happy day, all of you beautiful people.
~Eric June 25 For all Yamaguchi peopleHello everyone,
I will keep this very simple so my ESL friends can enjoy it. This blog is for you, Yamaguchi people.
I am happy to help you all with English. As long as I am not too busy, I am able to help you with your English. Please e mail me if you want to practice.
To new friends: I am glad you found this homepage. I hope that we will become closer friends. Look at all my pictures regularly. I add new ones very often. You may find your picture here. Are you intersted in spending time together? I go out a lot to have fun with friends. Also, there are "social nights" at my homestay every week. E-mail me if you want to see me. eric_m_miller25@hotmail.com
To the Yamaguchi Prefectural University students: Yurika and Fukui, thanks for coming bowling and having me over for tea and miso afterwards. You two are my good friends here in this foreign country. All the rest of you, I am sorry that I did not come to the dance. I hope you had a great time and I hope I can come if you have another dance party.
To co-medical students: I love all of you. When people ask me what is my favouriate part of Japan I always say that the people are. Usually, I am thinking of you when I say this. You have all treated me very kindly and been patient with me when we have trouble communicating because of the language differences. I thank you for this. One of my favouriate parts of the week is to come to your classes at the college. Do you have any ideas for what fun stuff to do in the future? Karaoke and bowling was great! What should we do next? There is always the "social night" at my place on Saturdays at 6:30. E-mail me about the English club we will start.
To Everyone: You are all so great. You make Japan very attracitve to me. Please send me pictures so I can put them on this homepage. E-mail me anytime for any reason. Thanks for your friendship. For any of you who are interested in study cirlces (Baha'i text books) or learning about the Baha'i Faith, please ask me and I will be happy to share in any way that I can. I am in Japan to serve humanity in a practical and sustainable way. If you want to get involved I think you can help out with the Peace Relay or the Summer School this August. http://www.geocities.jp/oneworld_international/youth/2006.htm (this is a site for the peace relay)
(this next link is a site for the Yamaguchi Baha'i community. Click it and learn about why I am here!)
http://www.geocities.jp/oneworld_international/bahai.htm . E mail me or publish a comment here if you have anything to say.
You are all very beautiful people! I love you all.
Regards,
Eric
June 22 Friends PhotosI will continually update my "friends" photos section. I look forward to seeing you there. You are a noble human being. June 21 Houses of WorshipWarm and loving greetings to you,
I've created a photo album titled "Houses of Worship". These are photos of the Baha'i Houses of Worship in the world. I've personally only been to one so far. Last October I had a fantastic visit to the one in Wilmette, Illinois. If you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommed visiting these holy places. They are architectural masterpieces. They are gathering places for all the people of the world, of all religions. Everyone is welcome to come and pray and meditate. Of course there is no charge. Payment for the upkeep and contruction of these buildings is a great privelege reserved for the Baha'is. The appreciation asked for is that you simply enjoy yourself while visiting. There are some very interesting details about the significance of these buildings and the plans for future ones to be built. You can find out more here:
This link has a detailed description of what Baha'i Houses of Worship are. Enjoy! Current thoughtsToday was great. I attended two English classes at a co-medical college this morning, and one at a jr. college. These classes are where I make many of my friends here in Japan.The classes usually begin with the students asking me simple questions like: where are you from? what is your favouriate sport?and, do you like nato? Then I ask them some simple questions. The students love to laugh a lot and many of them are very shy. We do exercises from books, or we watch a movie, or we just sit around and talk. Today some of us were doing handstands for the class. I give out my e mail adress to so many people. I probably get 1 response for every 4 people that I give it out to, or something like that. This Friday there will be about 20 of us going bowling. After bowling a bunch of them want me to go to a dance they organized. I don't know if I will go. Dancing is great fun, but if it is all hip-hop and rap and alcohol being sold, which it sounds like it is, then I probably will not go.It would be real fun to go though because everyone would be watching me because I am the oddball foreigner and I could make them laugh.
This evening I went to an English Social Society, or English Speaking Society, I forget which it is called. We are all friends at this one and all have a real good time joking around and talking. This one is at Yamaguchi Prefectural University. There are usually around 5-8 people attending, and they are around 19 years old. After the class most of us went outside and chatted for a long time. We really crack each other up.
I'm falling in love with Japan more and more lately. The people are,for the most part, very gentle, pure, uncomplicated, kind and realistic. I would love to mix in some of the better parts of Canadian culture with Japanese culture and then have an even better culture. One of the features of this combination would be that people have all the courtesies of the Japanese and some more of the liberal, free-thinking ways of the West. Lately I am thinking that in Western culture we are making a lot of things more complicated than they need to be. Let's learn to live together and not pressure others. There are a lot of kinks to be worked out all over the world. We need freedom for sure, but when are we going to start taking a proportional amount of responsibility? In Japan I am seeing more of a balance than I have ever seen anywhere. I love the simplicity. I love to meditate here. Maybe I will move here one day. I would need to become quite fluent in Japanese, though, so I would get a sufficient amount of conversation that addresses significant issues and not just the mundane and everyday topics.
I enjoyed writing this blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it.
Regards,
Eric June 20 First EntryHello there,
Whoever this is I hope that you are happy and healthy. It is late right now and I just created my msn space. In the future I will add more blog entries, photos, and other details. I always love to have fun with people. I never can have enough friends, so please consider yourself invited to be my friend. That's all for now. Have a really happy day.
Regards,
Eric |
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