Slot car racing track

Simply, amazing.

I am always amazed by people who can build cabinet, furnitures, houses etc etc etc.

I am amazed by people who can design things on a paper, and build it into a real thing.

My husband is one of those amazing person.

At Christmast time, he bought a slot car racing track for our children.

It was only a figure 8 shaped, two lanes racing track. 

Then he thought,

"We need more tracks to make it bigger."

So then it is more fun!

He researched and found out that there are such thing as wooden track, 
and it could be custom made.  


He thought,
"I can build that ! "


Instead of buying the plastic tracks to extend the road, he started to design
on a paper, and started to build a wooden slot car racing track.


Then the magic begins.


Please just watch the video clip, and you will see!

click here to watch the slot car track building video !

Simply, amazing.

Reiki class or lunch party?

As you know, I love Reiki.


I love teaching Reiki, I love doing the Reiki treatments, and I love the way Reiki brings wonderful people into my life and we shine, glow, and grow together.


When I teach Jikiden Reiki, I always recommend people to come back again to review
 the class.


Especially for the people who learned Reiki or even the concepts of energy healing for the first time.  I think the second class is the time we really start to understand what is Reiki.


I have been learning with Mr.Tadao Yamaguchi since 2006.  I have taken his class for 2 times as a participant, and 5 times as an interpreter.  But I still learn new things every time!


It is because there are different people in a class, and people ask different questions and share different experience. 




Anyways, when I teach Jikiden Reiki class at my class in my Reiki room in sweet home, there are always few people who learned in a past who want to review the class.  


When I started to teach Reiki class, I found that the lunch time is a fun time to get to know each other, especially having review people, it made the lunch time even more fun!




Conveniently, one of my Japanese mama friends started to do catering meals, so since 2008, I have been asking her to cook lunch and desert for my Reiki class, and it has been so wonderful !




I love food.   Luckily, I don't have any food allergy.




I love food too much, and I don't think I can ever pursue a vegan diet, vegetarian diet, micro-biotic diet, low carbo diet nor raw food diet. I eat fairly healthy, but I just don't like any restriction around the food, and I simply want to enjoy the eating time, especially the food that is provided from other people !!!




Masako, my friend who caters lunch for the Reiki class, cooks such an enjoyable food everytime!!!


Last weeks menu was salmon chowder with a bun bowl.  


When she cooks soup for the lunch, she usually bakes big size buns, and we use the home baked buns as soup bowls.  That itself is already impressive!




It came with a unique side dish this time. A smoke salmon roll with mushed potato.

Smoke salmon roll with mushed potato.
Unique combination and it was yummy !

Pumpkin salad with penne.

 
She always makes delicious dessert!!  Maybe not good for people who are trying to lose some weight or watch their diet, but hummmm it is yummy!


The dessert for this time was a Matcha cake. There is a sponge cake in the bottom, covered with fresh cream and then covered with Matcha cream. Matcha is a green tea power that is used for Japanese tea ceremony.

Matcha cake : Green tea cake 

People who took my Jikiden Reiki course in a past, they know the food is good.

I wonder if they are coming for Jikiden Reiki class, or to enjoy the food ?

Extra hands.

We had a wonderful Jikiden Reiki group practice group last night.






People who learned Jikiden Reiki with either Mr.Yamaguchi, Sharon Richlark, Paul Sexton , myself and other Jikiden Reiki Shihan or Shihankaku gather once a month and follow up the teaching by give and receive Reiki treatments.




Before the last night's practice group, I was coughing little bit.  (My little ones share their cold diligently with me. They are generous in many ways !)




After the 15minutes group session, my cough became dry and my breathing became
open, and I was very grateful and, again, amazed by how quickly Reiki can work
for minor ailment like this.




Anyways, I woke up this morning and thinking of the wonderful group session
that I received last night.


I was thinking about the moment when one person tapped my shoulder to 
let me know the 15minutes is over and time to get up.




I waited until the other hand on my chest would lift away.




Then I waited until the hands on my knees and bottom of my soles would lift away, but I could still feel the soft warm pressure on my knees and soles.




Then I felt another touch on my arm that told me, 
"OK, it is really finished, time to get up ~ !"




so I stretched and got up.




It felt amazing!




But as I was thinking about that moment this morning, I thought

"No, wait a minute!"

There were only two people working on me.

Laura on my chest, Norman around my head.

Two hands on my chest and two hands around my head.

Where did those hands on my knees and soles come from  ???

The funny thing is that I only realized this morning!

It often happens during the Reiki session when the practitioners hands are on head, but it feels like the hands are somewhere on the body.

Oh boy, It sure feels real.

accident + accident = coincidence ?

I love the moment when I get a phone call from my friend 
while I was thinking about her.


I love the moment when I make a phone call to my friend and she said, 
"I was just thinking of you!"


I love the moment when I make a phone call to my friend and the line was busy. 
But found out a second later that she was actually trying to call me.


I loved the moment when I was thinking of my grandma, grandma's music box
started the music.




I don't think this is accident.  I think, we are communicating already before we speak out.

When we think this way, I think, we can all be gentle each other.

My friend mentioned that her week has been mean to her. Many trouble things happened at the same time, but luckily she has a good relaxing home.


Then next day she had her day started really well with a cup of tea, and she thought today would be wonderful.




I emailed her back and said,
"Maybe I will drop by at your work place and we can made our day each other by hugs and smiles! "


She liked the idea.




I went out for grocery shopping. I drove by her work place, but decided to go to a post office first. The post office that is far from my home, not the closest one.




I was in a line and waiting for my turn.
There she is !

"Amber!!!"

Amber turned around and gave me a big hug and said.

"I LOVE THE WORLD!"

I absolutely love the world, too!

Accident is not an accident, it is meant to be, I really think so.

Reiki is a compassion in action.

When I learned Reiki for the first time in 2005, I was pregnant for our third baby.


I had 3 years old boy, 1 year old girl and a baby in my belly.  It was such a busy time, and I never had a quiet time until I went to bed.

Just before the third one come to this world. 

I was exhausted. I love my children dearly, deeply, and I can never love someone unconditionally, just like other parents love their own children.  

But I missed my quiet time. 

Anyways, I decided to learn Reiki, because I wanted to help my daughter's Eczema.


But I noticed my mind became quiet after I learned Reiki. 


I still did not have quiet time physically, I was still chasing after kids, feeding, cleaning bits of foods on the floor, finding puzzle pieces in my shoe, scrubbing the finger prints on the wall, etc etc ETC !

But I noticed my mind became awfully quiet, calm and peaceful.  

My teacher, Mr.Yamaguchi suggested to recite Gokai, the Five principle of Reiki in the mornings and the evenings.  He also suggested to give Reiki to other people, and do self treatment when I go to bed.


I did NONE of that as my day started even before I woke myself up, and my day ended before I noticed.

The only thing I did was to give Reiki to my daughter.

Only 20~30minutes everyday when she went to bed, 

while I was half asleep.

I felt lazy by not pursuing my teacher's suggestion, but this was the maximum I could do at that time.

But, besides the quiet mind, I had another big changes in me.

My nightmare stopped, completely.

Since my mother's unexpected death in 1997, I developed an uncontrollable nightmares. There was one point that I did not want to go to sleep because I knew I would wake myself up with nightmare that would keep me awake. 




I thought, "Could the nightmare be stopped just by learning Reiki?"

Could it be that simple?  

Yes, Reiki is so simple, but powerful and it works up on each person's needs.

Seriously, this is true !!! 

The beauty of Reiki is that simplicity.

You don't need educational back ground,
no analyzing,
no memorizing,
no believing,
no convincing,
no electricity plug,
no bottle of herbs and oils,
no massage table,
no papers, 
really, nothing.

You are there, and treatments are there.

How simple is that !!!


I really want many people to have this wonderful skill in their life!


People do not have to become practitioners, they can just use for themselves, 
friends and family. 

You are there, and treatments are there.

This time of my life, watching my country being in a hard time with a huge earthquake.
Thousands of people died, thousands of people are still missing, thousands of people are injured, thousands of people are grieving.

A man confort a woman crying infront of her house.

While money donation leaks out through the process and not 100% of your donation reach to the people.




I think, doing Distant Reiki is the direct donation to those people in the devastated area.

I truly appreciate to have Reiki in my life again.

"Reiki is a compassion in action." by our sensei, Chiyoko Yamaguchi.

Two languages, two bridges.

In 1999, when I came to Canada for the first time,  my brain ached.


With my experience, Brain-ache is very different than the headache.


It is like over-used-muscle that aches.  




I had to listen very carefully what people are saying in English, 
and I had to understand in Japanese.
Then I had to think of what to reply in Japanese and translated 
my thought into English.




By the time when I was ready to reply to the conversation, the subject 
had moved on and I missed the opportunity to speak up my opinion.


That was the beginning of my life in Canada, 1999.

My best friend was a electric dictionary !!!

Over the years, my brain started to think in English and my dream became all in English.




But I had the same brain-ache last week while I was translating between Japanese and English.

"I remember this pain, from 1999..."

My Reiki teacher came from Japan and offer his class.  As he does not speak English, I was there to translate the entire class.


That means,
His Japanese into English,

Japanese student's Japanese into English so then Canadian students will understand,

Canadian student's English into Japanese.

It is 4 times more conversation is happening in my head !
After few days, my head got used to the unusual activity, 
so the brain-ache was gone, phew!!!




Originally, I thought this would be easy for me as I speak both language at home, and I always translate for kids and my husband if they don't understand.




But when it comes to the class, it requires lot more focus, and also I hold responsibility that I can not miss any teaching contents that my teacher is giving to his students.

In 1999, I never thought that I would do translation for anyone as I had a very little English skill.




When I came to Canada, I wanted to be a "bridge" between Japan and Canada in some way, but I did not know what I could do to be a "bridge" with having a poor English skill.

In 11 years, I think I have been building two bridges!!!

One bridge is to teach Reiki, the Japanese treatment method, to Canadians.
Another bridge is to translate my teacher's class.




Both bridges are in on-going construction and I keep putting effort to make those bridges to be strong so then many people can go across without falling!




For people who went across those bridges, 

"Thank you for your trust! Please come back again to cross the bridge!!!"

Doll Festival - Hina Matsuri

Lately, I have been so busy with the preparation of Jikiden Reiki Vancouver seminar
with Mr. Tadao Yamaguchi...

I realized that I have not write my blog for over 2 weeks!

Today, I would like to write about "Doll Festival", in Japanese we call 

"Hina Matsuri"

"Hina Matsuri" takes place on March 3rd, and celebrates "Girls Day". Today is the day families pray for the happiness and prosperity for their daughters and to help ensure that they grow up healthy and beautiful. (Well, we pray everyday, not only March 3rd.)

Displaying the dolls are meant to ward off evil spirits from girls
and wish children's happiness in future.

People display dolls in a certain way.

This is one of the full 7 rows expensive set.

Happy couple on the top, 

three ladies (Kanjo or Miko) in the second row, 

five musicians (Gonin Bayashi) in the third row, 

some foods,

three body guards (zuijin) in the 5th row,

then some furnitures.

I don't have the full set like this, but I have this cute ones!

Hina doll sets always has a happy couple on the top.

These three ladies in the second row are "Kanjo" or "Miko"
Mikos are there to support the happy couple.

This set only came with the couple. 

He looks a bit serious while she looks easy going.

That might be the key for a happy marriage ?

 This is a cute set for cat lovers.

 This is my special display.

When my daughter was born, my friend, Wakana, made this paper art

to celebrate my daughter's first doll festival.


This is not a drawing!

Paper art is another Japanese culture, called Chigiri-eh.

Cut and paste coloured papers to make art.

Some towns in Japan, they make straw dolls like this. 

Bring it to the river or ocean and let them float, 

so then the doll will take the troubles away from children.  

I just love those little customs in Japan.  

In Jikiden Reiki class, we always talk about "Miko"


Because Miko(巫) is a part of kanji charactor of Reiki 靈氣。

Old days, Miko were the ladies who serve for god. 

Old days, Miko were like spiritual midiums who receive messages from god and

passed the message to people to help open up their life path.
They took important to role in humans lives.

These are Mikos in Hina Doll display.

They are Mikos in real life.

Accept, not expect, is the key for happy relationship, I think.

I hope you enjoyed reading about Hina Matsuri !!!