In late September, I went out and walked the labyrinth. I felt power / energy as I asked for unlocking and opening with respect to this trip. Early in November, a friend referred to this trip as a pilgrimage for me. I could feel that. And, indeed, the Japan experiences were powerful

November 8, the adventure begins. I had a 10am flight out of Heathrow and it was suggested to give three hours to drive there. I was awake at 3:03am, before my alarm went off, so I got up. I felt I was leisurely in last minute things to do and I left home about 3:30am, when the alarm to wake up would have sounded. It was an easy drive. Finding long-term parking was easy and I was at the shuttle stop by 6:30am. Perfect timing to be to the airport 3 hours early. There were no queues. Everything was simple and quick. I had plenty of time. While I was sitting in the main waiting area, a staff person came and offered to show me a more comfortable waiting area. Perfect! It is near Gate 24, Terminal 3, if you are ever there. It is called a rest and relaxation room. It just happened to be right next to my gate. What a great start to my trip!

We boarded the plane on time. I don’t remember anymore what the delay was, but there was a delay while we were on the plane. I started feeling nauseous. I focused on my breathing. I felt too sick to want to get up to use the toilet. I checked for a vomit bag and there was one. I opened that and breathed into that, holding my head with my hands. I dry heaved three times. Then breathed again. There was an empty seat next to me. I asked the gentleman in the aisle seat if it was okay if I laid my head down on the seat between us. I made sure my seatbelt was on and visible. I laid down. I was too sick to get off the plane. I wondered how I would manage the next days of travel. I decided not to eat or drink anything. I slept. I don’t remember the plane taking off. I found a nice note when I did wake, about 8 hours later, saying if I needed anything to ring the bell and they would be happy to help.

I fell back to sleep, and woke up again about 2 hours before the end of the flight. I was feeling better. I started drinking water. I ate breakfast when they served it, and I felt great by the time we landed. It reminded me of a vomiting / shingles episode I had right before my first Reiki attunement. It felt like an initiation or an activation. What a crazy start to my trip!

November 9, I landed in Tokyo. Amy met me at the airport. Yay!! We walked to our Airbnb and then went out for a walk, and visited a shrine, and found a nice place for lunch. It was great to just walk, to just be there, start to feel it.

November 10, we took a short flight to Miyazaki and to our next home for five nights. It was a super cute little home, with a field of cosmos flowers in bloom in the back. Gorgeous! In the last two days, Amy and I have had conversations all across the board. I feel like we are doing something. Mostly, I am just aware of how good I feel, that beautiful high energy. I realized tomorrow is Earth Family Festival! In some ways, that is what we came for and it was here already. I felt myself questioning what I wanted to wear. I brought a dress for it. That had felt right at home. But it is an outdoor festival. Jeans would be perfect.

Overnight was a working space. Amongst what I saw was pieces to share with Amy from one of our conversations, allowing multi-dimensional levels to open for her in this space of what she wants. I saw I needed / wanted to wear the dress I brought to the festival. It was about showing up. It was similar to wearing the red dress for the first Moments with Marybeth, even though I did not expect anyone to show up. And the third piece I saw will take a little bit of background to explain.

Approximately 30 years ago, I discovered a lump in my right groin area. I went to a doctor. It had disappeared, but he told me it was most likely a hernia. He said if it ever caused pain to let him know. I was working with an energy worker back then. She was a Barbara Brennan graduate and worked with the Qabalah. I asked her about it. She intended to heal it, but in the session was told she was not allowed at that time. She said I hold the rift, the separation between the masculine and the feminine. There was a golden thread that stitched it so it would not get worse, but it could not be healed then.

For whatever reason, that made sense to me back then. It has come back to my awareness over the years. I did things to heal the hernia or allow it to heal. It would go away for years at a time. I have not thought about it in years. After Bev, 30 years ago, I have not asked anyone else for help. I heard myself say to Amy that I was going to ask a healer friend of mine to assist with healing this now. And I heard myself put some words around what that would do, what meaning it would have. There was not a clarity in my words, so I went back and looked at it later.

One, I do not recall any thought prior to saying that out loud to Amy. Yet, I heard myself say it as though I had thought it out and decided, not that it was a new consideration. Two, the meaning I tried to put to it didn’t make sense. I was trying to back into some possible meaning on an esoteric scale from healing the physical hernia. But then I turned it around. The hernia is a physical symptom to remind me that I hold this separation of the masculine and the feminine in me.

It is in me. Therefore, I have access to it. Therefore, I have authority to heal it. I was aware of this conscious movement between the individual with the hernia and the expansiveness of creation before the separation. The fractals. There is expansion and contraction.

I choose in that moment to heal the rift that divides and separates the masculine from the feminine. I am talking about the sacred here, not men and women, but the fundamental energies. First and foremost, I forgave myself for every action or inaction on my part that helped to cause it. Second, and much lighter, was forgiveness to all others for any part they played. I believe there was a third part I saw. I do not remember it now.

It was all light. There was no thinking. But there was seeing the thoughts and consciously agreeing with them. It happened quickly.

That night, for what seemed like a long portion of my night, I had a lot of pain in the hernia area. I worked with it consciously as long as there was pain. I do not know if it was resolved or just set in motion. But a very ancient piece of separation is in motion of being healed.

November 11, Earth Family Festival day. It was at a beautiful park location. There were trees, water, trails. It was simply gorgeous to be there. And there were tents and stages and information and food booths. We met people. We watched, listened, ate, and drank. Local, probably high-school age, children did reports in poster form of each of the indigenous tribes that had connected with this Aska project. I was reading each one. I came across a definition of Pilgrimage.

“When going on a pilgrimage, you must be pure in your intentions. I am not just wandering in a sacred place, but walking with a purpose. I give myself completely. The goal of a pilgrimage is to establish a connection, a union. I turn to these sacred lands for help and information. This comes in forms of signs from nature. These signs can come later as an insight or in a dream.”

This reminded me I was on pilgrimage. This reminded me of my knowing last night in choosing to show up energetically today. It is about being purposeful.

A little later, we were sitting at a stage listening to a shaman from Russia and the translations. Or it could have been during the next talk with the chief and son of the chief of the Winnemem Wintu tribe from near Mount Shasta. I was listening. I also heard the music from the stage just behind us. I was also aware of the field of grass behind us. I went into an altered state with the music. I thought I was still listening to the talk. I was also watching and directing the movement of energies above my head, and I was also dancing barefoot in the grass amongst the people (in my head. Literally, I was just sitting there.) It lasted a long time. When it was complete, I knew I had received what we came for. And I knew I needed to lie down. I could have done it right there on the grass.

I spoke with Amy, and we decided to head back to our home to take a nap and get some food before going out to the night event. I laid down when we got there, not even changing out of my dress. I knew we had an alarm set. I slept soundly, maybe two hours. There was a moment I woke and I decided to get up. Amy had not slept, but suggested we should leave in about 15 minutes. She had dinner prepared for me, and that I could eat in the car on the way if I needed to. I quickly changed, ate, and we were off for the evening.

It was a ceremony at the Peace Tower Park. Again, a magnificent place to be. Each of the tribes was doing a ceremony one after the other, to bring it all together, one big prayer of peace. I closed my eyes and listened a lot. We both felt the energy was complete. We ended up leaving early as we were cold, and there was a story around that and more I learned or was highlighted, but that is a story for another day.

November 12. Wow! We woke in a new energy. There was purpose. There was focus. In all of our talks to this point, neither of us reached for a recorder. This morning, we did purposefully set up to speak and record. I will transcribe the work yet, and those teachings are for another day also. But I do remember hearing from Amy and seeing clearly pieces that need to be in my books. There was strong energy for me to write my first book. And it felt really good. We spent the morning in this new energy, looking at different topics and questions.

As things played out, we had a change in plans about noon, and decided to attend the after-festival beach party. On one hand, there was singing and dancing and creating sticky rice by pounding it. I found myself looking around to see where I was, Glastonbury or other, to see how this would be received. Then I remembered I was in Japan. That was a fun experience. Just watching people have fun. Seeing all people in these people. On the other hand, we were at the ocean. We were at a party at the ocean. I felt Uncle Lee. I felt Lee’s funeral party at the beach in California.

This trip was like that. I experienced new things, new places, new people. And I felt so at home, so at peace, so familiar. It did not feel like a vacation. It did not feel like a break from my real life. It felt like me. It felt like this is where I belonged today, like every other day. It was very special and precious. And I loved feeling at home and comfortable with it all.

November 13. We met up with a friend of Amy’s and two other people who were there for the festival. We were on our way to an authentic Japanese onsen. We all piled in one car for a road trip. On the way, we stopped at a large farm for fresh ice cream and some shopping, and pictures with the cosmos flowers. The experience at the onsen consisted of soaking in the hot springs bath before dinner. Wow. Amazing. So relaxing. And there was clay to do a face mask, or body mask if one wished. It was outdoors or indoors. I loved being outdoors. Magnificent. Then we put on our kimonos and headed to dinner, an absolute feast. There were many courses and many little plates within each course. I ate things I had never thought about eating. I enjoyed every bite. I did ask for a fork – that made it much more enjoyable than figuring out chopsticks, although now I may want to learn. It was an outstanding experience. The whole thing. The ease with the group of people. The relaxed state from the healing waters. And the excellent food and presentation. Every moment was filled with beauty.

November 14. We did some sightseeing, touring. We were at Kirishima Mountain. We went to a lookout spot and rode the ski lift chairs up and the sleds down. Then we met up with another small group from the festival and went to two shrines together. There was a significant piece for me at the second one. I will focus there.

One of the stories that came up in the original Zoom conversation with the Aska group was the forging of Excalibur with the metal from a Japanese mountain, Mount Aso. I don’t know if they knew the Excalibur myth, but I shared it. Today, Norie shared the family tree of the origins of Japan. Two gods came from the sky and used the handle end of the sword Excalibur to mix the land and create the Japan. We were at the mountain where the sword was placed after the creation of Japan, but we did not go to the spot. The family tree showed the two gods who came from the sky and their descendants through to the first Japanese Emperor. 

As we were walking up a beautiful pathway to the last shrine, there was a tree that called to me. I wasn’t sure if it was okay to step outside the path. I could only reach a root if I stayed on the path, which I knew would be enough. By the time I realized what I needed to do, the person I was walking with was ahead of me. I waited for the next part of our group to catch up and I asked. May I step off the path to go touch this tree? I received a yes. In hindsight, I believe there was significance that I asked.

I put my hand on the tree, but I needed to fully connect. I turned around and leaned against the tree, with my spine aligned. I shut my eyes and let the world spin. I connected me to the tree, to its roots, to Japan, to Glastonbury, indirectly to all land I have consciously connected to. I felt I could have stayed there for hours. But I felt I should continue on with the group. I tried to be patient enough to give the energy time to fully connect and do what needed to be done. There was an exchange of energy, or information. I consciously asked to receive all information and keys that it wanted to give me. I offered my services, my energy, if anything was desired.

Amy had waited for me and we walked up together. My mind is fuzzy here. I knew I needed to come to the top. I connected deeply at this shrine, showing up. I am here. As I have stated in Glastonbury. I acknowledged the gods there as though we knew each other. There was an honoring.

I was told this was the shrine of the two gods that came from the sky. That made sense with the level of energy I felt. And then I was brought to the gift shop and shown the Excalibur replica of their story. I am sure Norie use the word Excalibur for me. That is not their word, but it was the right one to use. It is the same as AA Michael’s sword. That is the only thing I bought while in Japan. And so, it is.

From there, I confirmed the group was going down the way we came up. I let someone know I was going to head back down to the tree and would wait there until it was time to leave the spot. And I did. I am connected fully to the origins of Japan.

November 15 was our flight back to Tokyo. I felt a tug at my heart strings as we met others at the airport. We made beautiful connections in a very short time. We had two nights in Tokyo. I was not interested in specific tourist experiences. I was ready to slow down and integrate. I skipped a breakfast meeting Amy had set up with an acquaintance. There may be more to that story, but that will have to play out yet. In the afternoon, we walked, sat, talked. It was a beautiful, relaxed day, just being in Japan.

Our flights back home were on the 17th. And life continues from there. There are pieces opening. I had / have what I believe to be nerve pain at the top of my spine and also in my left foot. That is still healing and seems to be part of the journey. I hope to meet those from the group that are coming to England in December for the last harmony stone ceremony. Their ceremonies have been done from the past, with the indigenous peoples. I offered the suggestion of adding our calcite ceremony to the one in England, consciously and intentionally bringing in the new world energies.