It was Fatima-san's birthday.  Her wish for this day was to spend a part of it with friends in the Sacred Mountain and do the OM Chanting Ceremony.  And so, it came to be.
I met new beaming faces, already at the little mountain cabin as we arrived.  
-'My name's Gayatri Devi Dasi' said the beautiful woman in fuchsia pink.
-'I'm Surya Dev Das' said the tall gentleman.
-'I'm Yoginam Pub Das' beamed the kind young man.
I felt intrigued.  The Indian names I recognised, but the combination of Indian name spoken in context of Japanese language was new for me.  I felt a new adventure was waiting for me.
The wood cabin room is spacious.  The floor is covered with tatami mats.  I find tatami-mats very comforting and supportive to sit on, although having a cushion always helps.  Soon enough, we were sitting in a circle.  Gayatri-san started to explain OM Chanting in great detail; its story, how its done, its benefits, etc.  I felt very grateful for the length she went into to explain what OM chanting is, how it is done, why we do it, and how it benefits the individuals and the world.  I was convinced that I wanted to participate.  She demonstrated how the OM sound rises from the belly and traverses the whole body, rather than being just a nasal pronouncement.  The OM sound, rising from her felt so much rounder and bigger than her petit body, camouflaged in beautiful colours of dark pink and navy blue.

One thing that touched me in particular about the effects of OM Chanting was the purity it radiates to about 2 km radius around the place it has been chanted.  Secretly I thought to myself, this would be so helpful for my friends and folks in Iran and the Fertile Crescent.  We are so much in need of both physical and spiritual cleansing.  Could the OM Chanting really purify you?

Soon the room filled with our voices.  We sat in two concentric circles facing each other.  The voice came from the depth of our bellies and bones.  It reverberated through the body.  The M sound made me quiver.  At first I could not hold a stable M sound ... it just slipped away from me, and I could not chase it.  But I came back to it again, and again, and again.  With each repetition of the OM chanting the sound grew deeper in me.  Until, one moment, with wonder, I felt I could hold the whole OM sound steady and transcendent.  As I reached this level of steadiness images started to dance inside me.  I felt the forest around me, full of medicine and mystery.  I felt my ancestral roots in Japan.  A deep sense of gratitude bubbled up in me for this moment, for being in the forest with these friends, chanting OM and tapping into the well of mysteries of creation.  I became aware of the other streams of my ancestry, of my deep roots in Iran and the Fertile Crescent.  A deep wish bubbled up in me to connect, and bridge, and make known the magic of OM Chanting across my many worlds.  So many worlds exist in me, but I am only one woman.  So many worlds exist in our planet, and we are truly one world.

The OM Chanting was Fatima Suomi-san's birthday gift.  What a rich gift to give away!  I had asked Fatima-san what she wanted for her birthday.  She smiled and said 'harmony and peace in the world.'  Could this be possible, the cynic in me had its own opinion.  
After the OM Chanting Ceremony we sat in a circle again to share our experiences.  I heard each person express his and her personal journey with the sound of OM.  I felt something in me had grown, like I had become larger, rounder, more contained.   Each one had a unique encounter, and we all had something shared and in common.  A sense of roundness, like an encompassing skin surrounded our individual and common experience.  
​We went for a walk in the forest afterwards.  My senses were sharp and clear.  I smelled the tantalising Sansho tree ( a sharp pepper tree).  I could feel the heart of others around me.  I moved with gratitude and love as my eyes met the eyes of others in the forest.  I joined Fatima-san in her earnest wish for harmony and love in our world.  

https://bhaktimarga.jp/
https://bhaktimarga.co.uk

​On my last day in Japan, I was blessed by my visit to see Fatima-san (Suomi) and Yaqin-san (Yuya) in Nagano Prefecture.  They have kindly took me to the Hijiri Shrine, a Shinto shrine nestled in a radiant forest.
We walked the path through the thick bodies of trees to reach the shrine which was, just at that moment, illuminated by sun.  A small space in the shrine was created for humans to pay their respects to nature.  Behind the shrine a small pond contained the spring water coming from the mountain, which is always fresh and cold.  Tiny little fish flirt in the water of the pond.  Next to it, a sign carved in stone, announces that the pond, is a seed pond.  I don't know how this small body of cold water could be a seed pond, ecologically thinking, but something in my heart jumps up and down in delight.  Here, on my last day in Japan, I offer the intention of my journey - to sprout seeds of life, to the pond.

​I wrote a story in preparation for my journey to Japan, and to offer a workshop on Personal Seeds of Renewal for the Earth.  I followed a process I learned from Allan Kaplan from the Proteus Initiative.  After observing my present circumstances from various perspectives, I allowed my imagination to 'see' into the potential of my journey.  The story surprised me.  It also delighted me.  What follows is the myth of my Japan Journey.

​There is a woman who loves seeds, and she collected them whenever she could.  Seeds of all kinds : flowers and grass, grains and vegetables, trees and bushes.  She just loves plants, insects, worms ... anything that belonged to the category of life.  She had a big sac, in which she placed her seeds mindfully.  But her sac had a hole in it.  Just like Kokopelli who travelled from place to place, with his seed sac, and a hole in it.   Kokopelli, the seed collector, left a trace of life wherever he'd been.
She is particularly keen on human seeds - the potential of each person to blossom.  She also noticed that many people have forgotten their seeds, their gifts and essence of life.  So she decided to help those people to reclaim their seeds, and plant them for the sake of life.
She climbed up to the top of a tall tree.  From that height she chirped a bird song.  She sang for the people who could hear her to gather around the tree.  When she looked down, many people were gathered in expectant anticipation.  So she climbed down and sat with them.  They started a great conversation.  So many soulful stories were exchanged in their circle.  She helped each person to sprout their seeds, their potential to blossom.  And those who gathered around the Tree of Life went to awaken the seeds and potentials of others.  A ripple effect reverberated through the land.  The people who sprouted their seeds were no longer victims of circumstance, but agents for life.  They distinguished between love and domination.  With their power to discern, they made a difference  in the unfoldment of evolution on their land.
She perched up on her tree once again.  Looking at the landscape of her life, she could see undulating patches of time.  The patch of time she had spent in Japan were among the most colourful and abundant times of her life, such that from that patch of time, seeds of life kept forming and being released to regenerate life well into the future.  She felt the heart of Gaia beating with her gentle, soft, caring rhythm in the heart of everyone she knew.  She saw all this from her vantage perch on the Tree of Life.
​

I met Fatima-san (Suomi Sekiya) in Findhorn about 5 years ago.  She joined our 1001 Angels mosaic creations on our first day of the project, and her last day of a two-week stay in Findhorn.  By some good fortune our paths just crossed.  I was immediately curious about her, since she had so uniquely expressed two cultures I also felt a part of, namely a Sufi tradition in Japan.  I felt we have so much to explore together, but at that time we had very little time to invest in our explorations.  When the opportunity presented itself to visit her in Nagano prefecture, I approached her.  I was delighted to know that she could take a day off her work, which happened to be her birthday, to be with me and her partner Yaqin Nirdosh (Yuya Sato), and the Sacred Mountain of Hijiriyama, which she is a guardian of.  Both her name and her partner's name, Yaqin evoke deep feelings for me, as they are from my native tongue, Farsi.  Yaqin means certainty, Fatima, purity.  So together they speak of Pure Certainty to my soul.

Meeting Fatima and Yaqin at the Hijiriyama, which literally means Sacred Mountain, felt like a chord of destiny's been tugged.  I also found out they are both web-creators.  Since I've been looking for web-masters for Trees for Hope, I asked them if they could make our website, which they delightfully said yes!  My heart did a little dance at the top of the hill where we were standing to admire the view of the expansive North and South Japan Alps Mountains in Nagano.

Later on her birthday she took me to a remarkable restaurant called Momo, which means peach.  There she gave me her meishi, business card.  On it she lists a few things she offers the world as a way of her unique expression.  They include : Herbalist, Psychic Healer, Holistic Therapist.  As well she lists Meditation and Prayer, Deep Ecology, Permaculture, Co-Creation with Nature.  

Yaqin offers on his meishi (business card) : Meditation and Co-Creation Space.  His business name is Nirvana Lab.  I feel like I have just connected with two dear kindred spirits, on my last day in Japan!

http://nirvana-lab.com
http://devafatima.com
http://libernaturae.com
http://nuuralanuur.com

The time to take off for my journey to my mother's land finally arrived, about a week after summer solstice.  A dear friend, William Thomas has sent me a short clip of his Solstice Agnihotra Ritual atop a hill in Yorkshire.  
My husband, Alan dropped me off at Inverness Airport really early in the morning.  He was still recovering from his own travels to Ireland, where he was a speaker at a rewilding festival.  With me preparing for a long journey away from home, and Alan arriving from a stressful Airport Trauma in Dublin, there was much tension in the air.  But Alan delivered me very sweetly to the airport, as this is his way, accompanying me all the way to the final security checking point, beyond which he could not go.  We kissed and parted ways.  I knew he was with me on this journey, even though I was travelling alone.
Getting through security is an ordeal.  I queued up in the long line of people to board the plane.  I felt disturbed by the airport checks, and distressed by the prospects of my long journey ahead.  
Standing in the long queue, I looked at the app on my phone, and saw that I am yet to listen to William's gift ~ his Solstice Agnihotra video.  With the ear-buds in place, I pressed play.  Instantly I was transported to the hill-top, in the early morning of Summer Solstice.  As I listened to the song of the birds, the gentle vibrations of fire, the offering of ghee, the deep and calming chants of agnihotra, I felt the universe paused to listen with me.  
I released my stress to the fire.  Breathing in, and breathing out the rhythms of agnihotra calmed my pace.  When I finally stepped into the aircraft, I felt light.  Flying on wings of fire and a prayer in my heart, was the sounding note to start the flight towards my mother's country.
Thank you William for the purity of your Summer Solstice Fire.  The note you sounded cleared the path of my heart to start a long journey of discovery to Japan.  I am sharing your video here in the hope that it will reach those who read my blogs with their own long and challenging journeys, as an aid from beyond.  

طناز و نقره فام
از اولین پیشگامان جنگل
مژده آور حیات سبز

slender bodied and sliver hued
a forest pioneer
glad tiding of green life

majestic Scotts Pine
at home
Glen Strathfaarar

only dead fish swim with the tide
a living fish jumps up
defies gravity
shakes its tale in the storm
to reach home