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The Power of God’s Truth
- Kiyoshi Shimada
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In today’s episode of Healing from Within, your host Sheryl Glick author of The Living Spirit: Answers for Healing and Infinite Love which shares stories of spiritual awakenings, spiritual communication, healing energies miracles and a way to go within to find your true Self, welcomes, Kiyoshi Shimada, a minister and representative for Master Ryuho Okawa, author of Messages from Heaven and founder of Happy Science, a spiritual movement dedicated to bringing greater happiness to humankind.
Mr. Shimada will share with us how Ryuho Okawa began to receive spiritual messages from Heaven in 1981 and how Holy beings appeared before him with impassioned messages urging him to deliver God’s words to Earth. His communications with Heaven deepened an understanding of God’s Truths. Ruyoho Okawa is a renowned author in Japan with a simple goal: to help Humankind overcome religious and cultural conflicts and achieve peace We may discover God’s designs and intentions –how God created our souls, all worlds and the Laws that are the fabric of the Universe.
MASTER RYUHO OKAWA started receiving spiritual messages from Heaven in 1981. Holy beings appeared before him with impassioned messages of urgency, entreating him to deliver God’s words to Earth. Within the same year, Master Okawa’s deepest subconscious awakened and revealed his calling to become a spiritual leader who inspires the world with the power of God’s Truths. Through these conversations with divine beings and through profound spiritual contemplation, Master Okawa developed the philosophy that would become the core of his teachings. His communications with Heaven deepened his understanding of God’s designs and intentions—how He created our souls, this world, the other world, and the Laws that are the very fabric of the universe. In 1986, Master Okawa founded Happy Science to share God’s Truths and to help humankind overcome religious and cultural conflicts and usher in an era of peace on Earth. The universality and integrity of his spiritual teachings, delivered in his uniquely simple and pragmatic way, have attracted millions of readers and followers in over one hundred countries. In addition in 1986, Master Ryuho Okawa founded Happy Science, a spiritual movement dedicated to bringing greater happiness to humankind by overcoming barriers of race, religion, and culture and by working toward the ideal of a world united in peace and harmony. Supported by followers who live in accordance with Master Okawa’s words of enlightened wisdom, Happy Science has grown rapidly since its beginnings in Japan and now extends throughout the world. Today, it has twelve million members around the globe, with faith centers in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tokyo, London, Sydney, Sao Paulo, and Hong Kong.
Okawa writes, “Gradually, I became used to having daily communication with the spirits. And then I received a message that had a profound effect on my perspective. During the initial period of automatic writing, I had asked Nichiren my guide what my mission on Earth was—what I had been sent here to do. He answered, “Love, Nurture, and Forgive.”
I considered the meaning of this simple message for several months until finally I understood that it summed up the core of the philosophy I was to develop and the core of my work in this world.
I realized that we experience happiness when we feel that we have grown and when we increase our presence in the world. The wish to be recognized and appreciated must come from the desire to grow, but taking love from others cannot fulfill this desire. That would be merely an attempt to fill in the parts of ourselves that we feel are missing. Self-development in the truest sense is planting a part of your own soul, spirit, mind, or heart in others. It is about having a positive influence on others through your way of living or thinking.
Some general tenants of this higher thinking are:
We generally think that we lose something when we give and gain something when we receive. But the more we give, the more we grow.
The true path to self-development does not lie in defending our own interests.
True happiness can only be found by understanding our true worth as human beings and by being of service to others.
Sheryl Says In reference to that thought on giving and receiving and feelings of loss…. “In my book “The Living Spirit Answers for Healing and Infinite love” I express these ideas of loss by sharing 2 stories of lost rings and wrote, “Our loved ones in Spirit can even help us by sending us messages about items we have lost. I was reminded of this when my husband David traveled with me to California for a family visit and David told me he had lost his wedding ring…I had learned to accept loss as a necessary way to find something greater. His ring was found in the car upon our return and immediately after we returned a young woman at the office told me she lost her engagement ring. I told her about David’s ring and how Spirit had guided him to remember where it was. While we don’t like to lose things, sometimes a loss helps us detach from the material world so we can see the larger world beyond the physical…Are these just two stories of rings lost? Actually, they were stories of what could be found when we had true faith and allowed help from a higher dimension. Trust and faith in ourselves and in those who support us, both here on Earth and from above are always available. We need only ask.”
After Okawa’s Chapter on Jesus and his messages to the world he goes on to discuss The Life and thoughts of Shakyam or Buddha. Each spiritual teacher and leader Jesus Moses Buddha and others were of similar energy and offered divine messages so we would do well to find the common ground and love they all expressed rather than focus on ceremony or ritual that are unique to each system. Hear the words of Divine Love and Compassion in the larger framework of knowing yourself and the Universe in a more realistic and divine way. Finding one’s true self and is similar to Jesus’s discoveries of self investigation and a connection to the Divine as were numerous other messengers who loved Spirit and sought enlightenment?
All spiritual leaders share a great truth that is discovered by spiritual seekers. Do Not Fear Loneliness; Embrace the Time of Solitude.
Master Okawa wrote…. “My beloved disciples, as you walk on this path to enlightenment, you need to keep a strong mind. Prepare yourself to endure this long journey alone. Be prepared for loneliness. Develop your ability to bear this hardship, for this ability is the key to victory in life. You must endure loneliness before you can achieve true success, for true success requires a time of solitude. A time of gaiety may come later, but loneliness; always precedes success. How you live through these times of solitude determines your success.”
Okawa downloaded from Spirit messages like the following…”My people, from now on, make constant effort with untiring perseverance. Engrave your heart with the many lessons that you’ve learned, for this is how you will walk the path of diligence. I have taught Right Effort in my teaching of the Eightfold Path. Many people today may not understand what Right Effort truly means, but I say to you that the path of Right Effort will infinitely refine your character. It is an eternal path that leads to Buddha. You must never give up on walking this path. Even if you fall down, exhausted, you must never turn back. Even if you are unable to move forward any more, do not look back. Stay where you are, and take a short rest. Rest until your strength returns, and then resume your journey on the path of improvement..This is a great mission that has been entrusted onto you
The Laws are powerless unless they are used to improve humankind. To make them truly empowering, those who learn them must muster courage, fill themselves with wisdom, and walk the path of improvement with hope. You must walk this path of improvement, for this path will take you to your ultimate goal of enlightenment.
We might ask ourselves why so many people complain. Complaints are triggered by a lack of ability or a lack of self-confidence. When you feel a need to complain, you must encourage yourself. You must cheer yourself up. Tell yourself that you are a far greater person than that. Tell yourself that you were created by Divine Light. Divine Life resides within you. Encourage yourself to shine with a greater and brighter light. Your urge to complain will leave you. You may also complain when you feel fatigued. This is a normal human tendency. But if you find yourself wanting to complain when you feel tired, you should instead remain silent. When you feel the need to complain, silence yourself and take a deep breath. Then strive to detach yourself from that thought as quickly as you can. Some people complain because they cannot accomplish what they desire. Some of you may hold grudges because there are things that you know you cannot obtain, no matter how hard you work for them. But what good comes from complaining about it? Do you think complaining will help you progress toward your desires?
Complaining about your inability to accomplish something only pushes you farther away from your goal. Instead of complaining, quietly store up power within you. Look toward the future and keep working diligently and silently. No one has ever succeeded without effort. You will not develop spiritually by experiencing easy success. Easy success is like a castle in the air: it will crumble in the end.
You cannot accomplish anything without diligent effort. You cannot achieve success without perseverance.
Some of the poisons of the mind according to Buddhist philosophy are ignorance, greed selfishness anger. Improving yourself to become a greater soul every day is the true purpose of your life. This is the true value of your life.
Ignorance is a poison we must recognize and conquer to walk a path to self knowing and self improvement. Take a look around the world, and you’ll see fools everywhere. Can you tell the difference between those who are ignorant and those who are not? You may try to distinguish between the two based on intelligence. But ignorance does not entirely depend on intellectual ability. It depends on a person’s awareness of what his or her soul needs. Now take another look around you, this time paying attention to who lacks this sort of awareness.
You will find that many people are indeed living the lives of fools, and you may even find that you yourself are one of them.
Living as a fool is like producing a poisonous toxin in your mind without even knowing what you are doing to yourself. You know that if you consume toxic food, your body will grow weak and eventually die. So why do you not realize that when you feed poison to your soul, you are killing it? Why do you not see what you are doing?
My people, listen carefully to my words. Without realizing it, each and every day, you are poisoning your soul. Each and every day, you are drinking arsenic. It may be just a small dose each day, but if you consume poison every day, it will accumulate inside you and will eventually kill your soul. What does it mean for your soul to die? It means that your soul will no longer possess the divine nature with which you were originally endowed. It means you will have resigned yourself to living in a way that contradicts the very purpose for which you were created.
You may accumulate great knowledge, memorize much information, and visit many countries, but none of these will make you wise: to be truly wise, you must understand your own mind.
Those who know and control their mind and awaken to their true self will become wise even if they lack worldly knowledge or experience. My people, do not put the cart before the horse.
You must begin your work by governing yourself. No matter how much money and time you spend and no matter how much help you receive from others, you will never be wise until you know and control yourself. You must know yourself well. Knowing yourself means knowing that you are a child of Buddha or whatever leader of the religious practice you participate in. The energy of a spiritual Source is always of one Mind and the hope is for Higher Awareness, Love and Compassion. The truly wise do not seek respect from others, for they realize that their bodies and souls have come from Him.
I say this again. You must know yourself well. Make this your first goal. To be truly wise, you must know yourself before you try to know the world and other people. No matter how much knowledge you accumulate, if you are not aware of your true nature, you will remain ignorant.
Another poison of the mind is Greed. Kiyoshi wrote in Messages from Heaven….“You must begin by abandoning your greed. Do you know what a greedy mind is? It is a mind that constantly seeks to take. It is a mind that always desires more and more. A greedy mind might desire status, promotion, or fame. When you continuously covet, like a starving ghost that never gets full no matter how much it eats, your soul falls into an unfathomable depth of stagnation.” My people, you must deeply reflect on your mind. If you find a strong sense of greed there, you should know that you are a fool. Stop clinging to social status, career advancement, fame, and pride. It is a greedy mind that gives rise to the desire to be thought highly of, to be respected, to be admired, to become famous, and to exercise your authority over others.
My people, if your mind is poisoned with greed, immediately take hold of the greed and discard it from your mind. You must not allow it to enter your mind again. Shut the door of your mind and never again grant it access to your heart. That expresses the mind of offering. A mind of offering is a mind that cares for others. It is a mind that wishes good things for others. It is a mind that serves others. If you do not have a mind of offering, then the teachings of Buddha will be meaningless. The teachings of Buddha are meant to help you serve others, give to others, and love others.
Be Kind, Not Selfish
Another kind of foolishness is to lack kindness in one’s heart. Some people do not realize how important it is to be kind. Those who lack kindness in their hearts think nothing of shoving people
aside, asserting superiority, and demanding obedience. These people are not aware of the tremendous life mistakes they are making.
To be kind is to help others feel happy to be alive. Having kindness in your heart is the greatest proof that you are a child of Buddha.
True kindness may also lead to true sorrow which are necessary for your deepest spiritual growth. Many of your fellow human beings are experiencing great pain and suffering. Bound by their physical limitations, faced with many impediments to enlightenment, with few chances to attain spiritual awakening, they live lives of suffering. Animals and plants are suffering as well. When you see all the pain and suffering that fills this world, when you see the thorns that pierce people, it’s only natural to want to remove the pain. To feel the pain and sadness of others and shed tears for them is to have great compassion, or as I sometime say, great sorrow. These are the tears of Buddha’s mercy.
My people, when you no longer feel sad for others, you become self-centered. You begin to think only about yourself and your own happiness; you focus on your own sorrow. But thinking about your own sorrow will not help you improve the world. To create a better world, you must remove the thorns and poisonous stings from the hearts of others. This is the mindset you should have. So remember to keep looking at the world around you. Look at the people, animals, and plants. Feel their sadness. Their sadness will tell you what this moment requires of you.
Those who think only of their own happiness and their own protection put forth untiring effort to benefit themselves, but the direction of their efforts is the opposite of the will of Buddha. They do not understand that by seeking only to benefit themselves, they are actually harming themselves. They do not understand that they were not born to be selfish. Neither were you born to devote your life solely to yourself.
You have been blessed with unparalleled compassion to have been born into: devote your life to quenching the thirsty hearts of many people. Do not think too much about yourself. Do not think only of your own happiness. Long ago, I taught you that your efforts to benefit yourself must not bring harm to others. You should never wish to hurt or harm others. Your efforts to benefit yourself must always benefit others as well. When you take good control of yourself, govern your mind, and polish your soul, you will enter a wonderful world. Your efforts to refine yourself should help others improve themselves and help make this world that Buddha has created a more wonderful place.
We can look at anger, another poison of the mind and see that we must never become angry.
Anger is another poison of the mind. You must not become angry. No matter what kind of humiliation you face, you must never become angry. This teaching is vital, especially for spiritual seekers. During the course of your spiritual discipline, you may be criticized, and you may be insulted. But as disciples of Buddha, you must endure these humiliations. You must not repay anger with anger. You must respond with gentle words. You must answer harsh criticisms with silence. Remember to smile. Remember to practice endurance and patience. Remember to persevere, for this discipline will make
you virtuous. To acquire virtue, you will need endurance. To be virtuous, you will need to respond to anger with gentleness, not with more anger. You must never, ever give in to anger.
Another poison to beware of is Envy…….Be Loving and Respectful, Not Envious. Envy is the most dangerous poison for those on the path to enlightenment.
Envy is evil because it does not make anyone happy. It brings unhappiness to both the envious person and the person who is envied. Envy disrupts the harmony and peace of the mind. Now that you understand that envy is evil, you must never be envious. If you meet people of high caliber, love them, respect them, and honor them. You can become like them only by honoring those who are greater than you. Honoring people of high caliber is your first step on the path of progress. Love and revere these people. Love those who have talent, experience, and wisdom. This is essential.
It is very important to know your true self. Know Your True Self. One kind of foolishness is to n Know Your True Self. One kind of foolishness is to not know oneself. Fools of this type
are proud of themselves when they do not even know their true self. You may read tens of thousands of books and travel the entire world, but to be truly wise, you must understand your true nature.
Holding true to your knowingness and self enable you to stand up and not be conquered…there is a time to resist injustice and ignorance anger and other poisons of the mind and societal mores…but always with love of humanity yourself and Universal Guidance.
So I think it’s okay to differentiate worldly matters from religious teachings. I believe we should allow a margin for interpretation of religious teachings so we can still do what needs to be done in this world, including the world of politics.
The roots of religious conflicts is that Muhammad could not tell who was sending the spiritual messages to him. Only a few prophets, if any, would have been able to identify which spirits were speaking to them…. Even Jesus Christ didn’t have a clear idea of who was actually sending him the messages he received. Moses and the other Jewish prophets couldn’t identify the spirits that were speaking to them,
either. That was why they called them all “God”—but they also referred to that god by different names, such as Yahweh, Jehovah, and Elohim. Similarly, Muhammad couldn’t tell who was speaking
to him, so he said that it was Allah. It requires an exceptionally high level of spiritual awareness to identify spirits, comprehend their characters, and understand their opinions on different matters.
Sheryl says “As a medium who receives messages for my clients and who believes we all have the gift of having a personal communication with Spirit, I often tell my clients that the information may be coming from loved ones, higher vibrational beings angels or spiritual teachers all under the umbrella or guidance of God and I don’t always know the messenger just that the message comes with love and hope for those receiving it to know themselves and our physical and spiritual life in a more inclusive and unified way…” Sheryl says Universal Source is all about our ability to manifest and create using our spark of divine essence which resides in our heart or soul being and is a force for opportunities to grow evolve and define ourselves our world and the forces of nature so we may learn to be grateful for this physical life and ability to refine ourselves both spiritually and in the physical world also.
Sheryl Says it seems then that each religion is guided by Spirit to continue to evolve and change and not remain stagnant or in a lower vibration.
Kiyoshi hopes that readers of Messages from Heaven take away with them after reading the book that that Heaven’s plan for global happiness is evolving religions with Eternal Truths strive to align to the higher dimensions of love and compassion and resolve ignorance anger hatred greed and replace those negative unproductive emotions with higher energies of love bliss health personal growth and spiritual or soul refinement and an improved world condition. One idea he would also most like to spread. His answer was equality. He said he would like to spread the idea of equality among human beings.
“A monotheistic faith, he said, teaches that only God should be revered—that all human beings are equal under God, so no one should be arrogant. I believe that people should have equal opportunities to succeed. To that end, we sometimes need to make adjustments so that the gap between people does not become too wide. Human beings have an inherent wish for equality, so the concept of equality may serve the good of the people. However, if you have to choose between freedom and equality, choosing freedom will lead you to greater happiness.”
Reading this book will show you your life gives you a chance to:
- Deepen your understanding of the purpose and meaning of life
- Improve your relationships as you learn how to love unconditionally
- Learn how to calm your mind even on stressful days through the practice of contemplation and meditation
- Learn how to overcome life’s challenges. . . and much more.
Kiyoshi tells us that reincarnation is one of the Truths that he has discovered about our souls. Reincarnation means that we may have been born in many different countries in our past lives. Someone who was born in Europe in this life may have been born in the United States, China, Korea, and Japan in past lives. Therefore, it’s meaningless to feel hatred against any group of people, just as it’s meaningless to believe that Heaven will guide only a select group of people or a single race or country—for we could have been one of “them” in a past life. In addition, it is not God’s nature to be selective or exclusive. God never labels one group good and everyone else evil. God is powerful enough to guide everyone.
Kiyoshi Shimada and Sheryl Glick have discussed how it is possible to download information from Spiritual energy, look at various religious leaders and belief systems and begin to understand ourselves as both spiritual and physical beings moving past the limitations of a physical world reality and the “poisons” or illusions of the mind that limit the growth of unconditional love self-investigation and self-mastery of emotions and making it possible for the development of unbounded compassion health vitality and prosperity and a greater view of Universal Source and the eternal nature of life.
In Sheryl’s book The Living Spirit, Sheryl addressed these same thoughts and the need for unity and a cooperative world populace by writing… “Life is about loving what is which is never perfect—just in a state of conscious change. If we forget about perfection and just be, we find love in our journey. Everything is perfect for self-discovery thus perfection is the ability to accept imperfection. There is no normal or abnormal, and no one way to live, love or develop our own personal paths. We are all dealing with wounds from this as well as previous incarnations, and as such are wounded citizens of the Cosmos…The important thing to remember is that in this life we can make new choices that will release these traumas to create better health more loving relationships and find a connection to universal energy while relinquishing blame, judgment, fear and ideas of our limitations. It is only when we create within ourselves a sense of personal power, courage, self-love and bravery that we can embrace both the gift of life and the challenges the Universe offers us.”
