Polish your mind to deflect the negative influence of ill wishes

Today, we live in a very stressful society. To add to the stress of everyday life, the world has become increasingly unstable due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Russo-Ukrainian war, and inflation, to name a few. It seems as if problems and troubles constantly appear, assailing us with worries, fear, and doubts. Although life’s events seem to befall us randomly, everything that happens in this world is subject to the law of cause and effect.

Because there is a cause for everything that happens in this world, we may be able to stop a negative circumstance from doing harm to us if we can discover its cause. Believe it or not, a lot of the pains, sufferings, and misfortunes that we encounter in life are actually caused by curses. A curse is a wish to bring other people unhappiness. Curses are everywhere around us, and we may not only be on the receiving end, but also be cursing someone without realizing it. How then, can we protect ourselves from these negative influences called curses?

Protect Yourself from Curses by Realizing that Like Attracts Like

The law of the mind we should be aware of when considering curses is that we attract those who are on the same spiritual wavelengths. Humans are like magnets; our thoughts attract spirits with similar vibrations. So, if you feel that you are being cursed–in other words, if you feel that other people have negative thoughts or feelings about you- you may want to check to see if you have any thoughts that are attracting them. Only when you know the cause, can you discover the solution. Once you know what is attracting the negative thoughts and emotion aimed at you, you will be able to find a way to repel them and protect yourself from harm and misfortune.

Polish the Mirror of Your Mind

What should we do if we feel that we are influenced by curses? Buddhism teaches that we can repel curses and protect ourselves by polishing our mind. Your mind works like a mirror reflecting the world and people around you. When your mind is like a clear and clean mirror, you can see the thoughts and feelings of other people just as they are. Those with negative or ugly thoughts would hate to have their honest thoughts come to light. By having a clear and clean mind like a polished mirror, not only can you tell what others are really thinking, you can also deflect any negative thoughts that are targeted at you.

But you won’t be able to repel them if the mirror of your mind is dirty. To maintain a clear and clean mind, take time to examine the state of your mind every day and wipe out any dirt or dust that may be sullying the mirror of your mind.

Removing Three Poisons of the Mind

Buddhism teaches that Three Poisons of the Mind, namely, greed, anger, and ignorance, stain our mind. To maintain a clean and clear mind, check to see if any of your thoughts and deeds arise out of these poisons, and remove them.

1. Greed

The first poison is greed. Greed is an insatiable desire for more than we deserve- status, fame, beauty, money, or reputation, for example- even at the cost of other people’s unhappiness. Greedy people usually do not realize they are being greedy, while it is quite obvious to other people. So if you want to know if greed is poisoning your mind, try to see yourself objectively by observing the words and reactions of the people around you.

To remove the poison of greed from our mind, we need to learn how to be content. When you are greedy, you tend to focus on what you don’t have. Try instead to focus on your gifts, be grateful for what you have, and find positive meaning in your life. Next, nurture a generous spirit by thinking about how you can give to the people around you and the world. This will help you get rid of attachments or cravings.

2. Anger

The second poison is anger. Anger is an animal instinct wanting to protect us from harm. When you fly into a rage, you lose control in the turmoil. The flame of anger hurts others, destroys relationships, and taints your own divine nature. When anger arises, take a deep breath. Try to find goodness in the person you are upset with and think objectively about whether there is anything you could have done or can do to improve the current situation. Restoring peace of mind is the key to curbing anger.

The world is full of people who don’t agree with us or listen to us, but we need to try to patiently cultivate understanding for those who criticize us. It is the spirit of patience, tolerance, and kindness that can help us understand each other. We can take the first step by aiming to cultivate a peaceful mind. If everybody were to find peace within, this world would naturally become a peaceful and beautiful place.

3. Ignorance

The third poison is ignorance, or lack of knowledge and understanding of the spiritual truths. Even those who are known to be keenly intelligent in the fields of science and technology cannot scientifically answer life’s basic questions, such as ‘Where do we come from before birth?’ and ‘Where do we go after death?’

Without a spiritual perspective, it becomes difficult to find the purpose and meaning of life.

One of the most important truths we should understand is that human beings were created by God and that we are born into this world to learn lessons and to cultivate our souls. Try to see your life from this perspective and see if you are making the right decisions every day in that regard. Practicing self-reflection, meditation, and prayer is the key to changing knowledge to wisdom, which removes foolishness from our mind.

Cultivating Peace and Clarity of Mind

We may not be able to completely avoid misfortunes, difficulties, and hardships in life. But if we take care to constantly polish our minds and fill our hearts with good thoughts toward others, our minds will tune with heavenly spirits, receive the light from God, and deflect the negative spiritual energy of others’ curses. By protecting ourselves from curses in this manner, we will bring more peace and happiness to ourselves and others.

Dramatization of the Release of Curses in The Divine Protector: Master Salt Begins

Mia Tomikawa is a consultant on The Divine Protector: Master Salt Begins, a new film from Japan about the Divine Protector, Master Salt, who is summoned by three young high school students to help them decipher the mysterious incidents that have plagued them recently. Master Salt expels the curse laid on one of the students by a jealous schoolmate, and the trio call her back to protect the other people in their lives who have been afflicted by others’ poisonous thoughts. Learn more about The Divine Protector:Master Salt Begins https://mastersaltmovie.com 

Mia Tomikawa

Mia Tomikawa is a producer on “The Cherry Bushido,” a film from Japan about a young Kendo (Japanese swordsmanship) devotee and group of friends who unite to protect Japan from the threat of extinction by its neighboring country. She is also a consultant on The Divine Protector: Master Salt Begins.

Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Mia Tomikawa moved to the United States in her late teens and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a BA in Communications Studies. She has a decade of experience in TV production in the US, overseeing all phases of video and film production, including casting, scheduling, and booking locations, as well as translation services.

In 2007, Ms. Tomikawa became Editor-in-Chief of IRH Press, a publishing arm of Happy Science, where she worked on the translation and publication of more than 30 titles. In 2018, she joined Happy Science’s media division to produce the award-winning film, The Real Exorcist. Happy Science is a global spiritual and religious movement founded by Ryuho Okawa. Its goal is to bring greater happiness and harmony to all people by integrating different religions and cultures.

mastersaltmovie.com%20

The post Protect Yourself from Curses from the Inside Out appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

With the global spread of the coronavirus pandemic, our life has forever changed. Inundated by the flood of information from media reports and social media posts, we find ourselves constantly living in fear that we may fall ill, lose our job, not be able to see our loved ones, or in the worst-case scenario, lose our own life. To help us overcome these anxious times, the film, The Cherry Bushido, presents us with 3 maxims for maintaining a solid, constructive, and positive attitude in this ever-changing world.

1. Live each day as if it were your last.

This is probably one of the most essential and powerful maxims introduced in the film, The Cherry Bushido. To live by this maxim, ask yourself the following questions when you wake each morning: “How should I live today if my life were to end tonight? What is it that I need to do? What is it that I will regret not having done?” In other words, create your own bucket list and write down all the things you would like to achieve before you die. Then as you live your day, keep asking yourself, “Am I making the right choices? Am I being true to myself? Am I really living the life I am supposed to live?”

If you knew you were going to die at the end of the day, you would probably finish your most important work, meet the people you really want to meet, and tell your family and friends how much you love them.

But many of us are deluded into thinking our life will last forever, and we put things off till the last minute or look away from truths that make us feel uncomfortable. We never know when our life will end. But if we live every day in a way that leaves us with no regrets, we will live a full and spiritually worthy life, no matter how long our physical form may last.

In the film, The Cherry Bushido, Satoshi Takayama puts this very nicely.

“As we have eternal life, what’s important is not whether we live or die, but what we accomplish in life.”

2. The way you think of yourself determines your future.

How often do we come to the realization that our thoughts can really change our life, future, world… in fact, everything?

If you think about it, almost everything that human beings have created sprang from a simple idea. So before getting yourself trapped in a box called “despair,” why not think of an idea that can change your life and your world for the better?

We human beings are essentially spiritual beings. We dwell in the physical body for a limited time, but after we accumulate experiences, knowledge, and wisdom here, we return to the spirit world. There, it is what we think that becomes who we are. What are the thoughts that are occupying your mind right now? Is it a selfish desire, frustration, discontent? Or is it generosity, selflessness, or understanding?

If you honestly and earnestly examine your thoughts, you will be able to find your true self and the future that your thoughts will lead you to.

Our everyday thoughts determine the course of our life, but in critical moments in life, it is our strong determination and belief that can open a new path. In the film The Cherry Bushido, when Japan is faced with threats of annihilation from its neighbor country, Shizuka offers a young patriot, Ryotaro, these inspiriting words: “Your courage can change your destiny. Your strong belief can open up a new path.” Heartened by Shizuka’s words, Ryotaro finds the courage to do his part to save their country.

Remember, too, that it is your intention that counts. If you truly believe that your cause is right and true, that it will bring happiness to the greatest number of people, and that it will change the world for the better, then all you need is to act with courage and wholehearted sincerity. Your thoughts will move the hearts of others, who will then want to help you accomplish your goals.

3. “To find courage, prepare for death. Only then, the path will open before you.”

In his renowned U.S. presidential inauguration speech, Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” To conquer fear, all we need to do is to face it squarely and fiercely.

What many of us fear the most is probably death. Even if we believe in the afterlife, it is difficult to overcome the fear of losing our life, friends, family, house, work—everything that comes with living. But it is when we want to protect ourselves that our fear grows. So, when you feel fear kicking in, trying to stop you from doing “the right thing,” ask yourself what it is that you’re trying to protect.

Just like Shizuka in the film, we are all here for a purpose, and everything that happens around us happens for a reason. What is presented to us is actually asking us to make a choice. Are you going to give in to fear that does not in fact really exist, or are you going to rise above your fear to open a new path?

Most of the time, you already know what the right decision is. You just need to take the courage to put it into action.

Finding Hope

As of February 1, 2022, more than 5.6 million deaths from COVID 19 have been reported worldwide, a devastating number that suggests a global state of emergency. As we struggle to overcome this crisis, it is my hope that the three maxims introduced in this article will help you find the courage and resolve to live your fullest life during these turbulent and uncertain times.

The Cherry Bushido will be released in limited theaters in North America this March.

The Cherry Bushido Coming to Playhouse 7 – Laemmle Pasadena March 25th

https://www.laemmle.com/theater/playhouse-7

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clltvQuVKDo&t=2s

Mia Tomikawa

Mia Tomikawa is a producer on “The Cherry Bushido,” a film from Japan about a young Kendo (Japanese swordsmanship) devotee and group of friends who unite to protect Japan from the threat of extinction by its neighboring country. She is also a consultant on The Divine Protector: Master Salt Begins.

Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, Mia Tomikawa moved to the United States in her late teens and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a BA in Communications Studies. She has a decade of experience in TV production in the US, overseeing all phases of video and film production, including casting, scheduling, and booking locations, as well as translation services.

In 2007, Ms. Tomikawa became Editor-in-Chief of IRH Press, a publishing arm of Happy Science, where she worked on the translation and publication of more than 30 titles. In 2018, she joined Happy Science’s media division to produce the award-winning film, The Real Exorcist. Happy Science is a global spiritual and religious movement founded by Ryuho Okawa. Its goal is to bring greater happiness and harmony to all people by integrating different religions and cultures.

mastersaltmovie.com%20

The post Making the Most of Your Life in Turbulent Times: Lessons from The Cherry Bushido appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.