The Heart Revolution
- Ellie Taniguchi
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
It may have all started with my personal experiences—times when my inner world shifted, and suddenly the world outside looked entirely different. That’s what eventually led me to begin offering retreats on Osaki-Kamijima.
One of the most striking experiences came after a session of Process-Oriented Psychology counseling. In that session, something that had felt like trauma, rooted in past events, seemed to dissolve. My body felt lighter. I won’t go into detail here, but that very afternoon, something deeply symbolic occurred in my actual life.
Since then, I began to pay much more attention to my inner world. And as I lived this way, I realized that my life itself was a continuous unfolding—bringing out what already existed within me, into the world.
Around that time, I encountered a book that left a deep impression on me. It was called Theory U, written by Otto Scharmer, a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Boston. In it, he offered a beautifully structured explanation of the relationship between inner and outer realities—something long explored in Eastern philosophy. The book spoke of the importance of silence and stillness in the process of creation.
It also made me realize something else: things we can’t see—such as bodily sensations, the unconscious, and spirit—do exist, but in our Westernized daily lives, they’ve been pushed into the margins. And yet, much of what we call “reality” may actually emerge from these invisible dimensions. That was the sense I got from the book. Since then, I’ve even come to wonder whether we might be able to communicate with more-than-human spirits—such as the earth, the sky, the sea, and animals.
Just as Otto Scharmer drew wisdom from Eastern philosophy, we in Japan are blessed with a cultural and spiritual heritage shaped by the land we live on. The traditional Do (道) of Japan—such as Sadō (the Way of Tea), Kadō (the Way of Flowers), and Budō (the Martial Way)—teach us the integration of body and mind, and offer us a philosophy of living that embraces even the journey toward our end of life.
Yet in recent years, the treasures carried by Japanese culture have begun to be cast aside as if they no longer have value. But we have long admired flowers, given voice to the wind, listened to the sounds of the world, and composed poems. We’ve expressed seasonal flavors and beauty through food, and lived in harmony with nature. In these ways, we’ve cultivated empathy, imagination, and even the capacity to connect with what lies beyond the human.
What is true wealth? In many ways, the confusion of modern society seems to be asking us this very question. Perhaps now is the time to awaken to the quiet, timeless wealth already living in our bodies—and in the deep intelligence of the world around us.
It was while I was contemplating all this that I met two people from Healing Connections who shared a similar vision. When I told them about what I’ve been doing on Osaki-Kamijima and about the natural environment of the island, they said, “We’d love to host a screening of this film there.”
I immediately agreed. It felt like a perfect fit—and that’s how this event came to life.
I hope many of you will join us.
The Heart Revolution
June 1, 2025 — Doors open at 9:00 AM
Venue: 大崎上島開発総合センター（ Osaki-Kamijima Kaihatsu Sogo Center ）
Event Details & Registration:
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