Wisdom Rising

Reiki Pilgrimages and Surrendering to Spiritual Awakening with Bruce Taylor

• Christine Renee, Isabel Wells, and Shantel Ochoa • Season 1 • Episode 17

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Embark on an enlightening journey with us as we welcome Bruce Taylor, the esteemed Reiki Master Teacher, to our latest episode. Discover the powerful transformation that occurs when we let go of attachment and allow Spirit's offerings to uplift us. Our conversation takes us to the sacred landscapes of Mount Kurama and Mount Hiei in Japan, where Bruce shares his insights on the profound intersections between Reiki and Shamanic traditions, opening pathways to personal empowerment and spiritual growth.

In this enlightening episode, we explore Reiki not just as a healing practice, but as a profound internal spiritual journey. Join us as we delve into the deeper aspects of spirituality, discovering how embracing our inner depths can lead to a transformative state of surrender. We'll discuss how this surrender opens the door to awakening our spiritual essence and recognizing our true home within.

Experience the transformative power of spiritual pilgrimages with vivid stories from the culturally rich environment of Japan. We recount awe-inspiring moments with the marathon monks and explore the metaphoric journey to formlessness on Mount Kurama, embracing nature's shamanic wisdom. Whether you're a seasoned spiritual traveler or just beginning your journey, this episode offers inspiration and guidance to unlock profound personal growth and spiritual awakening, supported by the deep respect and beauty of Japan's sacred sites.

Together, we’ll examine the concept of non-attachment and how it connects us to the foundational principles of Shamanism, fostering a sense of oneness with nature and the divine. Tune in to uncover the intricate ties between healing and spiritual growth, and learn how to embrace this journey for a richer, more connected life.

Learn about the pilgrimage:
Website: https://www.rootsoflife.org/rcukyoto
YT Videos: https://youtu.be/rYn-S1iDXac
https://youtu.be/glP3oafiWdo


Connect with Bruce:
Website: https://rootsoflife.org/

Moon Rising Shamanic Institute Links:
Website: https://moonrisinginstitute.com/
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/moonrisinginstitute
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/moonrisingmystics
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moonrising.institute
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@moonrisinginstitute

Book a session with Isabel: https://calendly.com/into-the-deep/schedule

Book a FREE 15 minute connect call with Izzy: https://calendly.com/moonrisinginstitute/connect

Book a session with Christine: https://calendly.com/christinerenee/90-minutes-intensive

Book a FREE 10 minute connect call with Christine: https://calendly.com/christinerenee/10-minute-connect-call-srpt

Speaker 1:

It's time to remember your divine purpose and limitless potential. Welcome to Wisdom Rising, the official podcast of Moon Rising Shamanic Institute. Join shamanic Reiki practitioners Christine Rene, isabel Wells and Chantel Ochoa as we guide you on a journey of radical self-discovery and spiritual guidance. Each week, we'll dance through the realms of shamanism, mysticism, energy, healing and personal development to illuminate your path to true healing and self-sourced wisdom Through weekly inspired conversations and interviews with leading spiritual and shamanic practitioners. We are here to help you acknowledge, reconcile and balance your energy so that you can awaken to the whispers of wisdom rising from within.

Speaker 2:

Welcome. I'm your host, christine Rene, and today we have on guest Bruce Taylor, who's going to be sharing with us about the concept of surrender. We entered into this conversation without agenda and this was the topic that really stood out above the rest about how do we step into empowerment and then release any expectations, release attachment, to really fully embrace what spirit has to offer us. And we do this through the lens of also our work in Japan on Mount Kyoto, as Bruce hosts a really amazing pilgrimage every year to Mount Kyoto and Mount Hiyai, and I attended one two years ago and I am going again in 2025. So be sure to tune in, listen and notice what nuggets of wisdom stand out for you. Before we jump into the show, I wanted to give you a little bit of a teaser of what we're going to be talking about today.

Speaker 3:

You're surrendering to like Gaia herself manifested in every possible way that she could show her beauty, so there's no reason to be afraid of it. And if you are staying with that, then some of the aspects that you understand are things like healing and invisibility and shape-shifting and all of that. Now, I know people might be like well, what do you mean? You can learn how to be invisible. You can learn how to shape, shift and whatever. What is really being meant there is. You start to recognize that your form is an attachment.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker 3:

This is the shamanic stuff here. Yes, this is it. This is it. Oh, woe is me. And I'm this, and I'm a Reiki master and da, da, da, da da, but I can't let go. Then you can never learn how to heal, you can never learn how to be invisible or to shapeshift, because what that really means is that you are learning how to become formless, which means you're letting go of all of your attachments and you're simply breathing and moving with the pulsation of everything.

Speaker 2:

Yep, this episode is super juicy and I love how in depth we go. I hope you enjoy the show. Be sure to follow us on YouTube and Facebook and Instagram and TikTok and all of the places, because we have got a lot of amazing content and a lot of different areas, so be sure to check them out, as well as Bruce's YouTube channel, roots of Life, and know that in the show notes you will find the link to join us on this 2025 pilgrimage. Welcome to your Wisdom Rising podcast. I'm your host, christine Rene, and I'm excited to have our guest today, bruce Taylor.

Speaker 2:

He has been in our world for a long time now, a long time now previous to the rebrand. Bruce and I go way back and I totally see him as a colleague, as a mentor, as someone who I love to go, uh, just to have these really cool conversations with, as well as travel with, like. So this was who I went with for roots of Reiki, um, for the Reiki pilgrimage in Kyoto two years ago, and we are planning on doing it again this spring in 2025. And I cannot. I cannot wait, and so we're bringing Bruce on to the conversation to go well.

Speaker 2:

How does the roots of Reiki, and this pilgrimage in particular tie into shamanism, because when I was there it was such a over the top like oh my goodness, yes, like this is all very shamanic and I don't think people really have that understanding. I think there's part of it that's cultural perspective, there's all these different layers that um is very unaware to Westerners and the Reiki world, and so I would love to like dive in, but know that Bruce has been doing Reiki just as long as I have. Bruce has been studying deeply into the Reiki lineages for his career in Reiki and has studied in Hong Kong and practiced in Hong Kong and all over Asia, and so I'm very excited to have him on the show again today. Thank you so much for being here.

Speaker 3:

Thank you for having me. It's wonderful to be back, as always. And I'm very happy for this conversation. We always have great, great conversations together, so I'm looking forward to it.

Speaker 2:

We do, I feel like you know, just so our listeners know we didn't prep for this there has been.

Speaker 3:

no, there's no notes, there's no script, there's no, it's just off the top of the head. All of it on rehearsed.

Speaker 2:

And I love that because that's how we jive, like we can just jump on a call and have these really cool intimate conversations and really dive in and kind of scratch each other's minds about these topics. And so we want to invite you into that conversation. We want to invite you into knowing that there's no pre-scripted anything. We don't even have highlights of what we want to talk about other than we want to talk about Reiki, we want to talk about shamanism, we want to talk about Japan, we want to talk about the pilgrimage, and so here we go. How do we want to start off the conversation?

Speaker 3:

Well, because we have no notes, now I'm on the spot, I'm not going to start this conversation. Well, let's bridge it. Let's bridge, maybe, and open it up with this understanding or an exploration of the, the bridge between, or the links between, what most people would think is Reiki and what most people would think is, maybe, a shamanic practice or a shamanic approach to the internal environment.

Speaker 2:

Let's just say something yeah, totally.

Speaker 3:

So yeah. So I'm just trying to sort that out, because it's a that's such a big topic, but I'll start it very quickly, like this Most exposures, initial exposures to Reiki, in my opinion, are like you're going to learn how to heal, you're going to learn how to use energy, you're going to learn how to work with the symbols and all of that type of stuff.

Speaker 3:

Symbols and all of that type of stuff and that's great. Those are fine initial steps. They're fine initial segues into the practice. But hopefully eventually people will move away from that and recognize that Reiki is actually an infernal journey. It's a journey into the cell. It is a journey from which healing becomes a byproduct. And why that's so important is because if we sit down with the belief that we can heal with touch I'm not saying you can't, by the way, but I'm just saying if you believe that and that's your focus, then you're attaching to the outcome. Then you're attaching to the outcome. And maybe people who are already like deeply involved in both realms the kind of the shamanic world and the Reiki world can already kind of see where I'm going with here.

Speaker 3:

The shamanic approach to any of these practices demand that we surrender, you know. So you have to turn in. Be it psychedelic, be it sound work, whatever it is, whatever the approach, mediumship, whatever it is, we surrender into the practice and let go of this. This thing is the facade that keeps us veiled from the bigger picture, as it were, and I think many times the approach to and the understanding of Reiki is still kind of framed in that the barrier between the bigger picture and the entrapment of the belief. Yeah, if that makes sense, you know. So I've actually, just before this, I've actually just filmed a video for YouTube which is coming out like in 20 minutes now. And it's why you can't learn Reiki in a weekend. You know you can't like go and do level one, two and three as a brand new student and then all of a sudden you can heal because all of that is just belief and it's going to be a letdown. You're not going to recognize the depth of the internal journey.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker 3:

You know yeah.

Speaker 2:

I feel like there's definitely these steps of awakening that you can see through these practices of we're moving from victimhood into empowerment, setting intentions. And then we have, like, the coming into this place of how do we surrender. I love that that topic of surrendering into and allowing the mind to become a blank canvas, allowing the body to become a blank canvas so that the divine inspiration, the divine clarity can come through. And in that process you're moving through the steps of awakening. But that surrender piece really is the shift. You know you moving, you're moving from victimhood into empowerment, saying, okay, I'm, I'm taking full responsibility and accountability for my life, my actions, my trauma, my healing, all of the things. And in that process we're starting to set intentions, we're starting to make goals, we're starting to activate that part of ourselves.

Speaker 2:

But there's so much more. If we can move through that process of surrender and, as we do our shamanic work there, that part of the surrendering is letting go of that attachment. That surrendering is letting go of what is going to happen in your shamanic journey or in the process and not getting attached to how it's quote, unquote supposed to look and allowing whatever to happen to happen. And I feel like that part of wherever you're at in your Reiki and or shamanic journey is so significant If you are really going to be finding your place in a state of peace, a place of joy, a place of contentment like that's where it happens. It's not an empowerment phase, it's after the surrender.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. When you said this, it is a perfect way to sum it all up. And this kind of movement from the victim state to the empowerment state, you know, at least in my approach to the practice, we're always somewhere on that Totally. You know, like when I've got a really difficult practice in the psychedelic space, the Reiki space, whatever, if I'm doing journey work, whatever, okay, there's going to be really difficult moments and I'm going to be right back at the victim state. I mean, I've literally got a rock to anchor me from Mount Karama, literally sitting right next to where I do my practice. And this is when I'm at the victim state and I need, like I need an attachment to ground me and bring me back so I can work towards getting empowered. And I think that this is the beautiful journey here.

Speaker 3:

But we can't stay focused on that victim state.

Speaker 3:

The victim state will be full of story and belief and outcome and focus and attachment, whereas if the whole of these practices were just, from the onset, focusing on the empowerment and transcending the empowerment, I think everybody could recognize that we can use that as our focus.

Speaker 3:

We don't have to be afraid of that, we don't need to believe in these stories and we don't need to believe in like magical powers and all that type of stuff.

Speaker 3:

And I think this is why you know, in a shamanic practice, if you channel a spirit animal, your spirit guides, whatever that might be, all of those are part and parcel of the entire universe of which you and I mean you, christine, I mean me, I mean everybody listening from your frame of reference you are the center of that universe. So everything that is in your external reality is simply a mirror of your internal state. So when we sit there and we are doing journey work, doing our Reiki practice, doing whatever it is, if we simply listen to the outcome, then the angels, the guides, the animals, the hand placements, the precepts, whatever it is, daikomyo dainichi norai, it doesn't matter, but all of those things are helping us to see where the next obstacle on our own attachments is lying and bringing us to that with the courage of like you know what me, bruce, I can't do that right now, so I need maybe Archangel Raphael, but I am Archangel Raphael.

Speaker 1:

That's what we can't forget.

Speaker 3:

We already are that, but it's like I need to focus on this, one aspect of me that has the courage to tackle this attachment, because the rest of Bruce is too scared to do it. Tackle this attachment because the rest of Bruce is too scared to do it Right, you know so it's this way to kind of like modulate our practice, and to me that's like this mindset is so pivotal, and so it's like a paradigm shift in our practice.

Speaker 2:

I think, in a way, you know and I just want to highlight that like, your internal reality is reflected in our external reality and so the more we can go and invite in that internal journey, the more we're going to see the shift in our external reality and, whether that is through spirit or through our physical things that are showing up in our life. Are we receiving synchronicities or receiving problems and health issues in our world, like it's so reflective of, and how are we cleaning and clearing and cultivating a place of peace within? So our external reality can be reflective of that, and so that, even if there is chaos going on, so our external reality can be a reflective of that, and so that, even if there is chaos going on in our external reality, we can, we can take a step back, not get attached and go. Well, I looks like I need to do more internal work Always, always, always there, it's always there and it's kind of like if there's problems in your life, the common denominator is you, I'm there.

Speaker 2:

If it's in my world and I'm experiencing, I am the common denominator. So how can I continue to approach my practice in a state of surrender and a state of I'm returning yet, again and again and again, because we all fall back to that victimhood. I think that's the thing it's like. I love that, that reminder piece that you gave of sometimes we just need a rock from Mount Karama to ground us in again.

Speaker 2:

Right, it's that we're human, we are earthly human things doing human things, having a human experience, and we're going to trip ourselves up and can we give ourselves the grace to return back to our practice instead of back into old patterns and self-sabotaging behaviors? Where can we say, you know, I'm going to give myself a space to rest, rejuvenate, return to, and even even myself. Recently it's like, okay, I've got a really good, I'm going to give myself a space to rest, rejuvenate, return to, and even myself. Recently it's like okay, I've got a really well-established nighttime routine where I chant my Gokai, I do my dry bathing, I sweep everything off and I do my Reiki practice. That is a nightly thing that I've done for years and I love it. It's there.

Speaker 2:

But my mornings are not the same and I'm like what if I take five minutes? Can I give myself five minutes to meditate in the morning? Is that too? Is that really asking too much of myself and my family? No, it's no. The answer is no. I can take five minutes, I can do this. And how is it going to set me myself up for the day to be more likely to be in a place of empowerment, a place of surrender and a place of receiving from divine if I took that five minutes right. And so how do we carve that out into our life? To say yes to continuous healing, continuous peace, continuous calm, continuous contentment if that's what we're looking for.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, you know there's two statements that, as you're saying that, that I'm sure everybody I know everybody has heard these two and they kind of frame up what we're talking about here. In my opinion, a misery loves company. We've all heard that before, right. So if you have a miserable internal state, which we all do at some point, then your external world will be the company that reflects that misery back to you. Or B if you start your day with the with a practice, meditation, Reiki, whatever, it doesn't matter.

Speaker 3:

Breath, work doesn't matter then you're going to be more on a trajectory of the power of manifestation. You are moving more freely forward in your day, with less attachments to your anger and worry which are the first two precepts, by the way or, if we can let go of those, then we are just the flow of the abundance of the universe and that can manifest in any way that you choose it to be Right. That might sound really abstract, it might sound impossible, but it's not. If I am locked in anger and worry and everything that could fall under those umbrellas, then I'm not going to go for a run today. I'm not going to make a new video on YouTube. I'm not going to do so. Then, today, I'm not going to make a new video on YouTube. I'm not going to do.

Speaker 3:

So then my business and my subscribers and my fitness and all those other things. They won't become part of my manifestation because I'm locked in the misery loves company state. Yeah, so we get away from that by turning into the self and working to let go, and even if sometimes it can be overwhelming or scary or difficult or whatever, the results are always really beautiful because the results are like, oh my God, I just finally let go of that thing that I've been holding onto forever and I feel way better now and actually it was never as bad as we thought it would be, at least for me. When I think, when I'm walking towards it, it seems like Mount Everest and I'm going to die and there's no way and it's going to be awful and whatever.

Speaker 3:

And then I get over it and it's like oh see, just like every other time before, that it literally was not as bad as you thought. So just keep doing it, keep trying.

Speaker 2:

Well, I felt like when I went to Japan two years ago, it, stepping into a culture that was set up for mindfulness and awareness was a huge, eyeopening experience, like I hadn't left the country and about probably 15 years at that point, and so it was very much in my American lifestyle and pattern living in Montana, and when I was able to take myself out of the country and stretch myself and go to Japan for a pilgrimage of 2020, what was that? 2022? Yep, that's right. I believe it. Really, just, man, my anxiety went down that, just for today, do not worry was so much easier in Japan, even though I was traveling and it was a completely new experience for me, but the culture itself had a vibration that was slower and more relaxed and more grateful and more peaceful, like it just felt that way and and so you know, sometimes we need a kind of a shock to the system to see it. And when we were there, it was so much easier because you're outside of your comfort zone already to go. How can I just render into this experience?

Speaker 2:

How can I just allow whatever is going to happen happen, because I'm not tied to a specific daily routine that I'm used to back home. I don't have to take care of the kids, I don't have to take care of my husband, I don't have to, I don't have to do what is a normal pattern. So then, when you're showing up in a pilgrimage, it's more of so much easier to go. I'm surrendering, I'm surrendering, I'm surrendering, I'm surrendering, and I think that's what makes it a pilgrimage so readily, because that's expected.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, and it's built in, I hope, on the pilgrimage myself. But there's this beauty of it of helping people into the experience, Like I think back. Every time on these pilgrimages at Mount Krama there's always somebody who's like I can't do it, I can't go up the mountain. I can't go up the mountain and it's like, but in five minutes you will be, and then in 20 minutes you're going to be in front of everybody because you and we're going to all watch this beautiful lotus. Let go and open and unfurl to the sky, because that's our true nature and it's part of the beauty of this place, you know.

Speaker 3:

I think, especially for people who have never traveled, or maybe Americans or people who have never been to Japan, it might seem like a daunting place. One of the things that I tell people is in Japan especially Americans in Japan you will remember this, christine you can see five-year-old kids by themselves making their way across Kyoto to go to school with their cute little backpacks on and all that type of stuff. It is stupendously safe. So I think when people arrive and they start to see that all of this baggage just immediately drops yes, it just did it in your body language.

Speaker 2:

Right there, we feel like, oh, it was absolutely the safest I've ever felt in my life, which I wasn't expecting. I knew it was going to be a safe country, but not to the level of, wow, I feel safer walking through Japan than in my hometown. Right, Like there, there, and just in that level of safety, you're then allowed, you're allowing yourself to do deeper internal healing work. We only can approach healing to the level in which we feel safe, right and so, whether that that's you cultivate, cultivating a sanctuary space within your home, or going on a pilgrimage, putting yourself in a scenario going on a silent meditation, retreat or whatever it is for you, you're still only going to meet the level of transformation to the level in which you feel safe.

Speaker 2:

And so, going to Japan and instantly feeling that safety of I can eat anywhere, anywhere we go, I'm going to be able to be fit, I'm going to be able to feed myself and that's not true in the U S I can eat there, I'm physically safe. There's no, I have no fear of being attacked. I have no, there's no threat. There's no threat, and everything around me is showing me the deep respect for each other and the plant life and the environment is what's so profound that that, just for today, do not worry and do not anger was like, oh, it's not an issue here, it's just not, there's no, like I don't have to get angry that I go into a restaurant and not have anything on the menu that I can eat, like that, that the triggers are not there, right, and I'm sure there's some people who have traveled that do have that experience of finding a place to worry, finding a place to to get angry. But there's this beautiful invitation in the culture to be like you can, let it go now you can.

Speaker 3:

You can just put all that armor can just be put on the shelf. Yeah, we can just set it aside and everyone is so helpful.

Speaker 2:

Like I remember getting really worked up about trying to figure out the train passes and the train station, you know guy was just like it's okay, it's okay, it's a, we're just going to make it work for you.

Speaker 2:

You know, like they're not upset, they like it looked like I was trying to steal a train pass because I didn't pay the appropriate amount or something. He's like it's okay, we're going to just take care of it, you know, and so it's just. There's just not that level of struggle or stress. And so to be able to then move into pilgrimage space whether it's going up to Mount Karama or visiting Mount Hiyai or going to the Shugendo temple you could be more fully present in the moment and experience the spiritual wisdom that was occurring in that moment and being able to receive it because you didn't have anything else to do. You know it was like you could be fully in the present and the now and just witness yourself the environment. Like there wasn't so much brain clutter because there was no need for it and it was just a beautiful break. Like my mind is usually very busy and you know it's a practice of how do you calm the mind down and it was easier in Japan, Absolutely yeah.

Speaker 3:

And when all of that is is put on the back burner or just throttled down a little bit, then all of a sudden you can recognize all of these experiences that are taking place on these pilgrimages that nobody else has the opportunity to do you know, nobody has these levels of access except on this pilgrimage and it's like hold on a second. We are literally in one of the most significant temples of Kyoto. That's close to the public, with the head priest.

Speaker 3:

He's talking all about the deep roots of this place to a group of less than 20 people, of which you can be a part, and it's like and this is one day and if we think about this, this idea of connecting it to a shamanic practice or to a Reiki practice, we can see how it starts to merge together. Because if you're fully present in, like you said, the Shugendo temple, or when you're on Mount Kurama or whatever, if you're fully present for our time, together with the head priest of Mount Kurama as we walk through the mountain and we have private teachings with them and all of that, then you are going to go so deeply in inside, into your internal space, without even knowing it, mind you, that it's almost like you merge with the wisdom. You know, and I know, if you think back from from 2022, you can see that happening. You can see people like, wow, okay, I get it and I'm ready now to take that next step, because the barriers that were there I've let go of that, because I was able to put my worries aside, put my mind aside and just listen and be present, and now it makes so much more sense.

Speaker 3:

You can witness personal evolution unfolding in real time in these experiences, even if there's internal resistance. Simply being in the audience of these people who have dedicated their entire life to one aspect of this practice. It's like. It's like meeting the Pope, you know, or something like you cannot help but be moved by their presence, and then that propels you to further your own spiritual, personal, emotional, whatever evolution. You just evolve, you just become what it is we're talking about. It's incredible.

Speaker 2:

It's amazing and, you know, I felt a real deep connection, understanding, once we got into the Shogendo perspective, like it. To me it felt like here's, this is the indigenous wisdom that's coming through from this land. You know, it felt like this has been happening for millennia, this connection with nature and this deep, devoted practice to mountain aestheticism or the just connecting into nature, and this was their practice. And just being at the temple that day, I like it was one to the public and sit in a space of witnessing all of these, uh, you know, uh, the I don't want to say gods and goddesses, there's a different term but, like the end, the entities of the deities, thank the deities.

Speaker 2:

In that space and just being introduced to them felt really tangible.

Speaker 2:

There was, like a visceral experience of like they're here, I can feel them in the room with me, and having Fudemyo like reveal his power in that moment and burn away all of the things that we were coming forward with at the very start of the journey of the pilgrimage, like let, it was very much. Like you can have it, I've got all this fire, let's just burn it away so that you can really meet the rest of the pilgrimage where we're at. And so there was these nature elements. There's this deity elements, there's this surrendering process, there's, you know, the tears and the visceral process that was happening and occurring within me and going wow, wow, it was just, um, it was profound and um, I mean I still have a little food and meal on my desk, like, I have a little statue, like it's part of a remembering of, like I can tune back into that energy at any time. It's that I can bring those elements home with me and experience it here in my office. It doesn't have to be I have to go to Japan for this, though.

Speaker 2:

Honestly, like if I could go to Japan every year on this pilgrimage I would a hundred percent hands down like I'm there and um, because it's that, it's that reminder of this is what surrender looks like, this is how easy it can be, and what can show up for you in that space, what healing transformation can show up to you in that space and know that you are, you are of nature, you are one with Mount Karama. You are connected to these deities if you choose to be, are connected to these DTs if you choose to be. And how does your internal world shift?

Speaker 3:

by having these external experiences. Yeah, that's a perfect way to put it, and for listeners who might be, you know, maybe hearing some of these terminologies for the first time, I'll kind of stitch a lot of that together here. The practice of Shugendo, like Christine was saying, is mountain aestheticism.

Speaker 3:

And there's a lot to it that I won't get into just for the sake of the timing, but essentially it's that you surrender yourself to the mountain.

Speaker 3:

So you go off on long hikes, or maybe you go and do meditation work and fasting work or whatever it might be, like you Sui Sensei did in his 21 days on Mount Kurama.

Speaker 3:

And in that, in that practice of austerity, you are surrendering yourself to the mountain, you're surrendering yourself to the natural world to be for a lack of a more efficient way to put it to be purified by that energy of the world, of the natural world. Right, and you know, starting the pilgrimage off, the first stop that we had after lunch, like Christine's saying, is to show the wind, and that should be what we do this year as well on this pilgrimage. And that is to, for the exact reason that you're talking about, to represent all of the deities and everything that we're going to be exploring on this time together, to introduce them to you in a way, and to start with the familiarity of like. Hold on a second. That sounds amazing, that sounds like I could call on Fudo, or I can call on whoever to do these certain things, and then we start to realize that we have all of that inside of us.

Speaker 2:

And we can do that whenever we wish.

Speaker 3:

So then we progress up to Mount Kurama and you know, one of the really beautiful takeaways last year was before the pilgrimage last year actually, when I was with the priest and we were hanging out on the mountain and we were talking back and forth because, ironically, on Mount Kurama, everybody who's there they're kind of like oh yeah, yeah, that like Usui guy was here like and he learned how to heal or something.

Speaker 3:

Like I think, like it's not a big part of the story and I think that now listeners might be like well, what, what? Like? How could they not know that? He? This is because, from a Reiki perspective, it's huge. From their perspective, what they are politely and subtly saying is, yes, but don't attach. Don't attach. Listen to the mountain Because and as people will learn when they go on the pilgrimage when we are on the mountain, we are presented with the unique opportunity to face our own attachments, and if we can supersede all of those attachments, then we're granted this is part of the mysticism of Mount Brahma we're granted a number of different attributes, so one of the things that, if you face fully yourself, I'm not going to go into all the details, because we could geek out on this for literally for hours.

Speaker 3:

But if you go, face yourself on the mountain, which we're going to be doing, plenty of it's not scary, it's very, very beautiful.

Speaker 3:

The mountain is so, imagine like being cradled in the epitome of nature. One of the aspects of mount kurama is believed to be the exact spot by, you know, locals and buddhists in Japan, the exact spot where all life on earth originated, and so there's like and there's nothing to be afraid of here, and last year, after last year's pilgrimage, we had the opportunity to walk, myself and my friends in Japan and stuff. We were walking on the back trails of Mount Kurama and we turned into one of these little ravines and all of us stopped. And we turned into one of these little ravines and all of us stopped and we were like this is the most avatar thing I have ever seen, like I cannot. The amount of energy and life spewing out of the earth here had every one of us speechless you know.

Speaker 3:

So that's what you're surrendering to You're not surrendering to like demons and hell and none of that. You're surrendering to like Gaia herself, manifested in every possible way that she could show her beauty. So there's no reason to be afraid of it. And if you are staying with that, then some of the aspects that you understand are things like healing and invisibility and shape-shifting and all of that.

Speaker 1:

Now, I know people might be like well, what do you mean?

Speaker 3:

you can learn how to be invisible. You can learn how to shape, shift and whatever. What is really being meant there is. You start to recognize that your form is an attachment.

Speaker 2:

Yes.

Speaker 3:

This is the shamanic stuff here.

Speaker 1:

Right this is it, this is it.

Speaker 3:

This is it. So if you, if you sit there and you're like ohe is me and I'm this and I'm a reiki master and but I can't let go, then you can never learn how to heal, you can never learn how to be invisible or to shape shift, because what that really means is that you are learning how to become formless, which means you're letting go of all of your attachments and you're simply breathing and moving with the pulsation of everything. Yes, and this is when we were in this, this back ravine, which is, I think, spoiler, but I think this is going to be like a new chapter coming forward that these pilgrimages are going to in the future to be a part of. But this area is it's like the lungs of the earth area is it's like the lungs of the earth? It's like being in, swallowed up and just existing in the pure radiance of life and moving with it. It's overwhelming and that's just next to like all of the temples and the areas where we're going to be on the mountain, so you can feel all of that energy.

Speaker 3:

It's deeply significant, entirely significant, and you know one of the most beautiful moments when I was with the head priest that I didn't mention this a couple minutes ago is he was like we don't come to this mountain to practice uh worshiping, uh into uh son ten or bishop or mouth son or Mao San or Fudo or, you know, kenan or Sui Sensei or any of that type of stuff. We come here to listen to the mountain. So we walk out in the mountain to listen and in reality you're listening to your attachments and if you can let go of those attachments and then okay, maybe, wow, hold, this one is really really difficult. So where's Fudo attachments? And then okay, maybe, wow, hold, this one is really really difficult. So where's Fudo? Let me call on Fudo to help me burn that attachment. Let me call on Kenan, the divine feminine, you know, the Virgin Mary, the feminine energy. Let me call on her to bring that life and love through me, to feel that, instead of attaching to my womb.

Speaker 3:

Let me call on Bishop Mon to give me the illumination and wisdom of the universe, to help me see beyond my limited understanding of the self. Let me call him Mao Sun, who is like the earth energy, to give me the courage and the strength and the stability to stand up to my own fears, like there's all these beautiful aspects that we have, but then ultimately, if we can, we can just rest and be and then we transcend the self and it is. You know, we can sure we can do this work anywhere. We can do this. It doesn't make any difference. But it is undeniable.

Speaker 3:

When you are in a place where the entire ethos is on that focus, you know it's going to be a lot harder to find Satori on Fifth Avenue in New York than it's going to be on Mount Karama, because Mount Karama, everybody is sitting in the movement of that energy. You can't help but be swept away with it. And you know, if you think back to 2022, when you were there, like I'm saying, from my perspective, I could see most everybody being like just blossoming open. You can't help it. It's incredible. That's why I go every year.

Speaker 3:

I practice every day, but I think really the practice that in some ways matters the most is when I'm on the mountain.

Speaker 2:

Yes, Because it's like a help for me it's like an aid.

Speaker 3:

It's like you're doing the hard work throughout the year. That's beautiful, so let's elevate that a little bit.

Speaker 1:

Let's accelerate that.

Speaker 3:

Let's deepen it by surrounding you with all of this wisdom, depth of practice, all of the deities, all of the history, but, importantly, all of the energy of that space. It's mind bending, it's beautiful.

Speaker 2:

It's amazing and it reminds me of an experience that I had earlier this summer where I was. I was joining a group to do a 21 day sit spot nature meditation where literally you go into nature at the same exact spot and the job is to become one with nature, to not like do necessarily anything with your breath or your mind, just be nature and be present. And it's once again that nature aestheticism. And I had this aha moment, like the, she, the, the woman who was who was doing the practice with us was this is a 21 day practice and I had this aha moment. A Sui had a 21 day nature practice. Right, it wasn't necessarily a, you know, that was the mountain aestheticism piece. That was him being coming one with nature.

Speaker 2:

And why is that not illuminated in the Reiki world Like this? This such a a huge part of that severe quote, unquote severe practice that he was experiencing was to be one with nature and in being with nature, how we surrender to and letting go of and releasing anything that doesn't serve us, so that we can have this profound oneness, connection and nature. And I I love that. That awareness that I had just by hearing the story of what sits about meditation is like try it If you, if you, if you've never done it like it's, it's very cool.

Speaker 2:

And knowing that we have not only a Sui who is practicing, we have all of these uh Yamabushi who are practicing Shugendo, that is, that is what they do, that that's what they're doing, and having that idea where it's so connected into nature and it's so connected into these beautiful, very shamanic practices, whether it is going to the Goma fire ceremonies, whether it is, um, doing some type of, you know, bodily release work, like there's there's so many different ways that they approach it, but it all comes down to am I releasing so much that I can be one with nature? Right, and how is that not shamanic? Like that to me, like that's the epitome of shamanism, is to be one with nature and connected with nature.

Speaker 3:

That's right, that's it, and I think, from my perspective, I think the beauty of that is, you know, like bamboo bends with the wind, it doesn't resist it. Yes, the natural world moves with the natural world. Everything is in a state of balance and continual movement. If one population gets out of control, something will balance it. We don't, we lack that fluidity. You know, like if something in our life gets out of balance let's say you get overweight or whatever the natural world would be like well then you go on a diet or you exercise and you get back to balance.

Speaker 3:

But the human side of it is like no, I'm just going to continue to be unhealthy or whatever you know like there's. There's this beautiful and necessary fluidity in the balance of equilibrium within the natural world that if we surrender into that, then we become a part of that balance as well.

Speaker 3:

We become a part of that natural equilibrium, because that's what everything in the universe seeks is equilibrium With all of your surrounding environments. Everything is working to be at equilibrium with everything else. You know to be at equilibrium with everything else. You know one of the examples of this that I cannot wait for you to see. This one, christine. My God. Last year, this was arguably the most significant spiritual moment of my entire life to date, hands down, Okay. So I can't wait for you and everybody else to be there.

Speaker 3:

If we're talking about surrendering to the natural world, if we're talking about, you know, surrendering into oneself and going right up to the, to the precipice, I don't think there's any better example of that than the uh Ajari Sama on Mount Hiyad. On Mount Hiyad Now, the Ajari Sama is one of only 40 or so monks that have completed this insane, this insane feat of human endurance called the Kaihugyu, and he's the only one there right now. That's it. He's the only one right, and only since 18,. This is off the top of my head. Like we said, we don't have any notes. We're not rehearsing this or anything. So I think it was from 1840, only 43 people have ever completed this.

Speaker 3:

So there's one living there right now. He's lived there for the past 13 years. He's cut off all contact to the outside world, so no family, no friends. Every once in a while, like with this pilgrimage and small other groups, he might allow people to come in. We're very, very honored to be able to have this audience. When we were there last year, he was, for example. He was saying how he didn't even know that Japan had the bullet train until one day. On his meditation, on his walk, he looked down and you can kind of like see the outskirts of Kyoto from Mount Hiei, and he saw this train just zip past and he's like what is that? Like what just happened?

Speaker 2:

And he had no idea.

Speaker 3:

He didn't even know what it was called. He didn't even know the name of it because he had been in isolation on the mountain. So, anyways, the Kaihokyo is this circumnavigation of Mount Hiei and it's about 65 kilometers or about 40, some odd miles around the mountain, and they have to complete that a thousand times in seven years. So if you do quick maths, that's like one and a half times around the earth at the equator, and they have to do that in seven years. And the way that it's staged is the first year it might be like every four days or so that you have to go around once, but by the sixth year they're going around almost daily.

Speaker 3:

So imagine running a marathon, more than a marathon, two marathons every single day around this mountain, and then every like there's all these stops and all these little shrines that they have to do, these prayers. They have to surrender themselves to the energy of the universe, to the energy of nature, and one of the ways they talk about it is that if they can't complete one of the circumnavigations then they have to kill themselves. They have to do Harukuri or Sepkuru, right, and so they have this. They have this little dagger, and when we were with him, I was like so.

Speaker 3:

I've heard this, is it true? And he opened up his, his robe and he's like yeah, it's true, I've got it right here. It's right here. It's not fake.

Speaker 3:

You can cut yourself if you want to feel how sharp this is, and he was super humble and he made a joke about it as well. You know what I mean's like. He's like yeah, it's really sharp. Like it's not fake, you can feel it. But anyways, why I'm saying that is it's not like to wow people. What this really means is he's going to do, or the, the people who are engaging. I don't just mean he, I mean anybody who's engaging in it. In this case, it's a he's going to surrender so that every footstep is not his foot, what they say on the Kaihokyo. When he was saying last year this is why it's so amazing to be in these audiences, because you could hear it, you could have seen us. We were all like little kids, like looking up, like wait what? Like he was talking about how, after a certain amount of circumnavigations of the mountain, he would no longer run. It would just be that nature carries his feet.

Speaker 2:

Yes. I felt that before you said it, I'm like no, he's floating, he's just yeah, it's floating yeah. It's just like the nature is carrying him along. He's no longer doing it because Cause he's not in his he's not as physical body anymore.

Speaker 3:

Right, right, that's. And that's exactly what he's saying. He's like you know, this is one thing that he was saying like when he wakes up in the morning, he can tell the the weather, for instance, that day, by the sound of the crickets, you know, cause there's so much of an innate connection to the natural world. So, you know, one person might say something like okay, but he's obviously yes, of course he's running on this trail, but maybe he's got it so memorized that he knows. But this is a 45 mile long mountainous trail, you know, and if at any moment he breaks his ankle, he's got to kill himself.

Speaker 3:

So there's a huge level of trust that means that he has to supersede his own body. And so if you can complete that and when we were there it was amazing because there was a, there was a marathon monk, one, an individual starting the kaiho gyo in under his stewardship, and the guy would come in and we could see his feet. His feet were all ripped apart to have to wear these grass, slippers and stuff, which is completely, completely insane, and you know, as he's going through this whole thing then if they can complete all of that, then they have to begin one of two different practices of austerity. The first one is seven days. It used to be 10 days, but 10 days was guaranteed death.

Speaker 3:

Because it's seven days now of no food, no sleep and no water, and they're just chanting to Fudo Myo, the deity that you mentioned earlier, and okay, so that is completely insane in and of itself. And then the next one is it's no food, no sleep, no water, and you're constantly chanting to food, but you are like a foot and a half constantly a foot and a half away from a roaring fire for seven days straight, with no water right, so everything is shutting down, so they go right up to the precipice of death to flow with the entire energy of all things, and what I'm saying is such an incredible easily the most important, significant spiritual moment of my life was okay, we had an amazing audience, which is what we're having again this coming year, this coming pilgrimage. We had a beautiful audience sitting in a private temple with him, getting all this wisdom, understanding, being in his presence and in his energy. And then we had a private goma ceremony, which is the exact same fire ceremony that they have in a very secluded temple, and the nun that was kind of helping us through the whole thing. She was like, okay, everybody now bow your head in gosho and please close your eyes. And we were all like, okay, so we all bowed in gosho. We didn't know this was happening. I had no idea this was happening, so we bowed, closed our eyes and all of a sudden, ajari Sama became Fudo Myo and his voice changed and he started chanting the prayer to Fudo, really, really quickly, you know, and everything. And we were singing along which everybody on the pilgrimage is going to be able to sing along to the chant of Fudomyo.

Speaker 3:

I've already shared that with you in our previous talk, and when I was doing that, I could feel the layers of myself detaching, as if the sound was becoming as light as the footsteps that he was talking about on the mountain, and it was quite scary actually, you know. It was like, oh my God, like that's a level of detachment that I've never felt. And then he comes around and he blesses everybody in the middle of the fire ceremony and it is a moment of transcendence that I would struggle for my life to put words on. It's, it's, I don't know, I don't know what else to say Like it's the most transformative, amazing moment in my spiritual understanding, because you're fully in this like experience. You're fully in this energy, in this vortex of a concentration of everything that it means to be the practice of this particular focus shamanism, reiki, whatever it might be. It's fully manifesting right in front of you and you're a part of it. It's like you're getting sucked up in this incredible vortex of energy that is the purity of love. It's transcendent, it's incredible.

Speaker 2:

Just feeling the goosebumps, as you're describing it, and also coming all the way back to. This is what I feel Asui was trying to achieve himself was that full release. And yet we still have these really amazing individuals who are practicing in the in in a way that a Sui didn't even have the opportunity to do. You know, and so it's. It's very much the the, the awareness of we, we can go beyond. There's a level of we can go beyond. There's a level of there's an invitation with Reiki and then, when we can actually turn it into an internal journey and surrender into the practice, how deep are you willing to go into that? And knowing that this is an invitation to go to the deep and the depths of what your capacity is and who will you transform into having, which is just for our audience to recognize?

Speaker 2:

He's got this huge fire around him and he's got a rope in one hand and a sword in another and he basically takes that rope and he pulls your the word that comes to mind. He pulls your bullshit, he pulls your traumas, he pulls everything forward so that you can take that knife and cut it away and say it's no longer serving me. But you have to look at it. You have to bring it forward first, and so it's like we're in a state of I'm willing to see and I'm willing to surrender to and I'm willing to let it go into the fire to be fully transmutated.

Speaker 2:

And I've personally have had profound experiences, not only in japan, with food am yo, but also in times of great despair and distress. He is my go-to guy. I'm like we need to look at this and cut it away and burn the shit out of it. Like, please come and thank you. You know, like, and so to have the embodiment of food and yo in your presence would be such a great honor, like I, of course we can't put words to that, Of course, like, of course we can't put words to enlightenment. We can't put words to the level in which we are ready to understand ourselves and connection with nature and the universe.

Speaker 3:

Like, that's right. That's right. You can't put words to it and I think you know, I think what is so profound. You know, I'm looking because I'm trying to figure out how to word this Because of what you just said. I think it's so beautiful. Like me as a lay person, reiki practitioner of course I have a deep practice, but not like these people.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 3:

Like. This is next. This is like otherworldly, and here's why I think it's so beautiful and why, for me, it's giving me goosebumps everywhere. So this must be literally everywhere. Um, it's like all of the like you said, all of the bullshit that we hold and all of the like. I can't, I'm a victim, I can never do that. I'm too afraid. I'm too this, I'm too that I'm never going to be able to do it. I'll just stay stuck in my beliefs and even though I know that those things are killing me, they're weighing me down, they're restricting my movement in life, they're doing all that. That's human. That's called being human. That's fine, right. What we are doing in these moments is we are in the presence of somebody who has, in some ways, or in many ways, transcended their own humanness. Yes, and it's like here I am stuck in all of my humanness and here now I'm sitting in front of somebody who has transcended their own humanness and they are full of light and love and compassion.

Speaker 3:

It's like being in front of an angel, you know. And then so, all of a sudden, it's like, well, if they did it and and they are super and they're cracking jokes about the knife that they could use to kill, if they're, if they've got that far, then I'm going to find comfort in that and move forward. And when you do that, like in the, I remember chanting to food. I was running out of breath and I was like this is going to overwhelm me, Remember the full moon ceremony.

Speaker 3:

Remember the feeling right, absolutely, it's overwhelming, but because we're in the presence of so many people that are holding space for us in those, in the depth that we go in these experiences, which is like the shamanic journey, right, it's like you're sitting in front of the shaman and they are bringing you further, beyond where you may have thought you could go, so you can learn something truer about yourself, which is the way to let go of all of the hurdles and the baggage that we're all holding onto. And you know, the Ajari Sama on Mount Hiei is revered in Japan as the living manifestation of Fudo Myo. There's only one and he's right there and he'll be sitting right in front of our group and talking to us, and then we have a fire ceremony with them, you know and that's crazy.

Speaker 2:

I can't wait.

Speaker 3:

This is gonna be amazing, it's completely insane it is, and I've just got confirmation on this. I'll say this here because I've been back and forth trying to work it out and so on, but I've just got confirmation on this. I'll say this here because I've been back and forth trying to work it out and so on, but I've just got confirmation that we're going to be going into a pagoda on Mount Hiei which has been closed to the public for 1,200 years. No way, yeah.

Speaker 2:

No way, that's profound.

Speaker 3:

That's profound, it's completely and it's not just any pagoda, it's not just any little thing Like I'm going to leave you know this now, I'm going to leave a lot of surprises for the tour. But this pagoda where we're going is so significant to Japan and so significant to the area of Hiei and Kurama, so significant to Usui Sensei and the journey of Reiki, that I don't think it's a stretch to say that this is the actual foundation of Reiki rule, not Mount Kurama.

Speaker 3:

This is the where we're going to go is the center and people don't know it and people haven't talked about it in the Reiki world because it's close to the public. Nobody's been in there, like very few people have been in this where we're going to go in 1,200 years and we're going to be able to go on it.

Speaker 2:

And I have to say that part of me isn't surprised that Bruce is able to create these connections, networking opportunities, because this is the magic that he brings. I feel like this really is Bruce's superpower and calling in this lifetime is to pull these opera, like these experiences together that are out of this world. And so when he says we have more surprises, it really is like when I was on the pilgrimage it was every day. It was like oh, when I have something more and you know, and part of it was like he didn't even know what was coming. Like at the beginning of the pilgrimage he knew he had things in the works, but it wasn't it. It just unfold.

Speaker 2:

And I think it is due to the fact that Bruce does have such an internal healing practice that he is surrendering to the process and these priests and these opportunities. People can feel that and can and respect that we have this Western practitioner who is doing the work and ready to witness these beautiful opportunities and be able to to really feel into it. So I'm like, like I I think that's why I'm like, yeah, of course I'm going to travel with Bruce like, like miracles feel like they happen all the time when you're hanging out with Bruce in in in Japan, and so I really want to welcome the opportunity to travel with us to the pilgrimage and May of 2025. I'm it's going to be profound and the state of surrendering. I love that that that is the word that became our focus for today's conversation, because it it felt like it tied it all together and that really is what allows us to to feel into enlightenment, feel into the flow, feel into that divine aspect of ourselves and recognition of that.

Speaker 2:

We are divine and we're divine with nature, with the universe, with the spirits, and, and we want to invite you into that, we want to invite you into that and knowing that there's, there's this, there's so much, it's such a beautiful, it's such a beautiful place to be and I, I cannot, I cannot wait. I cannot wait. We're going to have, we're going to have a crew that knows me this year going and I just want to. I want to invite more of our friends out in the let's fill it up Like I'm like guests to all of this.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it's. You know, this one, this pilgrimage, is by far the biggest and the most profound one that I've put forward, and you know. Thank you for those very, very kind words. I appreciate it, it's, and I, yeah, you surrender in and you trust and you just flow and hopefully everything comes together. And that's where I kind of started and then it's just built from there.

Speaker 3:

Yes, you know and I can't wait, I can't. There's so literally every single day, there's so much coming and there's so many things that are still in the works to add even more layers to it. But just suffice it to say that if you join, if you answer the call to this, your life will change. You will see Japan, you will see Reiki, you will see shamanism, you will see esoteric spirituality, you will see culture in ways that nobody gets to see. You know you'll have access to sites in Japan that nobody gets, and all of those will only serve to your own personal and spiritual evolution. It will be every moment on that tour.

Speaker 3:

It's an ability to open your own flower, open your own lotus and step further into becoming your true self. And who doesn't want that Like? Who wouldn't want to go to something and then blossom into something further to what you're supposed to be anyways, as opposed to the attachments, the baggage, the I can't all this type of stuff. And the beauty of it is that transition is in the safest country on the planet. The food's incredible, the culture is out of this world and you know it's interesting. It's one thing that I'm noticing is that more and more people are joining this tour, or the sorry, the pilgrimage who Reiki?

Speaker 2:

to them is like a secondary thing.

Speaker 3:

This is a spiritual pilgrimage. This is not a Reiki focused thing. I mean, reiki is definitely there, shamanism is definitely there. All of it together is what you're experiencing.

Speaker 2:

Yes, yeah, I can absolutely attest to that. Before we even got on this call, bruce was reflecting about how much I personally have changed in my life from the pilgrimage to today. In my life from the pilgrimage to today, not only have I gotten a divorce, bought a house um, started traveling um, been had my huge uh business rebrand like you know, thank you.

Speaker 2:

And you know like there has been huge shifts and phenomenal profound understandings and recognition within myself of my spiritual life and I can without a doubt say that it all went back to this pilgrimage and for that I'm forever grateful and I'm like let's do it again. Know that if you are listening to to this, we'll have the link to the pilgrimage and the show notes If you sign up through that link. I'm also going to throw in a bonus. I have a five hour Reiki history presentation. But the two pieces I want to really highlight in that is understanding the culture of Japan from a Sui's perspective. Like what was the culture like during that time? Who are these deities? And then, why did a Sui go up to Mount Karama? Because it's going to give you the framework and some of the under underlying understanding.

Speaker 2:

So you've got some of your homework done before we go on the pilgrimage. So know that I have resources available to you. Like I went to the did the pilgrimage with my father last time and now my father and my mother are most likely coming, my aunt's coming, like I have family members and when I did the presentation on the cultural perspective and my dad attended that he's like I understand so much more of what we experienced in Japan through that presentation Cause I was able to break it down and so I'm going to be offering those pieces for anyone who decides to come like. We're just going to throw that in for you so that you can really step forward and having some of this underlying intellectual information provided to you, so that you can really then trust and surrender and instead of trying to figure it all, out while you're going through it.

Speaker 3:

Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome, and I want to say that you know, as we come together and you'll remember this, christine, as well you know we don't worry about, like, the planning, don't worry about the logistics. Once the tour the pilgrimage, excuse me gets closer to the date, there'll be a private Facebook group and, of course, I'm always there to help organize everything. There's hotel recommendations that are already set up. One of the questions that we were actually talking about, the only thing that we had kind of scripted and I want to make sure we address this in the talk here today is there's one aspect of the pilgrimage where we will be in the deep area of the Karama Valley. So it means we're going beyond Mount Karama, and Christine was there in the 2022 pilgrimage, which is it was an incredible and I can't wait, because this time we are actually creating a new historic chapter in that region.

Speaker 3:

So just wait, now this is going to. It's going to be, it's going to be incredible. So, when we're there, though, one of the questions that it seems like some people may have been asking is are we overnighting in the deep Kurama area? This was something that we were trying, myself and my friends in Japan. We were trying to hash out how it could work, because it's really beautiful. We did it last year, and it was really a beautiful part of the tour. Part of the tour. However, it seems like this year, given the timing on everything, in particular, one of the things that we can't really move is the full moon festival, of course, because it happened on a very specific day, and the flow of the pilgrimage, as you would recall, is very structured, like what we learn on day one builds into day two.

Speaker 2:

Yes, and it's all part of your personal journey.

Speaker 3:

So, because of all of those things, it is most likely that we will not be staying overnight in Deep Kurama, and so that means we'll be returning to Kyoto every night. So your daily experiences will be going on, and then we'll be coming back into Kyoto for dinner and such.

Speaker 3:

And you can go back to your hotel and everything. And another question that people have been asking me is can family members attend and can they be there even if they're not on the tour? And you might remember, in 2022, there were a number of like spouses and people who were joining but they weren't on the tour, but of course, they were in Kyoto, right, so that's absolutely okay, and some of the people who were there and like now I'm going to sit this one out when they kept hearing how much was happening during then they joined anyways.

Speaker 3:

So you know, it's not a problem if you have a spouse that wants to be, your family members that want to be in Kyoto, of course they can be there, but they have to be a part of the pilgrimage in order to be on the structured itinerary of the pilgrimage. I just want to be clear on that.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think that's a really good point to make and you know, I feel like approaching Kyoto as a tourist versus approaching Kyoto on a pilgrimage such two different experiences, that's two different universes.

Speaker 2:

It's way too, it's way too different universes. And the fact that the pilgrimage you receive so much of this in-depth understanding of what are you looking at, why a Pagoda, why this deity, why here, all of that information and and experience. It goes way beyond what you're going to get on a tour information plaque or what you're going to read about in a tour book. Um and so it's. It's so worth it to say yes to the full experience, the full pilgrimage, even if it's like my mom's not a Reiki practitioner, my she, she, she could barely describe what I even do, even though I've been doing it for 20 years now. Right, and she recognizes that if we're going to go, we're going to go.

Speaker 2:

We're going to do the things and I just want to invite you into that space to say yes. If you're feeling the call, say yes. There's a reason, that emotion, that divine inspiration is showing up for you now. It wasn't last year, it wasn't the year before that. What is calling you to say yes to it this year? And why? Why are you and your, your spiritual growth, ready for this now? And I just want to have that invitation out there, like I feel like this is a profound opportunity to surrender to your divine nature and I can't wait. I cannot wait.

Speaker 3:

I can't wait, either. I can't wait either. It's. You know, these people who are if you've got a spouse who's like yeah, I'm not into Reiki like Christine saying or I'm not into that type of stuff, whatever Doesn't matter If they join it's like okay, so you can go to any one of the UNESCO sites in Kyoto.

Speaker 3:

You can just rock up there and you'll be part of the crowd, or you can come on the pilgrimage and you can meet the priest and be in secluded temples and have private Zazen meditation with the monks and do all these types of things that are like in a distant universe compared to what a normal tourist would see so even just that.

Speaker 3:

That's why I'm saying it's so beautiful to see so many people who are like reiki is not my thing, but japanese history is, or spirituality is, or buddhism is, or just being a tourist, but not a tourist you know what I mean? Like just seeing way beyond the tourist is every one of those things. Your value is going to be far exceeding the payment for the overmatch.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, absolutely. I love it. Well, I have to say thank you so much for coming on and having this conversation.

Speaker 2:

It was such an honor to be like in this energy with you yet again, so thank you for getting me all hyped up and ready to go for Japan. Know that early bird prices are through October, so be sure to get those tickets now. Get your registration in and if you have any questions, I want to fully invite you to to reach out to Bruce or myself If you have any questions. If it's something I can't answer readily, I'm going to direct that right over to Bruce and know that we're here to support you. We're here to support you in your spiritual journeys and transformations, and this is just yet another way to do it, and I can't wait.

Speaker 3:

I can't wait as well. We've got what? Seven months, october, eight months, eight months and counting.

Speaker 2:

I can't, I can't. I just I, yeah, I, I'm, I'm so ready, like I know, like I have travel plans already set for 2025 and I'm like this is the highlight of this is this is the cream of the crop when it comes to traveling and on my schedule, and like this is this, is it.

Speaker 3:

this is the one all right, 9 through 16, 2025. Get on it everybody. It's going to be absolutely incredible and the itinerary is just going to keep getting better from here on out. I can't wait so thank you, christine as always, it's a pleasure to be back. I really appreciate it and I hope to see all of you in Kyoto with Christine in May 2025.

Speaker 2:

We'll see you there, and until next time, may you awaken to the whispers of wisdom from within. Thanks everyone.

Speaker 3:

Thanks, everybody Take care.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to today's show. The Wisdom Rising podcast is sponsored by Moon Rising Shamanic Institute. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcasting app and be the first to know when we release a new episode. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok at Moon Rising Institute, or visit our website, moonrisinginstitutecom to learn more about our mission and find future opportunities to connect with our community of shamanic mystics. Once again, thank you for sharing space with us today and until next time, may you awaken to the whispers of wisdom rising from within.