I've decided to use the little green book "What Mary Says,..." for personal meaning and reflection, to 'decode' it into language that is applicable to my experience of daily living, similar to the Yoga Sutras-tools for meditation and self-awareness. Sutras are 'threads', and so these aphorisms are threads that may be woven into our lives and Jin Shin Jyutsu practice, bringing us closer to our inner wisdom, center, and joy.
I never met Mary Burmeister, the wisdom woman who studied with founder of Jin Shin Jyutsu, Jiro Murai, but I consider her my teacher and mentor! Maybe her photo on the JSJ inc. website reminded me of my Obachan (Japanese grandmother), maybe it was her smile...SOMEthing intuitively attracted me to Mary, and that led to my taking the Jin Shin Jyutsu trainings, and offering this wonderful healing art to others as well as applying it daily for self-care. So, I have no idea what she really meant or was referring to specifically at the time they were said, but trust that whatever meaning arises for any reader is exactly perfect!
"Turn your back on mankind and make progress." Wow! That one jumped out at me today. Especially since Mary was someone who helped humankind immensely as a healer! The meaning for me today is especially relevant, it reminds me of the importance of staying focused on my passion for Integrative Medicine and subtle energywork in particular-it is often scoffed at or claimed as quackery or invalid by some (particularly in conventional medicine).
"Mankind"-it's ironic that as a whole, especially in the US political climate and mass media, man does not seem kind at all (referring to people as 'man').
By turning my back on (ignoring) those who do not find value in my beliefs and practices, I have the best chance of making progress! It speaks to me of how easily I can fall into a defeatist frame of mind, to get drawn into an attitude that when we don't measure up by conventional, linear-mind standards, we aren't moving forward to facilitate whole-being, inter-connected, healthier living.
Turning my back on mankind, and paying attention to my own direct experience-my feelings, emotions, felt senses, intuitions-will be the most accurate marker of progress!
