Our next
stop in this beautiful adventure is the, probably highly underestimated,
country Japan. We arrived at Ota, Tokio in the early morning in the famous Japanese
airport ‘Haneda’. This airport is so massive that we actually had problems
founding our way to our luggage and finally to the exit. After finally having
found our way through this airport shaped maze, we started another extraordinary
adventure of discoveries.
I think
being in Japan will give us the peace, quiet and serenity we need after a very
long trip. The word ‘zen’ is actually the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese
word 禪 Dzyen, or also pronounced ‘chan’, and knows its roots in the Japanese
culture and is visible in many ways in this unique country. For those of you who don’t know the meaning of
the word ‘zen’, it stands for being in a meditative state of mind and this ‘zen’
way of living manifests in japans’ beautiful gardens.
Because we
actually craved being in a peaceful and zen state of mind. We decided to learn
more about japanse gardens by going to visit some and actually practicing some
zen mediation ourselves. Originally there are two types of Japanese gardens,
there are gardens that were created for emperors and nobles that were designed
for recreation and aesthetic pleasures, while the second type of gardens
originally were used to honor their religion to Buddha. These gardens of Buddha
temples were created for contemplation and meditational reasons. We decided to
come to our senses and visit the second type of gardens.
We were
invited to the home of a Japanese family who’s famous for their zen garden and
actually has a way of inviting a lot of people over to come meditate with them.
When we arrived, we saw that we would be guests to a very exclusive tour of their
beautiful and very large garden. During the tour, our ‘guide’ and owner of the
garden, told us a little about how Japanese garden’s existed and what they are
based on. Apparently the physical appearance of Japanese gardens was influenced
by something the Japanese call the island of Honshu. Which is the largest
island of Japan. That’s why Japanese gardens as we know them now, are full of
mountain streams, waterfalls and beaches of small stones. What I saw then was
so beautiful and serene, I was actually thinking of turning my own garden in to
my own place of serenity. 
He took us
down to a little open house in the garden, that seemed like it was surrounded
by water.
He learned us how to focus, meditate and took our minds to a
self-induced mode of consciousness.
Living in a very loud and active country,
it was very hard at first to learn to enjoy the silence but focusing on your
heartbeat, your breathing and hearing nothing but the sound of a waterfall
actually made it possible to relax for the first time of my life.
To finish
of our very relaxing day, we decided to have some Japanese food, or what Japanese
people just call food. We experienced meals that can’t even be compared with
the Japanese cuisine we know at home. After experiencing only a little part of
what Japan has to offer, we decided to go from our earlier mode of consciousness
to a state of unconsciousness and go have a good rest before we experience some
more of Japan.
I would
advice all of you readers though, to try and experience the meditation and
relaxation we experienced as well. It changed our lives and I hope it does that
for you too! I for one, am a believer.
Enjoy!
Anne Hallez
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