Why This Empath Loves Japan

On the morning of Trip #8 to Tokyo, I’m so excited. Bouncing out of bed as if today were a major world holiday! Which, of course it is, in my world.

Bouncing out of bed at 6 a.m. when my plane doesn’t leave until 12:45? As if this made a lot of sense!

Oh, but it does. Even though I really need every hour of comfortable reclining in an actual bed. Nobody, not even the coolest traveler outside of first class, emerges comfortably after 13 hours in the air. Collectively we travelers politely ignore each other’s strange sleep positions and general rumpledness. We would do this even if we weren’t going to Japan, the Land of the Rising Empath.

Personally, I tend to praise my sleep creativity. I am especially proud of having invented a kneeling fetal position that begins under my seat and ends with my nose mashed into the seat cushion itself. Of course, I think of that seat as graced by my head, like the cherry on a sundae or a dab of wasabi on an especially delectable bit of sushi.

Okay, Blog-Buddy, I sympathize:  Even twisting your imagination around that concept isn’t comfortable. Well, neither is my body when doing “plane seat asana.”

And a term like “bed hair” doesn’t begin to describe the seedy look all of us transcontinental passengers develop in steerage. Nonetheless we emerge at the end of the trip, wobbling along with our carry-on baggage, grinning and yawning at passport control. I grin, anyway. And I can’t wait to practice my bowing.

Even I must admit that I am pretty bad at bowing. In a nation where slight shrugs are calibrated with great finesse, I come across more like a bobblehead.

Still I just love the concept. If I had my way, people all over the world would bow at each other while alternating “Namaste” and “Shalom.”

A COUNTRY MADE FOR EMPATHS

Especially if you don’t speak the language, Japan is such a great country for empaths. Instead of the usual 1 out of 20 people being born as an empath, here the ratio (according to my aura readings) is 1 out of 5.

Why would so many people choose to incarnate here as empaths? Collective consciousness is conducive to learning life lessons in that particular way, I suppose.

In “Highly Sensitive Person,” Dr. Elaine Aron noted that certain cultures (like America) value insensitivity while others (like Japan) prize sensitivity. She maintains that the ration of HSPs to non-HSPs is about 1:5 worldwide.

I wonder if Elaine Aron ever scampered over to Japan and read auras to find out if that is really so. Hmm, might I smell a new project, fresh as a pink carnation?

Oh, they do have the most beautiful flowers in Tokyo! Refined fragrances in general! My nose is drooling in anticipation, as it were. And then there are all those empaths to teach and meet in sessions of healing.

The photo at the top of this post was taken my last trip to Tokyo. If you look at the white board in the background, you’ll see Japanese characters. I’m also wearing my harmony ball necklace, a gift from my dear friend, the amazing Jeffrey Chappell. And over to the side you’ll see a reminder of all those Japanese cheeks and nostrils I will get to read.

PRACTICALLY SPEAKING

I’ll be back to enabling your comments and posting new articles as soon as I’m settled and connected up to the Net. Your empath reporter in Tokyo, wow!

Meanwhile, book sales off my website work as usual. You’ll continue to get better service than if you were to buy from Amazon.

Except for the e-books. On the cusp of this trip, I’ve managed to get all but one of the Kindle editions live of my intended e-books. A couple were re-titled, the novel for empaths and the daybook. And the face reading book, pictured above, is an abridged edition, subtitled “Quick & Easy.”

If you ever manage to read one of these on Kindle, let me know. I do hope these editions will be a convenience for my Japanese (and other international) readers who read English.

It’s amazing to think you can download any of these books in minutes, no special shipping needed. All six Kindle editions are available here.

And me, I’m available in Japan. After a few head crumples, anyway. Maybe I’ll experiment with a new sleep position. Don’t know what I’ll do with my body just yet but I’ve got the name: Transatlantic Origami. Watch me crumple and uncrumple, smiling.