Among the many things that I wanted to do on this trip, I strongly felt the need to visit Northern Kyoto, as it has been four years since I visited. As fate would have it, several doyens ended up joining me. It was an enjoyable and awe-inspiring trip but I felt that something was missing. I wanted to be there to seek guidance for my Earth mission. In fact, when I visited Horus (God of Light) several weeks earlier, he told me that I had ‘completed my soul mission’ and could do whatever I wanted moving forward. I was a bit baffled by his liberal advice and wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. I decided to spend two days visiting Northern Kyoto again to have more clarity. In order to let the divine guide me, I didn’t make any specific plans and activities. 

On the first day, as my hubby Ko was driving on the highway into the town, I spotted a shrine at the corner of my eye. I felt a strong sense of energy but didn’t say anything as asking Ko to stop suddenly would have been very dangerous. Yet, almost simultaneously, Ko had spotted the shrine and asked if we should stop to check it out as we hadn’t noticed it before. When we arrived, we saw its name – Nyoiji which is literally translated as wish fulfillment shrine. Legend has it that a Bodhisattva asked a seaman to pull a rope from the sea to obtain the nyoi jewel pagoda of the past seven Buddhas. He built the shrine and housed the wish fulfilling jewel. The main statue is a 11-sided Kannon, a bodhisattva, known for wish fulfillment, healing and eye protection. It is also the seventh temple of the “25 Sacred Sites of Kansai Flower Temples”, where hundreds of types of flowering trees and wildflowers bloom, especially from early to mid-April.

The words Nyoi, in both Japanese and Chinese, mean as one desired. The written characters are如意. I feel that the word 意 is spiritually symbolic. It is formed from 3 characters – with the top meaning “to establish”, the sun in the middle and a heart at the bottom. Hence, to have what you desire, you establish yourself with the sun through your heart. In olden days, the sun represented the divine, in which your true Self is as well. This shrine has a very clear message for seekers wishing to have their desires fulfilled. 

We stayed for about half an hour admiring the landscape and taking in its energy until it started to rain. We hopped on the car and drove again when, within minutes, Ko hastened me to look out the window. I saw a baby deer standing on a slope staring at us curiously. (There were no other cars on the road). When we tried to pull off and get closer, he quickly turned around and dashed back into the woods. It was such a wonderful looking creature; I will never forget its face and the way it looked at us. 

In both the eastern and western spiritual traditions, the deer represents the healing wisdom of the heart. They embrace gentleness, compassion and unconditional love. The peaceful nature of deer is symbolic of divinity. 

According to spiritual author Emma Mildon, deer “strike a balance between confidence and success and gentleness and grace.” 

A miraculous experience was bestowed on me, and my prayer answered. My Earth vision is freedom and healing. I am empowered to move forward to foster my vision and mission. When I plant myself in alignment with the divine and my true self, my wish will be fulfilled. 

And I invite you all to follow suit and embark on this journey full of miracles and wonders.  

I look forward to visiting the shrine in April, when hundreds of varieties of flowers will be in full bloom, to celebrate my 60^th birthday!