Another wonderful excerpt from Dilip Mukerjea's new book, Unbeatable Minds, Invincible Spirits: Profiles of Soul-Smart Leadership:

IKIGAI: The Japanese Miracle Secret to a Long, Happy, and Fulfilling Life:

“A Reason for Being” and THE REALITY OF MIRACLES

THE STATESMAN-LEADERSHIP UNBEATABLE MINDS, INVINCIBLE SPIRITS, CONSIDERATION: 

What gets you to jump out of bed every morning?

The Japanese island of Okinawa, where ikigai has its origins, is said to be home to the largest population of centenarians and supercentenarians (those who live till 110 or more) in the world. Could the concept of ikigai contribute to longevity? Studies show that losing one’s life purpose can have a detrimental effect on the aging process. American mythologist and author Joseph Campbell once said, “My general formula for my students is ‘Follow your bliss.’ Find where it is, and don’t be afraid to follow it.”

“Your ikigai is at the intersection of what you are good at and what you love doing,” says Hector Garcia, the co-author of Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life. He writes,“Just as humans have lusted after objects and money since the dawn of time, other humans have felt dissatisfaction at the relentless pursuit of money and fame and have instead focused on something bigger than their own material wealth. This has over the years been described using many different

words and practices, but always hearkening back to the central core of meaningfulness in life.” For those who have not found their ikigai, the crucial question is:

How can I advance from misery to happiness, from bondage to freedom?

Ikigai is seen as the convergence of four primary elements: 

* What you love (your passion) 

* What the world needs (your mission) 

* What you are good at (your vocation) and 

* What you can get paid for (your profession). 

I have amended this somewhat in my crafting of an Ikigai Visual Map on the next page. Discovering your own ikigai is said to bring fulfilment, happiness and longevity. To find your Ikigai, ask yourself the following four questions:

1. What do I love?

2. What am I good at?

3. What can I be paid for now — or something that could transform into my future streams of income?

4. What does the world need?

The world is in dire need of miracles. Only a radical transformation in human consciousness, involving all cultures, religions, and nations, can prevent the onslaught of catastrophe and the breakdown of civilisation. What have we got when we have nothing left? The only way to enlighten, empower,and encourage

ourselves towards a fresh, redeeming consciousness, is to operate from love, the ultimate miracle. Hatred stains the process of creation, and sustains the cycle of destruction. For the sake of our humanity, our Divinity, and all of life, in any form, we must become transcendental beings, capable of transforming wastelands

into Edens. This calls for concentration and contemplation upon miracles: outcomes that emerge from states of consciousness that we can attain but have chosen to ignore.

We must stay focused on the highest good. The final goal is a state of perfect love and compassion. Always think of others first during your miracle work. This way, you transition from e-go to we-go.

IKIGAI: The Japanese Miracle Secret to a Long, Happy, and Fulfilling Life:

“A Reason for Being” and THE REALITY OF MIRACLES

In their book Ikigai The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life, Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles break down the ten rules that can help anyone find their own ikigai, reinterpreted by me as follows:

1. Stay active, don’t retire; mens sana in corpore sano (Latin, from the Satires of Juvenal (ad c.60–c.130) meaning ‘a rational mind in a healthy body’, quoted in English from the early 17th century, and frequently given as the ideal of education. Stay busy living, not busy dying.

2. Leave urgency behind and adopt a slower pace of life:

3. Only eat until you are 80 per cent full (hara hachi bu)

4. Surround yourself with good friends

5. Get in shape through daily, gentle exercise;

6. Smile, acknowledge people around you, spread joy.

7. Reconnect with nature; learn to nurture nature.

8. Give thanks to anything that brightens the day and makes you feel you live. An attitude of gratitude must reign supreme.

9. Live in the moment: the past is no more, the future is not yet. The present is a gift!

10. Follow your ikigai: it is as essential as sunlight!

What you deeply care about can unlock your ikigai?

Follow your curiosity.