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Feelings for Japan

PaperCrane

PaperCrane

New Member
hello,

so, i suppose this is half introduction, half question. i've been trying to figure this out for some time now. i have very strong feelings for japan. so strong that when i look at pictures of it, i almost cry. i feel my eyes starting to tear up, and i have to stop it. these aren't just beautiful, moving landscapes either. even just pictures of alleys, or homes. sometimes it's actually the small details that are more moving to me than the landscapes, but the landscapes move me too.

one day, i was going down streets of japan in google street view, and i actually caught myself say out loud, "i miss japan".

i've never been to japan. even though i want to go very badly, i was confused as to why i would say something like this. it was so odd to me and sort of startled me so much that i started some investigation, and here i am. i'm wondering if someone could give some insight to this. i'm an american girl in her 20's, so i'm not japanese. past lives are something i'm very interested in, and i'm wondering if maybe, in a past life, i was in japan.

thank you in advance :)
 
Hi Papercrane and welcome! I'm glad you found us here.


This longing for a "familiar" place is one of the hallmarks of past lives. I've always told my mom I wanted to "go back to London" as a young child, although I was born and raised in Alaska. I still "miss it."


Do you have any past life memories? There are wonderful links here to lots of books, beliefs and techniques to remember past lives.


Feel free to share whatever you like and look around the forum. There's lots of resources available to help you out. :)
 
Hello Papercrane,


You well sound like your longings stem from a previous life where some experience you had lived in Japan is calling to you. You may have had a family/ friends/ profession there which perhaps was not lived to its fullest due to tragedy. When we do not have a peaceful death we feel sort of stuck and long to return to relive those fond times again.


In a regression we can relive some of those experiences and can come to understand what needs to be filled in us. Reading like you are doing can help to trigger those memories also. We want to be able to process and feel all of our feelings and until we do remember some of the things that have happened to us in our past we sometimes will not feel at peace.


There are several good books on how to do a self regression or it may be well worth for you to see a professional to begin with. This is how I started and it helped to make me more comfortable with the process of regression. After some time doing regression therapy I feel more content . It is a wonderful journey.


I hope your adventure brings you happiness.


soulfreindly
 
Welcome to the forum PaperCrane.


Here is a link to to some audio cd's that you may want to try using to explore your feelings about Japan. I think it is significant that you have such strong emotions for that country.


Have you had dreams about this country? Do you ever daydream about being there?
 
Hi Papercrane! Welcome to the Forum!


Like Alaska and Soulfriendly said, your longings do sound past life related. It's a feeling - an emotion that goes way beyond what your "normal" (for lack of a better word :D ) response would be...


It is a wonderful journey indeed, as Soulfriendly said!


I started "missing" Wales when I was around 13 or so - most kids my age didnt even know the place existed! :D I wrote a lot about my home there, my husband... :eek: Well, the story goes on - and then I found myself here on the Forum, and I'm so glad I did!


Have you ever tried meditating? You mentioned something interesting and to which I can very much relate to - those incredibly significant and moving details... Perhaps you could try to meditate "around" some of the little things that have moved you the most.


There's a wealth of information here on the Forum, concerning meditation and self regression techniques.


I would suggest this thread - it was of great help to me!


I look forward to hearing more from you!


Welsh at Heart
 
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Hiya Papercrane and welcome :)


I can only echo what's already been said. I hope you want to pursue the notion and try some of the audio cd's. I think there is also a regression-thingy available on youtube - I haven't tried it, so I can't personally recommend it, but I know others have had some results with it.


Also, you're not alone here with a past life in Japan - this is a combined thread about memories from Asia, but there are lots of Japanese stuff in it:


Asian Lifetimes
 
Hi Papercrane.


Welcome to the forum.


You are not the only one to have such feelings! Yes, very probably, as the others have said, this could be past life related. This 'strange nostalgia' and homesickness is not such an uncommon feeling.


You might find these threads interesting in relation to your question:




Homesick for a place I've never been to


Homesick


Stuck in the 1930s


May others have had memories of Japan. A search on 'Japan' will turn them up.


I look forward to any further insights you may wish to share.
 
Nothing much to add from me PaperCrane, I just wanted to welcome you to the forum. I think many here (me included) can relate to your strong feelings for a place that you've never been to, so you're certainly not alone here.


I also think that meditation and regression are the way forward for you from here. Sometimes It can take a bit practice and patience, but keep at it, and hopefully you might discover why you are having these feelings.


Good luck, and keep us posted. I hope you enjoy it here, feel free to ask any questions.


Chris :)
 
Hi Papercrane, I wanted to add my welcome. I like you, and many others, first came to explore reincarnation due my longing for a far off and, what should have been - considering my upbringing - unknown land. From what you have described I think it very likely that your feelings come from a past life connection. I urge you to take the advise of the others and begin exploring it. it is a great and enlightening journey.


Once again welcome to the forum and i look forward to hearing more from you
 
PaperCrane said:
hello,
so, i suppose this is half introduction, half question. i've been trying to figure this out for some time now. i have very strong feelings for japan. so strong that when i look at pictures of it, i almost cry. i feel my eyes starting to tear up, and i have to stop it. these aren't just beautiful, moving landscapes either. even just pictures of alleys, or homes. sometimes it's actually the small details that are more moving to me than the landscapes, but the landscapes move me too.


one day, i was going down streets of japan in google street view, and i actually caught myself say out loud, "i miss japan".


i've never been to japan. even though i want to go very badly, i was confused as to why i would say something like this. it was so odd to me and sort of startled me so much that i started some investigation, and here i am. i'm wondering if someone could give some insight to this. i'm an american girl in her 20's, so i'm not japanese. past lives are something i'm very interested in, and i'm wondering if maybe, in a past life, i was in japan.


thank you in advance :)
Click to expand...
I've always had an affinity for Japan as well so I can relate to everything you've said there pretty much. I went there on holiday for the first time and in a strange way, the place seemed familiar. Normally when I go away, as much of a feel for the place as I may get as I'm there, it never feels familiar like Japan did for me. I felt more like I was going back rather than going to the place when I visited Japan.
 
thank you everyone for the wonderful replies and warm welcomes :)


i tried a regression once with a professional who lived about an hour away from me. it didn't really work out very well though, unfortunately. the first thing she did was some weird/cool hypnosis test where my arm moved up to my face (and it felt like) all on its own. i must admit i was doubtful when she said it would happen, but it did.


then we moved onto the regression. i think a large part of the problem as to why it didnt work was that i could hear all the traffic outside. it was noisy, so i dont think i could drift enough. i will try some of those CDs as well as maybe some online regressions mentioned myself. hopefully in my quiet bedroom, it will work :)


another thing i should mention is that i have a large fear of guns or a hold-up situation. i'm not necessarily afraid to die, but maybe afraid my life will get cut short. i think up different scenerios and what i would do in such scenerios just incase they should happen.


i'm also terrified something will happen to my fiance. so much, that absolutely awful things play out in my head where he dies and i think about how awful and devastated i would feel. i'm trying very hard to stop these from happening. as soon as they start i force myself to stop thinking of such horrible things because it will just drive me crazy.


i know all this is sort of random, but i'm hoping you guys can help me get over some of my fears too. maybe i was shot in a past life? or maybe my boyfriend/fiance/husband was taken from me? hopefully once i try more regressions i will get my answers.


thanks again so much for all your responses. places like this make me feel better because i know i'm not alone with these strange feelings i have.
 
PaperCrane said:
i think a large part of the problem as to why it didnt work was that i could hear all the traffic outside. it was noisy, so i dont think i could drift enough.
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I can relate to that PaperCrane, I had the same problem when I had my regression, it was in a small room above a shop in a busy city street, so I had to really concentrate to block the sound of the traffic outside the window.


I think another common problem is that there is too much expectation. A professional regression can cost a lot of money, so it's only natural that you expect results, and that expectation can be a huge distraction. So maybe some practice with meditation or a guided regression cd will help you to prepare for the 'real thing', should you ever decide to have another go with a qualified regressionist.


It does sound like a past life with your present fiance is a possibility, but he may not have been your boyfriend/fiance/husband in that life, he could just as easily been your son/daughter or your mother/father, brother/sister etc. I think your feelings of losing him tragically could originate from a past life memory. Have you ever discussed your feelings and beliefs with him?
 
yes i have, and although he doesn't believe in past lives, he doesn't try to tell me i'm wrong which i'm very greatful for. he doesn't really have a strong belief in what happens to us after death, so he says i could be right (with having past lives). it's just not his first choice i guess. but then again, i don't even think he has a first choice haha...i think he's just thinking we'll find out what happens, when it happens :)


i have also told him about the awful scenarios i run through my head where i lose him, and he told me that he's thought of that too (only where he loses me), but he tries not to think about it. just makes him sad to think of losing me. i guess it's a common worry, to lose the one you love most, i just hope to find out why it happens to me so often.


with a regression, is there a way to tell the difference between a real past life or just your imagination running wild?
 
another thing i should mention is that i have a large fear of guns or a hold-up situation. i'm not necessarily afraid to die, but maybe afraid my life will get cut short. i think up different scenerios and what i would do in such scenerios just incase they should happen.
i'm also terrified something will happen to my fiance. so much, that absolutely awful things play out in my head where he dies and i think about how awful and devastated i would feel. i'm trying very hard to stop these from happening. as soon as they start i force myself to stop thinking of such horrible things because it will just drive me crazy.
Click to expand...
It is possible that these fears stem from some past life incident(s). I used to have lots of feelings of this nature towards a friend of mine and did not work out why until I got to the bottom of many past life memories when he actually did die or disappear suddenly, much to my distress at the time. Since I have worked all that out I am much more relaxed about it all.


When you have the 'awful things' which play out in your head - are they always different 'awful things', or is there a common theme to them perhaps? Is it always a car accident, or a shooting or some other thing that happens repeatedly?


This could be the way in. Without trying to dwell on 'awful things' too much and work yourself into a 'state', it may be worth investigating these sorts of scenarios while in a meditative state, as opposed to simply trying to suppress them (which never works)?
 
PaperCrane said:
with a regression, is there a way to tell the difference between a real past life or just your imagination running wild?
Click to expand...
I found I could . Upon remembering and then reflecting on those memories , there was a quality of a permanent change taking place in my outlook on life. Like it felt it nourished my soul. I think dreams can reflect this and imagination also plays an important part in spiritual growth. But the dreams and those particular imaginations are keyed into our past, and in order to lay down permanent positive feelings , the past life must be brought into our consciousess.


You know how you feel when you awaken from a lovely dream === like you really want to remain in that dream. Well through regression memories , those wonderful feelings can become grooved into our being.


For me it took those memories for the permanent change. No amount of positive affirmations would have done it. The change had to come from that spiritual part of me. I was not that imaginative a person. Actually since doing regressions I am alot more imaginative. I was kind of stuck in loops of ways of percieving the world because of the emotional blocks that had been laid down through my traumatic past lives. It was like I was hooked on controlling my world , going back to some dysfunctional and toxic patterns >


I equate it to being a person who overeats who sets there mind on their favourite foods. Maybe too someone who undereats and who has in mind only a few things they will eat. Trying to stay in control does not lead to happiness. Well my mind was locked on finding those people and comforts from my past who I thought would provide me happiness , without the faith that I could get nourished , and so I could not see the things that could nourish me properly in my present .


It is not like I did not think I was trying to nourish myself .. It was just that I was too neive to feed myself the right things that would help me live a happy life. It took me to see the things that were nourishing and those that were poisonous from the experiences in my past and to start feeding myself only the nourishing and to feel strong enough to prevent the toxic from entering my space.


soulfreindly
 
tanguerra said:
When you have the 'awful things' which play out in your head - are they always different 'awful things', or is there a common theme to them perhaps? Is it always a car accident, or a shooting or some other thing that happens repeatedly?
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actually, it does seem to be a reoccurring car accident. not really the same one, but different ways of dying in a car accident. losing control on the highway and slamming into something, a truck hitting him. sometimes i am in the car with him and i am okay, but he is not, and i feel what it would be like for me to be panicking trying to get him to "wake up". me screaming his name, etc. it's horrifying. other times, i'm not in the car with him, but i experience what it would be like to get that awful phone call with someone telling me he either died, or got into a horrible accident. i then speed to get wherever he is, and i see blood everywhere, and sometimes his mangled face. again, absolutely terrifying :(
 
it's been a loooong time!


hey everyone!


it's been a WHILE (sorry i haven't had a lot of time to post...been pretty busy), but i have an update to my feelings for japan! sorry this is really long!!!


so, my fiance and i actually got to GO to japan! for 3 weeks!!! "FINALLY!" i thought! my dream trip i had been waiting for my whole life :) i planned and planned and planned and we went during cherry blossom season this year. just got back on wednesday! anyway, some interesting background story:


back in october, i had mentioned to my fiance that this 2010 cherry blossom season we should go to japan since it's the last time we'd probably get to go during that time for a LONG time since he will be starting med school soon, and we obviously cannot go during any school year. he knows about my love for japan, and he said how it would be nice, but plane tickets are always so expensive (usually at least $1,200 per person...). i said "i know..." and he said, "well, let's just take a look so we can get it out of our heads because it will just be out of our budget right now". i agreed, and we hopped on the computer to check out the flight prices.


well...we checked, and they were down to $800!!!!! both our jaws dropped. i mean, i've checked multiple times a year, every year, and i have never seen them that low. then...later that night, they dropped further...$760 each. buying plane tickets is always such a gamble with prices, but we couldnt help but wait longer to see what happened! the next day? $675! then that night...$610!!!! i couldn't believe this was actually happening. then, the next night, he found them for $571 EACH. we bought them right then and there. i knew there was no way in heck they would get any lower. $571 for a plane ticket to japan is just insane. i knew it was a huge sign to GOOO! by the way, the next day they jumped back up to $800. still not a bad price, but no where near $571! we even saved this chart to show how funny it was:


y75js7c



we bought our tickets on october 27, 2009, and the best fare chart is the day our flight was in march haha...it was just meant to be.


anyway, we went, and it was everything i had always hoped it would be. i felt a SERIOUS connection to this country. even with all the HUGE differences it has between it and the U.S.! i mean, for starters, the language is WAY different lol...but it felt like...home. everything there just felt right. my fiance knows how i feel about past lives, and he doesnt believe in them, but he also says he has no proof that i'm not right, and he doesnt make fun of me or anything, so that's really nice. i literally want to move there though, but i know it cannot happen because my fiance wants to be a doctor (and he can't really practice in japan), and that makes me sad.


i talked about moving to japan so much while on the trip that my fiance actually had a nightmare that i left him to move to japan without him because he was holding me back from my dream. i had to console him greatly, telling him i would never leave him to move to japan by myself, but while i was telling him this, i gotta say, my heart was breaking a little inside because i knew this dream of mine would never happen. he did however promise me that we could make our future house as japanese as i would like, and that we would definitely be going back to japan in the future. also, he said we could pick to live in japan for our next life haha :) so i guess there's always that.


i just figured i would update on this since i actually got to go, and my feelings were just as strong (if not stronger) while there. i even cried (not like sobbed, but heavily teared up) quite a few times. it just felt right. like i said, it just felt like home.


i also really liked how everything seemed to work out perfectly with the flight prices, as well as things happening while on our trip. certain things just worked out absolutely perfect, and i knew it was because it was all supposed to be this way :)


thanks for reading all of this!!!
 
Gorgeous story PaperCrane. Don't worry though, I have a funny feeling that somehow, some way you will get to go back there again with your fiance/husband and it will all work out brilliantly, just like your airfares.


Do you have any specific ideas about why Japan is so important to you? Did anything trigger any memories while you were over there?
 
Thanks for the update PaperCrane, I'm glad you had a good time. I've always fancied a trip to Japan myself, but I don't think I have any past lives there, I'm just interested in their culture. I hope you get to go back there soon.


Chris :)
 
thanks guys :)


unfortunately i didn't get any memories while there like i had hoped i would. just that feeling of "home". and when i got teary-eyed, it was never at the touristy places. it was at things like this picture i took:


y3qk76g



the rooftops and small homes with intricate tiny gardens is what really got me. and i never felt this way in tokyo either. it was in the kyoto area where things are less "flashy" and more "nature" and "old".


i plan on investigating this further and hope i can tap into my past life memories of japan because i just feel i HAD to have lived there before. i've never felt this way with anything else before.
 
It sounds like a wonderful trip. It's fun to explore other cultures. Especially one you feel such a strong personal connection to.
 
Hi PaperCrane!


I've been following your posts, and I'm really thrilled for you being able to visit Japan. I'm also pleased that you've stayed in touch, because I wanted an opportunity to tell you that one of the classic features of Japanese life is their habit of turning everything they do into a meaningful event, or ceremony.


What this does, in effect, is to make one's past life in that place a more meaningful existence with spiritual overtones. My mother had a lifelong attraction to Japan, which she had to hide during the period before, during, and after the Second World War. But, I watched her interest slowly re-bloom in her life during the 60's. I never thought about reincarnation at the time, and just took her interest for granted, as I did with my extreme interest in certain things.


In retrospect, I realize that her entire demeanor was, in fact, Japanese. Everything she did seemed to be an art form, and her quiet nature taught me a great deal about patience in a hectic and demanding world.


Perhaps, now that you've had a chance to visit Japan, you can appreciate how much it has influenced you. And, you may have realized, by now, how much it has changed. You are fortunate in having a fiance, who is so supportive and understanding; and I'm sure you'll do whatever is necessary to hold onto him. There are now so many ways that you can immerse oneself in Japanese culture and history without having to go there.


-Nightrain
 
thanks, nightrain!


that's very interesting about your mother. and i gotta say, art actually is a HUGE part of my life too. i've been drawing ever since i could hold a pencil, and i have practiced in all sorts of different mediums. i absolutely love everything to do with art, so that's a really cool similarity :)


thanks for sharing that!!! :)
 
PaperCrane said:
thanks, nightrain!
that's very interesting about your mother. and i gotta say, art actually is a HUGE part of my life too. i've been drawing ever since i could hold a pencil, and i have practiced in all sorts of different mediums. i absolutely love everything to do with art, so that's a really cool similarity :)


thanks for sharing that!!! :)
Click to expand...
My mother was what they used to call a Commercial Artist in Detroit during the 30's, and she taught me methods and styles of graphic design that are similar to present Japanese design styles. It would be interesting to investigate your own style.


-Nightrain
 
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