Mind Travels of Ban'ya Natsuishi

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Mind Travels of Ban'ya Natsuishi

Ban'ya Natsuishi writes haiku that moves beyond customary restraints and perceptions from the tradition of only seasonal, natural themes. His muki-haiku-seasonless poem style, paints Natsuishi's promptings into pictures, which embrace the philosophical images in everything, and the mind is able to roam, to contemplate the wider nature of us!

On the way home

I met a friend

and heard a prayer

Natsuishi's haikus from the first half of The Endless Helix are like prayers when written this manner: a whisper of reverence on the wind, softening and shaping the soul.

Walking is philosophy's

best friend --

voices from the clouds

Natsuishi presents us with reflections to take with us wherever we are! Like this one, his words echo in our mind, reminding us of our connection with nature, the playful way we can interact with everything around us as we would our best friend... walking together, unravelling the meaning of life.

The sleeping woman

is not here -- she swims

with tropical fishes

The picture Natsuishi conjures up with this haiku is immediately seen. The woman sleeping before our eyes is really not there; her mind is away, dreaming of swimming with tropical fish. This haiku beautifully captures the all-expansive power of the mind over the limited confinement of the body.

Under the scorching sun

I have forgotten

how to love myself

A real life haiku! How many of us have forgotten how to love ourselves during the trials and tribulations of life. The burning sun, the grind of daily life, can zap our innate love for living, our sense of well being, and even goodwill for others. This is a wonderful ku reminding of our humanness within this world.

Short poems-away from the succinct haiku style, still holding haiku characteristics-fill the second half of Endless Helix. Natsuishi shares his personal dreams both recent and from childhood, which inspires readers beyond the pivotal point of haiku brilliancy and profundity. The beauty of writing haiku is incorporated into the following dream, highlighting it as the spice of life, which is all we need to rest our heads!

A small room

With sand on the floor by the window,

a bush to the right,

a tube to the left.

We sleep well in this room,

write good haiku poems.

We don't need books.

We don't need a house.

'Each moment contains one hundred messages from God', Rumi said, and haikus are a wonderful medium to capture some of these impressions. Natsuishi expounds on this saying, 'Haiku catches not only one moment, but more than two. Each moment is either a symbol or a metaphor of other moments'. His interpretations take in the entire scope of haiku possibility, exemplified in the Flying Pope, limitless in his capacity to express... taking us to the mystical realm of our intrinsic connection to all things-even a dewdrop. To karma and reincarnation; politics; religion; victory and loss; emotions; compassion; ethics; non-ethics; humour; aging; and imaginations...listing some of the themes embedded in the journey Natsuishi invites us into the illusion of consciousness. A flight sometimes visiting illusions that dive into more sombre truths and possibilities

The reason why After his death

the Pope flies: still sick

a dewdrop the Flying Pope

After winning the Nobel Prize Still in a coma

the Flying Pope the Flying Pope

lost lands on the ground

Flying Pope The Flying Pope

Apologizes to at long intervals

the thousand-years-old cedar pulls up a gravestone

Natsuishi describes the Flying Pope as you and me, 'a symbol of the 21st Century. The old West is ruling the whole world, sometimes, bringing us disasters in the name of god or the good, for example, the Iraq War. We are meaningful as well as meaningless.'

'The Flying Pope was accidental', Ban'ya Natsuishi says. 'One day, in a dream he said to himself: "soratobu hoo" (flying pope). Then, he began writing the series without thinking what it really meant'... Therefore, we are free from deep, lengthy analysis, driven also to find the meaning within our own resonance and interpretations! Or no meaning at all, if we choose!

Once in a while

he swims in the Galaxy

the Flying Pope

Biography

Suzie Palmer began writing her life story and poetry in 1999 at 28 years of age. She was encouraged to write after a mystical encounter with a unique Indian sage. 'You are a writer; you must write' he told her 'you must write about your life - true truth - a story describing this is how I won this battle. People like reading about other people's lives. And they'll like reading about yours. You'll also write poetry, teaching people how to be happy even if they can't run and jump'. Suzie began writing with great enthusiasm and optimism, knowing that her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) condition was a 'great blessing', helping her to re-remember her life's purpose. She also strongly believes her MS will heal naturally and she pursues this alternative avenue, documenting her healing ventures for the benefit of all.

Her autobiography reveals how a once happy girl becomes even happier despite her physical problem, when she experiences spiritual understanding and liberation. Suzie's life changes forever and she develops altruistic qualities to help better other lives and the world.

Amid her physical problems and healing plight, Suzie has difficultly finding solace in human love. This is where her true agony lies. She describes her relationships with direct honesty, and finds her greatest challenge in writing about her life without hurting others. Her quest for love is universally shared, along with the problems encountered in duality.

In 2002, Suzie wrote her first children's stories of the Come Fly With Me series and visited local primary schools between 2002 and 2006 to share them with Year 3 to 6 children. Suzie conducts motivational talks to high school students, presents to mature aged students, and gives motivational talks to adults, to help lift them out of bouts of complacency.

In 2005, Suzie began prolifically writing poetry and posting her poems on authorsden.com-an international writing and poetry site. Suzie has presented some of her poems in public, and receives encouragement from Poet Gatherings.

Suzie sends messages of love to everyone. Inspired by the light of love in people's eyes, Suzie gives much of her time to people in need. To help make this world a better place is Suzie's writing drive, and her poems and life reflect this passion.

As well as writing poems, Suzie's central life work is her autobiography, and she looks forward to sharing this with the world.

To view more of Suzie's works see: http://www.authorsden.com/suziepalmer

Or visit: www.suziepalmer.com