"Between Spirituality and Reality" Collaborative Magazine ── July 5th Update

Good evening, this is Misuzu.
July is a month where we eagerly await the end of the rainy season. While the humid days continue, the blue of the sky is starting to change into the colors of summer little by little.

We have welcomed new members to the "Between Spirituality and Reality" collaborative magazine this week as well.

And this week, while re-reading the members' articles, I noticed something. There were so many articles this week that dealt with "choices."

Whether to continue your current job or change your environment.
Whether to choose the shortcut or choose the path of steady accumulation.
Whether to keep making safe choices or be honest with your own "pleasure."

Life is a series of choices every day.

So this time, I will introduce members' articles with the theme of "choices."
I hope this serves as a reference for your own better "choices."

🌱 New members this week

◆ Naoko-san

A creator who works as a psychological counselor, having learned self-acceptance and emotional boundaries from her own experience of struggling with the difficulty of living for over 30 years. She shares psychology on note for HSP women in their 50s to help them live their own lives.

✨ Member article pick-up this week ── Theme: "Choices"

◆ Naoko-san 📝 "The future doesn't change suddenly 🌿 Today's choices change the future"

You have an ideal future, but you don't know where to start. You are trying hard, but nothing changes. Naoko-san, who says she was the same in the past, shares how she realized that what changed her future wasn't a big event, but "small daily choices." By continuing self-acceptance, the choices themselves begin to change.

◆ Rilica-san 📝 "Should I keep doing my current job? | A work reading for those staying or wanting to change environments"

Should you continue your current job or move to a new environment? A work reading that uses tarot to interpret your intuitive choice between two options, A and B. What is important is to re-examine "what you want to be faithful to." It tells you that no matter which you choose, your sincerity and efforts are bearing fruit.

◆ Kotonoha Usagi-san 📝 "There are hardships in life that you don't have to choose"

"There are hardships worth buying, but don't take on hardships you don't need to." These are words my grandfather told me many times when I was a child. As I grew older, I began to see their depth. Discerning what to carry and what to let go of is also a form of life skill. This is an article filled with kindness and strength.

◆ Mumei S-san 📝 "Mini Creative Award [The Choice of That Day]"

The closure of a department that had lasted 80 years, a concrete story that came down six months ago, a headhunting offer from a prime contractor. An essay detailing the real experience of choosing a "path to live" while struggling. It wasn't that I chose the easy path; it was the best means I decided on myself. And that choice led to my encounter with Timee and my encounter with note.

◆ Ryujin-san 📝 "When you look at yourself from a little distance, the reasons for your choices look gentle"

In our daily lives, we make many choices. But once a week, take time to look at yourself from a little distance and ask, "Why did I choose that?" This is not a reflection meeting, but a time to gently re-listen to the movements inside yourself. This article proposes a morning to look back on your choices without blaming yourself.

◆ Hyohakumin-san 📝"≪Work is something given by heaven≫──This is a view on occupation that has been said since ancient times‼️ Can you believe it❓"

The English word for a calling is "calling." The idea that a profession is something given by heaven has existed since ancient times. In this modern age where choosing one's own job is the default, daring to adopt this perspective can help ease some of the worries and anxieties about work. This is an article that re-examines our view of work through the wisdom of our predecessors.

◆ Hide-san 📝"What I really wanted wasn't a shortcut, but the accumulation of effort"

I wanted results quickly. I was always looking for shortcuts──. This is what 51-year-old Hide-san realized while working with friends to trample weeds in a pesticide-free rice field. Weeds eventually become nutrients for the rice in the soil. Even painful experiences and days spent taking the long way around eventually became the nutrients that helped me grow. This is an article about that realization.

◆ Ibuki-san 📝"The 'safe choice that won't fail' was my biggest waste of money | How to let go of perfectionism"

My perfectionism surfaced after an order at a bar. I chose a safe cocktail whose taste I could imagine, while my husband lightly ordered the bartender's recommendation. What I realized through a dialogue with AI is that spending money on things that don't move your heart is the real waste. The practice of allowing myself the "luxury of failing" begins here.

◆ Chie-san 📝"Healers need to be healed too"

When you work in a job that heals others, people tend to think, "This person is always composed." But there is no human who doesn't waver. When I had a session with a healer I trust, tears overflowed the moment I saw their face──. This is an article detailing the experience where the words "Don't just seek self-affirmation, acknowledge your self-esteem" really hit home.

◆ Ponta Taro-san 📝"How to redesign freedom to live outside of organizations, such as FIRE──The disappearance of external structures and how to handle it"

FIRE is about gaining freedom, but it is also an environmental change where the external structures that have supported you for years disappear. This is a tour de force that systematizes how to redesign the five domains of action, time, body, diet, and intellect as an "internal structure," incorporating the rationality of an investor and insights from brain science. This is an entry for the Creative Awards.

◆ Misuzu (note on organizing your life from your 40s) 📝"Which is better, being a company employee or self-employed? | I chose to return to being a company employee (Part 1)"

About 10 years ago, I quit the company I had worked at for 13 years. I felt the limits of the reality of having my salary halved. The job of an instructor I encountered during the time unemployment insurance gave me. But making a living from a job you love is a different problem──. This is the first part of a record of my "choices," looking back on my own experience.

◆ Misuzu (note on organizing your life from your 40s) 📝"Are you suited for independence? Or not? | I chose to return to being a company employee (Part 2)"

Days spent juggling teaching and part-time jobs. Even though it was fun work, the instability of not being able to see my life a few months ahead didn't suit me. Choosing to return to being a company employee didn't mean I "lost," but rather that I "found out what suits me." This also includes tips for those in their 40s and 50s considering independence.

◆ Misuzu (Administrator) 📝"[Archived] How to use healing | Common questions and how to get yourself in balance"

Everyone has their own reasons for being interested in healing. "Is it effective?" "What is a healing crisis?" "Will I become dependent?"──This is an archived article that organizes the series I have written so far by purpose. Please feel free to read from the theme that interests you as an entry point to healing.

🍽 Extra Edition: Food Porn Award🏅

◆ Soraha DX 100%-san 📝"Fuji Rock isn't just about the music. A story about the 'food' I secretly look forward to"

FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL '26 is being held this month. Of course, the music is great, but I'm actually looking forward to the festival food──. Green curry, mazesoba, grilled sweetfish, hamburgers, shaved ice... This is a food porn article that will make your stomach growl just by reading it, full of delicious photos and even introducing eating strategies for each area. Apparently, they come home 2kg heavier every year.

The "Between Spirituality and Reality" co-edited magazine is looking for participants. We look forward to having you join us.