Surrendering to the Water Currents of Mt. Fuji: Realizing That Delicate Sensitivity Is Not for Suffering, but a Power to Sense the Natural Order and the World's Pain [Suiryu Exploration Program feat.
はじめに
はじめ
In September 2026, the Suiryu Exploration Program in Mt. Fuji Seiyo-en feat. Regenerative Leadership took place. Set in Mt. Fuji Seiyo-en, nestled at an altitude of approximately 700 meters on the western foothills of sacred Mt. Fuji, participants opened themselves to the interconnectedness and circulation of all creation, exploring ways of being and leadership to reweave regenerative relationships with the world. This article is a guest contribution by program participant Ms. Kataoka, reflecting on her journey. I am truly glad that I was able to participate in this Suiryu Exploration Program.
This special two-day program combined the Suiten Words explored by Ecological Memes with Regenerative Leadership, a new paradigm rooted in living systems. To prepare for the program, participants read Regenerative Leadership (written by Laura Storm and Giles Hutchins, translated by Yasuhiro Kobayashi) and attended a pre-session before gathering from various regions to spend two days together in the forest of Mt. Fuji Seiyo-en.
At first, I was very nervous, but as soon as I entered the forest of Mt. Fuji Seiyo-en, a profound sense of peace washed over me. I felt as though the forest was warmly welcoming me. It had been a long time since I last faced all creation in deep nature. As biologist Janine Benyus noted, I realized that within me was a "longing to reconnect with nature."*1 Entering the forest brought tranquility and calm to my "inner nature," allowing me to gradually relax.
*1: Laura Storm and Giles Hutchins, translated by Yasuhiro Kobayashi, Regenerative Leadership: DNA of People and Organizations Full of Vitality Promoting "Regeneration and Emergence," Eiji Press, 2025, p. 39.
「生命そのもの」である水
Dialogue with Diverse Beings Beginning in the Forest
Under the guidance of our hosts, we stepped into the forest after offering our greetings. Grateful to receive the blessings of a deeply loving mother nature, I looked at and touched various forest beings, filled with pure happiness. Using all five senses, I engaged in dialogue with a wide variety of entities: mushrooms, moss, bark, tree trunks, leaves, soil, and river water. Touching a bark-stripped trunk, I found it soft and squishy from absorbing plenty of water, while the moss ranged from soft and fluffy to crisp and dry. The woody scent of the cool breeze, sweet aromas of citrus and berries, and the indescribable scent of damp soil were intensely comforting. So many unforgettable sensations still linger in my mind.
Spending long hours barefoot in the river and standing as if gripping the earth gave me a sense of becoming one with nature. The river flow was gentle enough that I wasn't swept away, and walking over gravel and stones of varying sizes provided solid stimulation to my foot reflex points. The river water was cold enough to sting my skin, but resting my feet on the thick moss growing over large boulders felt soft, warm, and delightful. Furthermore, the moment I joined my hands in prayer before the small shrine restored by Dr. Tatsutaka Yamamoto (founder of Mt. Fuji Seiyo-en), I felt as though the earth, myself, and the cosmos merged into one. It felt as if time momentarily stood still.
My awareness naturally turned toward mycelial networks and the flowing cells within my own body. When it did, the vibrant life energy sleeping inside me began to shine warmly. Slowly, I felt the disharmony within me being healed. We were also offered spring water that had seeped through Mt. Fuji's lava layers over a century before emerging. Pure and transparent without any harshness, although the water I drank was freezing cold, it carried a gentle softness that warmly permeated my body.
The Fact That All Living Beings Are Made of Water
Since "water" was the central theme of this program, dialogue with water was deeply cherished. Right at the beginning of the program, there was a meditation session guided by the narration of Toshie Tokuyoshi from Regenerative Leadership Japan Association. We traced the history of water with a feeling of traveling alongside it, surrendering ourselves to its flow. Even without consciously picturing it, the sound of water gushing forth echoed within me from somewhere. The sound of water flowing inside me merged with the sound of water flowing outside. Finishing a glass of Mt. Fuji spring water slowly after the meditation, I tasted a distinct sweetness beyond usual, experiencing a truly blissful sensation.
Then, we shared a meal while keeping in mind that all food is made of water. In our dizzying daily lives, we tend to forget the seemingly obvious fact that all living beings consist of water. In other words, our memories of coexisting with primeval nature and being intimately connected with the planet begin to fade. A space filled with silence, where time flows slowly, gently leads us back to such truths. I felt that being in this kind of time and space is essential for remembering that we were once one with nature. Eventually, my awareness began turning not only to these obvious truths, but also to inner truths and the presence of walls that dam the flow of water within my heart.
Inner Nature and the Invitation of "Suiten Words"
「萃「萃点ことば」点のことば」
In this program, we also engaged in a dialogue workshop focused on ourselves using the Suiten Word Cards, which compile insights from Ecological Memes' cross-disciplinary explorations. I felt this time was both a dialogue with others and a dialogue with oneself—a time of deeply listening to both external voices and one's own inner voice.
Even if we encountered unfamiliar or difficult concepts when looking at the title (species name) of a card, we were encouraged to put into words whatever naturally descended or welled up within us. It was perfectly fine not to explain well, or to offer just a string of words. If we didn't understand, it was fine to leave it as not understanding. In short, the workshop placed importance on honestly expressing whatever arose internally. At first, I felt anxious and wondered if I was doing it right. However, as the workshop progressed, those clouds cleared away, and my inner self opened up.
For instance, when I randomly drew a card from among the 27 face-down cards, it read "Re-integration of Inner and Outer." The moment I saw these words, I was convinced that this was precisely what I needed right now. In the midst of a dizzying daily life surrounded by devices, with few opportunities to touch nature, I had been unable to hold much time connecting my "inner nature" with the "external nature."
Here, I felt a renewed desire to cherish "inner sustainability." Inner sustainability refers to "a state of cultivating creativity, playfulness, well-being, and bodily intelligence, tapping into nature's wisdom, thinking in interconnected systems, and connecting to one's own purpose sensed within the whole."2 Turning my gaze inward drew out the fundamental question: "With what mission do I exist on this Earth?" Facing the current biodiversity crisis, restoring harmony with nature likely begins by confronting such fundamental questions. A "mission" resides within the "inner knowing"3 granted by "nature's wisdom."
I wish to continually reweave and reintegrate my own "inner" and "outer" worlds while constantly undergoing metamorphosis. Furthermore, as times, environments, and societal conditions shift at an unprecedented speed, I want to firmly root myself in the ground and establish my core. Even if I waver, harmonizing with nature allows me to return to my origin. If I lose sight of my inner nature, I will become unable to connect with external nature as well.
*2: Laura Storm and Giles Hutchins, translated by Yasuhiro Kobayashi, Regenerative Leadership: DNA of People and Organizations Full of Vitality Promoting "Regeneration and Emergence," Eiji Press, 2025, p. 60.
*3: Ibid., p. 214.
Realizing That Delicate Sensitivity Is Not for Suffering, but a Power to Sense Natural Order and World Pain
While walking through the forest, Yasu (Yasuhiro Kobayashi) from Ecological Memes guided us to spend some solitary time, bringing a moment to connect even more deeply with the earth. Finding my favorite spot in the forest, I laid out a mat and lied flat on my back, looking up at the sky. A drop of rain fell... then another... I gazed at the leaves. Raindrops fell through the holes eaten away by insects. Looking up at the sky again, I quietly watched the thick, drifting clouds before closing my eyes. Against my back, I felt a subtle warmth like magma. Why is the earth so kind and warm? Contemplating this, I drifted off to sleep... until I was awakened by the sound of Yasu blowing a conch shell (horagai). Upon waking, I felt completely refreshed.
Afterward, we practiced journaling in the forest—a process of continuously writing down whatever words arose from within. Although it was my first time journaling, before I knew it, my words naturally wove themselves onto the page. By this point, any anxiety about whether I was "doing it right" had vanished. This was because the other participants were feeling things similar to what I was experiencing. Though everyone gathered here lived entirely different lives, I was overjoyed that we could resonate and empathize with one another. Yoko Kikuno from Seiyo-en once shared, "I want to place myself in connections that are difficult to verbalize." Those words clicked deeply inside me.
During the sharing time, only the person holding the talking piece (such as a thick small tree branch encrusted with lichen) would speak, while the listeners quietly attuned their ears to what was being shared. Once the speaker finished, the listeners held their hands together in prayer and silently bowed toward them. There was no set speaking order; one simply took the talking piece to speak when the right moment arrived. Throughout this time of sharing, a space was created where everyone felt safe to speak.
I wish to let go of viewing myself as a victim and heal my unacknowledged stress. Since I was young, my body has been extremely sensitive, and my heart equally delicate. The skin of my body and the skin of my mind were both thin and fragile. Due to various traumas, I was terrified of stepping into new things. My beliefs born from fear restricted my actions and closed off my feelings. Did those sensitivities exist solely to make me suffer? No, they did not. That sensitive skin and perception were proof that I could sensitively notice the natural order and human pain. Whenever I notice myself trapped in past wounds, making excuses, and limiting my actions, I want to face those moments gently and let them go each time.
Day two. Early in the morning, I walked into the forest alone, sang a song, and offered my greetings to the forest. Placing my bare feet upon the tree roots, I hugged a trunk and engaged in dialogue. The forest of Mt. Fuji Seiyo-en warmly embraced me and shared messages of love. For a while, I sat on a tree stump and cried. Tears of joy are sweet. The water, too, tasted sweet. I felt that nature and I are love itself.
Here, I also made a new discovery. Looking at two noble trees supporting each other left a deep impression within me. The tree on the left was unadorned, evoking a sense of honorable simplicity and humility. Quiet yet unwavering, it simply existed there, leaning gently toward the tree on the right as if snuggling close. It was almost like the Virgin Mary. Meanwhile, the tree on the right was wrapped in powerful, reddish-brown roots in a spiral, hosting countless mushrooms on its body as it stretched straight toward the heavens. Its form overlapped with that of Jesus, having overcome passion and demonstrating infinite, great love.
I also spotted a small insect resembling a ladybug. At first glance, it appeared entirely black, but looking closely, I realized it was shimmering with a rainbow of lights, like glitter. Thinking of how many extremely rare creatures must inhabit Mt. Fuji Seiyo-en, I was overwhelmed by its profound depth. Furthermore, none of the insects there brought me any harm. Perhaps it was because the environment was so peaceful? I was amazed that I wasn't bitten by a single mosquito, gnat, or leech.
Deep, Truthful Waters Flowing at the Forest Floor
After breakfast, we entered the forest together once more and headed to the spring where the shrine stood. There, we meditated while listening to Yasu read an excerpt from Sansei Yamao's Water Is Flowing, accompanied by the sound of gushing spring water.
"...In truth, we were once water,
flowing as water,
beings who came forth as water.
In truth, we are still water,
flowing as water,
beings coming forth as water.
Water flows away and flows near,
hundreds of millions of us, and just one single me.
At the floor of the forest,
water is flowing.
At the bottom of the deep forest,
deep waters of truth are flowing."
Source: Sansei Yamao, Water Is Flowing (Yasosha, 2002)
Yamao's message—that because we are inherently water, we ought to be able to flow toward the deep truth found at the hidden, secluded "bottom of the deep forest"—felt powerful yet tender. Water is that which flows commonly through every living being. I was reminded once again that truth resides right there. At the same time, as I listened to the reciting voice and the sound of flowing water, I sensed the sound and movement of my own blood circulating. My body and mind were purified, continuing to flow without blockage.
Within Us Resides Life Energy That Gushes Forth Like Water
Returning to Seiyo-en, we practiced meditation once more, this time drinking tea rather than water. By then, my consciousness had tripped so far away that my memory remains hazy. Drinking tea itself became a form of forest bathing; through the tea, I was able to receive nature's blessings. The simple act of focusing on the aroma and warmth of the tea using all five senses was inherently a practice of mindfulness, offering a healing effect similar to immersing oneself in nature during forest bathing.
All the participants sat in a circle, where a seat was also prepared for "Omizu-san" (the sacred spring water poured into a glass). At first glance, Omizu-san might not be a human being. Yet, it was a fascinating learning experience to see that simply making its presence explicit allowed for communication to take place. This must be because both within water and within myself lies the memory of the cosmos, connected through vital energy.
The DNA model of Regenerative Leadership consists of three domains: "Living Systems Design," "Living Systems Culture," and "Living Systems Being." The elements encompassed within these three domains are made into cards (17 types in total). Each person received a random set of three cards. First, we noted down on paper any questions or words that surfaced upon seeing the keywords on the cards. Next, we passed our question sheets together with the three cards as a set to the person on our right, while simultaneously receiving a set from the person on our left.
This process—resembling a relay of questions—was repeated three times, until we finally received and responded to the question written on the cards in our hands. The question card I wrote was passed to Omizu-san. Having Omizu-san answer my question was a truly precious experience.
I drew cards featuring the keywords "Geometries & Form," "Diverse & Inclusive Culture," and "Presence." First, my eyes caught "Geometries & Form." A question popped into my mind immediately, and I wrote on the paper: "The root of a certain tree coiled spirally from bottom to top. What inspiration do you draw from this form?" The answer from Omizu-san was, "Within me and within you, fragments of the cosmos flow as water and blood." Indeed, cosmic DNA flows inside me. Hearing this reminded me of a passage from the Gospel of John in the New Testament: "'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.' By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive." In other words, water can be said to resemble the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I believe that anyone, anywhere, at any time, can receive love, and that within us resides a life energy that wells up like water—what Emanuele Coccia calls un éclat de lumière (a flash of light).*5 Even amidst the flow of living beings and space-time constantly shifting and undergoing metamorphosis, as long as cosmic DNA resides in our bodies, water, the Holy Spirit, and the gleam of light undeniably and potentially exist.
Furthermore, "Presence" carries the nuance of "fostering deep relationships with our inner self (inner nature) as well as with others and the world (outer nature)." This connects directly to the "Re-integration of Inner and Outer" card I drew on the first day with the Suiten Word Cards. That is, I realized it is crucial for the relationship between the life energy of all creation around me and my own to become ever more intimate.
*5: Refers to Emanuele Coccia's Metamorphoses. "In a sense, all living beings share the same body, the same life, and the same self, continuously shifting from form to form, subject to subject, being to being. This same life animates the planet, born from a body that existed before—the Sun—and brought forth roughly 4.5 billion years ago through the transformation of matter. We are all a fragment (parcelle), a flash of light (un éclat de lumière)—energy striving to live differently from how solar matter has lived through countless past existences."
ジャーナリング②
Just like on the first day, we practiced 15 minutes of journaling before our sharing time. Here, I wrote down in my notebook the new things I had seen and felt through participating in this program. Sitting on a bench by the pond, I was watching the moss growing on a large boulder seated in the water. Moss comes in various colors. Beyond green, there were shades of light blue-gray, white, pale pink, and brown. Why is it that such rich colors coexist and harmonize so beautifully within the landscape? Why does looking at these colorful lives quietly nestling together on the rock surface bring such serenity to the heart? I love contemplating the wonders of nature.
I also made another new discovery during this short time. After looking at the large boulder, I walked toward the forest and found a secluded spot where I could thoroughly observe the quiet pond. There, I spotted a Japanese honeybee and a cabbage white butterfly. As I watched closely, I heard the delicate, silent sound of the Japanese honeybee kissing the surface of the pond water. Soon after, I also heard the gentle flutter of the butterfly's wings. I was filled with joy simply by being able to notice these subtle moments.
プログラム最後のわかちあい
おわりに
Conclusion: In a World Dissolving into All Creation
In the forest of Mt. Fuji Seiyo-en, without focusing my eyes, I softly gazed into empty space, sensing with my whole skin the state of all things in constant flux. I felt the surge of vibrant life energy within. That precious time, where my inner nature and all creation dissolved into one, was truly unforgettable.
By placing myself within the flow of nature, I became aware of senses and abilities sleeping inherently within me. Upon this realization, I wish to redesign my identity and life project, stepping into a new beginning. Furthermore, I hope to discover my own design for social innovation, co-creating it alongside resonating companions. Carrying within me the sparkle of life woven over roughly 4.6 billion years of Earth's history, I want to hold high the lantern of love as I live in the present moment.
On the night of September's new moon, I express my heartfelt gratitude for the opportunity to share time with everyone I met at Mt. Fuji Seiyo-en.
With deepest and growing gratitude,
Written by: Yurina Kataoka
Voices & Reflections from Other Participants
"It was a deeply profound forest experience. Soaking in the pond water after the sauna was also wonderful. I already miss the quiet solitude."
"Spending time dissolving into the circulation of the rich forest and water brought a sense of relaxation, untying my mind, heart, and body. The quiet yet eloquent rain-soaked forest was beautiful, and I felt relieved as life energy gradually surged through my body. Rather than striving with intent, taking time to quietly listen to the awakening of one's own cells is sometimes a truly good thing."
"I was able to expand my awareness and embrace feeling shaken. Rather than acquiring something new, I became aware of what was already within me yet unnoticed, and I came to realize that it is okay to think simply."
"The digital detox was also refreshing—the sense of liberation upon letting go of gadgets was entirely new. Even though I thought I was managing myself well, I realized I was subtly trapped by my smartphone (lol), so I’m glad I became aware of that. Sharing personal stories inspired by Suiten Words revealed each person's worldview, making it an intriguing approach to self-disclosure."
"Inhaling the pristine, clear air of Mother Nature deeply into my body and touching diverse beings gave me a sense of becoming one with the universe and the earth. Experiencing my body dissolve into nature warmed both my physical body and my heart. Through this program, I was reminded that loving oneself first allows us to receive love from the world and the universe. The ego within me was purified by nature's wisdom, releasing me from self-imposed limitations and filling me with joy. Thank you."
"Visiting Mt. Fuji Seiyo-en in this program was truly divine providence. The ceaseless sounds of various waters, and entering the forest twice—visiting the stone wall where Fuji's water overflows and flows again the next day—deepened my connection to this land and its water. Activities like the sauna and the spring pond were also joyful. What made it magnificent was that these enjoyable activities never remained superficial, but became a journey into a deeper connection with the blessings of Mt. Fuji’s water."
"Through this journey, I decided to cherish what feels truly essential for the world, the future, life, and the present moment. Throughout my life—starting with my parents and younger sister—I have always been blessed with encounters that I can only describe as fortunate. Something has always been helping me, and on this trip, I felt comfortable calling that 'spirits.' While experiences, terms, and expressions like synchronicity, spirits, or inner voices may vary, I felt that all of these emerge within the grand interconnectedness of life. Choosing actions while being conscious of that connection might be what Regenerative Leadership means for me."
About the Suiten Words Project
Suiten Words Cards were developed as "practical wisdom and insights for restoring the connection between humans and nature, living in harmony with the rhythm of life and ecosystems." This card-based tool draws out the core values and ways of being that each individual holds dear from fresh perspectives unconstrained by conventional thinking, facilitating dialogue within teams and organizations as well as building deeper relationships. Please feel free to reach out to us regarding workshops or corporate training programs utilizing these cards.
Upcoming Suiryu Exploration Program
The Next Suiryu Exploration Program: Winter Retreat in Kumano & Nachi (February 3–5, 2027)
Retreating into the sacred winter lands, we will explore our inner Suiten (points of convergence) and attune our ears to the sprouting of life in anticipation of the coming spring. If you are interested, we will prioritize sending you advance details. Please contact us at: suiten_no_kotoba@ecologicalmemes.me
eference Article
Reference Article:
From the mountains, becoming rivers, and returning to the sea. Letting go of autopilot and welcoming the sensibility seeping out from within [Suiryu Exploration Program in Kumano & Nachi Report]
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