While you sleep, you may sometimes have strange dreams that seem out of this world.  For example, you may dream of flying or being chased by something frightening.  Any dream that features full, natural colors and seems to be happening in a peculiar world may be an indication that your soul is visiting the Spirit world . . . Usually, your soul slips out of your body while you are asleep . . . A great many people leave their bodies and visit the other world while they are asleep . . . I can consciously observe the other world, but most people unconsciously visit the spirit world in their sleep . . . We may sometimes remember meeting with our deceased family members in our dreams even after we wake up . . . we really are meeting them in the other world.

 
In the afterworld, schools exist in both heaven and hell.  There is a big need for these schools because it's critical for new arrivals to the spirit world to receive spiritual education . . . In the school in hell, those who are on the way to becoming angels teach those who have held mistaken beliefs and returned to the shallow parts of hell but who will be able to return to heaven after receiving a thorough education about spiritual truths.

 
The other world may seem unreal, like a place out of a dream, but in fact it is the real world . . . and this physical world is only a temporary abode, a dreamlike place . . . We need to awaken to the truth that the other world is no dream, even though it may seem that way.  It is an eternal world, a world that will last forever . . . Buddhism teaches people to abandon all attachments to the physical world.

. . . at around two o'clock, I traveled out of my physical body to visit the spirit world.  My father met me there and showed me the progress he had made so far.  He took me to the Happy Science temples that have been under construction in the fifth dimension, which are most likely intended for the believers of our faith.

In this experience, I was taken to a mountainous region of the spirit world, where I was accompanied by an elderly guide.  He looked to me to be someone of German descent and had balding silver hair and a silver beard and held a walking stick.

After climbing up a mountainous trail for a while, the scenery began to change, revealing terrains made of crystal.  I saw that along both sides of our trail, there were tall, pointy, hexagonal crystals emerging out of the ground where you would normally find trees.  Eventually we reached a resting area, and when my guide suggested that we take a break for something to eat, I agreed.  I saw that we were probably still near the German spirit world, because the people who came out to serve us were charming, gnome-like people who served us stew and various other dishes.

When we finished our break, we set out on our journey again.  And gradually, I saw that the scenery around us was changing further, revealing entire mountains made of pure crystal that kept changing colors into different gradations of the rainbow.  When we eventually arrived at a basin, I began to wonder what kind of world this was.  I had never been to a place like this before.

Just as I had this thought, there emerged before us four very beautiful women who began to dance.  In the olden days, I would have told you that this was the dance of the ancient goddesses, but these women were not dressed in a traditional style.  Instead they wore modern-style dresses like you would see in the latest Paris collections today.  They introduced themselves to me as the goddesses of beauty, and I recognized one of them as the goddess Aphrodite, but who the other three goddesses were remains a mystery to me.

Each of their dresses was of a different color that gradated in sync with each twirl and spin.  If one of their dresses was originally yellow, it would gradate into blends of aqua, pink, and purple as the goddess spun around, and these shifting colors reflected off the transparent crystals that stood tall around them like pillars.  What I saw was a whole scenery of constantly shifting colors that blended into one another and changed as the goddesses danced.

It was an incredibly beautiful sight revealing a marvelous sense of color that I had not known to exist anywhere before.  As the colors of the goddesses' dresses reflected off one another and onto the crystal forests, it was as though I was watching the light of a prism emanating a mystical array of tones, many of which were impossible to describe in words known to this world.

For a while, I simply stood there in the wonderment of their dance.  Eventually, I asked them a question: "Can you tell me what kind of world this is?"  "This is the world of the goddesses of beauty," they said.  Since I had already guessed as much and wished to know more, I insisted that they tell me more about their roles.  In response to my curiosity, one of them stepped forward and offered to show me around their world.

She explained to me that the crystal basin where they had been dancing led to numerous places on Earth.  As I followed her, I saw many gates leading from the goddesses' world to various places in the physical world.  The gate that we chose to take led us to the luxury boutiques of a large hotel, the kind with exquisite jewelry, scarves, accessories, fashions, and fragrances by designer brands such as Chanel and Hermes.  I recognized spiritual routes like this in several hotels, including one that was very familiar to me.  I was surprised to learn that the designer brands in pursuit of supreme beauty in fine hotels around the world are connected with the goddesses of beauty through spiritual pathways.

I once wrote, in a series of books titled Love Blows Like the Wind,* (*This series of books was published by IRH Press in Japan.  Ryuho Okawa, Ai wa Kaze no Gotoku, Vol. 1 to 4 [Tokyo, IRH Press, 1994].) about the spiritual world of the mermaids who live in a lake that leads to all the seas of the physical world.  I learned that the realm of the goddesses of beauty works in much the same way.  They have gates that lead to the designer shops that represent beauty in our physical world, and there they inspire people with their visions of beauty.

Most of the stores the goddesses took me to did not belong to Japanese designers, but perhaps I would have found some if I had looked more closely.

In this way, the goddesses are able to come and go as they wish to inspire those in this world with beauty.  This was the first time I had ever seen their world, so this was also a new discovery for me.  We didn't explore any other places, but I'm sure there must also be passageways to the leading designers and fashion models of our time.

It was interesting to learn that there are spirits in the other world who work this way.  When I saw that the goddesses wore modern dresses rather than the dresses of ancient times, I understood that they have been the sources of inspiration for those who create beautiful products on Earth.  Each season's leading styles and fashion trends are based on concepts these goddesses come up with and send out in spiritual inspirations.

I think it's rare to receive an invitation from the goddesses of beauty, even for me, and to witness the rare beauty of all those gradating and reflecting colors.  I was amazed to discover that such a world of beauty exists.  And while I didn't think of it at the time, a similar world of fragrances might also exist someplace in the spirit world where spirits devote themselves to producing exquisite blends of perfumes.

In another experience in the month of January, I was taken to yet another part of the spirit world.  What was different this time was the very fast speed at which my out-of-body experience occurred.  I was flying at such a fast pace that I could hear the roar of the wind in my ears as I traveled higher and higher.  And eventually, while I was thinking about how quickly I was traveling and wondering where I was being taken, a large mountain came into sight.

It resembled the Himalayas, which stand tall and are also wide at the foot, but this mountain I saw in the spirit world was slightly taller and narrower.  It towered so high, in fact, that I couldn't guess its true height.  But because its base was relatively narrow, I could see that it was definitely tall and slender.

Then, before I knew it, I was flying vertically up the side of the mountain at a very fast speed, and I couldn't help but wonder how high I would go and what the name of the mountain was.  It was then that I heard the voice of a spirit tell me, "This is the legendary mountain Mount Meru."

According to legend, Mount Meru is a mountain in India, but it doesn't exist in this world.  People have suggested that Mount Meru may be one of the peaks in the Himalayan or Kunlun mountain ranges, since both are near India, but the truth is that Mount Meru exists only in the spirit world.

Judging from my own observations, Mount Meru is an extremely tall, pointy mountain — I'd guess that it's well over ten thousand meters high, although it wasn't snowcapped.  On my way to the top, I flew past many rings of clouds representing the different realms where the gods live.  This was where the Indian spirit world could be found, and I met many famous Indian gods during this journey.  Living here and there were many that I recognized and recalled learning about, so I went to pay my respects and speak with each of them.  After meeting with each god or goddess, I moved up to an additional level above him or her.  I made my journey upwards in this fashion, flying higher and higher.

I eventually reached the summit of the mountain, where I could find nowhere farther up to go.  As I stood there, I wondered to myself, "Could this be the end of my journey, or could there actually be more?"  Then, to my surprise, I found myself in the middle of a ceremony being held in my honor.

First, they gave me Indian clothing with a red and yellow design against an olive green background.  When they finished dressing me in this outfit and draped the mantle over my shoulders, the coronation ceremony began.  They placed a crown on my head that I wasn't able to see for myself, and they handed me a jeweled staff.

When I asked them what this ceremony was for, they told me, "The Indian spirit world has officially recognized you as the most venerated of all Indian gods."  This experience reminded me that I had not thought about India's pantheon of gods for some time, but they seemed to have acknowledged and celebrated me as the greatest among them regardless.

In the Hindu religion, the Buddha* (*Shakyamuni Buddha is a past reincarnation of Ryuho Okawa.) is treated as only one of many gods.  The Buddha is known simply as one of the ten avatars of Vishnu, a principal Hindu god.  Put another way, Hindu theology accorded the Buddha the same level of importance as many other gods.  But this is no longer the case, because the deities have celebrated me as the most superior of God of all.
 
They called me by a name I can no longer recall, and though it was not the name "El Cantare," I remember that it meant "God of the Sun," so the name was most likely "Surya."  This name probably refers to the sun that can be seen over the summit of Mount Meru.  They must have thought that this was a befitting title to grant someone who has reached the highest point in the Indian spirit world.

I felt that this was a rare experience representing a good omen — a sign that the Indian gods are watching and supporting me.  The Indian gods very rarely appear among the guiding spirits of Happy Science, but I believe that they accepted me into their spirit world because of my connection with India in a previous life.