A Year for “Safe Risk-Taking”
Jodie Chiemi Ching
It’s already the middle of 2019! Here at The Hawai‘i Herald, time is flying by so quickly. So much has happened in the local Japanese American community: Hawai‘i was treated to an unforgettable kabuki performance from Japan; the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i and the Hawaii United Okinawa Association both have new executive directors; and Hawaii Hochi, Ltd.’s past president, Paul Yempuku, who worked for Hawaii Hochi for 53 years, passed away at the age of 92. Japan also has a new emperor.
We asked Alice Inoue, founder of Happiness U and a “life guide” who has advised over 10,000 people, to give us an astrological update by first answering two questions: What are her observations of the last six months, and how can we make the best of the rest of 2019?
“I see the ‘Year of Movement’ in full effect,” said Inoue. Over the last six months, she’s noticed that her clients, students and Happiness U members are making significant changes. Some are letting go of stagnant relationships, getting promotions or changing jobs. For those still feeling stuck, it’s not too late to make changes, she said.
This past February, Inoue shared her predictions for 2019 in a standing-room-only presentation at the Honolulu Club, calling it “The Year of Movement.”
Self-driving vehicles, seniors dating online, hotels operated by robots, robot brothels and scientists transforming spinach leaves into human heart tissue are no longer ideas of the future. These are some examples of the fast pace at which the world is evolving, according to Inoue.
“I think it’s OK to say that it’s a good year if you understand what the year is about,” Inoue said in a one-on-one interview back in February.
Which brought up the question: What is this year about?
Astrology and Numerology
“Astrology is the study of the patterns, themes and cycles of the planets in the sky and how they correlate to our lives and the events that happen on earth,” said Inoue. “Astrology is related to the four elements of earth, water, fire and air as the planets travel through the signs that can be divided into these categories. Everything in astrology can be correlated to these four elements.”
Numerology “is the study of the language and cycles of numbers and how they relate to patterns and themes both in the world and in our lives,” Inoue explained. “They (astrology and numerology) are related in that they reinforce one another even though they are different systems. When we understand them together, we can get even deeper insight. Both have cycles as their foundation, and these cycles both correlate and uncannily support each other.”
The Astrological Elements of Earth and Fire
“There are two elements that are really strong [this year]. It is the element of earth and the element of fire,” explained Inoue. “With earth we need to ground, to find grounding, to find what’s solid, what’s stable, what will sustain and also what platform we want to kind of launch ourselves off of.
“That earth energy also brings a kind of a feeling of efficiency and not wanting to waste time, not waste energy, not waste resources. Then we’ll start to look at our lives and kind of say, ‘Where have we been wasting, and where do we want to focus?’ It’s a little bit like, ‘Have I been giving too much in my relationships? How do I need to redefine the rules?’ So, setting new rules. If I’ve just been doing so much for everyone out of appreciation, then, now do I do a little less?” said Inoue.
“We are trying to create safety and security for ourselves and the ones that we love. And earth (element) is less chaotic. So, we will have a less chaotic year than last year. This year is a little bit more like finding new ground to move forward, letting go of some drama, letting go of some of the chaos,” said Inoue.
Sounds pretty good, right? But wait. It gets better!
“The fire part of the year,” Inoue said, “is about fun and laughter and enjoyment! I think people will be looking to enjoy things a little bit more. I think we have had a very tumultuous last two years.” She explained that 2017 was a ‘1’ year as in 2 + 0 + 1 + 7 = 10. Take the 10 and add those digits, 1 + 0 = 1; ‘1’ marks the beginning of a cycle that started with Donald Trump taking office as president, the #metoo movement, etc.
Inoue said, “It’s almost feeling like, ‘Well, you know what? We’re still alive. We’re still here. So, you know what? Let’s just have some fun!’“
So far this year, Inoue noticed that people who wanted to make changes years ago finally started acting on them.
After watching the people of Kaua‘i brave the severe flooding on their island, and our state recover from the false ballistic missile alert in 2018, there was a great sense that “We survived!”
Inoue predicted that people would have more guts to take a leap and do things they might have hesitated to do in the past.
“I want to say it’s kind of the year of ‘safe risk-taking.’ You’ll feel safer to do something you kind of wanted to do. For example, you always wanted to start your own business, right? Or, showcase something that you created, but you’ve always been a little shy. Now, it’s like you find value in what you do or have. You’ll feel safe to kind of go out of a comfort zone more than before because ‘fire’ gives us that feeling of like, ‘You know, we only live once. Let’s experience the moment.’ I think this year will bring a lot of emphasis on experiences and relationships.”
Numerology: 2019 is a “3” year
“Numerologically, it is a ‘3’ year (Take 2019 and add all the digits: 2 + 0 + 1 + 9 = 12; take the 12 and add those digits: 1 + 2 = 3) and I termed it ‘The Year of Movement’ because I think we are going to feel a little safe to move in a new direction,” Inoue explained earlier this year. “Maybe let go of old beliefs that just have been holding us back. So there’s some . . . I think some new beginnings for many people, and it doesn’t mean we change jobs or change relationships to grow. It kind of meant that we allow ourselves to flow a little more with the times.”
Inoue said the year would include safety and security, and fun and laughter, too.
This all sounds like good times ahead, right? But you know the adage: If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
What Should We Be Mindful Of?
“Let’s see, ” said Inoue, pondering the question, “mindful of . . . resistance to change!” she said. “The world is changing very rapidly — everything as we know already, from technology to new generations of people, [and] of young people that act differently and do things differently. If we stay too stuck in the ways of the past, we lose the opportunity to find a new expression of ourselves. So, I think we need to be mindful not to get too stuck and say, ‘We always did it this way,’ or ‘This is the way I’ve always been,’ or ‘I can’t help it, this is just how I am.’ I think it’s to be more open-minded than any other time we’ve been in. That is one of the downfalls of this year.”
“If we dig in our heels, and we say, ‘No, I’m not moving,’ I think it will be a tumultuous year. But if you take a deep breath and you say, ‘OK, I can be safe, even with change.’ Then you’ll have a much better time of navigating this year.”
Inoue laughed and recalled a common theme among her current clientele. “I have another theme that’s true, really true, [which] is women that are in their 60s and 70s finding new companionship, dating after 60 and letting go of the old way, and embracing the new . . . which is what? It’s online dating at 60 and 70 and finding some compatibility. There are those saying, ‘I’m not going to do online dating; that’s just for young people.’“
To that, Inoue replied, “Well, great. You can just sit there alone for the rest of your life because where are you going to meet another man or woman? Right? But those who have embraced . . . Oh my god, I have five women in their 60s and 70s who have found great connections [through online dating]. Is that cool? It is!”
Advice: “Don’t Be an Anchovy, Be a Baller!”
As a metaphor to “being stuck” in the old ways of doing things, Inoue explained that when a school of anchovies swim in a vertical tubular tank that is 3 feet in diameter, they all swim together in one direction. If those anchovies got dumped into another tubular tank 10 feet in diameter, they will still only swim in a space that is 3 feet in diameter.
Instead, we should all be ballers, she said. “Someone who has started out from the bottom and with nothing, and has now made it to the top,” as defined in the popular online “Urban Dictionary.”
“Accept the present,” Inoue advised. “We’re not going backward in life. And keep in mind [that] as human beings, we grow. Our intrinsic nature is to grow, we don’t wake up and say, ‘I wanna shrink, I wanna be less, do less,’ right? As human beings, we want to grow. We feel good when we do something when we are productive and we get something done.
“We need to learn something. So when we stay stuck in the past with our thoughts, it goes against our intrinsic nature. And I can’t emphasize it enough. We are accelerating now in many ways. Time is accelerating. Events are accelerating. Days are passing quicker than you know. If we don’t stay present, we’re gonna miss all these great experiences.”
Inoue said we would find the energy that supports us and moves us to new levels of understanding ourselves in this second half of 2019. She recommended we take another look at our goals to see if they need updating. Something we said we wanted long ago might not match who we are today.
Inoue’s advice? “Be honest with yourself. Get clarity on what is most important for you today. Move out of any old mindsets that are not helping you live your life in a way that matches where you are today.”
Alice Inoue will present “Astrology of the Times,” a midyear update and a peek into 2020, on Sunday, July 28, from 2 to 3:15 p.m. at Happiness U in Salt at Our Kaka‘ako (675 Auahi St., Suite E3-205). For more information, visit her website, https://yourhappinessu.com, email smile@yourhappinessu.com, or call 436-6444.
