What began as morning musings became, over the course of time, a mystical mix of memoir, folklore, and fantasy. Author Hayashi wrote love notes to his wife that gradually expanded as he expounded the mysteries of life, often in fictional guise. This book is the refreshing result, a unique collection of imagined scenarios mixed with real happenings and spiritually based logic. It comprises nearly 400 tales, recollections, and essays, such as the entry composed for a Sunday in April 2017, “The Summits of a Higher Place,” in which he and his companion look down on a city from a great height, seeing it as both a well-lit, joyous place and as a somber reminder that its occupants are entrapped by their limitations. The couple discusses these perceptions, realizing that “we had finally reached our summit,” accepting their link to the divine. In “Two Pair in God’s Keeping,” a father and son give small gifts of food to a starving child and her ailing mother. Many years later, their generosity is repaid and re-shared, a tribute to the love inherent in all the world’s great religions.

Hayashi has infused his narrative with personal memories presented in a subtle and sometimes symbolic fashion throughout his dynamic journaling expedition. Interestingly, he offers a glossary of terms that includes definitions for concepts ranging from cynicism to nirvana and encompassing ideas and terminology from conventional religious sources to those drawn from mystical theologies and practices. Throughout, he expresses his heartfelt belief that despite our human differences, there is a unifying force that binds all people, irrespective of personal religious adherence. Hayashi’s writings can be appreciated by those new to such eclectic notions and those rooted in them who, like the author, seek fresh, engaging support for universal faith.

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