BOONTON — Seimei Spiritual Foundation celebrated its grand opening on Saturday, May 6.
Seimei Spiritual Foundation (pronounced say may) is a nonprofit organization based on modern Buddhist practices whose members practice non-touch pain, soreness, stress, and tension relief.
SSF recently opened a center in the historic Ferris building at 110 Cornelia Street, 2nd floor.
Most of us have never heard of Seimei. So, what is it? According to Nicola Bertolo, President and Spiritual Lead of Seimei USA, many of us would agree that people have three main elements – mind, body, and “something else.” This “something else” is often called soul, spirit, or life force. Seimei practitioners call this “something else” Seimei. Our awakened Buddha nature is present in all people and things.
Seimei came into being with the birth of Toshihisa Hiraki (referred to as Hiraki) in Japan in 1947. Through experiments, Hiraki realized a phenomenon within him and set about devising a curriculum and teaching others. Nicola, who lived in Japan as a teenager, met Hiraki and subsequently studied with him for many years. Hiraki ultimately asked Nicola to come to the United States to develop Seimei. Nicola has been in the U.S. fostering the development of Seimei for over 30 years.
Nicola explained SSF selected Boonton for the center because Boonton exhibits a really humane and exciting atmosphere. According to Nicola, the people in Boonton are very genuine and diverse, which attracted them to this area. She also shared that anyone (and she means anyone) can learn to practice Seimei. One of the benefits of learning Seimei is that the practitioner, by helping someone else feel better, that is, less pain, discomfort, improved functioning, etc., feels better and has improved functioning as well. Practitioners work on family, friends, and people they meet!
Their mission is to spread the word of Seimei, attracting people who want to learn it and improve their lives and those around them.
There are a few key points about Seimei that Nicola would like us to know:
- The power is invisible
- Guaranteed tangible results
- The multitude of different life situations where people can use Seimei
- Anyone can learn it
While SSF has members in the New Jersey and New York areas, there are also groups of members in Richland, Washington, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Glastonbury, Connecticut, as well as remote members scattered across the U.S.
Seimei has spread because members work on others experiencing intense situations in their lives, and some of those people decide to learn it for themselves so they can help others the way they were helped.
Nicola’s hope for the center is that people are curious enough to come in during center hours to discover what it is all about and to get a free demonstration. They hope some people will take the leap and sign up for a full session to improve chronic conditions and/or injuries, etc. (Full sessions are 45 minutes and cost $50.00). From that, they hope a few learn this to improve their lives and those around them. Jack Haller, the East Regional Lead, is a longtime resident of Boonton and an outstanding Seimei Practitioner for over 20 years.
To learn more about Seimei or to schedule a free demo or session, contact Jack Haller, East Regional Lead and longtime resident of Boonton. Jack is a level 4 Seimei Practitioner with more than 20 years of practice at (201) 826-4431; Barbara Anderson, Assistant Instructor, is also a level 4 Seimei Practitioner with over 20 years of practice at (845) 742-9904.
