Nice to meet you, and welcome to my profile!
Introduction
Name：Mihoko Harrison
I support the practice of a healthy, enriched lifestyle that harmonizes daily life with Zen, a calm and centered state of mind. I also value the small things in my own life, making gentle adjustments to my self-care and home systems each day, continually nurturing the balance between my mind and body, and the time and space around me.
The Way of Life I Aspire To
To contribute to society authentically, and to spend peaceful, natural moments laughing with the people I cherish.
My Work & Skills
- Founder & Operator of Spirit Dance World
- Well-Being Designer
- Self-Care & Lifestyle Systems Coach
- Writer of a Self-Care Blog Harmonizing Daily Life with Zen
- Yoga & Pilates Instructor
- Founder & Operator of Mihoko Style Sewing
Certifications, Trainings & Experiences
- Nationally Certified Care Worker and Home Care worker (Kaigo-Fukushishi in Japan)
- Studies and Practice in Natural Therapies and Japanese Traditional Healing Methods
- Certified 3 & 4 in Fitness
- Certified Yoga Instructor
- Certified Pilates Instructor
- Certified Life Coach
- Crisis Supporter Training
- Suicide Prevention Training
- Studies and Practice of Various Dietary Approaches including fermented foods, Australian whole-food eating, macrobiotics, vegetarian and vegan diets, fasting, KETO, OMAD.
Things I love
Sleeping/Eating/Laughing/Creating/Teaching/Writing/Organizing and Creating Order/Cooking/Decorating/Reading/Making Clothes/Love Letters/Love Songs/Cozy, Comfortable Moments/Dating with my husband/Playing with my Grandchildren
My Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths: Creativity/Initiative and Follow-Through/Organizing & Tidying Skills /Ability to Bring Ideas into Form/Emotional Insight
Weaknesses: Shy by Nature/Tendency to Solve Things on My Own/Having My Own Pace/Expressing Things in Broad Strokes
My Journey Led to “Self-Care that Harmonizes Daily Life with Zen” (Part 1)
Now, self-care and well-being have become a natural part of my everyday lifestyle. But about 15 years ago, I was living a life completely disconnected from both.
In this piece, I share simply and gently how I eventually came to the perspective of “Self-Care that harmonize Daily Life with Zen”, and how my life began to change afterwards. I’ve written it in two parts: the part one and the part two.
This is where my journey begins.
In the past, I lived a very unhealthy lifestyle. I didn’t exercise, I tried extreme diets, I stayed up late working or going out without giving myself proper rest, and I even smoked heavily. On top of that, I struggled with the gap between who I truly was and how I was actually living. Because of this, my days always felt a little tight, dull, and somehow unsatisfying.
Then one day, as if I were being guided, I set off on a one-year journey to Australia.
I felt the urge to step out of the small world I had been living in.
My first experience living overseas was incredibly fresh and exciting. Everything I saw and touched felt new to me. The eyes and hair colors of people passing by, the vividness of their clothes, and when I looked up, the bright, wide blue sky made my heart dance.
During that year, I experienced countless meetings and farewells, and I went through culture shock in so many different ways. Even so, I kept challenging myself with new things, and everyday felt fresh, stimulating, and full of discovery.
Connection
Soon after my new life began, I met an Australian man.
Through him, and through his friends and family, I experienced firsthand how different everything was, the language, the culture, the food, even the way they cooked rice and the way they greeted each other.
- People didn’t use umbrellas, when it rained
- Bread and potatoes were considered staple foods
- People took a day off work just to have a barbecue
- Everyone called each other by their first names, regardless of age
- Brides didn’t change into a second dress at weddings
- People chose different clothes for daytime and nighttime
- Somehow, even though I was born in winter, I began to feel like a summer-born person
I encountered so many things I had never experienced before far more than what I’ve listed here. Looking back, I’m sure that if I had stayed in that small world of mine, I would never have experienced any of them.
- My world expanded
- I began to question what I had always taken for granted
- I discovered that there are people who live honestly and true to themselves
Life overseas wasn’t only filled with exciting moments. I also went through some very difficult times.
These days when I couldn’t speak English were tough!!
- I experienced the frustration of not being able to express what I truly wanted to say
- There were moments when I hesitated simply because I was Japanese
- I couldn’t get the kind of work I hoped for , and I struggled to feel any sense of value in myself
When I changed my living environment, I found myself struggling with language barriers and cultural differences. In the midst of all that, I lost sight of who I was, what I could do, and what I wanted, and my self-esteem began to fall.
Around that time, I spent many hours talking with other Japanese people who were struggling the same things.
When my first year abroad came to an end and I returned to Japan, I was deeply moved by the beauty of the Shikoku Mountains in my home town, a beauty I had never noticed before.
But at the same time, I found myself confused by all the little differences, the low position of door handles, the fact that people didn’t hug, and so many other gaps between my life overseas and life in Japan. I remember feeling a bit lost…and laughing at myself for it.
On the other hand, my life in Australia and my international relationship taught me a great deal about communication and self-expression. I learned that a comfortable, nurturing relationship is something two people build together, not through language alone, but through mutual respect at the very foundation.
Looking back, I realized for the first time that I had been lacking the attitude of “trying to understand the other person first”. It’s this spirit of consideration, this willingness to lead with empathy that allows two people to build and sustain a relationship together.
The man I met back then is still by my side today, now as my husband. He has always been someone who believed in me, supports me, and cheer me on, no matter what. He is a preciouses presence in my ilfe♡
Challenge
Living in another country was certainly a challenge, but I realize that even long before that, I had been searching for “something” all along.
For a long time, I didn’t really understand myself or how to relate to others, and I lived with an ongoing sense of inner conflict.
My struggles began in my teenage years, and even as I grew into adulthood and moved overseas, the root of those struggles never changed.
I couldn’t bridge the gap between who I truly was and the person I was living as.
- I often found myself getting angry or easily irritated
- My moods were unstable, and I felt emotionally up and down
- I felt lonely, as if no one really understood me at all
- Being misunderstood made me feel even more isolated
- My skin showed the stress I struggled with constant breakouts
After spending a year on a working holiday and travelling back and forth between Japan and Australia a few times, I eventually decided to start a full life in Australia so I could continue my relationship with him.
Unlike the more casual attitude I had during my working-holiday days, I began learning English seriously and pushed myself to become employable as quickly as possible so I could support my own life. As that new chapter began, my circle naturally expanded, starting with friends I met in my first year and gradually connecting with more local people.
Through them, I was exposed to the free-spirited ideas and lifestyles of people from many different cultures. While I still carried my Japanese way of thinking, I could feel my world slowly expanding and my perspective on life beginning to change.
And in an effort to finally resolve the struggles I had carried since my teenage years, I gradually developed a strong desire to “become my true self”.
At the moment, I was honestly scared, but I pushed through the fear and made a firm decision: I was going to change.
From that point on, I spent years reading books from various fields such as biographies, self-development, relationships, love, spirituality, nutrition, exercise habits, and more, searching for anything that might help me. I tried and practiced whatever I could, starting with the things that felt within reach.
And as I began practicing yoga and pilates, I naturally became more aware of healthy living and self-care, influenced by my instructors and fellow practitioners. What started as simple curiosity gradually turned into a lifestyle shift.
- I became calmer and more at ease within myself
- I no longer felt swayed by the people around me
- I learned to be kinder and more gentle with myself
- I began to recognize and honor the boundary between others and myself
- My skin stopped breaking out, and my complexion became more stable
Positive Changes
It has now been 12 years since I began consciously practicing self-care, and over time it has brought many positive changes into my life.
- I shifted from simply receiving to being able to give more to others
- I found work that allows me to express and make use of my true self
- I became able to maintain smoother, more harmonious relationships with the people around me
- I came to understand who I am and what I truly want to do
- I no longer found myself caught in constant confusion or inner struggles
- The gap between my true self and the way I lived gradually disappeared
My Journey Led to “Self-Care that Harmonizes Daily Life with Zen” (Part 2)
Over the course of nearly 35 years since my teenage years, I learned…
- to take care of myself
- to live in harmony with myself
- to stand on my own two feet
Through this long journey, I gradually learned how to live in a healthier, smoother, and more balanced way. Because of that, I began to experience the many blessings I mentioned earlier, and I found myself living each day with a calm and steady sense of self.
And then, one day, I was confronted with a moment that shook me, a realization that I might not truly know my own country, Japan.
A Wake Up Call
I was watching YouTube to unwind, and one day an unexpected topic surfaced. It struck me like a wake-up call, making me wonder whether I had ever truly understood my own county.
- What are the World Wars?
- What is the meaning behind Japan’s national flag and anthem?
- Who are the Japanese people and the Jomon?
From that moment on, an overwhelming desire to learn more about Japan, its history, culture, society, and politics, began to rise within me.
Until then, even while living in Australia, I often found myself unable to answer questions about Japan. I assumed it was simply because of my limited English skills. But when I finally realised that the real reason was that I didn’t actually know much about my own country, I was genuinely shocked.
I later came to understand that this was largely the result of the era and the education system I grew up in. In that sense, it may have been an outcome that was difficult to avoid. Even so, It was a painful realisation, to discover that I didn’t know the place where I was born and raised.
In that moment, for the first time, the way the world works finally aligned with what I was experiencing in my own life.
Despite understanding all of that, I couldn’t accept the idea of remaining ignorant. Instead, a strong longing to know the truth began to grow within me.
I followed my heart and immersed myself in the traditional Japanese spirit, the values once held by the Japanese people, such as “wa no seishin (the spirit of harmony)”, “shokunin Damashii (the craftsman’s soul), and the generous, respectful attitude toward people, things and nature. I allowed these ideas to slowly sink into my own being.
At times, as I read the stories of people who lived long before I was born, I found myself moved to tears, feeling their emotions as if they were my own. Other times, their gentle way of living filled me with warmth.
In many ways, it felt as though I was reliving the “yamato-gokoro“ the deep, timeless heart of the Japanese people that has been passed down through generations.
Even after more than two decades in Australia, the Japanese spirit that shaped me from childhood has never left me. And in recent years, I have been able to reconnect with the deeper “vertical axis” of my identity, the heart of Japan that has been handed down through generations. It feels as though those ancestral values have quietly returned to me, settling once again into my own being.
Looking back now, I realise that the sense of gap and discomfort I had felt since my youth came from living without that “vertical axis”. Without it, I couldn’t understand the deeper meaning of my own existence or my place in the world. Without a sense of identity, I was simply swept along by society and the times, wandering without a clear sense of direction, and sadly, I didn’t have any pride in being Japanese.
After going through this period of transformation, I finally reached a clear purpose in my life:
To bring harmony to the world as a Japanese person.
As a result, what began as ordinary “self-care” evolved into something much deeper, a way of reconnecting with “wa no seishin (the spirit of harmony)”, the calm, gentle, and respectful mind toward all things that our ancestors cherished.
This became the foundation of what I now call “Self-Care that Harmonizes Daily Life with Zen”, a way of supporting people in cultivating a calm, steady grounding beneath their daily lives.
Closing Message
My journey to discover my place in this world, the path that led me to “Self-Care that Harmonizes Daily Life with Zen”, has been a long one, filled with both peaks and valleys.
Of course, I still stumble at times. But the “something” I had been searching for all those years is now within me, so I no longer struggle in the way I once did. Instead, there is a steady sense of reassurance that stays with me.
Three women appear throughout this site, and one of them, “Mimu”, represents my past self. Through this blog, I hope to offer a “light of hope” to those who, like Mimu, may be struggling yet still wish to live with strength and authenticity. It is for them that I continue to share my journey.
Let’s keep walking toward the light together♡
“Mihoko” is the person I am today. I share the gentle wisdom I’ve gathered over a lifetime of learning how to live with a sense of inner harmony.
I speak from the heart, sharing the insights I’ve gained through my own experiences.
And “Grandma” is both a keeper of the ancestral wisdom woven through Japanese life and a vision of the elder I hope to become, someone who embodies gentleness, dignity, and the timeless spirit of those who walked before us.
The spirit of “wa” is a heartfelt balance, a harmony of gentleness and quiet strength.
May most of your days be filled with wellbeing, ease, and quiet abundance. I am supporting you wholeheartedly.
With much love