Relationships aren't going well! It's getting worse! Spiritual

 Relationships aren't going well! It's getting worse! Spiritual

Struggles in Human Relationships Are Increasing!”
Here, I would like to share a perspective from the spiritual point of view: it may be the case that situations where people find it difficult to get along in human relationships are on the rise today.

Of course, this is not an absolute truth, but rather a tendency compared with the past.

To begin with, we now live in an era that emphasizes the acceptance of diverse values. This naturally leads to a greater dispersion of values, and along with it, more situations where one must face the question: “Will my own values be accepted by others?”

There was, in fact, such a story in the past. In Kyushu, when efforts were made to rebuild a class suffering from classroom collapse, a certain teacher was assigned to that classroom…

That teacher first tried to have each child introduce themselves, but none of them could do it, as they were all too concerned about how others would see them.

So, the teacher changed approach: instead of self-introductions, each child was called to the front, and the classmates were asked to speak out the good qualities of that child.

Because the comments were affirming and encouraging, the children felt happy. This gradually nurtured a sense of initiative, helped the class recover from its state of collapse, and fostered deeper bonds within the group.

This story is, of course, a special case. But in many classrooms, children may have grown up carrying the same tendencies as before, and this might explain why, as adults, more people now struggle with interpersonal relationships.

Another factor may also be present. Nowadays, when people seek information, they often turn immediately to the internet. As a result, the need to ask others directly for information has decreased, and conversational communication skills have weakened.

From a spiritual perspective, this could be one reason why more people are experiencing situations where “human relationships do not go smoothly.”

“Relationship problems,” “spiritual level,” and “spirituality”

“Struggles in human relationships” can also be seen, from a spiritual perspective, as deeply connected to the matter of spiritual maturity (reikaku / soul-level growth).

As I have written many times on this blog, the growth of knowledge comes through a series of insights, and in the same way, the growth of the heart—the growth of spiritual maturity—also unfolds through insights born from the heart.

When spiritual maturity rises, one’s inner presence grows stronger. This brings with it a greater creative capacity to enrich the hearts of others, and with more inner “awakenings,” one’s perspective naturally widens. This is not a difficult or abstract idea—it is essentially about becoming an adult in a spiritual sense.

On the other hand, when spiritual maturity is low, inner presence is weak, and people tend to prioritize “filling their own hearts” rather than fulfilling others. With fewer awakenings of the heart, their field of vision becomes narrower. This too is not a complex matter—it is like remaining a child in a spiritual sense.

When spiritual maturity is low, inner presence weakens further, and a more passive attitude emerges.
But healthy human relationships require an element of active engagement. If more people remain at a low level of spiritual maturity, communication breaks down more easily, and situations where “relationships do not go smoothly” become more common.

In Japan’s education system, there is a strong tendency to value only the “insights of knowledge.” The prevailing atmosphere is that if a student scores highly on paper tests, they are regarded as a person of high worth.

Yet in the workplace, communication ability is essential. Many companies, in fact, are placing increasing emphasis on communication skills—something that purely academic scores cannot guarantee.

When you are having trouble with relationships, times of trial, spirituality

“Struggles in human relationships” can also be seen, from a spiritual perspective, as a kind of trial of the times.

In spirituality, it is said that the overall quality of energy on Earth is gradually shifting from “male-dominant energy” toward “female-dominant energy.”

This is not a force that flips suddenly like a black-and-white switch, but rather a gradual shift—like the interplay of the sun and the moon—that influences the entire planet, regardless of gender.

At present, this female-dominant energy is only in its early stages. In its youth-like quality, emotional forces such as joy, anger, sorrow, and delight—often opposing one another—easily surface. As a result, society tends to experience polarization, contradictions, inconsistency (frequent changes of stance), and wave-like fluctuations.

Men generally have a tendency to “suppress and control” their emotional energy, which makes the body and mind more rigid. Women, on the other hand, tend to “release and control” their emotional energy outwardly, which makes the body and mind more flexible.

And in terms of transformation, flexibility is more adaptable than rigidity—thus, this marks the beginning of an era of rapid change, driven by female-dominant energy.

Male-dominant energy tends to place value on visible, material things, whereas female-dominant energy tends to place value on the invisible—on the heart and inner experience.

That means that in the previous era, shaped by male-dominant energy, society leaned toward valuing only what could be seen, while the importance of heartfelt communication was often overlooked.

In the era ahead, however, the value of communication will rise. And the trials that many now face in the form of “struggles in human relationships” can be understood as part of this transitional process—an opportunity to grow into the new age.