Do you realize that all traditional ceremony dates are set when our energy flow shifts?

In Japan, we have a custom to celebrate or experience ceremonies with red bean dishes such as red bean rice, cakes with bean paste fillings, red bean soup with rice cakes, etc.

For example, we traditioanally prepare red bean rice to celebrate menstruation. It helps us to recognize that we need to change and learn about our new energy system. For example, in traditonal merchant houses, they eat red bean rice on the first day of every month, regardless of whether they had strong or weak sales in the previous month. They want to have a fresh start with a new state of mind. For example, big white and red cakes with bean paste fillings are distributed to each of us during our high school graduation ceremony day. It’s like taking off a school uniform to jump into freedom.

I had lots of red bean dishes in my life. And I noticed that red beans help reset our energy flow. For example, if you feel stuck in your relationship or you cannot confront something which is important to you, please eat red bean dishes.

March and April are full of beginnings in Japan. School finishes in March and starts in April. In between, we usually experience the cherry blossom season. Red bean food can be your partner to have a fresh start and to clean up before you move on.

初出：2015年3月17日

My sense of discipline has helped me.  For example, it has helped me to walk every other day.  Discipline has helped me maintain my health for a long time.  However, I have wanted to change such fixed everyday rituals to more appropriate adapted ones for my body based on my needs for the day. 

In Japan, tofu makers change the amount of water to soy beans to make tofu every day, because every day we have different weather. I think that that is a more natural method than doing the same thing regardless of weather.

I wanted to be like the tofu maker for my body. They feel the conditions of both soy beans and the weather.  I also wanted to sense the condition of my body and the weather more.

I have believed that repeating the same thing changes the quality itself. And it happened like a thunderclap.  Suddenly I became like a tofu maker. Now I can prepare the most appropriate exercise routine like yoga, walking and stretching for the day. I can stop at the comfortable level of the day.

This is a new dimension for me. It is very fun!

初出：2019年10月25日

I saw a documentary about Seymour Bernstein who was a pianist. And his impactful words and his lace-like piano sound touched my heart. I was especially impressed by these following words: “I remember I became aware when practice went well, everything in life seemed harmonized. When it didn’t, I was out of sorts. The real essence of who we are resides in our talent, whatever that talent is.”

When he felt that he was satisfied with being a pianist, he decided to quit and started to live as a piano teacher. I thought that such a way of living was something I should pursue.

I could feel the love he had for discipline was his way of living. Sometimes amateurs start something which they love. But professionals try to transcend love for their job, so they think that discipline is important and pushes them. Discipline is essentially different from punishment. Because discipline comes from inside of us.

And also I think that we don’t have love in us. Love is like the air. When we love something, it is like being wrapped in air which is called love by us. It is mostly the same as wrapping a gift. So we cannot rely on that. But discipline holds us like the arms of a father. It is more reliable and realistic.

Do you have any ideal vision which you want to pursue as a human?

初出：2019年9月29日