*Note: do your research before fasting. Check the links at the bottom to see if it is appropriate for you. Lent and the season of sacrifice are upon us, so it seems fitting to continue our exploration of Love with a discussion of a dietary topic I have been experimenting with for the past year – fasting – from food in particular. Though there are many types of food fasting, for the purposes of this article let’s call it going without food for 16 hours or more. I had stopped fasting for a while as my research into Ayurveda led me to think it wasn’t appropriate for me.1 But my visit…
Last week we found that the true universal meaning of Love is that which the Greeks called agape – a force in nature that expands knowledge and consciousness in the Universe. This is ultimately what these pages are about – helping to expand my and others’ knowledge through creative acts and through sharing in what I have learned or am in the process of learning. But the work of one person, while important, pales in comparison to what we can achieve as a community – and so it is a fitting time to share the work of some of my associates, with the hope that more people get involved in…
In a departure from my typical criticisms of Western holidays – more accurately, “holey days”, bereft of value and meaning – today I want to take a look at what Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about: Love. We can all agree that love is a nice word – we want love, we want to love. But what is love? Most would be hard pressed to narrow down a single, all-encompassing definition. After some digging and contemplation on the concept, I feel I have a satisfactory answer. The English language is part of the problem – we have one word that can express so many different degrees of emotion –…
I visited the Philippines – mostly Manila – over the last couple weeks and was impressed with the life there on a number of fronts. I stayed with a fairly well-off family in Makati, a central area and business district in Manila. Here are some of my takeaways from the experience. Hospitality This is what the dining table looked like every morning, afternoon, and evening. To say we were well-fed would be understatement. I put on 3kg on the 9-day trip and not just from 3am Ube ice cream and an epic halo halo that no one would help me with.1 Many traditionally-minded cultures place great significance on how well…
As mentioned last week, I wasn’t quite in the mood for a full vacation, so I brought some work with me – my dancing feet and video camera. I’ve been contemplating shooting video versions of the Weekly for some time now but have been holding off due to the extra time investment it would require. Above is a trial but is something I will potentially pick up once I’ve built a foundation in my Farmers Market work and wrapped up some other projects. This week I thought it fitting to discuss the concept of vacation and how we have lost touch with its ultimate goal in the modern world. That…
“Fishing on R&R… But you’re feeling fit, ready for duty?” “Yes general, very much so sir.” Greetings everyone from sunny Philippines, where I have been dragged kicking and screaming away from the frigid Tokyo winter to attend a tropical wedding (always a wedding). Since leaving the standard workforce I have been on a number of vacations. Some have been of the modern worker (especially Japanese) variety, whereby the body simply shuts down in response to a combination of excessive work and lack of sleep. Others have been weddings, where I don’t need or want the vacation, but I have to take time off to maintain a semblance of a standing…
Alright, the grinch of Thanksgiving is back as Christmas day closes in on us. Honestly though, how many of us wouldn’t simply opt out of the entire holiday if given the opportunity – the unnecessary gift giving, house parties for every affiliated company and group of friends, “All I Want for Christmas” blaring in every retail outlet. Seriously on the music – there are some catchy tunes but when I’m buying organic milk at Peacock?1 Someone posted this article to me this week and everyone should read it immediately. I also watched the timeless B-movie “They Live” which has some insightful underlying messages about our modern society. Needless to say…
Five years ago on a train station bench in Enoshima, I sang the first lines of this song to my one and only. And here we are now, together and going strong after a difficult transition to this blue belt life. I’m grateful every day to have her by my side – my best friend and greatest critic – this week goes out to you, Flipper Girl.1 1 For those of you who don’t know her, she prefers I keep her photos and personal details off the internet, but to give you an idea the Chilean artist Nacho Vargas did a pretty accurate rendering of her here.
I don’t mean to rain on everyone’s turkey feasting parades. OK I sort of do – it’s a typically American holiday built around frivolous consumption disguised as giving and gratitude. And don’t forget, Christmas is right around the corner! We need to make giving and gratitude a part of our daily experience and not rely on culturally accepted institutions as convenient times to express these, just my two cents. Alright, now that I’ve grinched everyone out, I’ll admit that I indulged in TWO separate tgiving festivities, and I think I made the most of them (see above). Contrary to the normal concept of the holidays as a time to relax…
Check it – OmokageDevTV released the video we made last Saturday in the YouTube green room. It has English subs if you can’t hang with my super-pithy and on-point nihongo. A question I get a lot since giving up alcohol, meat, and spending any money outside the Ginza Farmers Market, is what do I do for fun? Part of me feels that I gave up fun, at least in the modern-day socially accepted sense, to do my life’s work. But then that goes against my other belief that we should emulate children, who have boundless energy and imagination. Even though there is great work to be done here, it is…
