Celebrating a new year

Our community gathered last night, for another Kagami Biraki ceremony.
The evening started with a couple of tests, and I wish to congratulate Jamie and Richard for demonstrating determination and spirit. We then started the ceremony with a short meditation, in which we all got an opportunity to close our eyes and bring to mind our new years' prospects. We then cracked open the Sake barrel, and poured it to everyone's cups, following by a collective Kampai. I shared two stories from the Japanese mythology, which brought about a taste of the culture and its religions. Every member of the community got to make a small watercolor visual, on a small card, that symbolizing his or her prospect. This card may be carried with us throughout the year, and remind us to stay focused of our vision.

The evening continues with a lovely Japanese food potluck dinner. I must admit that it was a collection of delicious foods, that were prepared (some for the very first time) by our members, parents and friends. I want to congratulate those who decided to experiment and learn more about the Japanese culture through its cuisine.




We ended with some live music, by Darren, Victor and Don, who played on three guitars. What a great way to start another year of practice and community.

This evening made me feel so humbled... surrounded by such sweet community, wrapped with such sweet friendships. The food was exquisite, the guitars were harmonious and the community was unite.

Homeless bound

I had no idea on how homelessness was so close to home. I've lived in Granada Hills for almost seven years now, and drove almost daily through the busy shopping center on the Northeast corner of Balboa and San Fernando Mission Boulevards. Right in between the Jack in the Box and behind the Trader Joe's store there is an island, full of bushes. The bushes were full and quite tall, and used to be the home of some people. Yet, most of Granada Hills residents were not aware of that, and so was I.










The first time I noticed this was when I opened my Aikido school, on San Fernando Mission, and started walking to my bank across the street. As I was passing by, I heard people talking, and then saw a few chairs in between the bushes, with people on them, talking and drinking. The next time, one early morning, I noticed the sleeping bags, and even a mattress. I started seeing them walking around; we would greet each other and exchange some words. They would check out the progress on our Dojo construction, and share their opinions. One of them insisted he will bring us business, by sending his six daughters to classes.

I already got to accept my little discovery as a permanent element of the Dojo's environment, and was taking the interaction with them as opportunities to sharpen my practice of compassion and acceptance. Saying Hi every time I passed by the bushes, and exchanging smiles.









Yesterday morning I was surprised to see that all the bushes got trimmed back, exposing a naked view of the few belongings and raw lifestyle. The mattress, plastic bags, and trash, were quickly collected into a pile, and then thrown into a big garbage truck, and disappeared. The last signs of life of the bush people colony, is now a simple parking lot island, with some trimmed bushes on it.

Now I can't decide which one I like better...

Opening the mirror

From Wikipedia:
"Kagami Biraki (鏡開き) is a Japanese phrase which literally translates to "Opening the Mirror" or, also, "Breaking of the Mochi." It traditionally falls on the January 11 (odd numbers are associated with being good luck in Japan). It is generally the first important event of the year after New Years Day. It refers to the opening of a Kagami Mochi, or to the opening of a cask of Sake at a party or ceremony."

The mirror, so it is told, contains our old image. We look at it with old views and memories of who we believed ourselves to be. Yet every cell in our body is different from the cells it contained six months ago. We are renewing in e very moment, and by "opening the mirror" we see the possibility of moving away from the old confines and becoming a new person, a new version of ourselves.

This year, we celebrated Kagami Biraki with our Dojo community, starting with Kyu tests and Dan grades demonstration. We then held a ceremony in which we meditated about our personal prospect for 2009. We all created a symbol, word, letter, calligraphy or picture on small cards - bringing our prospect into manifestation, and placed all of them on our Kamiza. The ceremony ended with "breaking the sake barrel" and drinking for the New Year, following by a delicious Japanese potluck that included some traditional New Year foods.

Pure joy of starting a new year as a community.