Archive for November, 2008
We packed our gear and trekked out to the ocean to film. In November, there is an absence of man made color and sound on the beach. No striped umbrellas or blankets dot the landscape. No faint echo of kids laughing or music playing remain. The tide has rolled in and taken the last of bare human foot prints out to sea. It is a time for strong shoes and warm clothing.
The desolate shore is striking despite dawn temperatures hovering around 20 degrees. Having the place to ourselves, we bundled up, filmed, and found time to breath in moments of solitude. In the natural surroundings, the lesson comes. We saw the tides rise and fall with seas calm or wild; and glimpsed the first and last ray of sunlight. These cycles are visibly potent; it would be hard not to be moved by the power of nature. Or to feel anything but connected to it all. There is a fullness in the moment. We can learn from it:
Hexagram #55: “A moment of great influence is at hand. Prepare wisely and act accordingly.”
In the I Ching, there is a hexagram for Fullness (Abundance), Feng –represented by the trigrams of thunder over fire. Pow! It is the powerful storm that gathers energy and explodes in all its ferocity. Remember though, it only lasts for a time. It will mature, lose force and dissipate. No need to ask why, we understand it.
In our lives moments have a transitory quality and inside many there is power and opportunity at the center. Strength lies in our observation. Our own influence will gain and lose strength. Action comes from learning when to move in that moment of clarity, grace comes from patience. We are forever balancing, gauging when to move forward or retreat. In minding these cycles we can find the energy at its strong point. It will enable us to catch the wave, the dawn, or the lightning bolt in our own lives. And it will also teach us to let go of that moment. Another will come.
Watch the sun set in all its glory. It’s your best teacher.
Toni Josephson
Here are our sunset videos:
http://www.tandao.com/wellness-videos/
http://www.tandao.com/videos/
November 25th, 2008
Truth (noun) –(1): the state of being the case : fact (2): the body of real things, events, and facts : actuality (3): a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality
In the martial arts, like many things in life, the quest for truth – in the system, its philosophy and even in yourself, is a key to mastery and a lifelong pursuit. We seek out the truest teacher and teachings. And there are different levels of complexity in sifting through the rocks to find the gold.
Kurasawa’s Rashomon makes its point that sometimes truth is based upon our perspective and there is no answer. Or more evidence, please. Perhaps it’s a leap of faith. We do seem to operate from shared core principles. But what is truth? And what do you see?
In Nepal, Ram Bahadur Bamjam,18, is thought by many to be the reincarnation of the Siddhartha Gautama. First found emerging from the jungle in 2005, followers said he had been meditating without food or water for months. His re-emergence this week drew thousands of devotees as he addresses and blesses them before his return to the wild. A Buddhist scholar commented that being Buddha means it is the last birth and the highest level that can be achieved. Once that happens, the role is taken. Is the Buddha back?
Photos were released this week: HR8799 system, 130 light years from Earth, hosts what may be 3 planets in the constellation Pegasus. Closer, 25 light years away and 16 times brighter than our sun is a possible fourth planet, Fomalhaut b, found in the constellation Piscis Australis. It is 1 billion times fainter than its host star, Fomalhaut. Planets, or are they brown dwarf stars?
Some wonder if the news communicated to us is what the press wants us to hear. CNN’s Rick Sanchez measures his audience’s pulse via social networks like twitter. He throws out gambits to the web community and fields questions. He listens. He is on the air live. It feels alive. It feels true.
Seal was promoting his new CD Soul covering standards. On one show, the video intro to the live interview had him crooning a few bars of Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come. The piece finished a few notes short. As the interview began, he finished the tune. Spontaneous. A capella. Interesting, the word a capella translates from the Italian, “according to the chapel”. His voice, unfiltered, was striking. It sounded true.
We seek out the truth in all systems, studies and cultures. We look for it, long for it – dream about it. Maybe, just maybe, we know it when we feel it.
Toni Josephson
PS — Don’t forget to check our our latest videos in Martial Arts, Wellness & Entertainment!
www.seal.com
http://ricksanchez.blogs.cnn.com/
November 15th, 2008
The Chinese character ren — nin in Japanese translates as: endure, to tolerate, to bear suffering and to have patience in sight of the intention. Nin is the root character for the word ninja. Ninjas were famed for their seeming supernatural skills. Thought to be invisible and magical in their accomplishment of an impossible mission, the truth was their amazing capacity for patience and endurance in sight of the intention. The word nin is a core martial virtue that explains their resolute spirit. It exists within each of us, though it requires cultivation.
No matter which candidate you favored, or where you are on the earth, this US presidential election is an incredible moment in history: the first African American president. This shift is more than a campaign process, it is an important passing of the torch lit long ago. Those before bore the crushing wait of holding it aloft amidst suffering, intolerance and sorrow, and the flame has endured. It is the spirit of nin — to keep the faith in spite of oppression, disappointment, failure and setbacks. It is a change in our consciousness. We bear witness. Transformation is possible.
In the words of James Baldwin, “…nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out…”
As the evolving martial artist in the resolute spirit of nin, patience and endurance in sight of the intention is up to us.
Lawrence & Toni
November 8th, 2008
In the English language, the word for person is derived from the Latin word persona - which translates as “mask’“. Masks are a universal part of our human experience. Used in ceremony and in practical purpose, the mask holds social & symbolic meaning. What does it mean to you? Religion, ritual, healing, play?
The Iroquois healing ritual masks invoke the spirits of the dream world with the belief their masks have life. Igbo tribal mask ceremonies connect to ancestors. Shamanic masks of the Chinese Shigong, Hopi, Zuni and Dogon are used in ritual dance. There are the Temne’s masks of wisdom & humility; the Ivory Coast Senoufo tranquility mask with its sleepy eyes and Grebo mask of the proud, unyielding warrior.
Masks of ancient drama and myth teach and entertain, from Greek and Roman amphitheater to India’s Mahabarata and the Noh plays of Japan. There is the ancient iron mask as torture; oxygen mask, life saving; gas mask, protection; and diving mask, clarity. Masks as disguise, to avoid recognition, be anonymous — in crime or carnival.
So much is written on how we hide behind masks. I (perhaps you as well) have told myself that I wear and have worn the “mask” of youth and broken doll, partner, guardian, the loved, the unloved and broken promise, warrior, monk, scholar, sinner, sailor, seeker, the lost, the found and the lost again. I have come to know any version of any mask…that seems to be worn, by me, or perhaps, by you. I know that I am more. I know that you are more.
Take the mask — hold it before your face in the mirror – and shine a light behind it….see it. See the light shine through. Through the openings in the eyes, the mouth…..it is luminous. You may believe you are only the masks you wear, they carry you through the day. Masks are man made. Our essence is spirit. When you wake up in the middle of the night, uncertain, but without pretense, wondering about yourself…do not remember the mask. Remember the light…that is who you are.
Toni Josephson
Watch magician and martial artist Jeff McBride’s mask videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqmFS4GRa-g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9zfqhnxS48&feature=related
November 1st, 2008
