Happy New Year 2013

明けましてお芽でとう！
日本語は少々おまちください。
今年も宜しくお願いします。



Happy New Year everybody!

Thank you all so much for reading my blog or virtually crossing paths!
Blogging has been an interesting experience, pressuring myself to post, gauging how much personal info to share, and figuring out who is actually reading. My blog is quite monodirectional which is not necessarily what i intended, but I guess that is how it is designed. I don't always respond to comments but I do read them. Depends on how busy I am. Speaking of who is reading, the only info I have is blogger stats and the map below

It's not much info, I mean some of these dots could be heartless bots mining data. Or national security agencies...But, I like to think of them as friends, family, and a global network of peace makers. Just have to be somewhat cautious. Partly why I don't facebook.

2012 has been a really tough year for me. Moving to Tokyo, starting grad school, commuting in Tokyo trains 3 hours a day, and losing a dear friend and partner. Very tragic and depressing. But, I think I have managed to stay positive despite these challenges and have grown as a human. Meditation, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), and a wonderful family has been invaluable through this process. Quite amazing how resilient our bodies and minds are! What a gift. I often think about how privileged my "problems" are compared to my fellow people without food, safety, family, etc. Perhaps there is no benefit to compare, but I do think it is important to be conscious of the difficult reality many face and to care.

I really recommend to everybody doing a 10-day vipassana session, reading Thich Naht Hanh's books (Being Peace and Old Path White Clouds are my favorite), and practicing some NVC. They won't solve your problems but they will most likely nourish the seeds of compassion and love within you. There are lots of other things out there but these I can speak from experience, plus you can do them without spending much money at all. Especially vipassana. I'm generally skeptical and resistant to things that cost lots of money, even though I'm sure some are justified.

Lots have happened in 2012 that I would love to share but then this post would never be published. Something that has been a particularly exciting element in my life are the Tokyo Urban Permaculture workshops I've been doing. While sharing all the cool things I've learned over the years, I'm also creating a space that I feel comfortable in. We play games (mingle mingle), share struggles and hug (in Tokyo!), and enjoy a potluck dinner. Sometimes I can't believe we're doing all this in Tokyo. I also get to dress up like a cult leader which is fun. Through this activity I have made many meaningful connections, one of which was with a magazine editor. He decided to turn me into a manga (cartoon)! This might be the first permaculture manga out there. Hopefully more to come.

From Spectator magazine 2012 Summer issue "Grow Our Own"

Besides losing my partner/best friend which I am still recovering from, there have been other powerful experiences that I never had a chance to share. This includes helping to organize the first international conference for a Nuclear Free World and translating during the pre-conference visit to affected regions of Fukushima. That was intense! Other intense and insightful experiences include getting pushed into the rush hour trains in Tokyo, attending the Nonviolent Communication International Intensive Training, joining in the biggest demonstrations in Japan since the 70s, participating in COP 18 climate change negotiations in Qatar, and meditating on the sidewalk in central Tokyo. Some day I hope to write about them.

Here is what I want to do for 2013

• Cultivating more compassion and peace within myself, and sharing that with as many people as I can
• Planting veggie seeds this spring and maybe doing some cuttings
• Showering depressed dear-ones with unconditional positive loving energy
• Creating spaces for people to heal, and practice being compassionate and empathetic
• Sitting (meditating) at least once a week (for whatever reason this is hard!)
• Being more aware of my breath and practicing to Stop
• Dancing more! (Watching Rize and Step Up Revolution got me really excited)

Projects! 

• Wake Up! Japan: Buddhists and non-Buddhists for a healthy and compassionate society. I'm hoping to organize a youth sangha (community of meditators) in Tokyo.

* FYI I would not label myself a "Buddhist". I am a part-time practitioner of mindfulness.

• Green Party Japan Youth: training young green political activists and politicians
• Compassionate communication (NVC) practice group: creating a healing space
• Tokyo Urban Permaculture projects: not just workshops, I want to do some physical design and implementations. I just need some land to work with! Even one square meter.
• Transition Town Suginami (Tokyo): establishing a solid Transition Town in Tokyo
• Nuclear Free World youth activist trainings and actions: hoping to work with Peace Boat and some other groups. I've been thinking about some flashmob ideas.
• Revolution of consciousness in Japan

If any of these sounds exciting, join me!
Some of the projects are moving forward, others I'm needing support.

I also need to figure out how to make a living so if you can help me out with that I would be very grateful!

Appreciations to everyone who has been apart of my life so far, and to those who will in the future. Without the support from all of you, I would not exist. Interbeing. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Another year of being alive!

"The inscription which appears on this 17th century stone basin at Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto is a visual pun in which each of four characters shares the same central square component. It can be read many ways, including "Ware tada taru wo shiru,"or,"I know what 'just enough' is." -Azby Brown