During Yamabushi training there are a lot of restraints. We aren’t allowed a cellphone, we aren’t allowed to talk (except for chanting and to say ‘uketamo’, I accept), we aren’t allowed to drink coffee, we aren’t allowed to write or read. Well, actually we are allowed, but we’d get told off and told that we …
Is the reason why I’ve come to this small town in Akita on average about once a month since I found it. I’ve also told multiple friends about it. I’ve seen it first hand. Cafes have pulling power. They have to be done the right way though. Not your typical Japanese cafe, which has an …
One thing I often see in Japan is an ignorance, either purposely or not, of the audience. When people are given the easy way out, given the option to talk about what they want to, rather than what the audience wants, they tend to get lost in their own world. As a result, presentations become …
I don’t claim to be mentally superior than anyone. Ever. I can only speak from my own experience, which has been quite extreme when compared to those close to me. However, I know some people are struggling mentally, and even through the hardship I’ve been through, I still feel content. I put a lot of …
If you don’t bring anything to do, you have to sit and watch TV with the retirees. You’re kind of forced to do the default thing, unless you prepare in advance, which I didn’t really do (although I did think about it, and decided it would be a good chance to think). Or, you can …
Earn it. There are many ways to do so, but the best way is to respect others. Any time you don’t, you don’t deserve respect in return. If you demand it, you’ll get the opposite effect as people begin to resent you, and purposely do things against your back. But once you respect people, they …
Continuity is a theme that comes up again and again. I haven’t read the book, but I believe the book grit by Angela Duckworth is along similar lines. That persistence trumps ‘talent’. I actually don’t believe in natural talent, because if you do have so-called ‘talent’, it’s nothing unless you put it to use, and …
Going swimming in the middle of the day when your tire is really good. I feel tired right now but I know that once I get into the water my body will wake up and I will be fine. It’s kind of like going in automatic mode. Exercise is one of those things that you …
If you need a reminder why not to live in Tokyo, just visit there. For me it’s the number of people and the lack of greenery. The number of people makes it unreasonable to have a car, which means less convenience (unironically, I think too much convenience is cause for evil. Overconsumption, and mountains of …
When we are in a new place, we tend to look for people like us, and we tend to stick to people like us. Thankfully, people see that people like us is simply people, but to be able to find people like us, we need to know both parts of the us equation. Us=you and …
