Controlling the Sun
A friend of mine introduced me to morning meditation a few years ago, and since then it has been one of the most important activities that I do every day. I tend to be an over-thinker, someone that can go off on a mental tangent for long distances if left unchecked. The morning meditation helped me to balance and center myself before I start my day.
Lately I have been engaged in a number of projects with my work, perhaps too many for my own good. I find that I cannot wait for the next morning to meditate and clear my head, so rather than dine al desko for lunch like I typically do, I would instead take a physical, mental, and spiritual break from work to refresh myself and start the afternoon anew.
As 2008 approaches, we are faced with another milestone where we can refresh ourselves. But it’s not necessary to wait for the new year, or even for the new day to start fresh again. The new dawn can start in our minds whenever we need it. We don’t have to let the calendar or even the clock dictate when we should start fresh and anew.
I’d like to share a quote from Kisshomaru Ueshiba, who was the son of the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. This quote is what I use to help me with my meditation:
The egoless self is open, flexible, supple, fluid, and dynamic in body, mind, and spirit. Being egoless, the self identifies with all things and all people, seeing them not from its self-centered perspective but from their own respective centers. In a circle of limitless circumference every point becomes the center of the universe.
-Kisshomaru Ueshiba, The Spirit of Aikido
. Indeed, a success...
A great quote. I’ve always wanted to study Aikido, but there aren’t any dojos close enough.
It is an interesting experience when you start to get flashes of what it is like when the ego really does take a back seat. It’s one of those things that takes a great quote like that to convey a glimmer of the truth. Thanks for sharing it.
Hi John - thanks for the nice feedback. Yeah, it’s one of my favorite quotes of all time.
Sorry to hear that the dojos are far away. I read about Aikido quite a bit, but only practiced it for a few months. I think if one wants to study the philosphy of aikido, it helps to practice it, but not necessary. I was really into aikido’s philosophy but was dismayed when I started taking the class, because I was the only student who really studied the philosophy of it. I think one can find the philosophy of aikido in many other facets of life.
Great post Al. I especially like the point that a new dawn can start in our mind when we need it - a comforting thought indeed. Thank you for sharing this.
Great post with a great photo. I like your new theme. I think I will subscribe to your RSS feed, since I start coming to your blog more often.
Alex - I appreciate the feedback. The new dawn analogy helps for me particularly when my momentum gets bogged down. Thanks for commenting.
Terence - welcome as a subscriber! That’s a pretty awesome compliment, particularly from someone who’s almost a billionaire
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Meditation, Yoga & Spiritual Growth Carnival- Edition #13…
Welcome to the February 4, 2008 edition of the Meditation, Yoga and Spiritual Growth Carnival.
This carnival is simply Massive! It is absolutely full of excellent articles and the variety is fantastic. There is great stuff on medit…