My Life as a Dog

My 7-year-old son believes in reincarnation, so I asked him what he would like to come back as in his next life.

“Probably a dog,”  he said nonchalantly. “Or Santa Claus.”

After a bit of contemplation, I realized how wise this response was. We often think that humans are at the top of the reincarnation ladder, but this isn’t necessarily true. Dog is God spelled backwards.

“If you can remain perfectly calm in traffic…

If you see others succeed without a tinge of jealousy,

If you can love everyone around you unconditionally,

If you can always be cheerful just where you are,

You are probably…

A Dog!”

I’m starting to think that dogs are far more enlightened than even high-vibration spiritual masters. Our two Shi Tzus are definitely the two most compassionate and equanimous members of our household.

When my sons are crying, both my dogs will start to moan and howl in unison with the cries. When I had a tumor, Skye and Jax would come lie on my belly when I was sleeping. They could sense my pain and would just be with me.

These dogs spend most of their day sitting in silence. One could argue that they meditate over 5 hours a day. They always welcome me with open paws when I return after a long day and never seem to hold any grudges, even when I forget to feed them.

I think my son was intuitively sensing into a higher consciousness. Even his answer about Santa Claus can be seen as refined.

Santa Clause spreads joy and gives generously without any expectation of getting anything in return. If he was a Buddhist, he would be what we call a Bodhisattva—a being that compassionately refrains from enlightenment in order to save others. Was my son saying that he wants to come back as a Bodhisattva?

A dog or a Bodhisattva, those are two noble intentions. Amazing how simple and wise young children can be.

What would you come back as in your next life if you had the opportunity?

 

 

 

 

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Aloha Cancer 9/05/2015

Moon Phase

‘Ole Pau

Màhoe Mua 5

I don’t meet any of the risk factors for rectal cancer. I eat healthy, do colon cleanses, don’t smoke, don’t drink, don’t eat meat. I have eaten oatmeal for breakfast every morning for almost 30 years. But one thing I did realize is that I tend to cook a whole bunch of oatmeal in the beginning of the week and warm it up in the microwave every morning. 30 years of microwaved food every morning could cause some damage.

Funny thing is that now that I cook the oatmeal from scratch every morning, I realize it doesn’t take that long. I’m not going to microwave anymore food. I wonder if anyone ever did a study on the rise in cancer rates in comparison with microwave sales. I remember when we use to put everything in the toaster oven. Now EVERYTHING goes in the microwave.

Am I sounding like an old man? 🙂

Diet

Same, but I’m trying to add some meals to maintain weight and energy levels. I’m getting really tired in the middle of the day.

Exercise

Did morning prayers indoors today and it was noticeably unhealthy. Something about the ground, the air, and the sunshine outdoors really supercharge the prayers and movements. Yesterday, I did about 45 minutes of qigong walking with a qigong master. Powerful stuff. Will post more about this in the future.

Relationships

Had a great Awakin Call this morning with ServiceSpace/Laddership leaders Natasha Rockstrom and Audrey Lin. Just being around ServiceSpace folks is healing.

Spirituality

Someone almost crashed into me while merging into my lane without checking their blind spot. This happens all the time in Cupertino. I honked to prevent getting hit, but then slowed down to let them in the lane. Small example, but i”m trying not to have pilikia (conflict) with anyone.

BM

Lots of blood today. Not sure if it is from the distance healing on Thursday. Just trying to stay patient.

NOT Getting Hugged by Amma

On Monday, I went to a Conversation on Compassion with Amma at Stanford. Here are a few highlights:

• “Compassion is the most important factor in life”
• “Compassion is the first step.  If we can take that step courageously without fear then everything else will follow spontaneously.”
• “When we have compassion then all the decisions we make and the actions and their results that follow will have a special beauty, spontaneity, and power to it.”
• “Human’s calculations can always be wrong. But decisions taken from compassion and actions that are compassionate can be never wrong because compassion is a law of nature.”
• “When we give up the individual mind and tune to the universal mind which happens in compassion, then we can never do anything wrong because it is not us acting, but it is the universal power. Compassion gives us the ability to tune into the universal power.”
• “When love attains perfection that is when the flower of compassion happens.”

 

After the conversation, Amma announced that she would give darshan to all the attendees (near 2,000), but she asked that only attendees who have never received a hug come up so Amma could have time to hug everyone who wanted one.

Since I have been getting hugged by Amma since 1999 and I was wearing an “embrace the world” t-shirt that I bought at Amma’s ashram, I knew that I should remain seated, but I REALLY wanted to get a hug from Amma–especially when I saw that they were giving large gift bags to all who received a hug.

Unfortunately, during her talk Amma said that there are three types of people.

• The first type of person–what they get they eat.
• The second kind of person–what they get they eat and they also try to take the other person’s food and eat that as well.
• The third kind of person–whatever they get, they eat a part of it then give the rest to others around them.

I knew that if I went to get a hug, I would be taking from someone else, so I forced myself to refrain from getting a hug.

But something wonderful happened. As I watched Amma hug others, the craving and jealousy drained out of me and was replaced with sympathetic joy (mudita). I saw the glowing faces of the people walking off the stage, and I could feel their joy and gratitude which somehow became my joy and gratitude. I got a taste of the universal mind and power that Amma was talking about.

It was the best non-hug that I have ever received.

Have you ever felt empathic joy? Please share.

 

Related Articles

http://everydaygurus.com/2013/06/03/embracing-the-world

http://everydaygurus.com/2012/11/14/free-hugs-hug-for-freedom

 

 

What is Really True?

This weekend at Interchange Counseling Institute, we were asked to bring in an unanswerable question–questions that seem to ask themselves over and over throughout our lives, that never seem to get a satisfactory answer.

“What do you never seem to be able to get (e.g. love, rest, a sense of purpose), though you put considerable energy into trying to get it? What always seems missing? What questions about how to be a person have caused you frustration over a long part of your life? What about yourself can you just not figure out? What challenges seem to pop up in every relationship you’re in, or across social interactions? What problems in a specific relationship won’t go away no matter how much you work on them?”–from Interchange Counseling Website.

We then wrote these questions on a piece of paper that we hung from our necks. Most people had questions like “Am I enough?”; “Am I loved?”; “Who am I?”; “How can I trust others?” “Do I exist?”

Maybe it was because I had done some deep re-parenting work at the last Interchange weekend, but my questions were more spiritual: “What does sex have to do with higher consciousness?” “What is consciousness?” In a small group, I workshopped my questions down to “What is really true?”

my tattered and tear-stained sign

After all 140 of us had our questions around our necks, we walked around the huge room and stood in front of each other silently, randomly. Our leader, Steve Bearman, informed us that our questions often pointed to interrupted development during our childhood. So we were to imagine each other as children and try to extend the love and resources others needed to heal.

For some reason, everyone who I stood in front of started crying. One woman who wore a sign that said, “Can I be trusted?” began to weep. I imagined her as a little girl wanting to be loved. “Oh, my sweet child, you can be trusted because I have nothing but love for you,” I thought. I opened my arms and hugged her softly as she sobbed.

Most of these people were complete strangers. I thought that they could psychically feel my thoughts and feelings that I had for them. It wasn’t until the exercise ended and my sweatshirt was full of watermarks from tears and runny noses that I realized what might have just happened.

When people had a question that had to do with being loved, being worthy, being enough, being deserving, they looked at my question, “What is really true?” and they felt deep inside themselves that they were loved, worthy, enough, and deserving.

When we really delve into what is true, we see and feel love.

So I ask you, my dear reader, what is your unanswerable question and what is really true?

Thank you for reading, smiling, and/or sharing.

God Is In Your Poop and Pee

A Six Year Old’s Views on God

While I was driving, my son started talking about how God killed the dinosaurs, so I pulled over and recorded his lecture.

I love the open-mindedness and insight in lines like “God is everywhere, even in your poop and peep” or “God is like a copy, but God’s special.”

Thank you for watching, smiling, and/or sharing.

Do you remember your first thoughts about God? Please share.

A Peaceful Path through Music

Music carved a peaceful path in my tumultuous history like a lifeline that saved me from the abyss

Sarah McLachlan’s “Angel” marks a 15 year journey to find peace through music, film, and poetry. I’ve always had a soft spot for Irish female singers–I know McLachlan is Canadian, but I envision her as Irish descent. In 1984, trying to recover from 12 years of physical abuse, I clung to the lyrics of This Mortal Coil‘s “Song of the Siren.”

“Did I dream you dreamed about me?” offered me an escape from reality in the arms of some nurturing goddess.

Kokua–“Hawaiian Medicine is not for sale”

While visiting a friend’s coffee plantation on the Big Island of Hawaii, my step-father told the story of how he used to pick coffee beans in Kona when he was a kid. When someone asked how much he got paid, he simply said, “kokua.” Kokua is the Hawaiian tradition of “extending loving, sacrificial help to others for their benefit, not for personal gain.”

Later, on the plane ride home, I watched a documentary about the Hawaiian rainforests. A Hawaiian medicine man mentioned how he would only gather enough medicinal plants for the sick person. “Hawaiian medicine is not for sale,” he scolded.

30-30-30

I took this as a sign for my business, so for the next 30 days, I am offering 30 free half-hour telephone or video conference sessions.

Simply click on the link below to schedule. No strings attached. I specialize in bringing peace to relationships, but I offer services and practices that will bring peace to any stressed-out, disconnected, or overwhelmed individuals.

Feel free to forward this link to any friends or family that need a refuge from the modern mindless, achievement-based rat race.

Click here to schedule a free 30 minute phone/video conference session

Is there a practice of selfless service in your culture? Please share.

Related articles

• Everyday Thanksgiving: July 2013 (everydaygurus.com)

Doing It for the Greater Good

CLICK on PHOTO to go to ARTICLE

An article I wrote just came out on the Greater Good website: http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/five_ways_to_make_mindfulness_more_manly

The Greater Good is like my Obi Wan of websites. Please comment, like, tweet, re-tweet, and Facebook this article. Thank you in advance for all your support and feedback.

I just got word that some of the people featured in the article will be responding to the discussion board, so feel free to ask any questions on the discussion.

May you be free from suffering. May you know peace and joy.

{{{Hugs}}} Kozo

Dear Darkness, You Light Up My Life

Life is like a jigsaw puzzle. The individual pieces seem incoherent, trivial, and chaotic. Step back, and we see beauty, unity, and meaning.

— Kozo Hattori (@everydaygurus) May 15, 2013

I tweeted this a few weeks ago and got a few favorites and retweets.

As someone whose been through his fair share of chaos, I can honestly say that I am grateful for all the dark puzzle pieces in my life.

I’ve learned that darkness brings out the light. Those of you who are artists, photographers, or filmmakers know that nothing highLIGHTS more than contrast. If we look at the dark parts of a piece of art, we quickly realize that these dark spots allow us to see the Light.

Embracing the World

Just got back from having darshan with Amma, “the Hugging Saint,” at her ashram in San Ramon, California.

Here are 3 realizations I made during this mini-pilgrimage: