Christ’s Mass with Adyashanti

This weekend I attended Adyashanti’s Christmas Intensive. It was a very intimate event with singing, poetry, satsangs, and hugs from Adya.

The main topic of Adya’s talks was the Christ story. Adya sees the Christ life as a teaching, as a model of a very special kind of love–redemptive love.

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son”

This is the type of love we are talking about. A love that will sacrifice one’s only son to not only death, but brutal, torturous death through suffering. As a father, I have a hard time even thinking about this type of love, which makes it all the more divine.

At the Last Supper, when Jesus tells his disciples, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another,” this is the type of love that he is asking for. A love that does not transcend suffering, but rather embraces it in it’s entirety. A love willing to sacrifice to redeem others.

This selfless love is the way to God, Nirvana, or, in modern terms, Happiness.

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”~Dalai Lama

I know it is not New Year’s Resolution time yet, but I am resolving today to start abiding in this type of love. If Jesus could let himself be tortured and crucified, if Buddha could starve himself then sit under a tree all night, if the Dalai Lama can sit in meditation for 4 hours everyday to cultivate compassion for the world, then I think I can start sacrificing for those I love. I can stop reacting to the attacks of others with ill will and retaliation. I can love beyond my own egoic needs and desires.

I hope you get to experience this type of love this holiday season. Have a Happy Holidays.

Love, Kozo

“Let us abide in a humble and loving heart. Never forsaking the Divine knowledge beyond all distinction, nor the infinitely loving heart of God which is our own.”~Adyashanti

 

 

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A Morning of Clarity

Hey Peacemakers,
I’m back from the 10 day meditation retreat. Here is a video about something I experienced at the retreat. I know posting a long video to youtube is an act full of ego, but I believe that this vision needs to be shared.

 

If you don’t want to watch the video, here are the highlights:

• We are all connected
• Jodie Foster and Carl Sagan are/were prophets
• Time is a vibration
• The purpose of life is to get “in tune” with our Buddha Nature and Christ Consciousness
• Once in tune we can serve as tuning forks for others
• Serving others is the highest form of humanity
• Too much meditation can cause severe hallucinations

I want to thank Rarasaur and DJMatticus for keeping the light on while I was meditating. I loved having some SoCal flavor on Everydaygurus. If you enjoyed their wisdom and love please let them know by commenting on their blogs.

May you be free from suffering. May you find peace and joy. {{{hugs}}} Kozo

 

Blindsided by Marianne Williamson

Tyler Durden: “How’s that working out for you?”

Narrator: “What?”

Tyler Durden: “Being Clever”

For the last four days, I’ve been attending a seminar for entrepreneurs. I learned a lot of tips about launching, marketing, networking, and positioning. So imagine how surprised I was when on the stage walks Marianne Williamson.

Marianne re-framed everything we had learned the previous 3 days. Here are a few nuggets:

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.

Thank You Letter to God

Dear God,

Thank you for all the peace you create in this world.

Thank you for being love. I now realize that when I am loving, I am you. When I am full of fear, hatred, or anger, then I am pushing you away with both arms. If I open those arms and expose my heart, then you are always there to give me the love I need.

Thank you for being the best teacher I have ever had. Your lessons are custom made to help me work on what I need to learn in this lifetime. Your patience and foresight are beyond measure.

Thank you for showing me that life is like a jigsaw puzzle: The individual pieces may seem incoherent, chaotic, and sometimes dark, but if we look at the bigger picture, we experience beauty, unity, and meaning.

Thank you for my two beautiful children, although they are not MY children–they have simply chosen me as a path to learn and teach what they came here to do. I now realize that the way we love our children is the way we are meant to treat each other. We are all children, parents, and relatives of each other. Our role is to blow spirit into others and let them fly.

Thank you for making life a game with all sentient beings our teammates and our ego the opponent.

Thank you for your presence for it teaches us that the easiest path towards godliness is to be present at all times.

Thank you for not doing too much and just being.

Love Always,

Your son,

Kozo Hattori

 

I just got back from my blogging break, so this post is a little late. This is a post for the Monthly Peace Challenge: Peace Begins with a Letter. To join Bloggers for Peace, click on the badge to the right.

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Crashing the Peace Train

I have adopted three words to define who I would like to be on a daily basis: Peaceful, Mindful, and Joyful.

This past Father’s Day, I failed miserably to live up to my word goals.

Daily Dose of Vitamin S

Recently, a number of my family members and close friends have been diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency, which is surprising since we live in sunny California. It seems we have  an epidemic with lack of vitamin D. The easy cure is just to go out in the sun.

“I’m allergic to the Sun”

Yet being in the sun is counter to modern codes of behavior. Just bask in the glow of that last statement for a few minutes.

Everyday Thanksgiving: April

When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love.”~Marcus Aurelius

To start this month’s post on gratitude, I want to thank everyone who clicks on this blog. Your presence, your comments, your {{{hugs}}}, and your support give me hope everyday that we can and will make a difference. I feel so blessed that I have found a community devoted towards peace, love, understanding, and compassion. Thank you for everything you do.

This is my monthly post of things I am grateful for. Feel free to post what you are grateful for in the comments. The more gratitude we give, the more love and peace we will experience.

Give It Away Give It Away Give It Away Now

On Sunday we were late to church as usual. Before entering, I opened my wallet to find two twenty-dollar bills. I usually give each of my sons a dollar to put in the offering tray just to get them in the habit of giving. We donate quarterly to the church, so the two dollars on Sundays are more of a superficial gesture than a tithing.

Some Sundays, I only have one single and a five, so one of my sons gets to give five dollars, but $20 is a bit extreme, especially on our tight budget. Since we were late, I knew we could sneak in without giving anything and only a few members sitting next to the door would even notice. I even thought about dropping the $20 in and taking out two fives. But my conscience kept nagging me.

“You blog about abundance all the time, and you’re going to stiff the CHURCH for a measly 20 dollars? Everyday Guru, my ass. What about Everyday tightwad?”