My Life in Two States and Some Ways to Return Home

I reflect on my experiences on the “way” (道) and summarize in this article:  my life which seems to toggle between two (cognitive) states and some ways that I have found helpful in returning home to the first state.

Where is My Attention?

Jacarandas in bloom in San Diego, CA, May 2020.

Life and the mind seems to be in one of two states.  Being under water mostly for me and periodically coming up, out of the water, for air.  Or being asleep mostly and waking-up

Awareness and Who is this ‘I’? – Quotes and Resources

What you’re looking for is that which is looking. – St. Francis d’Assisi

Watercolor by Taylor, Jan. 2020.

Thanks to meditation and many teachers, this mind has come to a growing realization.  That meditation, zazen and aspects such as peace (平常心, heijoushin), freedom from

Really Seeing the Opponent and Opportunities to Strike – Part 1: “O” Sensei

A young Kyoshi 7 dan  from Japan visited the dojo that I practice at this week.  I’ll refer to him as “O” sensei as he preferred not having his name mentioned.  He had once placed

“Soft Eyes,” A Way of Seeing and Being – Quotes and Resources

I believe that “Soft Eyes” is an extremely important part of kendo and many areas of life.  It is a natural, tension-free way of seeing and being – which goes by many other names: Whole or Effortless Seeing, Soft or Open Focus, Wide-Angled, Peripheral or Panoramic Vision and “Enzan no Metsuke (a distant mountain gaze).”

Quotes on Mushin, Flow and Open-Focus – Part 1

Open-Focus, Mushin and Kendo

Enzan-no-metsuke:  A view of Mt. Sainte Victoire from a park near l’atelier Cezanne in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Several years ago, I came across an insightful book: The Open-Focus Brain by Dr. Les Fehmi and Jim Robbins [Fehmi].  The possibility that the “Open-Focus” state could