Change

I went to see this film a couple of weeks ago with a friend.  It was great, it expressed my beliefs, I found affirmation of the way I think in it. Wonderful.  Please watch, you can buy the DVD here- Economics of Happiness DVD or on Amazon it seems.

Afterwards there was a talk by a local miso maker.  He was saying how he was going out of business due to people choosing the cheaper varieties of miso available now in Supermarkets.  These cheaper versions however are full of additives and are not fermented in the traditional way.  It is the traditional style of making miso, pure, free from additives, that gives it it's amazing health benefits.  So as ever, buy cheap, get cheap, bad for us, bad for the environment.  The message is clear, why is it not reaching people.  OK so we are all a little short on money.  But people's priorities are all mixed up.

Anyways, I went to watch this with a good friend from Yoga.  Afterwards I wanted to pass on the information to the people in my class, but for me to write in Japanese is still a chore, takes me a long time, and, well I'm still not what one could call eloquent.  This friend however is a good writer, and wrote a wonderful review of the film linking it in with our lives and yoga.

Thanks to this it has been quite a topic of conversation in my yoga classes. We are talking, they are interested, change is in the air.  This is a topic I feel, and since I was about 14, have felt very strongly about.  I remember my first trip to India, being impressed by the way people lived in, by my western standards, states of poverty.  Yet had a happiness and lightness of being I had never seen before.  Especially the Tibetan communities I encountered.  A richness of spirit, I thought, makes us far happier than the richness of material that we are led to believe is the path to all happiness.  What is good for us is good for the planet.

Everything is connected. The more we realise this the better.

For a  while after the earthquake here in Japan, I wanted to become a celebrity, no, not because I wanted the fame per se, or the money, but because I felt so frustrated and wanted a voice, a voice that would be heard.  The T.V. celebrities in Japan are generally vapid.  No opinion expressed on anything, if they do contracts will be withdrawn, all I hear is utter vapidness on T.V.  One celebrity has made a stand, and joined anti-nuclear demonstrations and I want to applaud him.  He has indeed lost a lot of work. The media here is controlled by the old boys, in with the government, in with the big money makers, in with the nuclear industry. Yet they cannot control the internet. Yet.

We need to change this world.  It's on a destructive course.  I do believe we can make the change.  As Gandhi famously said, be the change that you want to see.  So let's change. We as individuals have more power than we think, combined this power is mighty.  A small portion of Japanese society is realising this and weekly anti-nuclear demonstrations are being held, local governments are being pressured, people are thinking, acting, changing. It is good. It is a start.  But still when I go to work in High School and listen to the students voices, ultimately that of their parents, I realise there is still a long long way to go.

I am working on changing myself, and hopefully influencing those around me, who in turn will spread to others.  Like a virus.  It could happen worldwide.  Indeed I do believe it is. The fact that so many people around the world are being drawn to yoga and other traditions is hopeful. We are waking up. Yoga philosophy is a tool for profound change.  A tool  know yourself.  To know what is true and what is not true. A tool to change consciousness.

To raise us up out of the T.V. comfort coma the modern world has slipped into.  We need to proceed with awareness.  To use technology and our amazing knowledge and skills wisely.  Not like infants.

Yogis knew.

Zen Masters knew.

So I have new fuel for my fire, my tapas is strong.  I'm doing my best in my little corner of the world to bring a little more light.

Om Shanti