This is from Druzelle's enlightening blog Luminous Realities: Exploring the Creative Process. Source is here.
Posted: 05 Apr 2009 07:47 AM PDT
Cherry blossoms at Washington, D.C. Tidal Basin - Wikimedia Early April in Washington, D.C. means the Cherry Blossom Festival is in bloom once again. The cherry trees – more than 3,000 – were a gift from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912, "a diplomatic gesture of goodwill." I can still recall from my own visit what a delicious feeling it is to walk along paths surrounded by such a graceful abundance of gentle beauty.
Even if you cannot be there, allow yourself to step out of the current flow of texting, twittering, and the rest of it to spend a few meditative moments in this video of A Cherry Blossom Day, sunrise to sunset. Let the haunting, instrumental strains of Sakura, a traditional Japanese folk song, seep into your spirit as the beauty of the day opens before you.
"Although sounds are but vibrations in the air which affect the ear's auditory nerve, and these vibrations are but chance phenomena carried along through the air, even so, see how they move the heart," wrote 'Abdu'l-Baha,* another 1912 visitor to Washington, D.C. "A wondrous melody is wings for the spirit, and maketh the soul to tremble for joy."
The physical realm exerts a powerful influence on the spirit, 'Abdu'l-Baha asserted in a more detailed explanation. This month's Scientific American Mind backs him up. Did you know scientific studies show that gazing on nature improves your focus? That the amount of light, height of celings, and other aspects of our living spaces have significant affect on how our minds work? People who care are paying attention to this emerging neuroscience and figuring how to apply it in the real world. Find interesting details for your own use in the article.
In the meantime give yourself the gift of a few meditative moments amongst the cherry blossoms.
* 'Abdu'l-Baha was the eldest son of Baha'u'llah. For more see The Master - Chapter 62 in The Story of Baha'u'llah.
Even if you cannot be there, allow yourself to step out of the current flow of texting, twittering, and the rest of it to spend a few meditative moments in this video of A Cherry Blossom Day, sunrise to sunset. Let the haunting, instrumental strains of Sakura, a traditional Japanese folk song, seep into your spirit as the beauty of the day opens before you.
"Although sounds are but vibrations in the air which affect the ear's auditory nerve, and these vibrations are but chance phenomena carried along through the air, even so, see how they move the heart," wrote 'Abdu'l-Baha,* another 1912 visitor to Washington, D.C. "A wondrous melody is wings for the spirit, and maketh the soul to tremble for joy."
The physical realm exerts a powerful influence on the spirit, 'Abdu'l-Baha asserted in a more detailed explanation. This month's Scientific American Mind backs him up. Did you know scientific studies show that gazing on nature improves your focus? That the amount of light, height of celings, and other aspects of our living spaces have significant affect on how our minds work? People who care are paying attention to this emerging neuroscience and figuring how to apply it in the real world. Find interesting details for your own use in the article.
In the meantime give yourself the gift of a few meditative moments amongst the cherry blossoms.
* 'Abdu'l-Baha was the eldest son of Baha'u'llah. For more see The Master - Chapter 62 in The Story of Baha'u'llah.
