Welcome to a New Year!

Kendo has particularly positive wishes for all those seeking healing at this time of year, that the symbolism of the New Year will mean a particularly energetic new beginning for everyone who who has asked him for healing.

Of course, at the New Year, we see the potential in all of nature – leaves are scant, to be found only on evergreens, and any kind of blossom is absent, yet within every single one of the great many plants and trees in the grounds of The Retreat, it is possible to feel the ever growing and immense energy of nature, preparing for an explosion into expression in the spring. 2015 will mark the first spring when the new cherry tree orchard at The Retreat will come into full bloom, but for the moment they are leafless twigs, and yet, in these cold, rainy, short days, each one of the new trees positively radiates the energy of its patiently-contained power – it’s inspiring.

One of the reasons that cherry blossom is so admired in Japan is because, while astonishingly beautiful, it has such a short life. This results in its ephemeral beauty being appreciated on another level altogether; the time when there is no cherry blossom is far greater than the time for which we are blessed with this beautiful spectacle, and yet, so great is its beauty that even calling its image to mind allows us to feel all over again the wonder of that great beauty. Thus, even when it’s not there, the beauty of the cherry blossom can continue to delight and inspire us – all we need do is call it to our mind’s eye.

That each plant and tree contains so much irrepressible energy and drive towards self-actualisation makes it easy to contemplate the spirits of nature at work within each one; these are the “kami”, the spirits of nature, in Buddhism, the energies which gladly help us on our journeys towards enlightenment. As is made clear at so many of the ceremonies which take place here at The Retreat, it is so important to visualise yourself as a joyous participant in the irrepressibly-positive big picture of spiritual nature. For a while, cast off your mental picture of yourself as a rationalising being, and meditate upon your own one-ness with this amazing, positive current of nature.

Kendo reminds us that during the cold and dark of the winter, look at nature around you and into your intuitive self, and you will find that you are entirely surrounded by irrepressible natural energies which, even if currently hidden, are inexorably moving towards self-actualisation and expression, each an essential part of a glorious natural whole – as are you. Even entertaining this as a symbolism is healing, and meditating upon it much more so.