Sakura is visible proof of how the most beautiful things in life are fleeting and can’t be postponed.Kaika indicates the early buds of Sakura. A kaika moment, is when something unknown begins to blossom within us. When kaika is transformative, we want to turn it into mankai, the full blossoming of Sakura. We want it to mature to its full potential. This means cultivating our habits, seeking continuous improvement and reaching 10000 hour of practice to achieve mastery. Gladwell suggests that a great deal of effort and commitment are required for talent to be realized in all its brilliance.

Blossoming To Your Full Potential 

<a href="https://dsta.sh/uCn5eqZo2Ys6peAZ9">Ikigai</a>: discovering something we become passionate about and which also comes easily to us.Kaika: making room for our passion, allowing the reason we feel we were put on the earth to begin to blossom.Mankai: we reach mankai by staying the course, keep dreaming and devoting mindful time to improve our skills.”If we discover our talent, open ourselves up to it, and make it a priority in our lives, our passion will be able to develop, leading to our happiness and that of others.”

Ikigai and Manifesting Your Natural Abilities 

There are 4 key emotions that leave a mark on your life:<ul><li>Anger: evolutionary emotion that enabled to face danger effectively. It keeps us in the past and prevents us from enjoying the present.</li><li>Sadness: healthy sadness is due to a loss and is used to grieve, process and determine a strategy to face the future. It keeps us focused on the past.</li><li>Fear: also evolutionary, fear makes us live in the future and makes is impossible to enjoy the present creating a sense of doom.</li><li>Happiness: belong to the present and can or not have a cause. With Ichigo ichie we want to tap into unconditional contentment.</li></ul>

4 Basic Emotions

When you are mindful, you are fully aware of your surroundings and of yourself in the present. Mindfulness increases the time that you swim with your head above water, when you can see both potential dangers and pleasures. When you are mindful, you are aware of your position and your destination. You can make corrections to your path.

“You will find Zen in your everyday life, if you dedicate yourself passionately to what you love. . . . You can still have a spiritual life while you run your business.” Describing <a href="https://dsta.sh/uCn5eqZo2Ys6peAZ9">Ikigai</a> to Steve Jobs

6. Apply mindfulness to your five senses. Train yourself in the art of listening, watching, touching, tasting, and smelling to give each moment the richness of human perception. 7. Notice Coincidences. A journal in which we keep notes of these moments of daily magic will increase our ability to follow the invisible threads of reality. 8. Make every gathering a party. The right frame of mind can make every day a celebration. 9. If you don’t like what there is, make something different. 10. Be a hunter of special moments. The more you practice, the better and more abundant the results will be.

10 Rules Of Ichigo Ichie (part 2)

<ol><li>Just sit and see what happens</li><li>Savor this moment as if it were your last breath</li><li>Avoid distractions</li><li>Free yourself from everything that is not essential</li><li>Be your own friend: you are unique</li><li>Celebrate imperfection: Each failure is a sign that you should take a different path. Each flaw is an invitation to polish a diamond. If you have the will to improve, then it’s perfect to be imperfect.</li><li>Practice compassion: Each person acts according to the moment of personal growth in which they find themselves.</li><li>Let go of your expectations: expectations are like the wrapping that prevents us from seeing the gift.</li></ol>

Zen-spirations

1. Don’t postpone special moments. If you don’t embrace it, it’s lost forever.2. Live as if this were going to happen only once in your life. Be aware of the unique and once-in-a-lifetime nature of each meeting. 3. Dwell in the present. Here in this moment, all the possibilities in the world are alive. 4. Do something you’ve never done before. Allow something new to blossom inside you. 5. Practice zazen.Just sit down and observe the miracle of life.

10 Rules Of Ichigo Ichie (part 1) 

What we are experiencing right now will never happen again. We must value each moment like a beautiful treasure. If we let it slip, it will be lost forever.Becoming aware of ichigo ichie helps us remember that each morning we spend in the world, every moment we spend with our children and with our loved ones is infinitely valuable and deserves our full attention.“Treat your host as if the meeting were going to occur only once in your life.Yamanoue Sōji, 1588.As moment hunters, everything becomes unique and sublime, since we know that what we are experiencing right now will never happen again.

Become A Moment Hunter And Fulfill Your Potential 

Each tea ceremony should be treated with great attention because it is ichigo ichie, which is to say, a unique encounter in time. Even though the host and guests may see each other daily, the gathering can never be exactly repeated.The host should thus show true sincerity and take the greatest care with every detail, to make sure that everything flows smoothly and without a hitch.The guests for their part must understand that the encounter will never occur again, and so they must appreciate every detail of the ceremony prepared by the host and, of course, participate wholeheartedly. Ii Naosuke

Tea Ceremony as a Unique encounter 

Each moment is unique and cannot be repeated. Learn to make the most of every moment and fulfill your potential.

Find happiness by living fully in the present with this definitive guide to ichigo ichie--the Japanese art of making the most of every moment--from the bestselling authors of Ikigai. Every moment in our life happens only once, and if we let it slip away, we lose it forever--an idea captured by the Japanese phrase ichigo ichie (pronounced itchy-GO itchy-A). Often spoken in Japan when greeting someone or saying goodbye, to convey that the encounter is unique and special, it is a tenet of Zen Buddhism and is attributed to a sixteenth-century master of the Japanese tea ceremony, or "ceremony of attention," whose intricate rituals compel us to focus on the present moment. From this age-old concept comes a new kind of mindfulness. In The Book of Ichigo Ichie, you will learn to... • appreciate the beauty of the fleeting, the way the Japanese celebrate the cherry blossoms for two weeks every April, knowing they'll have to wait a whole year to see them again; • use all five senses to anchor yourself in the present, helping you to let go of fear, sadness, anger, and other negative emotions fueled by fixating on the past or the future; • be alert to the magic of coincidences, which help us find meaning among the disconnected events of our lives; • use ichigo ichie to help you discover your ikigai, or life's purpose--because it's only by learning to be present, to be tuned into what catches your attention and excites you in the moment, that you can identify what it is that most motivates you and brings you happiness. Every one of us contains a key that can open the door to attention, harmony with others, and love of life. And that key is ichigo ichie. A PENGUIN LIFE TITLE

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Personal Development

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Mindfulness

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Books

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • 1.5 MILLION+ COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE “Workers looking for more fulfilling positions should start by identifying their ikigai.” ―Business Insider   “One of the unintended—yet positive—consequences of the [pandemic] is that it is forcing people to reevaluate their jobs, careers, and lives. Use this time wisely, find your personal ikigai, and live your best life.” ―Forbes Find your ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) to live longer and bring more meaning and joy to all your days. “Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.” —Japanese proverb   According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—a reason for living. And according to the residents of the Japanese village with the world’s longest-living people, finding it is the key to a happier and longer life. Having a strong sense of ikigai—where what you love, what you’re good at, what you can get paid for, and what the world needs all overlap—means that each day is infused with meaning. It’s the reason we get up in the morning. It’s also the reason many Japanese never really retire (in fact there’s no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense it does in English): They remain active and work at what they enjoy, because they’ve found a real purpose in life—the happiness of always being busy. In researching this book, the authors interviewed the residents of the Japanese village with the highest percentage of 100-year-olds—one of the world’s Blue Zones. Ikigai reveals the secrets to their longevity and happiness: how they eat, how they move, how they work, how they foster collaboration and community, and—their best-kept secret—how they find the ikigai that brings satisfaction to their lives. And it provides practical tools to help you discover your own ikigai. Because who doesn’t want to find happiness in every day?

Hector Garcia was born in Spain in 1981 and has been living in Tokyo since 2004. During his spare time he writes aGeekinJapan.com, one of the most widely-read blogs in the world in Spanish and in English, as well as books about his experiences in Japan. He is the author of the bestsellers: Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life and A Geek in Japan. You can find more of Hector's musings at ageekinjapan.com

Héctor García

Francesc Miralles Contijoch is a Catalan writer, essayist, translator, and musician.