None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
Retaining our capacity for reason is common sense, but definite conclusions and beliefs keep us from seeing life as it really is at any given moment.
No art takes places without inspiration. Every artist also needs effective knowledge of his or her tools (e. g. , does a certain brush function well with a particular kind of paint?). What's more, artists need effective techniques for using those tools. Likewise, to express ourselves skillfully with maximum efficiency and minimum effort, we need to investigate the most effective ways of using the mind and body since, in the end, they are the only "tools" we truly possess in life.
Knowledge builds on the past and has its place. Wisdom is beyond time. It's the direct perception of reality as it is. And in this direct seeing of what is lies the potential of transformation-a transformation that is not merely a redecoration of the past but a transformation of humanity that embodies the eternally new.
If we fail to realize our full potential as human beings, we live more on an animalistic level. This is fine for dogs, cats, and chimpanzees but doesn't work quite so well for women and men. Without the capacity to freely shape our own lives, much as a sculptor might carve stone, we inevitably slip into negativity and depression.
Basically, if the mind stays in the present, it's impossible to worry. Upon careful consideration, it becomes clear that human beings are capable of worrying only about an event that has already transpired or one that may take place in the future (although the occurrence might have just happened or may be about to happen in the next instant). The present moment contains no time or space for worry.
Nakamura Tempu Sensei viewed the mind as a segment of the body that could not be seen and the body as the element of the mind that was observable. He also likened the mind and body to a stream, with the mind as the source flowing down to the body. Whatever we drop in the stream will be carried down by the current. In like manner, our thoughts will influence the body and our well being.
If you speak in a different accent, you begin to move in a slightly different way. You think in a slightly different way. I think it's part of trying to find what makes a character.
To those critics who are so pessimistic about our economy, I say: Don't be economic girlie men!
Maturity - among other things, the unclouded happiness of the child at play, who takes it for granted that he is at one with his play-mates.
I look forward to the day when animals will have the right to run if they have legs, swim if they have fins, and fly if they have wings.