What does it mean to study a traditional art? Well, of course there are traditions. That means things are passed down from teacher to student, generation to generation. There is a way to do things based on many people refining and perfecting the craft. Like playing classical music, ballet or other traditional art, learning the …
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Two weeks ago, I returned from my vacation in the Canadian Rockies to go right into an intensive training for Chanoyu. Every year, Christy Bartlett sensei comes to Portland for a weekend of intensive training. We are very lucky to have this opportunity to train intensively, as questions and practice in front of a …
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As we approach the solstice it seems like I am running downhill as things accelerate. Holiday plans, travel plans, baking, cooking, wrapping gifts, decorating; it all seems to go faster with less time every year as I get older.
This year I am certainly getting the feeling of growing older and approaching the time …
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After a long hiatus for Covid, I opened the tearoom last spring. I did not teach any beginner classes for 2 and a half years while the tearoom was closed. There were about 20 people on the waiting list and when I opened the new introduction to Chado class, it filled quickly. Then I …
Permanent link to this article: https://issoantea.com/shoshin-the-beginners-heart/
I have recently begun okeiko again with Bonnie Mitchell-sensei via Zoom. I am so grateful for the time and energy that she invests in every lesson. It has been more than 18 years since I attended weekly okeiko. After so many years on the teaching side, being a student again is humbling. Yet every …
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