The Sun

(Submitted by the author)

Ueshiba Morihei O’Sensei, the great Shinto thinker and founder of the Art of Aikido said:

“Rise early in the morning to greet the Sun. Inhale and let yourself soar to the ends of the Universe; breath out and let the Cosmos inside. Next, breath up the fecundity and vibrance of Earth. Blend the breath of Earth and your own and become the breath of life itself. Your mind and body will be gladdened, depression and heartache will dissipate and you will be filled with light and gratitude.”

The basis of Shinto thinking is that all things on Earth, including human beings, receive their lives from Taiyo, the Sun, or solar progenitor. The word for ‘human being’ in Japanese is hito.

Divine solar energy
The ancient way of defining this word is as ‘a temporary repository for divine solar energy’ and the Shinto way of viewing our human lives is as divided cells of this same energy.

Of course, this thinking appears rather simple and primitive when we first consider it - however, if we examine it more deeply, we can see that it has a scientific basis, as all the material of our bodies was present at the origin of the solar system. Solar power is stored in the food we eat, so when we chew we can release this energy to power our cells and sustain our own lives.

To realize this is to come into accord with life and instantly understand all our relationships. To realize this is to be filled with joy and deep gratitude for the great gifts of life, received through the Sun, Divine Beings and Ancestors and sustained by Great Nature and our Human Family.

If we can remember where we come from, then we know we are interconnected as beams of light refracted through one great prism.

Image credit: http://helios.gsfc.nasa.gov/sun_sm.gif