HaikuOW? 2

Dear diary. . . .

old pond

a frog jumps in

the sound of water

Basho

THE GINKO DIARIES

How To Haiku Walk For Fresh Air, Exercise & Getting To Know Where You Live

In the first lesson we talked the walk about walking not talking and this in a haiku manner (ginko).

The thing is. We can get out the house and leave our cares behind us. While getting fresh air and exercise we can add our keen interest in haiku to the mix. This addition changes everything. From a casual stroll, or trek, we are now engaged in a magical mystery tour. Sitting on a windswept hilltop, or down in the valley, or enjoying the shade of a weeping willlow. by an old field pond. Maybe, as we nibble on a sandwich, or sip mineral water, a realisation occurs. We've noticed something (or it's noticed us). A bee lands on a flower and startles a butterfly into flight. The pattern of the wind, rippling through farmer's barley fields. Fall leaves adorn the air, as it were a dress. Look! An icicle forms a miniature puddle in the first rays of a winter's misty dawn. And, again, it's snowdrop time!

All of this as we merge with the seasonal round on our daily ginko.

Our haiku walking can be simply as we do the daily chores, in and around our home. The singing birds in the morning as we eat our scrambled eggs on toast. The sound of a letter coming through the letter box. That rusty lawnmower in the long grass, behind the garden shed, where a field mouse has built its nest. The jet aeroplane with its long tail threading through those fleecy cirrus clouds, streaked across an azure sky as we hang out the washing.

Not only wandering about in the world on our legs, but also when we are seated; perhaps reading a book, or surfing the internet ,or nodding off in front of the fire. These too will produce haiku moments. A haiku ramble of the mind.

All of those things and many more are haiku territory.

In our haiku diary we note down the daily highlights.

If we have a camera, then so much the better. We add a picture to our haiku, or a drawing, or a painting.

This is haiga country (which we shall cover along the way).

So, instead of all these precious experiences becoming gone with the wind, we note a haiku down in our haiku notebook. In rough form, or fully fledged. When we return home from our invigorating and soul-cleansing activity, or take a breather in our daily routines, we can brew ourselves a cuppa and settle down to enter our haiku notes into our haiku diary. Tweaking as we go. Years from now we may look back and relive the original experiences. They will come to us in little dreams as we turn the pages of our haiku journal. The more skilled our haikuing becomes, the more vivid and pertinent the action replay. How we achieve this evocation of experience will form much of the substance of the following introductory lessons. Have no fear though, you will become more and more adept at this astonishingly powerful active form of meditation we simply call haiku. Your haiku hobby will become a permanent delight and add much joy to everyday life.

Here's a haiku diary entry which I developed into a haibun (we'll cover this) and blogged :

Space Dragon

Here's an example of making a wabisabi (we'll cover this also) haiku notebook :

pencil& clip

DAILY BENEFITS OF HAIKU WALKS

& KEEPING A HAIKU DIARY. . . .

• • Fresh Air

  • Exercise

  • Local Knowledge

  • Awareness

  • Inner Calm

  • Detatchment

  • Vivid Memories

  • Meditation Skills

  • Writing Fluency

  • Precision

  • Perception

  • Instinct

  • Intuition

  • Empathy

• and much more. . . .

where the cat walks-

next door's flower sprites

getting visible

This introductory course is a living document and as such will be developing. Be sure to return regularly to this page. Not just to see the changes, but also to review the material in the light of your progress.

supplement

jp

step 1

step 3

Student (unsought testimonial)

"What I appreciate so much about you, John, is your absolute authenticity and fidelity to the way you experience the world. There is no guile in what you share with us, and I really appreciate your "gift" to me (personally) that has opened my eyes to the extra-ordinaryness in the so-called "ordinary"! You do not seek fame and fortune, and do not "need" affirmation per se, but for what it is worth, your passion for hakai is never in doubt in my receiving of it."

.......................................................................................................................................................................

21-01-12

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A L S O S E E

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geodesic_eye

feet

are the best zoom lens you can get-

March hills

TIP

"Haiku walking (ginko),

with a digital camera for luck,

is the way to go."

haiku poll

comments and contact

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