[Music]

[Music]

So this is the new year that you have

been looking for. The temple bells have

finished ringing 108 times. The shrine

visits are complete. The celebrations

have ended. And now the silence has

returned. In that silence, I want to

share with you some wisdom from ancient

Japan. These are teachings that samurai

carried with them into battle and into

daily life. They are simple ideas, but

they have the power to change everything

about how you approach this new year.

Let me ask you something honest. Do you

actually feel any different? Most people

enter a new year and nothing has

changed. The same thoughts keep circling

in the mind. The same habits keep

running on repeat. The same frustrations

keep showing up wearing a different

date. We tell ourselves this year will

be different. But somewhere deep inside

we already know we are lying to

ourselves. The samurai had a word for

this kind of selfdeception.

They called it kyojutsu. This means the

confusion between what is real and what

is false. Most people live their entire

lives trapped in kyojutsu. They believe

they want to change, but their actions

reveal the truth. They have grown

comfortable in their suffering. They

have made peace with staying exactly

where they are. Breaking free from

kojutsu requires something painful. It

requires seeing yourself as you actually

are. There is an old Japanese teaching

that cuts through all selfdeception. The

samurai called it shime khan. This is

the constant awareness that death is

always walking beside you. Not as

something to fear but as the greatest

teacher of how to truly live. When you

carry Shan in your heart, everything

begins to shift. The complaints you had

yesterday start to seem foolish. The

excuses you made last year lose all

their power. The fear of discomfort

becomes almost laughable because what is

temporary struggle compared to the

eternal silence waiting for all of us.

Most people live as if they have

unlimited time. They postpone everything

important. They wait for the right

moment that never arrives. They save

their courage for some distant tomorrow.

But the samurai understood that tomorrow

is just a story we tell ourselves. The

only truth is this breath, this moment,

this choice. There was a warrior named

Suzuki Shosan who served in battle

during the waring states period. He

fought in terrible conflicts. He also

watched friends die beside him. And when

the wars finally ended, he did something

unexpected that you cannot even imagine.

He became a Zen monk. But Chosen did not

teach the gentle Buddhism of the

temples. He taught what he called

Neozen, which means the way of the

fierce guardian. He believed that most

spiritual practice had become too soft.

People sat in meditation hoping for

peace. They chanted prayers hoping for

blessings, but they avoided the one

thing that actually transforms a person.

They avoided looking directly at death.

Schosen taught his students to meditate

with the energy of a warrior charging

into battle. Not in a way of relaxed or

passive, but completely alive and

completely aware that this moment could

be the last. This is Shme Khan put into

practice and it changes everything about

how you approach your days. Chosen also

taught something called nenshin. This

means the attentive mind. It is the mind

that does not wander into fantasy about

the future or regret about the past. It

is the mind that stays exactly where the

body is. Most people fail to change

because their mind is never where their

body is. They exercise while thinking

about work. They work while thinking

about entertainment. They spend time

with loved ones while scrolling through

their phones. They are everywhere except

the present moment and so they are truly

nowhere at all. The samurai could not

afford this kind of scattered attention.

In combat, a wandering mind meant death.

So they trained nshin until presence

became their natural way of being. There

is another teaching from the warrior

tradition that most people have never

heard. It is called kigurai. This means

a noble dignity that comes from within.

It is not arrogance or pride based on

what you have achieved. It is a quiet

sense of selfworth that does not depend

on what others think of you. A person

with kigorai does not need applause to

keep going. They do not need approval to

believe in their path. They do not fall

apart when criticized or become too

proud when praised. They simply walk

forward with quiet certainty because

they have chosen their way and they

trust themselves to walk it. This is

what separates those who actually

transform from those who only dream

about it. The dreamer needs constant

motivation. The dreamer needs the

excitement of a fresh start. But the

person with kigoray needs nothing except

their own commitment. And that

commitment stays steady whether anyone

is watching or not. My grandfather used

to say that most people treat discipline

like a visitor. They welcome it when

they feel inspired and show it the door

when they feel tired. The old masters

also spoke of ishin. This means one

heart. It is complete devotion to the

path you have chosen. Not scattered

attention across a 100 different goals.

Not half-hearted attempts at everything

but the full power of your being

directed at one single purpose. When you

approach change with I is failure

becomes almost impossible. Not because

the path is easy but because you have

removed every escape route. You have

closed every back door. There is only

forward. These five teachings work

together like threads in a rope.

Kyojutsu reminds you to be honest about

where you are. Shimean reminds you that

your time is borrowed and precious.

Nshin brings your wandering mind back to

the present moment. Kigurai gives you

the inner strength to walk your path

without needing permission. And Ishin

focuses your whole heart on what truly

matters. The samurai did not see these

as separate ideas. They saw them as one

way of living. A way that transforms

ordinary people into warriors of their

own lives. So as this new year stretches

out before you, do not make promises you

have already broken a 100 times.

Instead, let these ancient teachings

guide you. Let them remind you of what

you already know deep down. A year from

now, you will look back at this moment.

You will either be the same person still

hoping for change, or you will be

someone who finally walked the way of

the warrior. I believe you can do this.

I believe you have more strength inside

you than you know.