Ichigo Ichie : The Beauty Of The Moment

In today's podcast, Ged studies the Japanese concept or philosophy of 'Ichigo Ichie', and the celebration of 'one moment in time'. Realising that each moment is unique in itself. Applied to our thinking and mindset, each thought is just in, or at, that moment...each feeling is a feeling just in, or at, that moment...

There's a beautiful song, written by Albert Hammond, and recorded by Whitney Houston, called "One Moment In Time".

Ged Roberts is the author of 4 books:

1. “Amazing-A voyage of self-discovery”
2. “The Amazing Sequel-A sojourn into self-awareness”
3. “Think Amazing-A guide to Mental well-being” &
4. "The Amazing Mindset Podcast Series"

All 4 books are available on Amazon.co.uk.

If you would like to know more about Ged & his Amazing Mindset mentoring and coaching, you can visit his website, www.amazingmindset.co.uk, you can connect with him on LinkedIn, on Facebook/Meta at his 'Amazing Mindset' page, or you can simply email him at gedroberts@hotmail.com

The music that accompanies this podcast series is composed, arranged and performed by Ged Roberts.

The music playing during the introduction and ending of the "Summer" & "Autumn" Series is an original recording entitled "Arran", from Ged's instrumental album called "Celtic Dreams".

The accompaniment to the podcast itself is part of a recording entitled "Night Rain", featured on Ged's album, "Night Dreams".

The music in the introduction to the "2025" & the "2025-26" Series, "Night Hunter", is also from that album.

The music that accompanies the '8 Japanese Concepts" podcasts is entitled "Mantra", and is featured on Ged's other instrumental chill-out album, "Oriental Dreams"....

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:05

Welcome to the Amazing Mindset podcast series for 2025. I'm your host, Jed Roberts, and together we will be going on a journey to explore our thinking and just how that thinking from moment to moment creates the world as only we see it. As well as the tapas style podcasts, which I introduced in July of 2024, I will also be introducing the amazing chat room, where I invite guests from different walks of life to chat about all things mindset. Our journey is still very much a voyage of self-discovery and of self-awareness, and I'm hoping that the podcasts are not only interesting, but also inspirational and insightful. It's great to have you on board. Now, let's go explore. Welcome to today's podcast where we revisit the eight Japanese concepts. We've already discovered Kintsugi with Kelly Tabiner in the chat room. We've discovered Wabisawi, embracing imperfection. We've discovered Kaizen, incremental change. And we've also discovered Mah, the power of the pause or the space between. The next concept or philosophy that really grabbed my attention for these podcasts is that of Ichigo Ichie, the beauty of the moment. Ichigo Ichie describes a cultural concept of treasuring the unrepeatable nature of a moment. the term has been roughly translated as for this time only or once in a lifetime and its meaning is something like this what we are experiencing right now will never happen again we must value each moment like a beautiful treasure we must become moment hunters the concept dates back to 16th century Japanese tea ceremonies, where participants would meet to have tea together with the understanding that this exact ceremony would not reoccur in their lifetime. Because of this, they approached the entire experience with respect, sincerity and attention. It taught them to be fully present in meetings and networking situations. And it taught them to recognize that each interaction is a unique opportunity to connect, making people feel heard and valued. This is huge in our amazing mindset. To understand that each interaction that we have is a unique opportunity to connect. Human Connection Here is a quote by Mayako Ichigo Ichie speaks to the idea that no one encounter can ever be recreated. Each moment and each convergence of time, space, light, Mood, thought and circumstance is singular and unrepeatable. As such, every encounter should be met with one's full attuned senses. Some encounters plant seeds that take root over time, while others change the course of one's life in a single moment. Wow, let's just repeat that last bit. Some encounters plant seeds that take root over time, while others change the course of one's life in a single moment. The philosophy behind Ichigo Ichie is a potent reminder that the beauty of the journey is in how we approach the present. Giving our full presence and attention to each interaction allows us to learn deeply from a wide variety of people Everyone has the power to bring value into our lives even those we might not meet again and all we have to do is listen This takes us back to really listening The best place to see the concept of Ichigo Ichie is at a Japanese tea ceremony Now for many of us, tea is just part of our morning routine. In Japan however, tea is highly cherished and appreciated. And the phrase Ichigo Ichie came to fruition during tea ceremonies for the samurai the night before a big battle, not knowing if they would ever get the opportunity to enjoy another cup. an emphasis was placed on appreciating their entire experience from start to finish. Here is a lovely description I found of a modern day tea ceremony and I quote During our ceremony we were told to focus on the smells, sights and sounds of the tea making process. The room was quiet as our tea master elegantly poured two spoons of matcha tea into a bowl. She then slowly poured hot water into the cup, creating a peaceful waterfall sound. Lastly, she whisked the tea repetitively and systematically until the water turned a light green colour. Once this was done, the tea was complete and ready to be enjoyed. The shiny ceramic cup was brought to the mouth and each sip was enjoyed thoroughly So let's apply Ichigo Ichie to our lives and our mindsets Too many of us are focused on what's next and in doing so we fail to focus on what's now We eat meals while working, we hang out with family while texting and we are constantly distracted by our future life and its problems Focusing on the now doesn't mean letting go of goals or dreams It simply means finding a way to enjoy whatever is in front of you first and taking life one step at a time It's a known fact that the mind cannot multitask despite many of our beliefs that we can do so anytime we distract ourselves with one thing we in turn ignore another to truly enjoy something we must give it our full attention what better way to do this than to live with the mindset that you may never get to do it again if we think about it there's no moment that actually happens again It may feel like a repeat, but the one moment in time is literally that. And so, every experience we have is just happening once. Every meeting, just once. Every feeling we have. Every feeling we have is just at that moment. Every thought we have. Every thought is just at that moment. That one moment in time. Ichigo Ichie. The beauty of the moment. Thank you for joining me on today's podcast. It's been an absolute pleasure. And I hope you've enjoyed it enough to join me on the next one. If you'd like to find out more about me and my amazing mindset, you can visit my website, which is www.amazingmindset.co.uk. You can find me on LinkedIn, or you can simply email me at jedroberts at hotmail.com. And just to remind you that the 2024 podcast series, the summer and the autumn series, are still accessible on all major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify, and of course, our host platform, Buzzsprout. Thanks for joining me, and I hope to see you again really soon.