Blossoming!

The cherry trees are in bloom in Japan and Washington, D.C., and this week the buds began bursting open here in New York. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden has a handy CherryWatch map to follow the action.

That means it's time for us to reveal another upcoming event in our first ever Cherry Blossom Festival, celebrating not only the return of spring here but the upcoming second anniversary of The Reiki Dojo and third anniversary of The Reiki Digest.

Last week, we told you about one event: Amanda Jayne's April 22 talk at The Reiki Dojo in New York on the legacy of Chiyoko Yamaguchi, student of Chujiro Hayashi and founder of Jikiden Reiki.

And now, another event, the first-ever Reiki Digest/Reiki Dojo field trip: It's a visit to Kuramayama -- specifically, the Kuramayama cherry tree and its neighboring cherry trees at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Japanese garden. (Perhaps next spring, we'll be able to take you to Kuramayama, the mountain.) On Saturday, April 25, we'll meet at the garden at 10:30 a.m. to observe the blossoming cherries and enjoy a Reiki meditation. Admission to the Garden is free on Saturday mornings, so be sure to get there before noon. This is a free event. For more information, email info@reikidojo.net or call 917-512-1330.

Stay tuned for announcements of more exciting events in our Cherry Blossom Festival as the blossoms continue to open. For more about the importance of cherry blossoms in Japanese culture, check out this post from last spring.