Likely my final post at Mirai

Horticulture
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It is with a heavy heart that I write to say goodbye to those participating in this forum. Have been a subscriber ever since Ryan began producing educational videos for Super Tuesdays. I still maintain no one does it better (or should I say, did it better) than he. Unfortunately, Mirai’s direction and vision has evolved over the years to the point where our bonsai paths are no longer in synch.

The focus now at Mirai is clearly on the mobile app, a great tool if one is inclined to put in the time, needs organization or prefers to follow a blueprint. Having managed a major law firm for more than 30 years (I’m now retired), I prefer to live life free of formal structure dictating what I must do and when. My bonsai get the daily attention they need, but not in a mechanical way with daily, weekly and monthly tasks laid out in an app. Just the way I prefer doing things.

The 2nd reason I’m stepping away? Mirai focuses on large trees. My collection on the other hand, has transitioned over time and now consists mainly of mame and shohin trees. Last I looked, the app offers information not in synch with my needs. Given the high quality bonsai videos available these days on youtube at no charge, I can no longer justify paying Mirai a subscription fee I barely take advantage of.

So goodbye one and all. I wish you and your trees nothing but the best going forward. This is a wonderful, supportive community; appreciate what you have as long as it meets your needs. Thank you to everyone who shared advice over the years and answered my questions. Hopefully I gave back to a few of you. Wishing you all the best.

PS: I have what I believe is an extensive list (with links) of the best educational sites for bonsai on youtube. Happy to share the list. Just send me an email (rdorfman_478@comcast.net). Hoping to cross paths with some of you in September at the US National show.

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I fully agree. I have only joined Mirai last December and was kind of disappointed to see that the Mirai Live library has not (really) been updated for almost a year now. The only really interesting content is offered for Pro-Members only and seems a little sparse. The App is just not helpfull for me for the same reasons you just mentioned. And yes, size - As interesting as they are, I think only few of us can deal with trees you can only lift with a forklift. Many people have limited space at home so a little more Shohin-content would really be nice.
I will not extend my membership. I find all of that really sad because I still think Ryan’s approach to Bonsai is among the most interesting and artistically most reflected approaches that I know. I just would like to see a bit more of him.

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I also recognize the changes in the format for Mirai that you share @Richard_D . I look back fondly on those earlier days of Mirai with super Tuesdays, I find myself nostalgic for that time in my life (not just with Mirai, but in many other ways).

While I have also closed my subscription, I still think that the video library on Mirai is one of the most valuable things that I’ve ever paid for. The amount of knowledge, instruction and wisdom that you can get in the video library is second to none. It was absolutely critical in helping my practice as a “ronin” (a samurai without a master), I cannot imagine my development without having those videos available.

Let’s celebrate what they’ve provided, I think a very welcome transformation for the dialogue and exposure to bonsai in North America. Just like our trees, we all have to our practice and our approach as time passes.

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I am not dissatisfied with Mirai.
The library is steller. The forum has wound down…
I DO miss Super Tuesdays…
Ryan burnt out doing weekly 2 hour live workshops. Trying to keep a buisness going is hard, enjoying your life gets tideous…
No, the Mobile App does NOT hit for me.
The new monthly live Pro talks are interesting. Although, I am NOT getting notifications for this, so I miss them. They get lost in the library…
.
Make note: Mirai AUTOMATICALLY RENEWED my subscription. Two years in a row. No request or post billing notification thank you… Just a $300 card ding. My Wife said WTH… ALSO, they do not do refunds…
Make shure to go into your account and deleate your credit card info…
Good luck. Bonsai On!
K

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Thank you for these comments, Kurt. We can agree to disagree. Yes, it’s difficult to run a business. Ryan gets to choose how he runs his. And I decide whether it still meets my needs as a customer; it doesn’t. All good.

I have been through the video archives half a dozen times over the years; they are exceptional and without peer, and I certainly got my money’s worth. Those live streams were the main reason I began a subscription years ago. I love to learn and my preferred method is by watching a great master/teacher at work. For a number of years Ryan was that guy…until he chose to take his business in a different direction.

Mirai no longer meets my needs, so my attention and focus will shift elsewhere. It’s as simple as that. I miss the old days at Mirai but I also understand Ryan’s newer vision and decision to direct his energy elsewhere.

Best of luck with your bonsai journey. I hope Mirai meets your needs for years to come.

Richard

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To each their own, we all must assess the value of anything we do in life and decide if it is the correct action for us. Letting go of anything we love is always difficult.

As a new member I see how fondly the long time members look back on their past times here, and say damm I wish I was watching back then. I have watched a lot of the old Super Tuesday videos and yes his energy was infectious his youthfulness and his excitement was incredible and it must have been an exciting time to be waiting on Tuesdays to watch these live streams.
Kinda like going to a concert or a sporting event as far as the energy goes.

It must have been Pretty SUPER to be a part of Super Tuesday!

We all know things change so no sense in beating a dead horse.

With any teacher there comes a time where views change, our perspective changes and yes often people change over time.

It seem Ryan has been a wonderful teacher to you over the years, and I can see you value his teachings very much. You are a valued member of the community and I am sure everyone respects your decision as much as they respect you.

For me I just don’t take anything too seriously anymore, life, women, work, it all changes and that is the struggle of humanity. It seems you have had a successful business career and a wonderful bonsai journey here with Ryan.

Celebrate it man, just enjoy it all because nothing last forever.
It seems this has been a beautiful part of your life and I hope as you move on your memories with Ryan as your teacher will be ones of great happiness.

Put on the Boss, listen to Glory Days and enjoy everything you have worked your ass off to obtain.

Peaceful journey to you.

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Thank you, Chris. Appreciate your philosophy.
Will leave you with this; hopefully it puts a smile on your face:

“Change is inevitable…..except from vending machines”. :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

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LMAO thank you for this!!

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I don’t use the tree record thing either as I have never been one to spend time either taking pictures of my trees or recording their progress and it seems to cumbersome in my view anyway. I am still a pro member because I like the lectures. sometimes it is something I already know but it reinforces my knowledge and self confidence on what I am doing. I liked the tree sessions but never watched them live anyway preferring to tune in later the same way I watch the lectures in pieces. scrolling back when I need to catch something better. There are many things to get subscriptions to now days and understand the concern over cost but I think the uncertainess of what I am getting is more interesting to me now than before. Some of the lectures need to be listened to more than once to fully absorb what is there. Guess maybe I learn differently than some and like change more. I do not find question and answer session at all interesting as a lot of the questions are too basic. to each his/her own I guess. When someone does something different there are always people who liked it better before but I suspect Ryan got tired with the old format and needed to move on. Even allowing everyone to vent their frustrations in this forum shows how Mirai live is open to criticism. Maybe some of this will be taken into account for the future.

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I’ve been around long enough to say: yes, those early days were incredible—but there’s still nothing like this platform.

If you’re new to bonsai, Mirai is the closest thing to an apprenticeship you’ll find online. Like anything, you get out what you put in. I learned enough here to leave a successful 15-year corporate career and become an arborist working on some of the most expensive landscapes in the world. Honestly, 90% of my foundational knowledge came from Mirai.

Eventually, I started my own company—building gardens and making bonsai pots in the winter (a business idea so bad I couldn’t even say it out loud at first). That leap was possible because I combed through the Mirai library for every little nugget of information.

The community has been just as valuable. From emergency help with high-value trees to guidance on pottery techniques, I’ve always had access to credible, generous support.

What really sets Mirai apart is that Ryan built a metaphysics and language around bonsai that allows for actual learning. I admire the other top pros, but their content is often inconsistent in language—great for inspiration, not for education. They know their craft, no doubt, but without repeatable, defined terms, everything becomes subjective. There’s rarely a why, when, or what-if, and that makes bonsai so hard to learn. Too much interpretation around the skill—when interpretation should be reserved for the art.

If anyone asks me where to start in bonsai, this is the place. And if you’re serious, there’s a 3–5 year window where diving into the full library (and working alongside it) is worth three times the monthly cost. Eventually, you hit a tipping point where the ROI lessens—and that’s a personal call.

Let’s be real: Ryan wants to make trees. He’s world-class at it. Like many greats, the biggest criticism is he hasn’t made more “Ryan Neils.” But he front-loaded the education—an enormous lift—and now he’s buying back his time to focus on being an artist and a family man. He can’t be the best artist and the best teacher forever. But if he ever went all-in on teaching again, his impact and legacy in bonsai would be 100x that of any active teacher today.

Long, unedited rant—but as a very active member, I’ve felt the pull from both sides. And I still believe: this platform is unmatched for anyone who has less than 5 years of experience

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Thank you Joe. Appreciate you taking the time to share these thoughts and glad to hear of your success.

Richard

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I hope you the best and totally get it.

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I’m still hanging on, and trying to get back into the Mirai flow, but I agree. The app adds very little value to me.

The reason I joined Mirai was to watch Ryan style trees as inspiration for my own collection.

I hope the team reconsiders going back to posting styling videos even if it’s not the regular super Tuesdays.

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I have been a member since before the pandemic hit in 2020. I also really miss Super Tuesdays, but it was quite grueling for Ryan to do one week after week. We only saw the time he spent behind the camera, but there was a lot of pre-production work and planning as well as the post-production editing which took up a lot of his time.

Regarding the app, I am of the generation more used to laptops rather than iPhone apps, and I had difficulty with the small screen and the limited information it could present at one time. As I get older, I have information retention issues so have to do more flipping back and forth between screens than I would like. I would happily use a laptop based version, but I don’t think they are going to do that.

I get most of my value from the Forum Q+As, because I can usually get a question in for each one to ask my most pressing questions. He spends a lot of time with the answers, and I feel I get my money’s worth for that alone.

I’ve spent about seven years trying to learn the art and practice of bonsai. I was lost in the wilderness until I ran across Ryan’s website.

I feel that to truly learn how to do bonsai, you really need to apprentice to a master, 24/7, for 5-6 years. There’s no substitute for practice on many, many trees, with expert guidance. I have not yet found a teacher that is better than Ryan. Unfortunately, he is unable to clone himself, so the next best thing for me is the library and the (semi-) monthly Forum Q+A videos. I do admit to having the luxury of being able to take classes 3 times a year at Mirai, and I recognize that not everyone is able to do that. I also study with other teachers in my area to keep progressing.

If I were younger and had the means to do it, I would try for a traditional apprenticeship in Japan, but since I am in my seventies now, that is no longer possible. I am basically devoting my retirement to bonsai, and hope to have a few good trees at the end of it.

As others have said, everyone needs to find their own path forward, doing what suits their situation best. As for Ryan, he and his artistry are very special, and I believe he also strives for a life balance among his personal life, creating his own body of work and helping as many students as he can. That’s all anyone can do.

My life now would have not been nearly as rich without the “little trees in a pot”.

Peace out.

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