Spirit Matters

SPIRIT MATTERS

Immovable Immovable wisdom, Acala or Fudo-myoo, the highest expression of a non-dual realisation. If we take it to mean and relate it to the body, we concentrate to establish a strong core, centred in our Hara, well grounded and balanced. If we take it to mean the mind, we learn to remain detached through all circumstances. We learn to become one-pointed and sharp. If we take it to mean the heart, we never stray from the love and compassion we see and feel in oneness. We never succumb to the division people spread.

Taken spiritually the unmovable refers to the way things are in reality. Unmoving, always the same, non-altered absolute Truth. This refers to an absolute state of being where neither c i rc u m s t a n c e s n o r c o n d i t i o n s s t i r yo u r understanding. From this the saying 'moving without moving' come. Remaining in a knowledge-state of oneness there is no going nor coming. Therefore whether you move or not, nothing changes. Whether you experience this on a supernatural experimental level or simply as in your normal daily activity it's all the same.

One yet many There's a tendency to find one solution to everything.

One truth that will do. One method that will suffice.

The best one that will cancel out everything else. This is the Ego's attempt to control its environment. To claim the throne for itself, to be king. In the martial world this is expressed as to who sits with the insight knowledge, who knows the secrets and who's got the goods. My art vs the rest. For many this is decided in the octagon, last man standing. That's kind of feudal age and kingdoms come and go. The only bloodline recognised is in the number of scars and ribs broken. Generals and heads of state know better, with the gesture of a hand commanding armies subduing whole nations while guns and knives rules the hood, all claiming supremacy. How narrow an interpretation, my school versus yours. My style or no style. 
 The art of war employs all strategic means. The art of life use all of creation in abundance. Martial arts combine hard with soft, external with internal. Multiple disciplines brings mastery. Not dead set on one thing they employ what's needed in the circumstances, changing and shifting as the situation unfolds. A Budo used to kill employ any means to its end. The art of life, of living, use all varied phenomena to achieve its goal. 
 Body, mind and heart, soul and spirit. Alone and together, many yet one.

Mine versus yours doesn't make sense any more.

Interior Dynamics How strange and how difficult it is to discover and learn about an interior parallel bodily movement that perfectly complements your outward motion. Realising there's an inner equivalent and counter-balancing movement to every outer physical action. A yin and yang co-creative interdependent relationship. The outer bodily motions finding their inner equivalent partner, working in unison to create maximum effect and to retain perfect balance. Effortless motion in theory and life sustaining circulation of the in and out breath.

Circulating between inside and outside, rotating, alternating, co-creating and co-sustaining each other. What happens outside must have its equivalent motion inside, a counter reflective balancing act that generates spin; dynamic energy that we can direct upon contact. Physical, mental and spiritual contact are three levels or distances we can work at.

Close where body touches body, or before where mind touches mind, or even prior where Spirit touches Spirit.

Unifying upon contact, electrifying and closing the gap between us. Vertical alignment, centred with spacial awareness, sensitivity and timing we move with confidence.

Absorbing all influences, rejecting none. Swallowing up all bumps, absorbing and using their kinetic energy to propel your own action like a hybrid car. Sinking into the ground while lifting limbs, a pulley system aligned with the ground.

Rooted like a tree your limbs subtle a soft circulating life energy. Muscles working unopposed, joints relaxed, impact decides weight ratio, light like a feather or heavy as lead. 
 Shifting and moving slowly in order to make sense out it all, voice and breath comes to mind. Got to get back on the mat.

A Perfect Match When we meet, how do we appropriate the other? When you open a door how hard do you grab the handle? When we catch a ball how relaxed can we be? When we shake hands how hard do you squeeze? In America a firm grip is the rule while in the Arabic world a soft handshake is the norm. In Asia they don't even touch. How do we accommodate these differences? How do we adjust? How much force do you apply by lifting something off the ground? Is there an inherent internal adjuster that instantly finds the appropriate measure? Can we find this natural ability to give just the right amount without thinking about it? 
 Then once we're holding, touching and meeting can we find an even more aligned effortless grounding that's spreads into the object or person, spontaneously taking the slack out, relaxing even more, distributing the weight evenly in balance with the whole thing. Adding or lessening the input as things change and move. 
 When you receive a gift how do you hold it? When we touch with hands and arms how relaxed normal can you be? Carrying your own body can we let go of the tension? How free in motion can we act? Awareness and conscious attention is needed to catch habits of reaction, of tension, of fear and hesitation.

Conscious motion in sync with what's going on will open the abilities to blend with whatever comes your way. Interconnected already from the start leaves no gap to be closed, no room for surprises. Closing the distance between you and me means there is no separation and therefore no reaction but only natural response in tune and in sync with the other even before touching. A perfect match.

Combative vs Non-combative How is it that combatives never understand the mindset of non-combative martial artists? Is it because we are in the wrong category? According to them if you can't prove your skill in battle you're not able to walk your talk. Shut up or put up as it were. Maybe they figure we should all hand in our weapons, lay down our arms and don a monks robe and join the ministry. Then how is it that martial arts have always flirted with spirituality? Trying to cover their backs with divine suggestion. Or is it as when the devil grow old he becomes religious? Why is it that the martial hero always went to see the monk, not the other way around? What was he lacking? What does martial skill lack? Whether you claim Aiki prowess or not, do you think spiritual understanding lies in your ability to defeat another or in your mastery of Aiki? Let's be clear and not mistake martial ability with profound insight. And let's also state clearly that spiritual accomplishment doesn't bestow martial competence. So why should there be a relationship? Why are we in bed with each other? Is it on equal standing we negotiate? Or is there dependency?

Who rely on who? Who is the master in the house? Is it simply that might and power have had its fill and time of day and in its old age wish for a peaceful end? Trying to avoid his longstanding debt, his accumulated karma?

Maybe the old saying 'live by the sword and die by the sword' haunts his sleep? Or is it simply proven worth now reaping its rightful respect? Battle-hardened and weary now enjoying the admiration of would-be warriors. Let's not mistake this accomplishment for any kind of spiritual

attainment. Though it must be said that many of martial artists has claimed spiritual achievement and paraded it like another belt of credibility. How far from true understanding they are. Spiritual achievement is not something we add to our already long list of martial cando repertoire. And also, it's not just a little understanding added to the youthful vigour of the martial mind as if once calmed down we'd easily get it.

This is why the combatives never really get what the noncombatives are all about. They never see that it's about a perspective, a way we see the world. They view the world as a fighter; you and me, us and them. Dual and divided, each man to his own. Defence is natural and conflict unavoidable. If you don't have the goods you're defeated.

Simple and true. So why do they flirt with spirituality?

Something still not right? Something still nagging their unblemished record of won victories, of undefeated encounters, even though they have the following of the youth hungry for their own mastery? Some don't blink, settle in with old age, scrolls on the walls and swords in place of shrines. Blind they serve an unknown God with perfect etiquette. It has to be applauded to some degree I admit. It's quite impressive. As battle-axes they go down, no defeat no surrender. It's the Egos greatest achievement; death before dishonour.

What is this shadowland between life and death that brings us together in the same arts? Where lies the attraction in our practice? Mastery involves what? What is this way and where is it leading?

Conscious upon Contact When we catch each other's eye we become conscious of each other. Simple enough and ordinary every day contact with other people. We also include animals, especially pets, to this kind of joint awareness. In a mutual recognition of being we sense and feel a certain intimacy toward the other. There's a silent understanding or knowing if you like, that comes about by acknowledging each other.

This reveals a deep mystery of the necessity of contact to bring about conscious expansion. By including you I expand in consciousness, and by you including me we will cohabit the same realm. By including all others my universe grows. But this is not only limited to living conscious beings. I can make contact with the ground beneath me, to the air around me and even to the scenery of my mind. By extending my conscious presence beyond my mere body and creating a relationship with whatever I touch; man, animal or matter, I bring about a relational conscious experience where all things are made aware. Space, Earth and even time itself awakens to its own self nature. How is this possible? We usually ascribe consciousness to ourselves, to our mind, and we do recognise that by making contact with an other we acknowledge each other being awake to themselves. Now you can do the same to all things. They may not speak back to you nor make any sign but if you persist you will begin to sense an affinity with the object and its nature. This is learning to become aware of a conscious presence available between all things.

Then you will also realise there's an inherent relationship between you. Somehow we're all interrelated and we kind of fit together in an endless mosaic puzzle. This is conscious being freed up to include all that has ever been and all that ever will be. It's opening up to an awake universe that becomes conscious upon contact, upon your touch.

"The sky, the rivers, the mountains, the fields. The earth, the forest, the clouds and the rain. The sea and the wind. The sun, the moon and the stars. All protects us and nourishes us. They provide and serve. How faint isn’t our grasp of this?�

Without a trace

Still, you disclose nothing.

Without intent, you move You arrive unannounced and
 Leave without notice You accomplish all things Yet remain unattached Nobody knows you Yet you know all How can I explain You coming or going?

Leaving me without A trace of doubt

Laying of hands

With the laying of hands I return what belongs to you.

Attraction can't keep me away.

Conduct is no more a restraining order than what gravity is to light.

I’ll bend but I never loose pace, while the increased density neutralise our bipolar disorder.

Friction-free fluidity becomes a real possibility.

Velocity is pairing up, like water down a rock face.

The daily grind There's a marked difference between daily and consistent training where we work the basics, hone the body and temper our soul, to short-term retreats and seminars. In those concentrated events we want to explore the dynamics of Aikido and look into the spirit of the art. Therefore our mindset must change slightly when we go on retreat. We need to approach it as a challenge, come with no preconceived ideas even if you're an advanced Aikido student or teacher. 
 Some teach by method; follow a certain program, a set of steps, to ensure steady progress. Others teach by inspiration; advocating and nurturing a quality of mind. I would emphasise one over the other depending on event and group. 
 In our retreats I like to paint the biggest possible picture, starting with a big frame of mind, an all-embracing context, spiritual in nature but also natural for a relaxed and sharp mind. Start with the largest perspective and return to the individual as we progress. Not like in the daily grind where we begin with ourselves; creating an immovable connected aiki-body, and then engage with the other. 
 Less structure yields less results some believe. But cultivating an open heart we can't limit it to a syllabus. We need to enter a pathless land where we care more about sharing and staying with what's going on, then to fix on ourselves. Back in the dojo, yes we can work out the details through the day to day practice but on retreat give yourself totally to explore the borderland between you and me in a living relational enactment. This will infuse your practice and create a holistic body where we all participate in One thing. This mindset is demanding because it has no structure but it asks for your constant attention and awareness; how you speak, how you listen, how we communicate, how we train. It demands humility and compliance.

The Ego have no room to wriggle out of it. This intention will yield results but less pronounced in the sense you've got nothing to show for.

Meditation traps There's a small possibility that one gets waylaid and trapped in methodology. By believing in the method of meditation.

Especially when it works according to plan, yielding results.

Becoming good at anything demands close attention and dedication. It's a wonderful feeling to experience skill and mastery in any field. There are proven tracks that will get you to your desired goal as long as you put the effort in.

Yet somehow it leaves me hanging, not quite convinced.

Freedom demands something more, something from outside the box. It's difficult to put ones finger on exactly what it is, but it requires a mind that is willing to go beyond the method.

It takes a thinking mind to contemplate what this means. One must search within oneself and question ones assumptions. To look deeply at what one wants. Through deep inquiry one can come to resolve lingering doubts and dispel preconceived ideas.

Basic method of how to sit, walk and talk are good pointers how to physically adapt to a contemplative mindset. Buts it's your intention that drives your meditation, not the method.

In our retreats the focus will always be on our intent; what do we want? What can we achieve? And the emphases is always on 'we', and not solely on oneself. I am included in the whole and therefore will receive the benefits of this kind of contemplation.

The larger context will contain the smaller, but the reverse is not true. The small self can not contain the larger Self. That's why we always begin with the biggest possible perspective. And to gain an understanding and appreciation of that we need to go inwards, question our ideas, challenge our beliefs.

Why is this so important? Because we live in constant relationship and there is a way to meet that is extraordinary yet very normal. It will point to understanding life in its fullest. To clarify why we are here and where we must go.

Sit still

Breathe, that's it. Don't move.

Relax. Spine erect, close your eyes.

Let the thoughts go.

Focus on the breath at the nostrils.

Go quiet inside. Rest and be attentive.

No self, no I, no need. Breathe.

Don't fidget, don't move. 
 Neti neti, not this, not this.

Go deeper, absorb into yourself.

Use the breath to go quieter.

This is Samatha, tranquility meditation. Sit still till you disappear. Sit till you die. 
 Let everything be, stay with the breath with a good posture and keen mind.

I hide in you

You can't see me because I am already standing behind you. I hide myself in you.

Not that I'm invisible but I'm behind your eyes. Too close to apprehend, too quiet to hear.

I wait upon you, watching your expression, see the lines in your face. It's almost an intrusion being so close and so near.

I apologise for taking your place but amend with honour and respect.

You look bewildered but no need to fear.

Once you see your own reflection, you'll laugh and we'll meet face to face.

I live in all men and in all things. By becoming the Earth I feel its breath, by becoming the wind I move with the clouds. With the sun I rise awake and with the moon I behold the world asleep.

I complete you

If you're angry I'll appease. If you're cross I'll straighten. If you lash out I'll absorb.

Already before you know it, I complete.

If you add, for effect, I'll include. I'll tally the balance to make it count.

If you're hungry I'll feed you. 
 If you're needy I'll believe in you.

Nothing too big, nothing too small, I even out the ballast.

Homogeneous the universe can't divide itself. Cradled in its own bosom it's allowed to be free. Free to grow, to stretch and expand like a child in her fathers arms.

Mother and father watching over her.

One says go, and one says stay.

Expansion and contraction; life's breath inherent in our cells. Rest easy.

Bow men Open your joints. To connect your body like an old string-doll. Take out the slack, tighten the elastic string so the wooden doll doesn't collapse in a heap. Enough natural tension to keep it in shape. Let the bone structure 'sit' in its upright balanced form and exert its stabilising effect overall. Breathe easy. Let the energy extend out through your fingertips. Like you're pulling out a soft elastic band. Let your vision fall inside, allowing your eyes to fall back into your body.

Feel the flesh slide off the bone to the ground. Allow the sun to draw you up just as when pulling up the rug, everything follows. As all things reach upwards, not pushing but being pulled by the heat and light. Sit up, stand up, walk. A natural progression induced by life itself. Suspended between Heaven and Earth we stand as on a floating bridge between the two. One movement keeps us on the ground, the other raises us up. Feeling these forces simultaneously where they meet by connecting tissue, the sheer between them cause friction and heat escapes. Body temperature rises. 
 String a bow. Bend it and pull and attach the string. As you let out the slack it tightens. Now the weapon is strung, ready to use. When we bow in seiza or in standing, we replicate this stringing of the bow and come out of it with a tone in the body. When we flex an arm or leg we can do the same. When we open our hand and extend our fingers. Muscle and facia toning creates a soft tension throughout the body connecting tissue in functional lines. Up down, side to side, and front to back. Six directions that covers the full spectrum all around. Our movements originate in our centre, our Hara. Legs extends down, spine and head up, and hands and arms out. Feed the compression into the Earth and feel the corresponding springboard effect upwards. Free practice, solo exercise, move your body as if immersed in water. Slowly gently, energised with heightened feeling of the body toning. All parts move in sub-sequential order, one after the other. String movements together, from the ground up, sway like rush in the wind, like kelp in water, or like fire rising. Come back to a standing pose or sitting seiza. Feel your whole system, go oh so quiet.

Open your fingers and stretch the Ki out.

The Art of Giving Too much is never advised. We usually receive presents on allocated days like birthdays, weddings and for Christmas and such. To be given something out of the regular surprises us.

From a loved one is sweet but even then when it happens too often we get confused. Enough we think. Special occasions calls for it, a farewell gift, a moving in gesture. But outside these normal relational events we do not expect anything. So when it happens over and beyond what is called for we withdraw. Uneasy of how to respond. Unasked of charity always cause a little resentment no matter how well intended and we're made feeling slightly ashamed for not being gracious enough to openly accept all that is given us.

Unasked of advice strikes a similar tone. Yes it's all in good faith but when it comes too often it becomes a bit like unwanted mail through the door. There's a natural balance between people, a proportional give and take inherent in our relationship. We can suss it out, feel the balance and weigh in only so much before the tipping point. Sometimes we can shower someone with love and gifts and it would be totally appropriate. Other times maybe not so. We must know the right time and place. The art of giving is to understand its limits. Giving is called for and we should be ready to hand out even Life. But wait for the right moment and then only give what is asked for, not more. 
 Life is naturally full and we only provide where there's lack.

This is not really down to us to decide. We should be prompted to give. Out of love and care, and always in relation to the other. Strike a perfect balance.

The Aim of the Practice

We're not here to learn a certain technique. A system of doing things whether that be Aikido, yoga or meditation. We're here to learn what they all are pointing to. Increased awareness of this will intensify your search. It will heighten your senses and you'll look outside of the form to find its essence. The quality of your engagement is everything. Your ability to absorb teachings, to listen and hear what is not being said but spoken of. There's an aim where we find direction and in that direction we enter the path. Then we just need to follow it. Keep your eyes set straight ahead and do everything we do with clear intent. Then whether we meditate or communicate we allow ourselves to be available. This in itself will reveal the way to be, the way to investigate, the way to meditate and the way to realise. Unhindered we now know training is more than the method. The aim is everything.

Atemi Are we meant to make contact? I don't think so. It's the responsibility of the person doing the atemi that it is well-placed, accurate and safe.

Meaning having the skill, vision and the ability to hold the strike before impact. Even if uke/nage moves towards it. It's not difficult to land a punch if one sets ones mind to it. Especially if we do static training or step by step instructive learning. Now, Aikido is not a judo randori nor a karate kumite. It's not a free engagement. It happens under controlled circumstances for the purpose of training principles. One of the first things we learn as beginner Aikidoka is to respect your partner. To land a punch and then tell the recipient he or she must be more careful reveals a lack of care, or at least a lack of understanding atemi. Whether we use the tegatana swordhand, a fist, bokken or jo, we must use it with utmost care.

With precision and speed yes but with skill to stop at will. Without this restraint the rest of the waza or technique will be done with the same intent. If we believe that it resembles a real situation think again. A 'real' encounter have no preset planned structure. If I apply a pin in the same manner without concern for my partner I'll break his arm. So if you temper the rest of your execution why not the atemis? Am I scoring points? Or do I take the high ground claiming martial reasons for not holding back. Training can be hard and tough but it's always fair. We always know when we're in control and when we're not.

Misunderstanding atemi is a very dangerous thing to do. It has to do with a mindset. Think about it, why would you not control your atemi while controlling the rest your technique? Why carry a double standard? Do you want to get hit in the face while you're training? There's a reason boxing uses gloves. 
 Now it's a different thing to educate uke or nage about connection and therefore reveal openings and lack of awareness in regards to the martial relationship. We may point these things out in a clear manner but this once again does not constitute a disregard towards your partner. 
 Have you been taught by your teacher to attack with no stops available?

Has he or she been an example of abusive behaviour towards their training partners? Rethink the way we apply our strikes in Aikido. Full on but with the presence of mind to alter in a moments notice. Train safe!

Applying the Aiki-body Redistribution of weight at the point of contact. Some call it 'Kuzushi' breaking the balance but it's much more than just physically upsetting the balance of your partner. It has more to do with aligning your own body to the Heaven-Earth-Man model, connecting your body energetically in all directions, understanding the inherent inclusive nature of the duality of opposites; up down, right left, back and front. Gravity versus rising lifeforce (Heaven vs Earth), left hand versus right hand (Fire vs Water), front and back (Future vs Past). It all hinges on the first principle; heaven earth and man in the centre. Grounded, centred and extended. Balance as we want it to be, standing on a floating bridge of Heaven. Limbs subtle, joints unlocked, feet rooted, legs compressed sprung into the ground, 'Koshi' hips and 'Hara' free to move, 'Tanden' center-point leading the direction, 'Chushin' vertical alignment through the spine blasts through the top of your head piercing and separating the heavens. Eyes calm, empty yet deep. Spacious inside, sensitive on the outside, fingertips active. Move around the axis, utilising down-force to rise, undulating floating as the sea heaves, rising falling. left and right, active inactive, yin and yang, in and yo, positive negative. Spiral dynamics going both ways as you interconnect the whole body. 
 Now this is just the first step, the very beginning. You may think this is enough to throw someone off, like someone hitting a spinning wheel and being repelled. That may very well do it and you may be happy with the result but there's another thing altogether to neutralise and pacify an attack, absorbing it so completely you leave them baffled. To do this we must resist the temptation to utilise your Aiki developed body as a weapon and use it instead as a tool of reconciliation and unification. This is a matter of choice and it reveals your innermost attitude towards yourself and others. 
 Upon contact, whether physical or energetic we redistribute their weight balance both to the ground and up, dissipating their aggressive intent, absorbing it throughout the body, making it fizzle out. Intention and a holistic body awareness makes this possible, by becoming extremely sensitive we feel into the whole system of the engagement and are able to contain the relationship through your Aiki prowess.

Don't touch the sides

Hollow like bamboo we're empty inside.

Moving through a crowd like a man possessed. Cuts like a knife finding the joints fall apart. Don't even touch the sides. Just laying the blade on the skin it sinks in. Where can there be resistance when there's nothing opposing? Hesitation doomed Shivas guards when they opposed saint Santana at the last gate. They fell from Heaven to serve infinite lifetimes to repent of their mistake. Free form allows for watery fluidity yet there's no going around. Straight as an arrow is the path of least resistance. Who can oppose it? As time moves forward nothing seems able to stop it nor change its direction. Join then this nameless quality that knows no opposition. Dive headfirst into the void with nothing stopping your fall. Who can resist it?

Forgiveness in the seventh hour?

Repenting on your deathbed may relieve your own conscience yet all harm done is not miraculously undone. Sometimes people applaud an old devil his change of heart in his dying days but in my book it's a little too late. Don't get me wrong, better late than never for sure. But here we're praising people that shouldn't have done wrong in the first place.

Children we can forgive as they can learn from their mistakes as they grow up. But if a mature human being have lived his life hurting others and then gets an epiphany in his old age realising his mistakes I for one don't think it deserves any applauds, but for a still nod of approval. 
 With forgiveness comes the duty of care that follows.

Will the repentance be followed up with a change of heart, with a change of acting? Inlearnt behaviour don't change in a minute. It takes time to change ones ways, especially for an old dog, if ever? Dying then saves you from that process (at least in this lifetime) but what remains is his legacy. What's left behind will manifest the same traits as the example that went before them. Will they take heed to the dying master's last wishes? Let's hope so, for his sake.

Aikido and Spiritual Development Aikido training does not guarantee spiritual accomplishment and Aikido does not necessarily go hand in hand with spiritual development. The majority of Aikido teachers are not spiritual teachers and therefore do not know what spiritual liberation is all about. The path of spiritual freedom is exclusive to itself, meaning it will not share its way with other disciplines. The spiritual demands only itself, it will not compromise. Yet you may call Aikido a spiritual path as it follows the principles of truth and love, and outlines the unity of mankind in its message from O Sensei. The practicediscipline of the form and principles of the development of an integrated connected Aiki-body will have a massive impact and effect on your body, mind and heart. Setting you up with a sound vehicle to face the world and your own self. But this in itself does not automatically turn you into a realised master. The relational engagement; the sensitivity and care developed in partner practice, the conscious aspect of heightened awareness, all contributes to a more mature and morally congruent development of your self. Yet to make Aikido part of your spiritual discipline you need to pursue the spiritual as a personal quest for the sake of the whole. Your intention is everything. The spiritual path is extreme. It has to do with your whole life. You will have to face your own death and surrender is the only way through. You must be ready to leave everything and everybody behind. Who can say what will remain, if anything?

Spiritual development is not a prescribed set of exercises that leads to health and wellbeing, or to the mastery of the art of Aiki. O Sensei pursued his spiritual path all of his life and Onisaburo Deguchi was his teacher and Oomoto Kyo Shinto and esoteric Buddhism became the framework for his realisation. You and I will have a different background and context yet our spiritual progress depends wholly on our desire for liberation. Wanting it more than anything else. Wanting it more than even Aikido. Pursue it then in your Aikido training and outside of it, like if your life depends on it. Because it does.

Spiritual Freedom bestows freedom of choice That's why not everyone's spiritual liberation looks the same. We do not automatically switch into an allgenerous benevolent character once we've realised our own inherent freedom. We do not all turn into compassionate saints just because we've seen the oneness of life. We may still choose to exhibit egotistical traits even after finding enlightenment and insight. To change our ways requires work and will. It does not happen by itself. Therefore it's of utmost importance to have outstanding role models to give you an idea of what is possible. Set your aim high. Why settle for mediocrity?

Shoot for the stars and reach the treetops. Freedom bestows freedom, not sainthood. Now if you've realised the oneness of all things, human and not, and identify with every living creature, then why wouldn't you treat the other as your very own self? Not harming, not competing, not measuring in a comparative way, but love and care for the fullness of our union. Even if they do not comprehend it. How big is your heart? Now do we view our Aikido in this light? Train with this in mind? At no matter what level we can all ascribe to a fullness of character that includes the other, that cares for the other, and that ultimately learns in relationship with the other. It requires your volition, you must want for it to change. Your chosen context and motivation will dictate your own expression.

It will either limit or expand your own spiritual realisation.

You're free to do what you want but know that all things can always be bigger, better, more loving, more inclusive, more alive and beautiful. Step it up.

Meeting the man Or woman as the case may be. Ideally meeting them both and learning of the two primary forces of this human universe. When does spiritual realisation become personal? When do we stop viewing this life as an impersonal material creation that happens to suit us for the survival of the species? When will the dark infinite universe turn into our home? A space we can call our own? When will you dress yourself with the coat of heaven? Wrap the firmament around your shoulders. Have the entire cosmos as your living room. Reside where the heart is, by the fire. Let the sun and the stars be the burning coals of your eyes, a string of pearls over your dark body. 
 Will we meet the man, the owner of the house and exchange keys? To unlock this universe and be granted access to a mansion fit for the living.

Meet the mother of the house and marvel at the goodness of her hand. Truly a house built for family with love and warmth. The human universe.

The Silence of the Lambs I had always wanted a leather jacket as I was growing up and finally I had the means to buy one. I went to this large warehouse selling at discount prices and found a simple but robust jacket. I was glad but at the same time a little apprehensive as I had become a vegetarian a year prior to buying this jacket. Reading Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography while travelling in Asia had convinced me of the rightness of Ahimsa; the principle of non-killing, and I found stop eating meat being one way to abide by that norm. Now I felt bad to want a 100% leather product draped over my shoulders. This unease made me name the jacket 'the silence of the lambs', to remind me in no uncertain terms what I actually was wearing; someone else's skin. It's not that I was punishing myself but the name just came to me and attached itself. I found it a little like a bizarre joke. Owing up to what it actually was and not hiding from the truth was helping my conscience to some degree. Yet I was still interested in and fascinated by the complex dilemma of living a life without taking other lives, either for food or products. As my interest in all things spiritual took me to Sri Sri Anandamayi Ma, an Indian female saint, I came across a incident in her life that would resolve my lingering doubts about taking lives. On one occasion she was greeted with a gift of a woollen scarf.

Anandamayi Ma thanked the hosts and at the same time gave thanks to the sheep that had given up their wool to make this scarf. She described it so intimately as if she had communicated it to the sheep themselves, in fact ensuring them of the respect given to their offering. This may not sound as a big realisation but it made me have a similar revelation as to the giver of my jacket. I found myself communicating with a few cows that had provided their raw hide and dying in the process. I ensured them I'd be full of care and respectful toward their involuntary gift. I thanked them and made sure their sacrifice would not be in vain. This was an extraordinary experience that completely took away any guilt left concerning the jacket and the name dropped away as a result. 
 Now I can appreciate the ritual and ancient rites that goes with the killing and slaughtering of animals for human consumption. It's never done in an insincere or disrespectful way as we realise that life itself is equally precious to all living beings. But done in a proper way it turns into a mystery of relationships, how we are dependant on each other for our survival. Sacrifice then, is something sacred, deeply mysterious and holy.

Will, Intent and Volition Align these three and you'll have one powerful mother. Understand cause and effect and realise your true potential. Get your priorities right and coordinate your body and mind with clear intent, then even desire will come to be seen as an ally.

Wanting for the Self is different from wanting from the Ego. Once you know the distinction and able to consistently choose the former, you'll see the tremendous power ones will has. It's like you got the army backing you, the whole nation behind you, and you'll have divine authority giving you the thumbs up. Body and mind in harmony, obediently following your intention. No more ignorance and confusion that cause so much physical dispersion and internal division.
 If you remain silent and wait you'll see when the Self rises and goes forward, either on its on behalf or as in response to circumstances. Either way it's effortless and a joy to behold. From nothing something arises. Now what is this will that stirs in the universe? What decides to come out of hiding and reveal itself? For what reason and for what cause? By its fruit you'll know the tree it's said. Can we lay in wait till it comes of its own accord? Surely it won't take long?

Natural buoyancy Like fish in an aquarium swim at different depths and float and dive freely, so do we naturally abide where we are.

Without thinking about it we adjust spontaneously to our surroundings. If we are aware we naturally assume a position in relationship to those around. Without having to be this or that we easily fit in without much ado. Authority and a natural hierarchy is propositioned without qualifying or discrimination.

Ego maniacs does a disservice to this naturally ordained structure due to claiming what is not theirs. By not letting things be as they are in the moment we impose our own value judgement and therefore unsettle the natural balance.

To be free means to acknowledge what's already there, to respect a natural order. We all grow and mature over time.

None of us can jump the educational stages. Transformation and change will rapidly speed up the process but like a good wine, we need to soak up the flavours of the barrel over many years. No need to compare ourselves with others in a qualitative way as we all work on the same basic stuff. Just as fish in the sea swim at different depths. 
 Coming together in a group can you hesitate to take over and avoid sitting back? Can you just be present with all being where they're at and blend with the situation? Can you remember the context and reason for being there and facilitate a joint understanding where all fit in perfectly. Even to the point of seeing no differences. Just as all fish in the sea are just that; fish in the sea. 
 This is a practical exercise to the Zen saying, 'seeing things as they are’.

The dichotomy of solid Aiki and supple Aiki Why is it when many times we view old style hardcore Aikido we see oldish stiff men yanking on wrist locks with Aiki-age and Aiki-sage and the like? No finesse, little movement and hardly with any taisabaki body movement. Yes they may display a solidity in their body, an immovability if you like, but c'mon, it's not pretty. Many times they define Aiki as the subtle body control as now being rolled out as the lost art of O Sensei. Yes there is internal body control and power generated from the ground up through connected tissue. All good stuff don't get me wrong, but what happened with the grace and sensitivity toward the other, toward uke? What happened to moving interaction where rigidity has to loosen up in order to flow?

Ki-no-nagare is NOT fast kihon. Basic waza is essential with its principles but when extrapolated out into flowing enactment, softness and touch takes over. Gross matter turns naturally lighter and faster as it transforms. The master will display this lightness of being even upon touch. This is the secret of O Sensei. Not his fundamental training but his mastery in sensitivity toward a no forced engagement.

Without the sensitivity toward uke, the real display of harmonious interaction, Aiki is just another way to bully your opponent. Fair enough if you're only in it for the fight but then we're not talking about O Sensei's vision of Aikido. O Sensei's vision is a spiritual one, not a martial one. If you want to display his power we need to assimilate this ideal into our training, into our Aiki. Because this is not a given. Aiki will not give you the tools to become one. Maybe you'll be able to defeat your foe or win the fight but to make peace through your touch demands something more. O Sensei, according to many accounts, had that ability. This in my book takes decades to develop. Only constant training and teaching Aiki will reveal this secret. The interaction becomes one where we blend and where no force is opposed. It becomes mutually invigorating and satisfying. 
 Now who can claim this? Good luck you all.

Understanding O Sensei Why do people still insist that hardly anyone can understand O Sensei's esoteric explanations of his spiritual experiences? Sangenkai does a great job deciphering his archaic Japanese into understandable English and follows up with great understanding of the internal arts with its methodology. These translations deal mainly with his realisations in regards to Aiki and the Heaven Earth Man module following the ancient structure of: Mu Nothingness.

Ichi Rei One Spirit Ni Ki Two Ki's: Yin & Yang.

San Gen Three sources: Heaven, Earth and Man. Shi Kon Four souls: North, South, East and West.

Hachi Riki Eight powers:

This diagram suits the internal Aiki martial arts but will be applicable to all men regardless of walk of life. It's 'Life' based, not martially based. It is Budo, the cessation of arms. It is spiritual in essence and manifested in our daily relationships. Spiritual simply means true and loving since Love and Truth are the two sides to the same coin.

Anyone that ventures into the spiritual domain of life (which by the way is not some hippy escapism but nitty gritty real life experience) will with study and effort be able to experience and realise the very same truths that O Sensei and many others have realised through time immemorial.

Understanding Aiki is one thing and a very big thing indeed but it does not necessarily translate all of O Sensei's spiritual experience.

They often transcend the martial application and address humankind itself. That is his vision. Whether or not we are budoka they're still relevant for all. That's where O Sensei meet all other spiritual masters exclaiming the oneness of mankind. This of course is something we all share through egoless participation and non-competitive relationships. All based on One Truth. Now this is what we want to discover and thrive within.

Self focus and Other focus Self obsession with personal growth and development is a landmark sign among masters of any art. Training fanatics becomes the best in their field. Look at anyone that excels and you'll see a background of a rigorous training regime.

Shugyosha or yamabushi in feudal Japan were the warriors that went out of their way to hone their skills and train intensely by themselves. In India we have the wandering ascetics and yogis that give their whole life over to a discipline in order to master it. Many acquire extraordinary skill and insight that can shock and affect others. No doubt that this discipline is needed for anyone that seeks to develop their own body, mind and spirit to a high level but sometimes their personal skill overtakes their ability to communicate it to others. Insular focus separates and that sometimes makes it difficult to fully recognise anything but ones own Self. 'Be an island unto oneself' is sometimes misunderstood to support such an attitude. Mastery comes with a sacrifice, first ones own time to gain the skill and understanding, then the giving up of ownership of that very skill. Letting it all go for a larger perspective, a surrender into the whole of life in order to be free. That master will return to the world and will be able to share his knowledge without difficulty since the focus is no longer on himself. Other focus becomes his daily bread, his sustenance and joy. Sharing life among others now becomes the main mirror that continues to shape and hone his personality. A continuous assimilation and introspection keeps their self development evolving together with others.

The Hidden Realm O Sensei spoke of the 'hidden realm' pointing to a spiritual reality underlying all of existence. This is key in understanding his development of Aikido from pre-war Aiki-budo to post-war Aikido and even further to his last decade alive. Iwama was to become his 'Ubuya', his birthplace for his spiritually received Aikido. This can be attested to from his own words.

His spiritually blended martial art took root in Ayabe, under the tutelage of his spiritual mentor Onisaburo Deguchi, then still a very much martial based Daito-ryu Aiki bujutsu. 
 Though Shinto and Buddhism are closely associated with the martial arts in Japan it is first-most a cultural and national heritage that runs through all their varied arts that ascribe their source to a mystical origin spiritual in nature. Individuals like Deguchi and O Sensei pursued this path a little further than most and thereby came to taste, feel and see the underlying spiritual truth through their own personal experience. This made them aware that all metaphors and fantastic tales of the kami/spirit could be realised in their own body and mind. They also realised it was more than a personal inner experience. It was a universal reality hidden from most people but nevertheless a very active source available to be tapped at will. But as an universal law it would supersede any individual and thereby humble anyone encountering its mysteries. As an absolute underlying reality who's nature would be discovered to be universal love, O Sensei would in his later years exchange the kanji character of Ai (union, blend), the first kanji in Ai Ki Do, to Ai (Love), and exclaim his art was an art of universal love for all beings. Now we can see the evolution of his Aikido from a martial art to a spiritual art based on a very personal realised vision of mankind. 
 This in no way takes away from the martial ability but ideally improves it.

And it doesn't confer any shortcuts to mastery. We still have to put the work in, exert the effort and find the right teachers. But the spiritual legacy is not something to be taken for granted for Aikidokas, it will remain a supremely lonely path that demands its own sacrifice martial artist or not. The hidden realm will always be hidden but it is in no way less real for it. It just keeps us guessing but ignoring it will not help. Seek the hidden and find something unexpected.

The teacher is never better than his best student In the sense that he can't outperform beyond the limit of the students ability to receive. If he would he could do serious damage to his uke and he would by doing so contradict the principles of blending. If we stay within the capacity of the receiver and close to his edge of ability we'll be able to balance the interaction perfectly. The fluidity and play between teacher and student is a constant field of learning for both. In Ken-zen-ichi-jyo sword we learn that if an opponent gives you his full 100% attack, you should receive the attack with zero. If he gives you 90% then you receive it with 10. 80-20 70-30 60-40 40-60 30-70 20-80 10-90 0-100. 
 This adaptability in blending lends itself ideally to the neutralisation of aggression, of absorbing perfectly what comes. The more skilled and supple a student is, the more of the teachers ability must be deployed, but though a masters response will always be in perfect accord to an attack it is in constant flux feeling the shifting sands of the interaction.

The rain falls and the earth does not oppose it. Plants grow and the sky resist it not.

The wind finds no hindrance though the mountain stands firm.

Water does not oppose the stone nor does the stone the water.

Nevertheless they make contact.

Neither reactive nor responsive each follow their own nature.

How can we speak of opposing forces? We meet and we blend.

How can we say there’s a division? Mind meets mind, where is there conflict?

Clinging on for dear life Kodanna, the Buddhas first disciple and Arahant that saw and understood by direct insight that; all that is subject to arising is subject to cessation; the Buddhas first law of impermanence. Buddha Sakyamuni twice exclaimed excitedly, 'Kodanna knows, Kodanna knows!' But Kodanna was liberated from taints by not clinging. Liberation had not come with the direct insight but by not clinging to it. How often do we not hold on to life? To ideas and self worth? We cling to our viewpoints, to our opinions and justify them with endless arguments. How tiresome really. How futile trying to hold on to the past. We cling to feelings like they mean something to us. We try to lay them on others, inferring guilt and blame. Clinging on for dear life when instead we could be free. Letting all things go as they come.

The nature of time is passing, never still for a moment. Our experience is ever new, all the time, so why try to hold on to the past. Let it go. Don't cling and create suffering for yourself and others. Be free, rest easy and stay awake to the flow of time.

Kodanna knew he did not need to hold on to a sense of self to be himself; a liberated human being.

Immovable Mind

Fudomyoo or Acala, the embodiment of a principle, in the internal martial world it refers to mastery of body and mind coordination, of the establishment of an Aiki-body. A centred, grounded and expanded body-being. Sometimes translated as the un-fettered mind, meaning that it can't be placed or fixed due to its very nature. Movement then is natural to the immovable mind. It's not that it moves by itself, rather it's the movement of time that makes it impossible to fix. The unfettered mind moves with all things without hesitation yet it remains immovable. A natural state where lightness and heaviness don't contradict each other.

Holding on for dear life In Aikido, with some experience, we can destroy peoples attempts to do technique. We can also upset their attempts to practice principles. We can easily counter their efforts. This is usually done to confirm ones own ideas about ability, skill and Aiki. We test our partner openly or secretly, trying to prove our own understanding of how it should be done.

Sometimes this happens naturally with beginners that are new to the practice.

They react and stiffen up, resisting any input. This is understandable and fine but then we teach them about uke/nage relationship, body receptivity and balance, and about being strong yet soft.

There is also another time where resistance training can be part of an ordinary practice. When two skilled practitioners or a teacher with a student are focussing especially on a certain aspect with clear understanding of the task at hand, whether that be about technical or internal principles or both.

Sometimes you want to test the teacher and you intend to disrupt his or her moves. This mindset is already conditioning your attack. This is like stepping into the ring and challenging the other to fight it out. You're on the back foot already if you're doing it secretly or at full scale attack if you do it openly.

Either way, the teacher sees and feels the intent and can respond in a number of ways. Old school Japanese way the teacher cuts the attempt short by responding in kind and teaches the student a lesson. The harder they come the harder they fall comes to mind. Some times with broken limbs as a result. A different response is to educate the student of appropriate training methods, explaining the difference between set-up form, principle training, and free style engagement.

Sometimes students of different styles block each other in order to prove their schools superiority. This has partly led to the spread of mixed martial arts competitions that somewhat undermines the ethos of Budo. Unfortunately if this takes place in the dojo we loose the meaning of a shared work and of a mutual engagement. This can sometimes visibly be seen as a disengaged, superior motivated attitude of the practitioners.

Luckily this is not the majority of dojos but we still need to be aware of an unconscious subtle part of ourselves that still engage in this kind of confrontation. Remember the context, where you are. Are you a guest or host.

Are you there to learn or to teach? If there is movement can you move? If there is stillness, can you be still? Some will give themselves to the engagement.

Others not. Some will stand their ground, others have no claim. Some train for themselves, others for each other. No need to hold on for dear life. Let go into life.

The Teacher Trap Whether you're a teacher or not doesn't matter. It's about the position one takes in regards to an other. This can happen quite automatically. We fall into specific rolls and play them out unconsciously, taking them to be the natural hierarchy at the onset. I am this, you are that. If both are satisfied with the arrangement there's no conflict. Usually in the teacher/student relationship this is clear and we abide by the rules of the engagement. Can the teacher now be aware of the arbitrary nature of the relationship and in a moments notice drop the differentiation? This is important if he or she wants to 'level' with the student, or the student with the teacher. That's why Jesus said; 'I call you friends'. So we can speak and engage with each other like two free human beings. Why is this important?

Because if we remain in teaching mode all the time we won't hear the other as an equal. We will infer judgement whether we like it or not. In Aikido this reveals itself in an inability to surrender to the student.

An unwillingness to receive a technique or genuine feedback. The teaching hat prevents you from listening, from taking ukemi, from letting the student develop into a self-governing human being. If over time the relationship does not change and evolve, the student will have to leave if he or she wants to keep progressing on their path.

Who Do You Love?

Who? Up close and personal I'd say 'I love You'. If you ask me to name who, I'd say 'my wife', 'my dog', 'my brother', 'my neighbour'. But do we love the name? Or the person behind the name? Of course you would say, the person, himor her-self. A fixed notion of self refers to when we love the name more than the person. I love 'my husband', 'my wife' etc. I am this and you are that. Conventionally speaking we may be spot on. I am a man, a husband, a teacher etc. and you are a range of things too. One more subservient than the other. But the one I love is none of those. I love You. Not the name attached. Why does this matter? Because so often we hold on to the notion, to the idea, a bad habit really, of who we are. Forgetting the original intent in 'I love You'. That's what Jesus is pointing to when he says; "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world". Where 'I AM' to see my glory. How cool is that? Before the creation of the world. Or is it before the creation of the word? Before we fix it with a name. The glory is a fire. It shines. It's heat, it warms. Love is a double edge sword; heat and light. Stand firm in it, immovable. Heat rises from where the light hits. Light pours down from heaven above on all people alike and heat rises from the red Earth. Heaven-Earth-Man takes on a new nuance. Love is in the middle, being expressed through the persons heart. Love is a fire. A living flame that knows no past. A present love for you alone. "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life�.

Aikido as a Healing Art We all have experienced the joy and thrill of Aikido and possibly also the injuries and wear and tear from it. Usually the positives outweighs the negatives even though many of us carry the marks and bruises left from years of practice. But is it the satisfaction we derive from the training that would constitute part of the healing aspect? No doubt, with the right advice regarding training methods we can benefit greatly from the yoga inspired stretching, the mindfulness of breathing, the establishment of a balanced centre and the different Ki exercises, all in conjunction with the waza pair work. The sensitivity in the relationship, the apprehension of a mutual engagement, the satisfaction of the non-combative and non-competitive interaction.

All this is deeply beneficial for both body and soul. Include the philosophy of O Sensei and our mind find plenty to grapple with.

Healing body and mind seems to happen through their coordination and integration. A healthy balance tick many of our boxes. But ultimately, what constitutes healing? According to O Sensei we must enter the spiritual realm, learn the difference between the real and the unreal, the true and the false. We need to expose the Ego in contrast to our genuine self, our individual mind in contrast to a collective consciousness. A personal view in contrast to a unified perspective. The path of Aikido lends itself to this inquiry. The principles support a deeper understanding. O Sensei's teachings point to a spiritual healing for body, mind and heart. We must take this on and go further than he did. We must see his creation of Aikido as a tool for the evolution of spirit for all beings; for the Aikido community as a whole and for the world at large. No longer solely an individual pursuit but an effort to come together, both in body, mind and heart. This must happen within your own body and soul, between you and the next one, and among many of you that gathers together, whether that be in the dojo or elsewhere.

The Dojo - a shared space Can we come into a shared space together? Where all separateness falls away? It's more than just feeling good with each other, more than just being friends. Can we actually step into a conscious open mindset which we all would participate in? Not as outsiders looking in, but as a merged entity exhibiting a oneness of being. This is possible if we dare to leave our ego at the door. It takes willingness to want to experience something beyond ourselves. A shared communion in body, mind and spirit.

In Aikido we can strive to have an all-inclusive awareness as we engage with each other. Being wide awake and conscious all around helps in the martial sense and points to a greater possibility of embracing the other mentally, throwing a net around them, including them in your movement. By doing so we may harness their aggression and guide them freely. This opens the possibility of them joining the movement if we allow the play that ensues.

The back and forth flow, the kaeshi-waza, the reversals.

Without an end result in mind we can learn much in the interaction. Now we're moving away from a solely martial perspective and enter a relational enactment where a cocreative process ensues. Moving together, blending and alternating the balance between uke and nage. Changing and switching as the flow dictates. No more an attacker and defender but a merged interaction where both mutually benefits and are nurtured. A life-giving practice where the circle can always widen to include more and more.

The Time is Now Truth does not exist as a separate reality as a static Absolute. It has no meaning as an idea or concept. Truth is expressed in what we do and say. Therefore we can't talk about it without being it.

It has to be proven as we speak about it. It has to be manifested through our understanding of the immediacy of awakening. It is now and now and now. Anything less will only be an expression of ignorance, and of arrogance if we believe we know something. Why is this so important? Because if you don't incorporate it into your every action you consciously postpone and actively keep it away. This is especially crucial when we speak about enlightenment and spiritual freedom. In order to demonstrate the reality that we profess we must be able to manifest and embody that very quality. But even more, we must be able to share that view with the other. Otherwise we're just spouting knowledge from our own head. Spiritual liberation is not a private matter. The Bodhisattvas vow of liberating all beings before entering into Nirvana himself points to this understanding.

The Buddhas teaching that when you get enlightened everybody gets enlightened. When you wake up you'll realise that everyone else are already awake. Oh what a surprise. Now if this is the case you must be able to speak with the confidence that this instills. If you dare not you'll be acting out ignorance and deny everyone their own legitimate freedom. Head knowledge will not promote the real thing. Truth is wonderful in that it suits all occasions and fits all vessels. Meaning there is always a meeting ground were we will see eye to eye. That's the wonderful ability Buddhas have, the skilful means, the natural response to all kinds. Can you see how this frees us up?

Radical Interference of the Spirit

He breaks through when you least expect it, taking you by surprise. Out he comes with the most outrageous things before you have time to shut your mouth. Blessed or cursed, you are not quite sure but you hold him in high esteem so you let it be.

Spending your spare time trying to catch up. What did he say? What did it mean?

Ah, a wealth of information as long as I dig a little. Like going through the scraps after an explosion, searching for clues still with a whiff of dynamite in the air. Getting used to radical interference is like getting used to a pushy neighbour calling on you at the strangest hours. Bless, I shouldn't complain, it's all for my own good in the end. Own it, they say, but how can you?

Get out of the way is more like it. I'm getting a door mat saying ‘Welcome'.

HUMAN

In a world gone crazy we suffer our brothers the most.

What if we'd be a guest in a far flung place where they never seen one of us? How we'd be at loss to describe our petty nuances. And how free we'd be to be, just the one we'd want to be. Human like I know myself to be. Kind like my host treats me.

Never again can I see a friend like you, see me like you like me to be. I love you.

True Beauty Truth is beautiful. If we equate truth with love we might see it. Even through despair and hardship, grief and suffering, we may detect an underlying quality of love.

This is quite an important discovery as it will rescue us from loosing the will to live. If there is a substratum of love running through all things, all events, and through life itself, that will constitute an absolute truth of the nature of existence. Seen in this light, all things becomes increasingly beautiful. When love shines whether that be through compassion, care, concern, appreciation, intimacy, relationships or through the beauty of nature, it all takes on a beautiful quality.

When someone is true to themselves in the most profound sense they glow and we find their expression exceedingly beautiful. When true sentiments are expressed, genuine love and care being given, it is beautiful to see. Even in deepest grief and despair the underlying strand of compassion comes through. 
 When we discover true beauty to be an expression of Truth Absolute we come to love all things. So if this is the way things are, a standard to abide by, we know instinctually when we deny it, when we refuse to live by it. So realise your natural state of true beauty and don't you forget it.

No Method Some teach by method. And granted, it has its benefits.

But since I don't have the patience I'll wing it. In spiritual matters too do we have this dual approach.

One two three, a b c, step by step instructions. Breathe in breathe out, focus on the nostrils. Relax the body.

Good posture, chill. Plus a million and one more nuanced advice. All very good and pertinent. There's so much information about there's a danger of loosing the essence of the living quality to the practice if we stick to method alone. To bring the qualities alive, to taste what the method is pointing towards, we must abandon the reliance on a set structure. Sometimes it takes a leap, from the known to the unknown. A bit uncertain if it'll work we hesitate. Easier to abide by the form, known and safe. It will surely lead us home? Maybe maybe not. No-method is pointing to your direct experience in the now. Use what we got at the moment. Trust that it contains everything we need.

Together with others unravel this direct experience.

Question it and inquire deeply. Why, what, how and who? Taste and feel the inside turned outside. What is mutual, what is private? Method sets you up to experience non method. It's meant to become a conscious experience. Train and establish your body in the six directions, cultivate the mind and realise a living creative system that thrives on direct contact and connection.

Authentic Dialogue There's one criteria that needs to be upheld if we want to discuss the truth. We have to be willing not to know.

That's the least we ask for. If we can't come to it as if we don't know anything we won't be able to meet in an authentic and vulnerable way. This tender approach lends itself to an openness that is welcoming. We inquire together, we question our assumptions, we're able to pursue a line of investigation together. We detect fixed views and opinions, we refrain from using past experience as a reference point. All to facilitate a shared experience in the present moment of a deep seeing and understanding of the nature of Being itself.

It only becomes truly satisfying once we all grasp the impersonality of our common event. With this communion we're able to detect the Egos sneaky ways of wanting to reclaim any lost territory. Vigilance and continued introspection will help us understand how fragile this liberation can be. The Ego will not lay down and surrender. Caught napping he'll be back with a vengeance. We might trick it once or twice but soon he learns of your attempts and he'll either incorporate it into his strategy or completely throw you a curve ball upsetting your newly found freedom. But fear not, that's what he does. Expect it, and say like the Buddha Sakyamuni said when Mara, the evil one, came to disturb his newly acclaimed enlightenment, 'Mara, I know you, I have seen you before, you will deceive me no more’.

Ignorance, Need and Anger

The three poisons that the Buddha outlined as the main obstacles on our path. Ignorance of the truth, of what you don't understand and can't see, that leads to fear. The need for affirmation, the need to know and the need to be and to have. Anger at what is, anger to protect and to defend. Anger to hold back the fear, and anger of not having. Like a venom it poisons our body, mind and heart. It works from inside out affecting and spreading to every detail of our life. Barely conscious of it to begin with, maybe just a small wound, but left without treatment it soon takes over. Treat it with greatest urgency and respect. It's a killer if left unattended. Pull out the poisonous arrow as soon as possible. No need to quarrel over who shot it or where it came from. No time to speculate as of its substance, nor of its cure. Just take it out. Recognise poison as poison and don't let it take hold in your being. Treat it with wisdom, generosity and loving kindness.

Aikido and Non-Duality

'Non-duality' for me, is the Indian philosophy of Advaita, meaning 'Not two'. In the sense that when we come to discover the oneness of all things, the non-dual nature of existence, we stop dividing everything up in this and that, in you and me, us and them, have and have-not's. We begin to see everything operating out of a unified perspective. O Sensei said; 'I am the universe' summing up his spiritual experience into one holistic vision. Now if he, or for that matter we, can vouch for such an incredible statement, it must include all things and all others. And it must infer that we all partake in that absolute. universal truth. He states clearly that it was this realisation that ushered his Aikido into a transcendent visionary path. In Aikido Nonduality therefore points to a way of holding the other not as a separate entity but as part and parcel of your own extended self. Making it possible to match and blend with utmost precision.

Have and Have-not’s Those who have and those who have not. Those who have it and those who doesn't. I never feel comfortable with comparing some people with others unless it's just a reminder of the un-proportional wealth distribution in this world. But once we begin to speak of spiritual accomplishment and of those who supposedly have it and those who don't, I believe we're close to betraying the very thing we're trying to highlight. Bear with me, sure there are those certainly further along the way than others, but when discussing such a scenario how attuned and aware are we of the very dynamic it engenders? Do we loose sight of the very nature we're trying to identify with? The Buddha spoke of Arahants (enlightened beings), pointing to his realised students once they've seen the Dharma and let go of clinging. Yet no one referred to themselves in that manner. It's bad habit to contextualise ones environment into us and them. Yes it makes it easier to generalise but it also makes us feel better especially if we're on the 'correct' side of the divide. Watch the subtlety of owning, of finding oneself a safe place to act and to be from. The humility inherent in spiritual accomplishment does not come from knowing but from knowing we don't know. This unknown is always unknown. There's a danger in colluding in agreeing to agree. Us versus them. If the world is caught up in this everlasting wheel of Samsara, dividing everything between you and me, us and them, how can spiritual aspirants carry on with this divisive agenda? There is always the time to manifest unity. In every conversation, in every meeting. We should be able to hear ourselves taking a position and by doing so expressing the same ignorance we claim the world is lost in. Comparison is the killer.

The bullet that kills the spirit. Having no more need to compare, to judge, we let go of clinging to opinions and viewpoints. Instead we embrace a living perspective that sees no other. All the time, no matter who we speak to. We stop colluding, we stop agreeing, we just keep listening for the spirit to move us. We live in a constant now where there's no time to rehearse and where there's no security of already knowing. 
 'The treasure storehouse needs no inventory. Rely on the infinite mass beyond your reach. Let go with both your hands. How desperate trying to affirm yourself through what you got in your hands.’

Connection There are two very distinct ways to approach connection in Aikido as well as in ordinary life. The first is maybe what is mostly considered among aikidokas and is the basic building block for further exploration; that we find our own centre, relax into our own sense of being without straying outside. It requires trust and self focus, where we are self-sufficient and do not rely on another nor have any need to engage in a relationship. Our Aikido revolves around ourselves.

This approach can be very impressive and powerful, as it combats not but absorbs all that comes to it. Uke is sucked into a vortex of gravity and is resolved through spin. O Sensei's saying 'I am the universe' can be understood in this light. Everything revolves around one centre that is you. There is no other and there is no conflict. In and Yo balances out naturally. If you hold your own you stand victorious. O Sensei said; true victory is self victory. 
 The second approach is when we decide to go out there, to engage with everything. We include the other in a dance of two balanced oppositional forces. Based on a trust in your own centre we include the other in our sphere of influence, in our greater context of me and you. We allow access into ourselves as we enter into the other, exchanging give and take in the spirit of play or as in a natural reciprocal relationship where we share an engagement. Intent flows back and forth as we receive and surrender while happily returning the favor by extending out. If we manage to knead out the willfulness and competitiveness in our selves, surrender to the flow of the situation, fully engaged and part and parcel of the relationship, we will experience a shared union where both stand victorious. Both in their own selves and equally as a non-separate unity, experiencing wholeness and oneness. Can you see the difference? The second approach allows for a living relationship based on two becoming one, while the first approach champions one over the other, even though only 'one' is being experienced. The first approach of one is fundamental yet we can let go of that achievement to enter into a universal relationship of two. Oneness is not compromised by multiplicity, it contains it.

It's Not Personal Did O Sensei care about what Takeda Sensei thought? Did Tohei Sensei care about what Doshu thought? I don't think so. Do I care what you think? Not really. Evolution doesn't happen as we want it to happen. It just happens. Some take responsibility for it and some don't. Some join the process, some don't. Some create a stir enough to affect future generations. How they handle it is out of our hands. We can't dictate where people will go with it. Are we doing what O Sensei had in mind? He had no clue where his Aikido would lead. How could he have? He understood the evolution of spirit and lived and breathed that all of his life but could he know where we would take it? No I don't think so. Would he be surprised? Yes. Glad? Yes I believe he would be happy. Is it aligned with a higher purpose? Aligned with Life's own pulse? Find out. Is it? It's not personal no matter how much we dedicate ourselves towards it. It doesn't care about you. It only cares for itself, for life itself. There is nothing in it for us. There was nothing in it for O Sensei.

Do we feel the thrill? Can you see how exciting this is? But, it's nothing personal.

Fear Or for that matter, any emotion, is part of life. They serve a purpose. But we can experience moments when these common traits are suspended, even gone. In times of shock or trauma, for example in an accident where pain and fear suddenly disappears. There are physiological explanations to that effect but these states of non-emotion can be also be experienced through spiritual revelation where we come in touch with a deeper more fundamental layer of our self prior to thoughts and feelings. These events are quite extraordinary and they usually leave a deep imprint in our lives. Some say that Zen meditation can cultivate this kind of clear mind that sees no fear. Perfect for a warrior samurai that needed to face death in the battlefield. But is this the goal which we seek? Is that the human expression we desire? No fear? No doubt it's a formidable state that gives us great confidence and clarity of presence in our daily life. Yet I'm reluctant to go there.

Though I've tasted these states they hold no lasting virtue for me. I much rather have a full spectrum of emotions displaying every nuance of its rich and colourful palette. My spiritual liberation is not defined by the absence of emotions but by its vivid transparency and by the inherent knowledge and wisdom it holds. There's no longer the fear of fear, the fear of emotions. Normal human experience is perfectly equipped to deal with life in its totality. When emotions yield their essence you'll recognise their impersonal nature and you won't fall prey to the usual Ego identification with them but now they serve up an immense wealth of information that will enhance your life not detract from it.

No need to justify, no need to protect Once the need is gone you're free. All the anger, all the pent up aggression that cause havoc in your relationships, will be but a memory of an old worn out self. Your newly found freedom will seem like a fresh beginning. All your past worries and concerns, all your needs to control will be seen as a massive burden completely unnecessary to carry. Finally free you feel so light you can't understand how you could ever have lived like that. Freedom is incredibly light. Maybe it's too light for you, maybe you want to keep an anchor attached to some resentment just to make sure you don't drift away? Letting go can be easy or hard. You decide. But best not to compromise. Throw it all overboard. How? Realise that you're not the one you think you are. No need to protect a false sense of self, no need to justify an image of yourself, a fake identity. Find out who you are before name and form and I'll meet you there. Anger will never be accepted as ok behaviour.

Resentment gnaws away at the trust. If you can't talk about it, if you can't converse about it there's no way you'll ever find the solution. Only admitting ones anger without justifying it will make it possible to break free from it. A tit for tat will not resolve it; 'but you did..'

Owning up to ones own side is paramount, without needing to protect ones own virtue. Only the Ego has the need to be recognised. Only the Ego needs to be vindicated. Only ones Ego needs confirmation. Have enough of all that bickering. Give it up and be free.

Everyone will benefit.

The importance of dialogue

Without the conversation we remain who we are. We won't change. We can't move without the dialogue. We need the back and forth, the feedback loop, the input and critique. Only then will we stay open and fresh like a plant drawing water from the ground. We need to keep the window open for the fresh air to come in. It's essential that we speak with each other. Ask and question.

Not letting anything settle for to long.

Why would we need to hold on to something we think we know? Does it really matter that much? The freedom to engage is so much more enjoyable. To question and to find out. This blending is what makes life interesting. Ever new and fascinating. We grow in dialogue. We are nurtured in the conversation. Aiki is this exchange. In the beginning, in the middle and in the end.

A Non-aggressive Demand The attention and intention we lay on the other in Aikido may be referred to as the 'attractive force' that O Sensei spoke of. The drawing in of uke, and the 'yamabiku' the mountain-echo, the calling out and receiving in return, whether by body, mind or spirit, creates a spontaneous interaction difficult to resist. Just as when one offers his hand for a handshake and you take it and just as when someone offers you a gift or present you accept by receiving it. Done in a nonaggressive manner and even with a loving intention we find it hard (and rude) not to accept. Spiritual accomplishment creates a similar response. We are attracted by the purity and strength of spiritual expression. We feel drawn towards the love that is embodied. Krishna, the Hindu embodiment and avatar of Godhead on this Earth can be translated as magnet, an irresistible attractive force no one can withstand. We are drawn towards the centre of ourselves. Towards the absolute truth just as moth are attracted to light. In his presence it is like a demand that we feel compelled to answer. Involuntarily sometimes, yet we can't help it.

This ensuing relationship nurtures and feeds a part of ourselves that craves connection and union while it repels the Ego in each of us and scares the living daylight out our sense of privacy. 
 In Aikido, we handle any encounter in this manner, drawing them in into a relationship hard to separate from. O Sensei showed the way. Can we follow?

Martial Art or Not? Big discussion. I side with them all. I take everybody's perspective and agree with their point of view. Yet I hesitate to call testing your skills in the ring Aikido. Testing them in real life scenarios is much more true to the point. It's easy enough for us that never or very very rarely encounter real dangerous violence to side on the art side of martial and advocate the philosophy of peaceful resolution and most likely actually backing up that argument with real life experience. But knowing there are tough guys out there facing down and dealing with scary violence as part of their life situation reveals that one way is not enough. Everybody's context varies, so use the correct tool for the job intended. Don't bring a knife to a gunfight etc. We have institutions dealing with our protection; the army, the police force, the street vigilantes, the bouncers. But that's after the regime has won the war and established supremacy. Armies were built to conquer and to win, not defend a docile nation. Now we have armies to 'defend' our supremacy. Any threat to that and we preempt any attempt to upset the established hierarchy. Might and power rule the day. Martial Arts were always a tool to conquer others. Then that they used those weapons of mass destruction as a way to defend themselves is another twist to the story. There's always a lot of blood under the bridge before the victors can claim noble virtues as their motto. Where does Aikido fit in? Depending on a persons situation, context and personal development he and she will accommodate the art accordingly and I see nothing wrong with that. I can identify with where they are coming from. Personally I'm not a fighter and I'd probably not last a minute in a real fight. But that's not why I train even though I do view it as a martial art with a self defence capacity. The applied self defence though in my book have no rules nor restrictions and as such we may use whatever means necessary in a life and death situation. How that is going down I have no idea. There are no guarantees. Yet the appeal of Aikido for me is the spiritual realm, or the notion of oneness, non-duality and the wonderful blend in interaction.

The creative rush that makes the encounter life affirming and mutually beneficial. 
 Yet I can affirm everybody's opinion as I'm able to see it with their eyes, from their perspective. The more we know, the larger our context and living situation the better. It will affect our resolution, enhance our understanding and evolve our engagement. Now is it martial or not?

Truth Imagined Or Gods will. We may think our mind is the problem if we're into meditation or we might simply struggle with our thoughts believing them to mean so much about ourselves. We might think our imagination takes us away from our real concrete life? Daydreaming away our lives. But you're so mistaken. There is nothing wrong with a busy mind or with an imaginative heart. Nothing amiss with a rich and colourful interior world. See it as the maelstrom of creation, the source from where the future is made into being. The war room where plans are laid out. Truth imagined is a wonderful aspect of the chaos that precedes manifest life, and that chaos follows us into this existence to remind us of where we come from.

Pierce the fabric that stands between this life and your interior spiritual depth and let them touch each other as if there's no barrier. Let your imagination run free. Don't be afraid of all the wonders it contain. Thoughts are our best way to catch these elusive manifestations. Make them into your art, let them shape our future. O Sensei did just this and look what a future we have.

84,000 Gods Or teachings of the Buddha, to take into account the number of myriad beings and their different capacity to understand the truth. So when we hear of the gods, innumerable as they are, we should look towards our future potential of manifesting truth. In the West we speak of archetypes and archangels. Imagine them in limitless numbers, one for every person alive and dead. Do you know yours? This is embodied living, to be truly who you are in an evolved state. This is the reason for the pantheon, the numberless figures in the heavenly realm.

Staking out your future evolved potential. More than just being a tool to learn about yourself in retrospect, finding general qualities and attributing them to yourself, an archetype in the formative sense is more of what you can become than of what you are now. One of these 84,000 gods is you, you in its potential form. This is not a shared identity. It's yours alone. This is what you are to become.

Knowing who you are in this sense is much more than simply knowing your eternal absolute self or spirit (which is no mean feat in itself). Some have personal guardians or deities enshrined at home or in their heart. How about bowing down to your own future self instead? As a catalyst for your own inspiration and wisdom. 
 If the Buddha could address 84,000 potential enlightened beings he must have been able to see their future as he saw his own. That means we have that ability too. It's far from straight forward but the possibility exists. Now we can understand the mystery of divine incarnation, heavenly realm, gods and bodhisattvas a little better.

Memory Erased

If you put up a mirror in front of Time you force it back on itself. Instantly it reverses all the way to the beginning, erasing itself and all history with it. Leaving nothing for you to know it by. Once there once gone. This memoryless place is place where nothing ever happened, all prior events erased by the sheer scale of the reflection. Now is suddenly the only thing going. No past, not even a second lingers. We have never met.

It's a wondrous place where we laugh out loud at our predicament. It's not that we don't remember but we realise that it never has happened in the first place. Once Time is turned back on itself it erases all that has been before, undoing eons of history in a blink. I meet you anew each time. I see you for the first time always. The weight of the past discarded, how liberating isn't that?

How freeing, how exciting.

The Depth of Time

View it as a broad well, infinitely deep, with layers upon layers of existence. Now if you have rope and lower your bucket into the well let it sink all the way to the bottom. You must have a very long rope.

Once it reaches the source, the wellspring, you'll find that the rope passes through all the layers connecting you to the very beginning of time at the outset of this universe some 13.7 billion years ago. As long as you don't let go of this connection you'll have a non-interrupted linage that passes through every segment of the evolution of life itself. A singular strand taking you back to the very beginning from where you come from. If you connect the feeling of the depth of Time with Deep Space you'll soon grasp the immensity of the scale and proportion of this background.

Restraining Order When we restrain somebody from harming themselves or another, they usually calm down after a few moments and we can let go. The hold and the care gives them two things we all need, physical touch and love. Aikido is like this. We give each other the physical interaction all living beings crave and we extend care in the relationship in order not to harm. But pay attention to the balance. If you care too much, restrain too long, the human or animal will freak out. So bear that in mind when you impose a restraining order on someone. In feudal Japan when hunting they closed off three flanks and left one open as to provide an escape route. Restraint is a spiritual practice. To close ones mouth and ones senses. To go inside to contemplate ones excesses, ones trivialities. Silence of being can be hard to cope with. But it can also be the biggest learner. In the constraint of our expressions we are forced in on ourselves and maybe for the first time really see who we are without anything. Careful for what you ask for. Three weeks, three months or three years? Let the sentence do the trespassing justice.

Return of the Real By realising ones responsibility simply being a human being we will engender the return of the real. Inherent in being a human being lies a very specific purpose: To be the one that cares for all of it, for every person and for the whole planet. This means only through you. When you realise it's all up to you, your old self will dissolve and you will regain your original body and your voice will return to its original state. This is bodily resurrection and it's the ultimate realisation.

Finally you will have been given back your real self, the one you know yourself to be. Not the poor copy you display now. Full comprehension must come before you are given back your original self. Once the penny drops your old self falls off like old clothes. This is not some heavy responsibility that is reserved only for a few heroes but it's your own innate purpose for being here returned. And finally realising that, is a relief, a coming home, a joy of having your own body and voice back. It's really wondrous and filled with love for all things. Gratitude will fill your being. All the saviours that ever walked on this earth experienced this ultimate responsibility. They knew it all rested on their shoulders. But it's true for all of us. We all carry the same basic condition. That of ownership of ones own self. Yet we can also rely on the saving grace of another because of that the very same fact, that we're one in spirit and therefore participate in each other's achievements. We can partake in someone else's realisation based on the universal nature of our being. That's why there's a saving grace inherent in trusting the truth exhibited through someone else. Like for example Jesus Christ. We can gain access to their realisation through surrendering our small limited Self notion and by trusting theirs.

Simply by doing so we share in their sacrifice. Why? Because it's universally true. Then you will see that you have full responsibility just as he did and your life will conform to that understanding. 
 So see that your own liberation depends on you taking responsibility for everyone else's. It's no longer a self centred exercise. That's how you'll claim back your own self.

The Attractive Force - Gravity O Sensei would almost magically draw people out. Witnesses would attest that even non-students off the mat would be having an urge to get up when he passed them by in the dojo. His ukes would involuntarily be pulled into a relationship. Inryoku ( =Pull, =Power), the Japanese term for gravity and attractive force, is the wording O Sensei would use for his ability to effortlessly handle his ukes. He would also say that this would stem from his understanding of the polarities of yin and yang; the Chinese mutually arising, interdependent opposite pair (Inyo in Japanese) where yin has the feminine water attribute and stands for the quality of receptivity and yang is the male creative fire counterpart. These oppositional forces converge in our selves and is in Aikido first addressed as 'Tenchijin', Heaven-Earth-Man, our vertical alignment with the ground with us in the middle. With the movement of up and down in a dynamic balance we're able to manipulate the in and the out; drawing in as we reach out, or extend while contracting, remaining always balanced in the centre. A relaxed and established Aiki-body where the slack has been taken out of the connective tissue will be able to respond from a centred awareness both physically and mentally. A coordinated body and mind lays the foundation for a further exploration of the dynamics of an engaged relationship. To remain solely bodily self-centred is not anymore the main attraction even though those abilities display unusual immovability and power.

By using your widening sphere of influence by extending your sense of self to include the other, you in effect draw them into your field of action. Letting your heart open to include a larger context enables you to absorb the movement that happens within it. We find ourselves in the middle, on the 'floating bridge of Heaven' where gravity is suspended between the evenly balanced poles.

Now if you come to realise that this self of yours that is literally hanging in the balance between Heaven and Earth is fundamentally self-less, you'll discover a new perspective of unity, and even more than that, you can come to see that this non-dual nature or essence is love itself. Love's dynamism has also this dual movement of in and yo. Both expansive and attractive and as such we 'fall into' love. When I open myself up, become vulnerable, exposing a realness that is of the spirit, it affects others. The radiance of love is attractive and magnetic to our self. It happens on a physical level, on an emotional level and on a spiritual level. It touch our whole being and we feel compelled by it. As gravity pulls the rain to Earth new life sprouts forth. Takemusu Aiki.

I Call You Friends In the teacher/student relationship there comes a time when the teacher have to let go of the student. Spiritual liberation teachings are there for us to fully appreciate life, to grow into mature awakened human beings where we realise we're part of the one spirit we all share. We want to come to a point where we stand alone in the truth of who we are and are able to communicate from that effortlessly. Where we face each other as equals. Not necessarily with the same skill level or abilities but nevertheless with absolute integrity of self. But even more, we want to reach a level of understanding where we communicate as one. Where there is no difference whatsoever between us. In order for that to happen all previous distinctions of who we are in the relationship has to be abandoned. The teacher must give up being the teacher in order to free the student from his or her grip. We as teachers must explain and educate our students about this natural process. It's about waking up to who we are free from any prior relationship. Then we will be able to meet as friends and explore together. That's why Jesus said, 'I call you friends', in order to free his disciples from the burden of dependency. It doesn't take away from the teachers ability nor diminishes his credibility. It just sets the scene for a new relationship based on absolute freedom. As long as the teacher doesn't do this, the student will never 'graduate' and both will be caught in a perpetual cycle of mutual dependency. If the teacher don't see this but cling to the distinction he will force the student to leave if he or she wakes up to its limiting context and wish to pursue their own freedom. If you love somebody, set them free..

Insight vs Surrender Two very different kettles of fish. Don't confuse them. They are not the same. Spiritual revelation, insight and realisation constitutes an awakening, where we wake up to who we are in essence. We see and understand from a different perspective. An enlightenment experience that reveal to us our true nature, our real self. Unborn and undying we call it Absolute. Haven woken up to this immortal spirit we find ourself finally at home.

This is as far as many will go. There is not anything more you can do with it. It is absolute in its nature and you feel complete within it. Yet there is more. Hear me out, your absolute realisation is complete in itself yet now ensues the question of Ego. Because the Ego is normally never affected by your insight. You maintain complete control in all matters and your standard is not necessarily challenged.

Many settle for this because it leaves you in charge. You are now the enlightened one that knows. It sits well with the Egos sense of self.

Yep I like it. But if you have the fortune to run into an egoless person your own ego will stick out like a soar thumb. You'll be aware that something remains intact that needs picking at, needs dismantling.

Now begins the process of surrender. It's something more than just surrendering to a superior skill-set or to a superior knowledge. It's about surrendering your self for the sake of your Self, to learn what it means to die to self. To give up the control of already knowing. To become nobody. This can be scary as it will challenge everything you used to believe. It will ask you to surrender every last vestige you hold on to, for the sake of the whole. In one sense you'll be blind because you can never know before you do what it means yet you still have to go through with it. This is where faith, trust and confidence comes in. Knowing you must go all the way. To learn what it means you can study others that have done it before you. The giving up of you is the final requirement to return to the normal.

The Only Way

In any given situation there is always a right response. You know it. You might not want to do it but if you've decided to live by truth you've got no other recourse. It's very different than how most people live their lives. Begin to trust this true discrimination. It's not based on your reasoning nor on your opinion. Instead it's an inherent knowing that has nothing to do with you. It's called spiritual discernment but it's not something you can own or have. When the truth has taken hold of your heart you must listen to its way if you'd like it to grow. It's wonderful because everything will become simple, not complicated. Many times you will have to bite your tongue or sit on your hands. All things are resolved in that one singular choice. Pay attention and you can see it right now.

Bjorn Saw 2017