Thought, body structure,and movement, shape flow of ki, into spirit/mind

Think of freely flowing water of a powerful river that comes upon a series of fairly large rocks spread out across river bed and extend up beyond water's surface. These rocks affect flow of river but they do not change nature of water itself. Ki flows through river bed of our brain and body. Our thoughts, body structure and movements, are like rocks in river bed. These are main elements that shape ki into individual mind, or spirit The flow of ki is uniquely transformed by each human being, but nature of ki itself, is not altered in process. Just as pattern of rocks spread out along river bed is never exactly duplicated in any other place on earth, pattern of our thoughts, body structure, and movement is also never exactly duplicated. All mind is similar, but no two minds are exactly alike.

A heartfelt understanding of nature of our spirit will help us to create a healthy alignment of our thoughts, body structure, movements, and actions. When every aspect of our self is fully aligned we have a much greater ability to think, feel, and act in accordance with what is best for us in any given moment. We are better able to adapt and change in a manner that is supports well being of our entire self and our surroundings.

The misnomers of "mind-body" and "mind and body"

A definition of "mind" that I often use it in my work, is following: "Mind is a dynamic, self-organizing, creative system, capable of overcoming physical and temporal constraints. Mind uses and manufactures energy in order to support self and one's surroundings, trade information, and adapt to change."

When considering this definition of mind, we can say that mind manifests equally in body and in brain in skull. Because of this I believe that terms "mind-body" or "mind and body" as used in Western world, are somewhat missing mark and tend to lead to a certain degree of misunderstanding. If you ask a Japanese person to point to their mind, usually they will point to area of their heart, or they will point to their lower abdomen. If you ask average Westerner to point to their mind they will point to their head. This is why I think terms "mind-body" and "mind and body" were developed in Western world. I believe that average Western person thinks of term "mind" in relation to "thinking" or "thought". Oriental philosophy considers "mind" to be immanent in both body and brain. In Aikido we say that we practice in order to calm mind, by coordinating our thoughts, actions of our body, and our breath. Or we say that we practice in order to further empower and actualize our mind by coordinating our thoughts, physical actions, breath, and spirit.

When looking to calm our mind we give our primary attention to calming our breath and our heart beat, which will tend to lead towards a relaxing of our musculature and a slowing down or cessation of our internal dialogue. If we calm our body we will tend to calm our cognitive thought processes. Calming mind can also be accomplished by giving primary attention to speed, rhythm, and tone of voice of our internal dialogue. If we calm our cognitive thought processes we will tend to calm body. When we calm both our cognitive thought processes and our body, then we calm our mind. Cognitive mind and somatic mind are part of a recursive feedback loop. You can't affect one without affecting other.

Practice

Would you like to try a Seishindo practice that relates to what you have been reading? If so please go to following URL: http://www.seishindo.org/practices/calming_breath.html and try our “Heartbeat Breath – Calming Breath” practice.

The Neptunian ideal is for perfect union, communion, ecstasy of never having to leave mother's care or father's protection. The family ideal is for a seamless blending of personalities into an organic whole which breaths and sighs as one. (The Uranians are now horrified, thinking, "I can't breath!")

The god Neptune ruled ocean and it is an oceanic oneness that Neptunians crave. They secretly desire an umbilical attachment that transcends all rituals of coming of age. No matter how old children get in a Neptunian family, they are expected to return home for holidays, take close care of aging parents, observe all hallowed family traditions, raise their children in time honored sacred ways and marry someone who is willing to morph into and be absorbed by this entropic amorphous constellation of pulsating sensors and feelers.

The rooms and hallways of Neptunian family home ring with angel chorus, “We’re so close.” “We do everything together.” “I married my brother’s best friend.” “My mother and I write to each other every day but we don’t open them. That way when one of us dies, we can always be in touch.” Family members in Neptunian homes make sacrifices for each other that could make a saint blush. After all, to live your own life would be selfish.

Every once in awhile a Neptunian child gets into a Uranian family in order to elevate their sense of feeling connection, or a Uranian child gets into a Neptunian one to introduce fresh new ingredients into “soup” so to speak. These children arrive when families have reached critical mass and help them make leaps in evolution. Families evolve just like people do.

Neptunian family members touch, cuddle and snuggle all their lives. Perhaps you have seen them, like family that sat in front of me at Pavarotti concert who got up at break and went to bathroom together like those crack-the-whip lines we used to form on ice skating rink. Some cultures are prone to Neptunian dynamics. I suspect that Third World countries incline that way because of interdependency needs that are accentuated in conditions of limited resources. Hardly anyone can stand alone in poverty. There are many coming of age movies today where a second generation, being raised in United States or England, tries to come to terms with marrying outside Neptunian family’s expectations and moving brazenly outside family circle. “Bend it Like Beckham” is an example of a film with this theme.

Are you beginning to form an idea of which planet your family comes from? Here are checklists to assist you.

RATE YOUR FAMILY

Checklist for Uranian families:

ON THE UPSIDE

•independence is valued

•ability to think for yourself

•contribute to community

•stay busy outside home

•egalitarian family structure (everyone is their own authority)

•high energy creative self expression

•much enjoyment talking about things

ON THE DOWNSIDE

•every man/woman for herself

•frequent rifts and separations

•lacking emotional connections

•few family traditions

•contests of will

•conflict over pecking order

•eccentric

•someone in family is forced to be dramatically and passionately at odds with rest, who are cool-headed

•if there are any skeletons in closet they are probably “outed” and involve someone who went against law

Checklist for Neptunian families.

ON THE UPSIDE

•close knit

•communicate without talking

•physical closeness and depth of feelings

•protective; no one has to leave nest

•strong worth ethic; take care of your own

•us against world

ON THE DOWNSIDE

•codependent

•no one has any privacy

•emotionality runs rampant over logic and practicality

•individual members are never encouraged to "make it on their own"

•difficulty rising "above your station" in life

•emotional manipulation and control

•dark undertones

•being independent is considered being selfish

•family "secrets" such as abortions, illegitimate children (more important in former generations), mysterious or early deaths, fanatical religious beliefs, financial failures or ill-gotten gain

Did you find out which planet your family comes from?

The important thing is that no matter what your family is like, it's family! More and more adopted people today are looking up their birth parents. If this proves impossible, did you know you can still do it through your astrology chart? An astrologer can give you a good description of your earliest days here on planet. We can even tell you about your prenatal experience of womb.

Many astrologers today are specializing in family dynamic readings. For your reading, you will be asked to provide birth dates, places and times, if available, of all members of your immediate family. This includes, parents and grandparents on both sides, important aunts and uncles, also children, grandchildren and important steps.

A family dynamics reading is a fascinating and healing experience. Today’s astrologer is a positive professional, reading for personal growth and empowerment. Issues are presented in terms of choice and evolutionary intention. You'll learn reasons you incarnated with people in your family karmically; whether you have been with them in other lifetimes and in what relationship, constellated issues and challenges and areas of potential growth and healing.

Know yourself as never before. Know yourself in context of your family. If you would like to learn more, read Erin Sullivan’s book, The Astrology of Family Dynamics” or schedule an appointment with a professional astrologer who does family dynamic readings.