The Paradox of One And Many in Aikido Philosophy

Written by Charlie Badenhop


Continued from page 1

As you learn to locate and maintain your own personal "center", you discover that your center is both local and global, or as Akio Moritarepparttar past CEO of Sony said, "We must think globally while acting locally. We must developrepparttar 122251 capacity to be 'glocal'." When you experience this sense of being "glocal" you manifest a greater capacity to join and blend withrepparttar 122252 "ki" of others. You realize that in some very important way we all sharerepparttar 122253 same ki,repparttar 122254 same ancestry,repparttar 122255 same God,repparttar 122256 same life. There is a "oneness" to all of life, and this "One" can never be reduced to zero. From this "One" energy two counterbalancing forces appeared and stimulated and supported each other, andrepparttar 122257 conditional world was born. The conditional world requiresrepparttar 122258 ongoing working relationship of "opposites." Night and Day, Male-Female, Yin and Yang. These opposites REQUIRE and support each other. If night were to oppose day, if male denigrates and or suppresses female, if one group of people subjugates another, all of life is diminished in some important sense. The relative world REQUIRES difference in order to maintainrepparttar 122259 commonality of life. Differences in opinion, difference in beliefs, differences in religion, all lead to a feeding ofrepparttar 122260 "reiseishin" of our common spirit. It is so important for us to realize that "difference" createsrepparttar 122261 diversity that supportsrepparttar 122262 viability of future life, that opposites are necessary for counterbalance in a conditional world. We must sense our oneness with all of life, while not in any way requiring that there only be one right way, one set of beliefs, one religion.

Three important components in supportingrepparttar 122263 diversity that feeds life, are Appreciation, Empathy, and Respect.

1. Appreciation of diversity fosters an openness to exploring difference. An openness to exploring difference means that we will have a much richer wealth of ideas and alternatives to draw upon. This is one ofrepparttar 122264 necessary components for successful adaptation. We move away from a concept of "right or wrong" and instead consider what will work best in this particular instance. We welcome and acknowledgerepparttar 122265 process of trial and error, knowing that all learning requires that we make some mistakes alongrepparttar 122266 way. If we belittle or stiflerepparttar 122267 answers or opinions that don't wind up fitting our needs this time around, we denigraterepparttar 122268 creative process, and diminishrepparttar 122269 flow of new ideas inrepparttar 122270 future. 2. Empathy helps us to be responsive torepparttar 122271 needs, dreams, and desires of others. When we are sensitive torepparttar 122272 thoughts and feelings of others, we soon realize that "MY" way is notrepparttar 122273 only way. "My" way is not THE right way. "My" way is only one of many ways. 3. Respect is an important component in fostering all of life, because it leads torepparttar 122274 manifestation of "reiseishin." Our task in life is not easy. But luckily, we each have great capacity, as we are each fed byrepparttar 122275 "One" ki ofrepparttar 122276 universe.

Mayrepparttar 122277 importance of differences in opinion and beliefs be appreciated. May we empathize withrepparttar 122278 plight of others. May we bow to and respectrepparttar 122279 sanctity of all life.

Charlie Badenhop is the originator of Seishindo, an Aikido instructor, NLP trainer, and Ericksonian Hypnotherapist. Benefit from his thought-provoking ideas and a new self-help Practice every two weeks, by subscribing to his complimentary newsletter "Pure Heart, Simple Mind" at http://www.seishindo.org/anger/index.html .


Mushin - Peak Performance States in Aikido Philosophy

Written by Charlie Badenhop


Continued from page 1

If you have a dog bring it to a foreign country some time and you will notice that it does quite well in understandingrepparttar basic conversation directed towards it byrepparttar 122250 local populace. In Japanese they would say "Kawaii! Kawaii!", and your dog would soon be wagging its tail. Either your dog is a heck of a lot better at learning foreign languages than you are (which is quite possible if you are like many of my fellow Americans), or, your dog is picking uprepparttar 122251 basic meaning of what is being said, viarepparttar 122252 tone of voice, volume, and phrasing. Your rational self thinks withrepparttar 122253 aid of verbal language. Your somatic self "thinks" like all other mammals, and such thinking involves making meaning out of what is sensed, rather than distilling meaning fromrepparttar 122254 spoken word. When entering into a state of mushin we wantrepparttar 122255 feeling, intuitive, mammalian mind to come torepparttar 122256 forefront, whilerepparttar 122257 rational mind is encouraged to take a bit of a holiday.

When things are going well for us our two selves seem to cooperate rather nicely and at such times it is likely that we will not have internal dialogue. We easily reach this cooperative mushin state when walking in a beautiful mountain range area, playing with a young child, or perhaps when watching a compelling movie. In my way of thinking,repparttar 122258 three examples offered here are everyday examples of a peak performance state. The whole self is actively aware of, in touch with, and absorbed by, what is transpiring. There is no need to comment on what is occurring, because every part of you already "knows" what is going on. Your thoughts, feelings, and actions occur simultaneously and spontaneously. If you take a moment to think about it, most any state that we find highly pleasurable could be defined as a peak performance state. Interesting to think about how peak performance relates to pleasure.

Onrepparttar 122259 other hand, when we get worried, frightened, or angry, we usually find our two selves (rational and somatic) in conflict with each other. In fact what becomes most obvious during times of stress, isrepparttar 122260 very different methods that your rational and somatic selves have of processing and understanding what is occurring. When your rational self gets upset it uses words to express what it is feeling. "What'srepparttar 122261 matter stupid? I thought you knew better!" might be a common complaint uttered by your rational self. Your somatic self onrepparttar 122262 other hand communicates that it is upset by releasing various enzymes that lead to an upset stomach, or by tensing uprepparttar 122263 muscles ofrepparttar 122264 body until you find yourself with a headache. What is important to note here is that both selves can be quite adept at communicating that something is wrong, but oftenrepparttar 122265 cognitive self delivers this message inrepparttar 122266 form of self criticism rather than really helping you to note in a compassionate manner just what needs to be different. Your rational self is sort of like a scientist or news commentator. It comments on what is being felt, much more than actually feeling intorepparttar 122267 experience.

One ofrepparttar 122268 main tasks of entering into and maintaining a mushin peak performance state is keeping your rational self and your somatic self cooperating with each other and supporting each other. In most instances what we invariably find, is that instructions delivered byrepparttar 122269 rational mind via internal dialogue, almost always get inrepparttar 122270 way.

What to do then?

The Seishindo Practice "Peak Performance Coach #1" can help you to begin to understandrepparttar 122271 early stages of peak performance states. Rather than "trying" to achieve a certain way of being, and wondering why it isn't quite happening yet, this exercise is designed to help you start from where you are, and beginrepparttar 122272 journey from there.

Charlie Badenhop is the originator of Seishindo, an Aikido instructor, NLP trainer, and Ericksonian Hypnotherapist. Benefit from his thought-provoking ideas and a new self-help Practice every two weeks, by subscribing to his complimentary newsletter "Pure Heart, Simple Mind" at http://www.seishindo.org/anger/index.html .


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