What does it mean to create mastery in Aikido? Does mastery mean you are an untouchable fighting machine who’s better faster and stronger than everyone else? Or you are able to resolve any conflict that you meet in life, or that you have the demeanor of a Zen master? Let’s take a look at these questions through the lens of the traditional Japanese system of Shu-Ha-Ri: 3 Stages Of Mastery In Aikido.
Do you meditate or practice mindfulness? Do you also have a physical practice, like Aikido, yoga, dance, bodywork, sports, or art? Now here’s the big question… do your meditation practice and your physical practice come together for you? Or, like most people, are these two parallel paths for you? Two paths completely related, but not completely coming together. In this blog post, my special guest and I take a look at the Union Of Meditation & Aikido.”
“What is Aikido?” Now there’s a question that should make you think. How can you answer this question in a completely authentic way, that is not based on something that you heard or read about? Is it possible to hold this question in a way that will help you in getting to the essence of Aikido?
In one way or another, we are all teachers, and we are all students. Surely from time to time, you find yourself helping another, or getting another’s help in understanding something new. At the very least it is safe to say that we are all learners. It is in this spirit that I’m sharing my latest post on 3 Ways To Be A Better Aikido Teacher (And Student!).
What is the difference between the “relative” and the “absolute”? And how do these 2 perspectives relate to Aikido? Recently I held another “Aiki-Discussion” in the Integral Dojo Community Call series on this very topic. In this call, I was joined by Dan Messisco Sensei and members from our global sangha, as we explored “Aikido & The Absolute Perspective.”
FREE COMMUNITY CALL – Aikido & The Absolute Perspective w/ Dan Messisco (6th dan) & Miles Kessler (6th dan)
| Date: | August 26, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 21:00-22:00 |
| Event: | FREE Community Call: w/ Dan Messisco (6th dan) & Miles Kessler (6th dan) |
| Topic: | Aikido & The Absolute Perspective |
| Sponsor: | The Integral Dojo |
| Venue: | Online via Zoom Video Conference Call |
| Public: | Public |
| Registration: | Click here to register. |
The below “Dharma Bite” is an excerpt from a longer dialogue I did with Teja “Fudo Myoo” Bell Roshi for our “Meditation For Aikidoka” online course members. We had such a wonderful dialogue that I decided to share this excerpt here with my blog readers on “From Emptiness To Spontaneity”.
I recently had an “Aiki-Discussion” with Aikido Sensei and Zen Roshi Eran “Junryu” Vardi for my “Meditation For Aikidoka” online course. We had a wide-ranging conversation on Aikido, Meditation, and enlightenment and I was left with the feeling that we had only scratched the surface. I have taken an excerpt from our discussion to share with you here called “Self, Identity, & Flow”.
How aware are you of fear? How does fear feel in your body? How about your mind? Is your experience of fear that fear is in you, or that you are in fear? In the below “Dharma Bite” I continue in my series of Dharma Discussions with Integral Facilitator & Zen Sensei Diane Musho Hamilton on this very topic. In this excerpt, we talk about the competency of containing fear with awareness.
Confession time: my wife Maya and I are fans of “The Good Fight”, a drama series on the life and times of Chicago lawyers, now in its second season on CBS All Access. This series is a spin-off of the popular series “The Good Wife” that ran for 7 seasons (we were also fans). As an Aikido practitioner and teacher for close to 35 years, you can imagine what a wonderful surprise I had a few weeks ago to find Aikido on The Good Fight.
