SHADOW WORK FOR MINDFULNESS MEDITATORS

A Special Online Workshop w/ Miles Kessler
Sunday, Nov. 26th, 2023
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Panel discussion with Diane Musho Hamilton, Vince Fakhoury Horn, Miles Kessler, Theo Horesh, & Tomer Duwik.

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Spiritual traditions have always taken as their goal the liberating experience of awakening to absolute reality. This experience may be called emptiness, oneness, non-self, non-dual, unity consciousness, unconditional love, or God. Whatever the name may be, the experience is always one of wholeness and perfection. Nothing needs to be added, and nothing can be taken away. Because when you glimpse through a window into the absolute… everything is always, already, present.

In this blog post, I’m sharing with you an excerpt from my current “Aikido & Non-Duality” course that I’m teaching together with Patrick Cassidy and Dr. Dominique Cassidy. This excerpt, or “Dharma Bite” is from a session I taught on “A Window Into The Absolute.”

The Significance Of Having A Glimpse Into The Absolute

Having a glimpse, or a “window into the absolute” is an experience that most people have had. In fact, many people have developed the capacity to have this experience regularly. But it is also true, that many people have direct experiences of the absolute, but don’t fully realize the significance of it. One moment profoundly resting in all that is, and then the next moment back in the stream of thoughts, concerns, and the hustle and bustle of life. The experience of the absolute all but gone and forgotten.

Every tradition talks about not recognizing these experiences. That at the beginning it is common to have these experiences, but not understand the significance. And yet, it is very important to understand that significance, even if it is just a momentary glimpse into the absolute. You need to recognize the importance of these glimpses. You need to give that recognition some space in your life. Because when you recognize something, that very thing will grow.

Recognition, Rumi, and Shams of Tabriz

The Sufi teacher Rumi was a beautiful teacher of Love and non-duality. He had his awakening upon meeting his teacher Shams of Tabriz. Rumi received transmission of his full awakening from Shams in a relatively short period of time.

Upon their departure, Rumi spent the rest of his life writing some of the most profound, mystical poetry of all spiritual traditions. These poems were written from his awakened state, they were nothing less than a recognition of this state. Many of these poems were declarations of his love for Shams, a declaration of his love for the absolute.

For Rumi, Shams was a manifestation of non-duality, the absolute, and of universal love. whenever Rumi would enter into this state, he was communing with the absolute. For him, he was meeting Shams and his way of offering recognition of that union was to write poems.

I invite you to play the video below and join me in a recognition of Rumi’s beautiful poetry. Join me in a glimpse of “a window into the absolute.”

Question: What are your “windows into the absolute”? Join the conversation by leaving your comments below!

Join The “Meditation Discovery Cycle” Online Practice Community. Click Below And Discover Your Very Own Spiritual Resource.

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What does it mean to be responsible? Ultimately, completely, and radically responsible? Does one need to have a radically responsible life in order to have a radically meaningful life? These are the questions I explored with Dharma teacher Fleet Maull Roshi, whose new book “Radical Responsibility” is launching May 14th, 2019.

According to Fleet Maull Radical Responsibility Is:

“Radical Responsibility means radically embracing 100% responsibility and ownership of each and every circumstance you face, day in and day out in your life. This completely goes beyond blame. Radical Responsibility is a trans-blame model, it is stepping out of the blame and shame paradigm altogether.

If you look at the circumstances you face in your life you can often see that you did have some role in creating, allowing, or setting yourself up for these circumstances in one way or another. With that insight and information, you can then make different choices that are going to lead to different results. 

By understanding your part in creating a given situation, you can begin to choose how to create your future, and fully take ownership of that.”

“ Radical Responsibility is a trans-blame model, it is stepping out of the blame and shame paradigm altogether. —FLEET MAULL - ON 'RADICAL RESPONSIBILITY'

Dharma Discussion on “Radical Responsibility”

In the below interview Fleet and I discussed how radical responsibility is the basis of a meaningful life. Primarily with yourself, and also in the ways you negotiate the many challenges that we all face in today’s world.

Question: What does “Radical Responsibility” mean for you? Join the conversation by leaving your comments below!

To Get Fleet Maull’s New Book On Radical Responsibility Click Below!

What Teachers Are Saying About “Radical Responsibility”:

“This is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read. With great clarity and heart, it combines brain science, psychology, and soulful wisdom to help readers grow inner strength and inner peace. Fleet Maull is a friendly guide—someone who has seen both the worst of life and its highest possibilities, and who brings gritty good humor, deep insight, and practical suggestions to every page.”
—Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Resilient: How to Grow an Unshakable Core of Calm, Strength, and Happiness

“Radical Responsibility evolves our capacity to respond—with wisdom, courage, and love—to the suffering of our world. Author Fleet Maull guides us masterfully in awakening from our separateness and inspires a profound dedication to caring for ourselves and each other.”
—Tara Brach, PhD, author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

“Following the path Radical Responsibility—a gift to us from author Fleet Maull’s amazing real-life backstory—we learn to own our choices and create the freedom to craft our lives to be truly happy, reach our highest potential, and be a force for good that can change the world.”
—Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Happiness and Real Love

“Radical Responsibility is an empowering and heartfelt guidebook to living more fully, a systematic training for practical liberation in your life.”
—Jack Kornfield, PhD, author of A Path with Heart

“This important work by Fleet Maull is full of practical wisdom and written from his deep experience as a teacher, practitioner, and guide of corporate executives, chaplains, and those serving others. It is a rare treasure and a book for today and for all time.”
—Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD, abbot of Upaya Zen Center and author of Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet

“A practical, direct, and accessible guide to human flourishing from someone who faced tremendous adversity and emerged from this challenge with vigor, equanimity, and the deepest passion to share his wisdom for the benefit of others. This book is a gift for anyone facing adversity, which is all of us!”
—Richard J. Davidson, PhD, coauthor of The Emotional Life of Your Brain and Altered Traits; founder and director, Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison

“It’s a rare privilege to read the work of someone who walks the talk as fully as Fleet Maull. The transforming wisdom of his extraordinary life experience—from dharma practitioner to prison inmate to spiritual mentor—suffuses every page of this wonderful book. Engaging, pragmatic, and deeply insightful, Radical Responsibility shows us all how to take responsibility for the habit patterns of our lives. With personal stories, psychological research, and a range of meditative exercises, Fleet illuminates the possibilities of living a freer and more joyful life. Highly recommended.”
—Joseph Goldstein, author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening

“Fleet Maull draws on his unique life journey and remarkable expertise, sharing with us how we can find equanimity and compassion in the maelstrom of our days. Radical Responsibility offers a sound and original blueprint for a life well lived.”
—Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence

“At once inspiring and practical, this book masterfully shows us how to thrive in the face of adversity. Based on insights from ancient wisdom traditions, modern neuroscience, contemporary psychology, and his own remarkable journey from maximum-security prison inmate to transformative teacher, Fleet Maull provides a wealth of accessible tools anyone can use to discover their own basic goodness and engage more fruitfully in the world. With warmth, skill, and humility, he provides step-by-step instructions to help us courageously face reality, heal our wounds, and live richer, happier, more fulfilled, and effective lives.”
—Ronald D. Siegel, PsyD, assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and author of The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems

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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.

What Is Shu-Ha-Ri?

Shu-Ha-Ri is the 3 stages of mastery that comes out of the traditional Japanese arts and the “old school” apprenticeship systems. Western apprenticeship systems also had similar stages, but Shu-Ha-Ri is especially unique in the Japanese arts because of the high degree of conformity in Japanese culture.

However, even though Shu-Ha-Ri is a learning system, it is also a reflection of the natural learning process one goes through during any kind of apprenticeship studies. Pascal Krieger, Jodo teacher and author of the classic book “Way Of The Stick”, says “Shu-Ha-Ri is a natural cycle of apprenticeship, practice, and mastery.”

“ Shu-Ha-Ri is a natural cycle of apprenticeship, practice, and mastery. —PASCAL KRIEGER - WAY OF THE STICK

By living, working, and practicing by a master’s side, over several years the apprentice will gradually gain the wealth of knowledge of the master. The apprentice learns how to unlock the secrets of the art, gradually becoming a creative master in their own right, and in turn adds new knowledge to the art.

“The Ladder Of Development” – Adult Psychological Growth

The stages of Shu-Ha-Ri are quite literally like climbing the rungs of a ladder, with each rung being the necessary step in order to ascend to the next rung. In other words, your current stage of development is the necessary foundation for you to progress to the next stage of development. Each and every stage needs to be mastered by itself, with higher levels being a living expression of mastery of the art.

But Shu-Ha-Ri’s vertical growth is not simply about creating technical proficiency, or mastery in certain skillsets. Shu-Ha-Ri done right is actually a vehicle to help you to mature psychologically. Moving from one stage to the next requires that you go beyond limited “ego-centric” ways of being, and develop the capacity to take more and more perspectives. Over time you will actually have a more complex world view and the capacity to take more perspectives.

In Shu-Ha-Ri, you will grow and mature as a human being with each developmental stage. Because you’ve developed the ability to take multiple perspectives, you will have an increased capacity for care and compassion for others. There is always a trans-personal quality to mastery. In other words, less ego, more free expression of the art. Gaining martial skill without psychological development is not Shu-Ha-Ri. 

The 3 stages of Shu-Ha-Ri are:

1. “SHU” – Conform to the kata
2. “HA” – Apply or adapt the kata
3. “RI” – Transcend the kata

*”Kata” = Form

Stage 1: “Shu” – Conforming To The Kata

Shu-Ha-Ri begins where all apprenticeships begin, with diligent adherence and conformity to the forms and teachings of the school, and tradition. In martial arts, this could be simplified to “Conforming To The Kata.”

This is the conformity stage where one commits to following a teacher, school, and/or tradition. In the Shu stage, you will undertake a “prescriptive” practice, following precisely as possible your teacher’s instructions. It is your job as a student to learn, diligently repeat, and perfect the basics, without variation, or innovation. Any personal style is not allowed at this stage… because it is too soon.

Strict adherence to the forms and methods is a must, with the basic requirement of submission to the teacher and ways of the school. This is the stage where your ego is put second, and the practice is put first (and everything is practice). Through your training, you will become a photocopy of the style and it is clear to the trained eye which teacher and school you belong to.

In the Shu stage, not only are you expected to conform to the tradition but in many cases, you are also expected to protect and preserve the techniques and ways of the school. Strict adherence to the forms is expected of you and zero tolerance for free expression. This is simply because it is only through strict adherence to the forms that skill and effectiveness are gradually developed.

Even though you begin to access the inner principles in the Shu stage, the development of the technical forms is the primary focus. Free expression of the principles is given very little importance at this stage.

The main focus of practice is to have a solid grounding in the technical style and a lot of experience in repetitive training. Little to no attention is given towards practical experience outside of those forms at the Shu stage.

Traditionally, the time spent in the Shu stage is 3 to 5 years of training. In the modern times that we live in where you may train twice a week on average, it’s more like 5 to 10 years.

Fixation and the “shadow” of the Shu stage

The first stage of Shu is meant to be a well-established foundation for higher development in the art. However, there is always the danger that your development becomes arrested and you get stuck or fixated at this stage.

This fixation could be your own misunderstanding of development, or it could be because of the teacher, or the school, or the tradition. You are actually taught to be stuck, and you have neither method or process to move you to the next stage.

Whatever the case may be, getting stuck in the “Shu” stage will create some very unhealthy “shadow” elements to your practice that become problematic for further development. Some ways the shadow fixation of this stage appears in Aikido (or any other traditional art) is that absolutism and dogmatism sneak into the system.

Whenever you hear a narrative along the lines of “We must preserve the true way!”, or “We are doing the real Aikido”, or “All others are lost on the Path”, then you can be sure that you are hearing the fixated “shadow” of this first stage.

Other ways the shadow can manifest at Shu is because of your attachment to what is right and wrong, you become rather rigid and stubborn, which manifests in your Aikido. You can also be quite judgemental of other students, other schools, and other teachers.

The result of these shadow aspects is a closed mind and no openness for further learning.

However, if you are practicing in a context that is not fixated but rather developmental, then your upward development will naturally proceed to the next level… namely, “Ha”.

Shu-Ha-Ri

Stage 2: “Ha” – Applying The Kata

When the “Shu” stage of development reaches its culmination, you will naturally move into the next stage. If you don’t make this move on your own, then your teacher will begin to nudge you into the next stage. Ha means to separate, detach, or break the forms of the teacher, the school, and the tradition. This is the “application stage.”

The Shu stage has given you much experience in your art, but almost always in very clearly controlled conditions. Now in the Ha stage for you to continue to develop you will need to open up those conditions and begin to apply what you know in new and as yet unknown ways.

It is as if you have one foot firmly planted in the basics as your foundation, and the other foot starts to explore into the unknown. In fact, at this point ideally, your teacher will begin to move you out of the basic forms and have you apply what you know to more complex situations.

The Ha stage is full of trial and error, and a lot of disappointments. But also you will gain new confidence in each “win”. It is as if you have learned a mathematical formula in the classroom… now you need to go out and face the challenge of building a bridge with that formula.

Prescriptive vs. Self-Authoring

The training in the Ha stage is half prescriptive, where you follow the basics of the art and your teacher’s instructions. The other half of the training is self-authoring, where you learn through trial and error what is the more effective expression of the art for yourself. If your training is ineffective, then you necessarily revert back to basics. When you discover a new and effective application then you will move forward and deepen it.

Whatever the case, you will constantly move into new experiences where you need to prove yourself again and again. Each new “win” is a deeper understanding and you will begin to develop greater fluency and proficiency of the art. This is done by moving from the Shu foundation and starting to develop more complex variations of the basic forms, as well as new and challenging applications.

The Ha stage requires you to move out of the black and white certainty of the Shu stage, and into ambiguity and the unknown. Through direct experience you will begin to figure out what works and what does not in any given situation. Your values will shift from the “right vs. wrong” mentality of the Shu stage, and into the more open-minded value of “functional effectiveness” at the Ha stage.

This is the beginning of developing your own individual style, even though you are still strongly influenced by your teacher and school. In the Ha stage of development, your art will gradually shift to where the principles become primary, and the forms secondary. In other words, there is a shift from the “forms containing the principles”, to the “forms expressing the principles.” A move from “conformity” and towards “freedom” (more on that in a future post).

In the old Samurai days, this was the time that you would take on “Musha Shugyo”, or austere training without a master. Once the deshi graduated the Shu stage they were expected to wander around the country visiting other dojos, other teachers, and other styles to pit their skills against them. If the Musha Shugyo-sha was better, then he would move on to the next dojo. If he was defeated however, he would then stay on and learn in that school.

Traditionally the Ha stage would take 5 to 15 years of training. In the modern times that we live in where you may train twice a week on average, it’s more like 10 to 20 years.

Fixation and the “shadow” of the Ha stage

Like any developmental stage, the Ha stage also has the possibility of becoming fixated, and should this happen you will start to see some specific unhealthy shadow aspects that can sneak in at this stage.

The Ha stage is characterized by creating complexity, fluency, and proficiency. So it requires that you start to learn complex variations and innovative applications. But if finding the next variation, or wildly complex application becomes your main purpose then you there is a possibility that you will be creating more breadth, but not attaining greater depth to match breadth.

Flashy, complicated, and sensational variations (usually choreographed) can look impressive from the outside. But unless you are gaining further depth and embodying the core principles of the art you will surely plateau at this stage.

Another shadow aspect that can slip in at the Ha stage is a lingering attachment to form. Since at this stage, one foot is in the forms, and one foot is in the principles, there can still be a subtle attachment to the forms. You may place an unhealthy importance on the complete historical progression of the forms, decade by decade, as if it is actual wisdom. When it is simply a repetition of, and holding onto the past that creates a glass ceiling for further development.

The culmination of the Ha stage is having powerful access to the principles of the art and then giving yourself permission to let go of the forms altogether. If there is still a subtle attachment to the forms then you will never give yourself this permission. If this is the case then you will never discover the power of spontaneous creativity that is waiting for you at the next stage.

If these shadow aspects are present in your Aikido then you will be stuck in repeating endlessly wild variations, but no capacity to spontaneously express a free application of the art. Essentially your Aikido will be broad, but not deep… complicated, but not spontainiously creative.

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Stage 3: “Ri” – Transcend The Kata

When the Ha stage comes to its full maturity, the Ri stage will begin to manifest naturally. As you perfect the practice of applications, you will quite literally liberate the principles from the forms.

Ri means to “transcend the forms”, and this is the stage where you go beyond the techniques and even the need for the teacher, the style, and the tradition. Even though Ri is the stage of “discarding the kata”, you don’t discard the forms because they are no longer useful. You are fully aware they are the vehicle that brought you to where you are, so you have total respect for the kata.

Rather you go beyond the forms simply because you have completely internalized the forms and are no longer reliant upon them. The principles become the primary source of your art and your Aikido is a natural expression of those principles.

Of course, this does not mean that you no longer respect the forms, because you do. In fact, it is this stage that has the greatest respect for the forms, because it is this perspective that has the deepest understanding of the forms. You are completely free to spontaneously use the forms of the art based on what is appropriate to the situation.

You now see the forms like the boat that carried you across a river. Once you are on the other side the boat has served its purpose and there is no need to carry the boat forward on your journey. The only reason you would use the boat again (the forms) is if you need to cross another “river”, or to help others to cross the river too.

At the Ri stage you are now a living expression of the art and you have moved out of prescriptive training, and into self-authoring Aikido. You are so grounded in the living dynamic principles of the art that your trust in the process is unshakable.

Creativity has been completely unleashed and you are free to create the art anew. Your Aikido becomes an expression of new techniques, new practices, new teachings, new methods, and new systems. Your creativity will never “spoil” the art because what you do is a function of Aikido’s principles.

The art totally becomes your own at this point as you answer to no one. If you are lucky, you will have a teacher who naturally graduates you when you reach this stage.  But that isn’t really necessary since having reached this stage you now give yourself permission to be free. Even though you may stay part of the lineage out of loving respect, you are your own authority. In some cases at this point, the student may even surpass the teacher.

Average time of training to establish the Ri stage: lifetime.

Fixation and “shadow” at the Ri stage

The Ri stage of development is truly a transcendent stage. But even though there is a great deal of freedom and creativity at this stage, therein lies the potential shadow. If you fixate at this stage you can actually get stuck in creativity and freedom, and ironically, you may reject the previous structures. You subtlely favor emptiness over form and flow over structure.

Having climbed the ladder of development, you now achieve the stage where you transcend the ladder. You would not be where you are without this developmental system, and yet paradoxically, at this stage, you no longer need this system.

So the shadow move is to then turn around and renounce the two previous stages precisely because they are not spontaneous, free, and creative. The result of this is that the “ladder of development” gets taken out at the knees, and the whole system collapses like a pancake.

Ideally, having fully internalized the 3 stages of Shu-Ha-Ri you will have integrated access to the unique features of each stage. You will be able to fully meet a given situation with what is needed, be it conformity, application, or free expression of the art.

At this point, the step-by-step progression of Shu-Ha-Ri is no longer linear, but rather becomes a continuous cycle of discovery. 

In Conclusion

This post on Shu-Ha-Ri is a general overview of this traditional system. It would be a mistake to try to box yourself or others into one stage or another. Since it is quite impossible to evaluate your self to be at any given stage, this overview is meant to offer you an orienting generalization of development for your practice.

Even though Shu-Ha-Ri is a learning method in the traditional apprenticeship system, this ladder of development is a very natural process of transmitting wisdom from one generation to the next.

Modern and Post-Modern teaching methodologies have come a long way since the old-school apprenticeship days. And there have been many wonderful up-grades in educational methodologies. But to totally throw out the baby with the bathwater by leaving this system behind would be a great loss.

The Shu-Ha-Ri system is a powerful vehicle for the transmission of wisdom precisely because it is a natural system. This method of passing the torch of wisdom from one generation to the next is irreplaceable.

Question: How is Shu-Ha-Ri expressed in your school? Or not expressed as the case may be? Leave your comments below!

Check out part 1 of this 4-part video teaching w/ Miles Kessler on Shu-Ha-Ri:

Watch this space for these up-coming posts in this Shu-Ha-Ri series:

• Shu-Ha-Ri: The Ladder Of Development
• The Narrow Gate: Conformity vs. Freedom
• The Discovery Cycle: From Linear To Cyclical Learning

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The post Shu-Ha-Ri: 3 Stages Of Mastery In Aikido appeared first on The Integral Dojo.

The martial art of Aikido is a spiritual practice. It is a spiritual practice because the technical application of Aikido is “nested” within a universal humanistic philosophy. And this philosophy is further nested within an Absolute spiritual perspective.

Aikido’s founder, Morihei Ueshiba, referred to this as the manifest, the hidden, and the divine. The manifest is the realm of physicality and techniques. The hidden is the realm of principles and philosophy. The divine is the realm of spirit Absolute.

This is a developmental frame that reflects the spiritual potential of human beings. Practicing Aikido in this framework activates growth and development. It will constantly challenge your egoic limitations and continuously lead you forward into your spiritual potential.

It was within the understanding of this “spiritual framework” that I had the great pleasure of meeting the Rev. Koichi Barrish, an American Aikido Sensei & Shinto priest. I invited Barrish Sensei to join a panel discussion for the “Aikido At The Leading Edge” tele-summit. This “Aiki-Discussion” proved to be a great warm up for the tele-summit.

This was our first face to face meeting and we dove right into a conversation about 2 topics we are both passionate about. Aikido & Spirituality. As our Aiki-Discussion unfolded, I was delighted to see how spiritual development in Shintoism parallels that of other spiritual traditions. Especially the progression is mapped out in my own lineages of Buddhism and Integral Spirituality.

One way to look at spiritual development is by looking at the “states of consciousness” that arise in any authentic spiritual practice. All the worlds wisdom traditions that undertake practices for entering these states, usually also have maps to chart the development through these states.

The Spectrum Of Consciousness

The above map is called “The Spectrum Of Consciousness” and it charts spiritual development by looking at the states of consciousness that we all have access to. Namely, the “gross” state of consciousness, the subtle state of consciousness, the “causal” state of consciousness, and finally into the “non-dual” state of consciousness.

As Barrish Sensei explained the “Soul’s Journey” in Shintoism is was immediately clear how it reflected the above map. According to Barrish Sensei there are 4 stages of the soul’s journey in Shinto:

1. Ara Mitama > The gross manifestation, the rough soul (Physical Identification, The Ego, or self)
2. Nigi Mitama >The subtle manifestation, the initial differentiation (including self & others)
3. Saki Mitama > Further subtle manifestation ( opening to multiplicity and universal processes )
4. Kushi Mitama > Unitive Consciousness (returning to the source, creating the One from the Multitude)

“ The soul’s journey from gross manifestation to divine spirit is the very process of Aikido itself.’ —REV. KOICHI BARRISH - AIKIDO SENSEI & SHINTO PRIEST

Barrish Sensei says that the purpose of Aikido is to develop through the whole progression of the soul. “This was what originally called you to the practice Aikido. It’s such a shame to settle for a killer nikkyo.”

The soul’s journey in Shintoism completely reflects spiritual development across all the world’s wisdom traditions. Including spiritual development in Aikido. As Barrish Sensei says, “the soul’s journey to the divine is the very process of Aikido itself.”

Here is the video of our Aiki-Discussion. I’m sure that you will enjoy it as much as we did!

QUESTION: What originally called you to practice the art of Aikido? Leave your comments below!

The post The Soul’s Journey Through Aikido appeared first on The Integral Dojo.

As a person who is walking the Path of Aikido surely, you know the dirty little secret about this art we all know and love; mastery in Aikido takes time! Everyone knows that there are no shortcuts to getting good in Aikido… or are there?

Is there a way to “hack” mastery in Aikido? And if there was, would you be interested in learning it?

Last May, 2017 I hosted a tele-summit called “Aikido At The Leading Edge.” In this first of its kind, global online event, over 2,300 people gathered for 10-days to receive the wisdom of 46 of the world’s top Aikido teachers, thought leaders, and entrepreneurs. There were interviews, workshops, and panel discussions on a variety of topics relevant to Aikido.

At the end of each session, I asked all of the teachers to answer the same simple question: “What is your #1 training tip for someone to keep their Aikido at the leading edge?” The answers were remarkably insightful. They are dozens of hacks into the mastery of Aikido.

In this blog post, I’m sharing 21 of these teacher’s #1 training tip, organized into the following 7 sections:

1) On Commitment To Practice 2) On Connection 3) On Curiosity & Exploration 4) On Honesty 5) On Authenticity  6) On Inquiry & Self-Reflection, and 7) On Integration.

Take any of these nuggets of wisdom and apply them to your Aikido, and your life, you will see that they are actually powerful hacks towards the realization of mastery in Aikido.

ON COMMITMENT TO PRACTICE

Many of our guest teachers spoke about the commitment to practice. This is based on the idea that our very own potential is waiting for us somewhere down the path of practice. All we need to do to realize this potential is to commit to walking a higher Path of practice. Here is what they had to say about walking that higher Path:

“At the beginning in Aikido we must practice with agreements, to work together. But the more we practice, the more we need to face difficulties from our partners that we need to learn how to solve. The difficulty must be according to that persons level. If they are good, then push a little more. Solving these problems in an Aiki way is the study of Budo.”

Christian Tissier, 8th dan | Aikido Sensei

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“Misogi.” When ever anyone asked O Sensei what is the essence of Aikido, he would always answer “Misogi”. Aikido is a practice of self purification”

John Stevens, 7th dan | Aikido Sensei, Author

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“Passion, that’s perhaps the most important part. Training is also important. Lots and lots of training. But training that’s driven by the passion to really hear the whisper of divine nature.”

 Lawrence Koichi Barrish | Aikido Sensei, Shinto Priest

ON CONNECTION

“Merging”, “blending”, and “harmony” are core principles in Aikido – it’s right there in the name. In fact, after the individual practice principles like center and ground, the art naturally extends out to the relational principles. So it’s no surprise that several of the teachers related to “connection” as their #1 teaching tip:

“Make the relationship primary. The connection, the contact, the “musubi” comes first.”

Richard Strozzi-Heckler, 7th dan | Aikido Sensei, Author, Leadership Facilatator

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“When you are doing techniques and movements in Aikido, always keep in mind how you could injure each other. Both as Uke and Nage. Paying attention to that will keep you present and remind you that you can choose to protect your partner. That will change how you move, and Aikido will start to talk you differently.”

Paul Linden Ph.D, 6th dan | Aikido Sensei, Trauma & Peace Work

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“Be a good uke. I think that if we are good ukes we can keep learning. As long as we are taking ukemi, we can receive our partners technique, we can be guided, and we are keeping ourselves young.”

Joe Thambu, 8th dan | Aikido Sensei

ON CURIOSITY & EXPLORATION

Several of the teachers in the tele-summit stressed in their #1 teaching tip the need to be curious and to continuously explore the art. These are the very foundations from which O Sensei birthed Aikido. Curiosity and exploration are the very qualities that will assure that Aikido continues to grow and evolve into the future.

“Open the door. Open the door to O Sensei and see what happens.”

Linda Holiday, 6th dan | Aikido Sensei, Author 

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“To stay on your leading edge keep researching. The traditions are no doubt important, but we can get too traditional if we are not careful. So develop your aikido while keeping it in the philosophical framework of Aikido.”

Blaine Feyen, 4th dan | Aikido Sensei, Aiki-Cast Podcast

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“Never stop looking for ways to grow and change. Even if you’re training with just one sensei, in one dojo. Keep your passion, and never stop looking for ways to grow and change.”

Kayla Feder, 6th dan | Aikido Sensei

ON HONESTY

If we boil down all the developmental injunctions throughout time into one essence, then perhaps that would be honesty. To be honest with yourself, and with others. If we hold this as our inner compass then it will simultaneously, and constantly challenge us, and propel us forward in growth and development.

Shakespeare got it right all those years ago:

“This above all: to thine own self  be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” ~ Polonius in Hamlet

Always was, always is, and always will be.

“Be personally honest. Who are you? What are you right this moment? You have to be honest. If you reach for a concept of who you want to be, you may be ignoring the things in you that really want to talk to you at that level. So personal honesty is key.”

Jack Wada, 7th dan | Aikido Sensei

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“Keep researching and honestly ask yourself “Is this the best way that I can do this technique? Is this the best way that I can move?” You have to keep on giving up what you’ve learned, in order to learn something new. For that we have to constantly challenge what we know.”

Jan Nevelius, 6th dan | Aikido Sensei

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“Practice what you preach in your own life. Take it off the mat yourself. Be reflective and courageous with yourself and ask “How do I show up in situations and challenges that I meet?” It’s ok to lose it sometimes, but to learn from that.”

Anita Paalvast, 4th dan | Change Facilitator – Aikido@Work

ON AUTHENTICITY

Aikido is the meeting of classical forms and universal principles. On one hand, we are copying forms and following our teacher’s directions. We meticulously polish the forms and carry the art forward into the future.

But on the other hand, when we listen to our own inner needs, our own inner rhythms, and especially our own inner “unfolding”, then this changes everything. When we allow Aikido to move through us, we find that the art manifests in ways that we could never have predicted, or imagined. This is the meeting place where the art ends and your Unique Aikido begins. Where you discover your very own Authenticity.

“Study O Sensei and recognize the extraordinary state that he tapped into in order to download Aikido to us. As you connect more to O Sensei’s lineage, your body will start to respond because there is something there that can touch you. Allow that to come through you.”

Wendy Palmer, 6th dan | Aikido Sensei, Leadership Embodiment 

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“Be honest and authentic. O Sensei told us to accomplish our bestowed mission. So you be you. Be as honest and authentic as you can with respect, harmony, and consideration of other people. But never break your connection with your bestowed mission.”

Richard Moon, 6th dan | Aikido Sensei

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“When you walk into the dojo make a conscious practice of bowing to O Sensei. Leave your ego at the door, and open yourself to a larger sense of the possibilities. Consciously extend your energy outward in goodwill. And practicing to be as authentic as you can be.”

Kimberly Richardson, 6th dan | Aikido Sensei

ON INQUIRY & SELF-REFLECTION

Inquiry and Self-Reflection are as old as humanity itself. In fact, the capacity to reflect on ourselves is the very thing that makes us human. From time immemorial we have looked outward to the stars, and inward to our consciousness asking those eternal questions; “Who Am I?”, and “How Am I To Live?”

These are the very questions that evolve us forward as human beings. It is through the simple act of Inquiry that we move towards our greater potential and the trajectory of that movement is none other than a PATH.

So it is very fitting that the below teachers see AI-KI-DO, the Path Of Harmony With Life Energy, as a Path of Inquiry and Self-Reflection.

“Approach Your Aikido as constant learning. Try to keep reminding yourself that you don’t know as much as you pretend, or think you know.”

Robert Frager, 7th dan | Aikido Sensei, Sufi Sheik, Psychologist

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“Keep your practice fresh with the quality of “self-reflection”. Integrating self-reflection with the movement, and technical aspects of the art is critical. Remember, self-reflection.”

Teje “Fudo Myo” Bell, 5th dan | Aikido Sensei, Qigong, Zen Roshi

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“Reach deep within yourself and explore your motivation and inspiration for choosing the art. What compels you to practice, and what do you hope to embody in your life? Then stay open and watch your understanding mature and evolve.”

Patrick Cassidy, 6th dan | Aikido Sensei, Conflict Resolution Facilatator

ON INTEGRATION

If the true nature of the universe is Oneness, then how can you reconcile the infinite number of things you see around you? But like the integral saying goes, “if you can see it out there, then you can find it in here.”

Mastery in Aikido absolutely requires that you develop the ability to take multiple perspectives. Because it is a simple fact that if you cannot relate to a perspective in yourself, you will never be able to relate to it in another. You will never be able to do Aikido with someone who holds that perspective.

Aikido is a continuous, and constant practice of integrating more and more perspectives.

“Be present. Settle, open, and allow. Move in balance between active and receptive, masculine and feminine. Be present and include the physical. Allow the energies that come into you, and let them move. Open to the idea that these energies want to mix into a fuller You.”

Robert Nadeau, 8th dan | Aikido Sensei

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“As ‘nage’, receive the attack with an uke frame of mind. Yielding to the energy and allow the natural manifestation of kaeshi waza to determine the path of resolution.”

Dan Messisco, 6th dan | Aikido Sensei

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“Embrace the tension where 2 perspectives cannot exist in the same space at the same time. Embrace that space; with inner awareness, enduring patience, and applied skill. Create the inner container and the external skillful means to hold that tension… and evolution will just happen.”

Miles Kessler, 6th dan | Aikido Sensei, Meditation Teacher, The Integral Dojo

IN CONCLUSION

As I said at the beginning of this post, there are no shortcuts to Mastery in Aikido. But there is no substitute for having a good guide, mentor, spiritual friend, or Sensei. They will help you avoid the many pitfalls, backslides, wrong turns, and dead ends along the path.

Nobody can walk the Path for you. But if mastery in Aikido is what you want, then it is important to approach the wise men and women of the art. It will make all the difference.

Question: How do you hack into Mastery in Aikido? Share your #1 Training Tip below!

The post 21 Aikido Experts Share Their #1 Training Tip appeared first on The Integral Dojo.