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… Alexander that you are quite taking into account everything re the martial arts here?
I myself don’t practice martial arts at all but I have the highest respect for those who do the arts that really result in inner cultivation as well. The late great Glenn Morris (aka ‘Dr Death’)was my first teacher – his nickname was well-earned I assure you! It was also ironic of course – both serious and funny.
When it comes to questions of who survives and why, martial artists adopt a pragmatic approach. But the irony comes in when you consider that, in order to fight effectively, the very blocks to self- and life-acceptance that you are talking about must be removed. Hence from the place of fear in which a martial art is (often) begun, a great journey towards effectiveness takes place which does root out the obstacles to ‘allowing’. Such was Glenn’s message and I think he was right.
Fear of a bad result does not only block spiritual progress and living life, but presents the major obstacle to effective combat. Thus even there, the ‘letting go’ you’re speaking about has got to take place.
A man whom Glenn highly respected was the ninja grandmaster, Masaaki Hatsumi. The interview with him that I’ve linked to at the end of this post has alot in it on these questions.
Of course the guy who says he can make you 3,000x times tougher in 6 months might be coming from somewhere altogether less high-purposed! Nonetheless, in general, would you not say that part of self-acceptance is acceptance of trouble? What Hatsumi says is simply, the effectiveness of a fighter is a natural result of flowing freely. Hence what you say about letting go is true in his opinion even of fighting itself.
NN
“But this is so hard for most folks, you know?”
Yeah I know. Thats why I thnik we have a process.
“It’s nice when you talk like this. You have good sentiments and I’m glad you share them with us.”
Thank you.
“would you not say that part of self-acceptance is acceptance of trouble?”
Acceptance is acceptance. All things on this plane are phenomenon and to be treated the same – with equanimity. If a person finds themselves in a body with a group of organ shen (personality parts) that are drawn to battle but he/she is a conscious and developing soul, then that soul will strive to transmute him/herself in whatever situations they are in. You come into a life to do something with what you are given. Those parts that are interested in battle are without doubt in a fear space to begin with. Whether or not they stay there is up to the soul in charge…IF the soul can become in charge. Otherwise, the parts rule instead. That is what spiritual practices are for – getting yourself in the position of being the captain of your ship.
As for “trouble” itself, everything is created from our thoughts and beliefs. When we believe there is a world “out there” and that it’s out to get us, we are projecting our own fears into creation and miscreating. The job is to call all that back to us and process it by owning it. The bottom line truth is that we are making all this up.
Check out the huna article I am about to post at the end of the conversation almost everyone is having about the jews, war, etc above.
Blessings, Alexander
I do agree with you on some level. The initial impulse of ‘protecting’ yourself creates the space for something to protect *against*!
And I also agree with the other guys, that as part of learning to protect yourself using your body, you need to learn fearlessness. The mamalian impulse of seeking safety and running from danger is transended and you learn to feel safe no matter what.
That’s why guns-as-protection are so dangerous – you use a gun from a place of deep fear – but you can’t develop as a powerfull martial artist with fear in your heart.
“I do agree with you on some level. The initial impulse of ‘protecting’ yourself creates the space for something to protect *against*!”
That’s the center of the thing. What we believe on the primal level is what we act out. So we choose to develop our spiritual awareness and put something in place of the fear WHICH WAS A LEARNED RESPONSE STATE that dveloped from the false idea that we are separate from the source and therefore vulnerable.
“And I also agree with the other guys, that as part of learning to protect yourself using your body, you need to learn fearlessness. The mamalian impulse of seeking safety and running from danger is transended and you learn to feel safe no matter what.”
What does learning fearlessness really mean?
It means you put something different in place of it. But- if you put only bravery in place of it you have not transcended the incorrect concept of separation. You transmute the viewpoint that what is out there is out there (that there is no “out there”) and see it all as yourself, part of you, part of God, and as such, harmlessness and safety, which are our natural state, is experienced. This is what we are learning now. It is the visionary path of today. The new archetype that we are begininning to embody is wholeness. The old one is delusional and says there is someone out there to fight. When we fight we are fighting ourselves. Every single thing out there is part of us projected.This is a beautiful wilderness of new thought for us. It means our true freedom. And not a “freedom” we will have to defend. Thanks for being open to this! -A
>>What does learning fearlessness really mean?<<
I actually mean it in a rather specific way. It's not 'active fearlessness' which is a duality (because there must be something to be fearless against).
Our bodies tend to react to stimulus in a certain way. it's meant as a protection mechanism – but it gets in the way of 'freedom'. One such automatic behaviour (from where other branches of fear stem from) is the impulse to seek safety and run from a threat. How this works depends on two things – one is your conditions of birth (autism usually occurs as a result of a difficult birth – where the child associates *everything* as a threat) and the other is the archetypal 'threats' (sharpness for example) and archetypal sense of safety (softness, warmth etc).
Martial arts is a great way to transend the automatic function of this mechanism. So that you have *choice*! It's a way of integrating both safety and threat into yourself (rather than looking for either outside of yourself).
I remember reading a story about a wise man getting taught by his enlightened master. The master tells the wise man that him and not him are one and the same. The wise man fully embodies the teaching and one day goes for a walk. He hears a lot of crashing and screaming and sees an elephant gone out of control with a rider on top. The crazed elephant charges towards him with the rider screaming at the top of his voice "get out of the way!!". Suddenly his master's voice comes to mind and the wise man just sits, smiles and repeats – "the elephant and I are one – the elephant and I are one". The elephant runs right over the wise man! The villagers discover that the wiseman is not dead but badly crippled – lying in bed he calls for his master – he asks him "how come I got crippled by the elephant – I thought we were one?" the master answers "how come you didn't listen to the rider on top of the elephant and get out of the way? The rider and you are also one!"
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