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I’ve added another tattoo, a kanji for balance – the same size and type as my warrior kanji – as well as getting some of my other tattoos retouched. It was wonderful to get professional work done in sacred space, as well as to spend time with Rain. She is perhaps the only tattoo artist I know who would not only wait while I performed 100 pushups in case I was not able to do them for a few days after the tattoo, but who joined me for the last set. I’m happy to report my tattoo is not interfering with my training, and my pushups, kata, meditation and running continue.
It was an auspicious time for balance. Sienna has been working with me on shields I automatically bring to bear, and my orbital breathing exercises have improved, but are not complete. My shields are perhaps a sign that I need to advance my thinking, and be more aware of my reactions and responses to my environment. Lao Tzu wrote that knowing others is wisdom, but knowing yourself is enlightenment.
Recognizing a threat does not mean that I have to act on the threat, or raise a shield. Kime, the art of tightening the mind and excluding all extraneous thoughts, seems to be the advanced technique I am working on. I am working on staying in the moment, taking each experience as it comes, finishing with it, and moving on to the next moment, not being concerned with the past or the future – and not reacting as I have in the past.
Remaining calm and open, maintaining strength in reserve, and not shielding, by localizing and focusing my mind on the moment, counting on my awareness of the energy around me to allow response when needed, is my lesson. The third Samurai, in The Seven Samurai, sensing his opponent from beyond the door and passing the test, is a perfect example. What stands in my way of effortless effort is caring, a conscious effort to do well – and that is my lesson to learn, and what I need to give up. Miso no koro.
To know is to act. So be it.
It was an auspicious time for balance. Sienna has been working with me on shields I automatically bring to bear, and my orbital breathing exercises have improved, but are not complete. My shields are perhaps a sign that I need to advance my thinking, and be more aware of my reactions and responses to my environment. Lao Tzu wrote that knowing others is wisdom, but knowing yourself is enlightenment.
Recognizing a threat does not mean that I have to act on the threat, or raise a shield. Kime, the art of tightening the mind and excluding all extraneous thoughts, seems to be the advanced technique I am working on. I am working on staying in the moment, taking each experience as it comes, finishing with it, and moving on to the next moment, not being concerned with the past or the future – and not reacting as I have in the past.
Remaining calm and open, maintaining strength in reserve, and not shielding, by localizing and focusing my mind on the moment, counting on my awareness of the energy around me to allow response when needed, is my lesson. The third Samurai, in The Seven Samurai, sensing his opponent from beyond the door and passing the test, is a perfect example. What stands in my way of effortless effort is caring, a conscious effort to do well – and that is my lesson to learn, and what I need to give up. Miso no koro.
To know is to act. So be it.
