Every now and again I come across an excellent article on Aikido, spirituality and all sorts of related topics that strike me as being well written, relevant and/or thought provoking.
One such article is Tom’s Twelve Laws of Life. This particular list is good because the author gives it to you straight and in a no nonsense manner. Rock on.
My particular favourite is on being centered (emphasis mine):
Until you’re connected to your core you won’t be very good at handling the rest of the world. Few people really get this. It is the single most important and least understood fact of life Your center is easy to find. Every spiritual tradition in history teaches prayer and meditation – it’s the most important thing you can do for the quality of your life. Just take a little break a couple of times a day, and learn to be still and RELAX. If you give yourself this little time each day you will become calmer, stronger and your physical and mental health will improve. You will begin to focus more on what you think of yourself than what others may think of you.
Do you take regular breaks? Do you practice finding your centre? Which of Tom’s other laws do you agree with? Do you disagree with any?
Comment and let us know.
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Can I be your new bloggling’s first fairy godmother,please?! It’s brilliant, Marc! An inspired direction for you. A chance to be all of your yous and to show your black belt mastery. I celebrate this chance for you to be the supporter of souls you’ve always been in other people’s comments boxes and wish you blossoming self expression and the bliss that comes from being able to find and share your best self. Proud of you, really am.
Thank you Janice for your continued support. Can’t write much, off out to catch the Wolverine film
But I wanted to say thanks and to keep an eye on your reader for Monday’s post. I know for a fact you are going to love it.
Oops, gushed and didn’t answer your great questions and tell you I loved the theme of the actual post!I don’t want to go to Tom’s link yet or I may forget to come back and subscribe! I tend to link hop, blog surf and drift out to sea…
I centre myself by loving my family and blessing my home, doing daily, caring things with presence and love. Everything from cleaning to cooking. I meditate in the moodlings and the moments, the spaces between my thoughts, the silences between the notes of music. My greatest focusing arts, the ones that channel the most powerful things through me, are my writing, listening to others with my instincts and heart connected, being immersed in nature – even if it’s just birwatching at the kitchen window – and quote-taking in cafés.
PS Loving Eric’s Frugal theme! Looking forward to seeing those category bars fill and drop down!
Just read Tom’s ‘laws’. I noticed this: “Being centered has two sides; inner and outer.” It reminded me of when I used to throw pots. (We have a potter’s wheel in our garage.)If you centre the clay correctly, it never spins off the wheel, no matter how fast the wheel spins.
Hi Marc,
Janice told me about your new site. Congratulations! I love the name of it. Sounds very inspiring…I have no idea why but it does. I did read Tom’s list of 12 Laws of Life and they were all very good. I think it is really important to take time each day to be still. For me, I like to get up early in the morning and go for a walk. It starts my day off right and somehow I manage to see my life so much more clearly while I walk. The shower does the same too but that may be because of the steam!
@Nadia Thanks for dropping by Nadia. I had a bit of trouble picking the right name actually. So much of the Aikido “blogs” on the Internet are focused on Aikido as a fighting art and how it “sucks” etc etc.
But it’s so much more than a study in self-defense. Its founder Ueshiba was incredibly spiritual and was devoted to peace and non-violent approaches to all things in his life. You and Janice will probably find great meaning in his haiku.
Take the notion of being centered. All Aikido techniques are built upon this principle. It’s akin to a tornado, arguably one of the most destructive forces in nature and yet at it’s centre it’s completely calm.
Aikido introduced me to spirituality and peaceful “centered-ness” I just wanted to give something back, pay it forward as it were.
It’s not just an art to be performed on the mats, it’s a way of life. Hence my choice of name.
Thank you for the background information on Aikido. I have always been under the impression that eastern martial arts are based on spirituality. In my mind, to be able to make your body do so much, there has to be some awareness of the connection between mind and body and spirit.
Good for you finding a way to voice your passion for Aikido! I look forward to future posts!
@Naida That’s right. All of the Martial Arts have their roots in spirituality in some way or another but some more than others.
In fact they can be broadly split into two groups, Internal Martial Arts and External. Aikido is an internal one as is Tai Chi.