Posts tagged Spontaneity
Karate and Meditation
Sep 13th
Karate, a rather old art, is often seen as a hard, physical form of fighting. But, it is grounded in all of the indicia of Zen- focus, being in the moment, spontaneity, and concentration- all hallmarks of both arts (Zen and Karate). At the heart of both arts is meditation- which might be defined as a disciplined way of “letting the mind go”. It is not an easy thing to do- and it does require training- but it is achievable almost immediately- at least on some small level. The karate student achieves this “letting go” by doing kata- which is a form of karate exercise- and it requires total focus- it’s a form of moving meditation- and at it’s core, yes it’s about fighting- but fighting itself contains the seeds of a greater concept- and that is the total management of one’s being in time and space. How to move economically, how to focus, how to concentrate all fo one’s power- in effect- how to “be” in the most efficient and powerful manner possible- that is the heart of karate- and the doing of that- accomplishing that- is also, a Zen moment- one of pure “being there”.
The art of karate- which is synonymous with Zen, is the central meaning of everything- at least of the student of karate- and other students of philosophy. It is about learning to accommodate current realities in light of what one has learned- and trained for- and adjusting one’s self to survive- and perhaps thrive- in that reality. So, karate is, to a significant extent, all about being a warrior- that is an important word in the lexicon of the martial arts- a warrior is a master of one’s self- way more important than being a fighting champion- it’s about doing something in a total, completely holistic manner- and that can take a lifetime to master- but, importantly, it’s the DOING that matters- not arriving there, that counts. It’s the process- not the goal.
Karate- and Zen- are all encompassing arts- that cannot be fully described in any one article- but this article might be described as the tip of the iceberg- so that the interested reader might investigate further the many layered connections that exist between karate and zen- and how to get to a good level of being.
How to Go Beyond the Fear of Change and Kick Start Your Life
Sep 3rd
Do you know many people believe that the familiar is comfortable? Do you know that this belief is based on a deep fear of change? Do you know this fear limits, constricts and robs your life away from you? Do you know that it is possible to completely eradicate/erase/delete this fear thereby releasing and empowering you to be the master of your mind, body and life? Do you know that doing so will leave you feeling confident, capable, strong, resilient, creative, courageous, spontaneous, optimistic and loving the experience of being fully alive? How does one achieve this you ask?
If you have ever seen those TV commercials where a car barrels through a large painted poster representing a rock wall you will begin to appreciate that the fear of change is exactly the same as that illusory barrier. It intimidates you at the level of your inner or subconscious mind by hypnotically seducing you with a constricting representation of what you think is reality.
It makes you “think” reality is unpredictable, uncertain, dangerous, uncomfortable, effortful, and not worth pursuing. This however blocks what is the very flow of Life Force Energy through your life. In other words it brings your life, and life itself, to a screeching halt. This is equivalent to dying!
If you suffer from such a fear and you stop and reflect on how your so called “life” feels to you you’ll notice that it feels stuck, blocked, frustrating, unfulfilling, unsatisfying, lacking creativity and spontaneity, lacks energy, enthusiasm and passion and hence lacks Life Energy itself. Well, the experience being described here is that of death itself.
There is a way to go beyond this fear of change once and for all so that you can be completely free of it and more connected to life itself. There is a coaching process developed over 10 years ago that erases negative beliefs, memories and feelings that does just this. To learn more about it kindly visit the web site below where you can also get a free e-copy of my book and request a free introductory telephone consultation.
