Quote:
Keith Gates wrote:
Interesting that there are such contrasting opinions back to back !
There does appear to be recurring theme happening.
Which is: Aiki-do practice helps many to be more grounded within themselves.
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I don't find it to be such, but you'd really have to get into a whole discussion of what we mean by "grounded". IMO it's like "closure", a buzzword that we use for some kind of vague good feeling -- in this case, for being sure and settled. But this illustrates the fact that the umbrella term "spiritual" encompasses many beliefs, including some that directly contradict each other. In order to be "grounded", to be settled and sure, you must believe that there are things or truths that do not change -- and certainly some spiritual traditions, such as Christianity, would hold that this is the case. But other traditions, such as Buddhism, believe that nothing is fixed, that everything changes -- and furthermore, that it's a bad habit to try to seek ground, to find things to cling to for surety. So, in the Buddhist view, aikido practice can't possibly help you to be grounded in yourself -- and if it lets you think so, that's a bad thing.