Hi George - respectfully, I disagree in this particular case, because I feel that the above information is simply an interpretation, and in my world, inaccurate. I don't care how much it is shrouded in language and mysticism, what is described, for me, doesn't work.

It is very important, as you say, to be aware of the past, so to speak, but when it comes to something like Aikido, Shinto, and spiritual matters, for the most part they are very open to interpretation, and frankly, I trust myself and my life-long experience and involvement more than I trust most other people. In the end, it is philosophy when it is explained, and tricky at best. I have a huge personal history in spirituality, Shamanism, which is what Shinto is at it's heart, and Aikido, and I do not feel that I or anyone else has the patent on any of it, certainly not where I disagree with what is being expoused as "the truth." One can throw around all the Japanese terms one wants to, it doesn't make it any more real. Or sophisticated. Often, it is inflation and obfuscation.

end rant. :-)