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Old 04-05-2009, 04:19 PM   #11
Mary Eastland
 
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Dojo: Berkshire Hills Aikido
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,476
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Re: words like god and ki

Quote:
Jonathan Hay wrote: View Post
Why is that, do you think?
Because people might think they have the one right answer.

JH You seem to assume here that one cannot be defensive and truly hear a person whose views differ from one's own. Might it not be that one's defensiveness arises because one understands another's viewpoint?

You could be right.

JH What "real issues" do you mean?

Issues like acceptance and compassion and understanding.

JH I don't know what you mean here...Perhaps your idea of "sacred" is different than mine...Could you explain a little?

Sacred=regarded with reverance.

JH How are these two statements connected, exactly? And what do you mean by "connect to others" and "are in the now"?

When uke attacks me I do not look to overpower him or her. I receive the attack, blend with it and throw. In the now... being present not in the past or future...now is all that exists.

JH What do you mean by life being a "practice"? And do you think that something which makes your life more mysterious, or less clearly understood (which is what I understand "mysterious" to imply), is a positive thing? If so, why?

I consider the world my dojo.
I pray, meditate, and work at changing ideas and behaviors that don't work for me. I receive help and hope from the god, nature and people. This makes life wonderful and mysterious.

Aikido training contrubutes to a large part of my meditative practice. I don't try to change my uke so I don't try to change people. I accept my uke as they are at this moment. I accept people in the world as they are at this moment. I blend with the conditions and move on.

JH I hope you don't mind my questions. I come across the kinds of words and phrases you use quite often in the Aikido world and never actually fully understand what is being said. Maybe you can elucidate for me.

Thanks for asking.

Mary

Last edited by Mary Eastland : 04-05-2009 at 04:26 PM.
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