Hi Dan,
Great points, thank you! This resonates heavily with where my mind is lately, particularly as it relates to getting out there and interacting as the basis for practice. Simple idea but some of us need to remember it more (raises hand). The physical is very much the spiritual for me...the omote and ura of reality maybe. I've been thinking about something the doshu said a lot the last couple days. Essentially his view seems to be that it doesn't matter so much what we're practicing as long as we're sincerely practicing and have our example of that practice. We can agree or disagree on the nature of the practice ("[enlightenment or delusion who can say...]") but without sharing, we can't determine if the other guy has something we could or should learn. It's (partly, at the least) about producing something tangible.
In Shinto there is the idea of infinite and restless movement (kannagara, if I'm not mistaken); everything is basically in a constant state of movement and interaction. The study of Aikido and Shinto is learning how to incorporate a cohesive quality to those movements, both large and very small, with the purpose of fostering life power...of learning to harmonize with nature to attain a greater state of existance, for ourselves, for our families, our neighborhoods, our countries, our planet...and outward, as circumstances allow.
This is the essence of my spirituality and the fundemental reason I've remained so attracted to Aikido as a medium for fostering it.
Take care,
Matt