Quote:
Janet Rosen wrote:
My reaction was much the same as Marc's.
I am not an 18 year old Marine recruit or a junkie walking into Synanon, to be handed over to Others to be broken down and reinvented, which is what the OP called to mind. I'm a mature person who already has her values and ethics and is very happy to abide by dojo etiquette but willing to (and has in the past) walked out of dojos that were not congruent with my values and ethics.
Bowing with beginner's mind and striving to be in the moment during training (what I call having open eyes, open mind, open heart) have NOTHING to do with terms like "surrender" or "submission" of any part of who I am.
Rather they are an embodiment of what I consider my best inner qualities, those I'm trying to polish while in the dojo.
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Janet:
I wish I was as eloquent as you! I guess that I have just seen too many victims of cults, that this kind of expressed thinking hits some raw nerves.
Our world has too many people who have already or are ready to give up their sense of autonomy to others who tell them how to live "better" lives. We would have a much saner world (and safer) if more people truly accepted personal responsibility for their actions and how they choose to interact with others.
Marc Abrams