Sunday, June 28, 2009

Lets put on the gloves and get in the ring ... Punk

“By all accepted standards, Musashi was not a great sword technician. Schools, styles, theories, traditions – none of these meant anything to him. His mode of fighting was completely pragmatic. What he knew was only what he had learned from experience. He wasn’t putting theory into practice; he fought first and theorized later.

The Yoshioka men, from the Ten Swordsman on down, had all had the theories of the Kyohachi Style pounded thoroughly into their skulls. Some of them had even gone on to create stylistic variations of their own. Despite being highly trained and highly disciplines fighters, they had no way of gauging a swordsman like Musashi, who spent his time as an ascetic in the mountains, exposing himself to the dangers presented by nature as often as those presented by man. To the Yoshioka men, it was incomprehensible that Musashi with his breathing so erratic, face ashen, eyes bleary with sweat and body covered with gore, was still able to wield two swords and threaten to make short work of anyone who came within range. But he fought on like a god of fire and fury. They themselves were dead tired, and their attempts to pin down this bloody specter were becoming hysterical.” – Eiji Yoshikawa, Musashi

NOTES: I have spent a good amount of time studying, practicing, observing and evaluating certain arts of the martial category, and the one thing that I have come to find is that there is no special way other that the natural way and or natural law. As I have mentioned before there are laws of nature that are absolutes, as an example, we cannot breathe under water without some sort of apparatus and we cannot fly without artificial wings or equipment. As much as we try there are laws, like gravity that have a strange way of getting in the way of what we “Think” (remember thoughts are like clouds) we can do. Ok, I will get back on track. Any Martial skill that is not in line with Nature, Physics, and the Physiology of the human body is held in skepticism. Don’t be tricked into believing what the soothsayers weave into being “the best” or the absolute. Nothing is “The” Way, there are just “Ways”, and really, no one is better than another as long as they are in line with the Laws of Nature. If it steps out of the laws of nature than it is just soothsaying and magic tricks. Remember the mind is an easy thing to trick because our thoughts are and abstract to the laws of nature. The one place that the laws of nature do not adhere is in a thought, but a thought is nothing because it has no substance, this is the reason that our thoughts can be manipulated and tricked into believing something can work outside the laws of nature. Unfortunately the laws of nature will hold true when exposed to reality. Nature is dynamic, it is not static and styles or ways that practice in the static are not falling in line with nature (because nature is not static). Nature in not even fluid, it is dynamic and spontaneous, albeit often times predictable, we still cannot predict the direction of the wind with certainty. This is just one example of the spontaneity of nature and those arts that fall in line with this spontaneity will be in line with the law of nature and more in accord with practicality and reality.

A person is not going to stand still and let you beat the shit out of them. They are going to move and that move can be unpredictable, therefore preprogrammed responses to the dynamics of a street fight are going to be … well … unpredictable. Training is important and if your training is in accord with natural law then there “may” be a successful outcome, but remember the predator does not always get the prey. Which brings to point our human sophistication of Martial Arts, if we pit them against nature will they work? Most animal attacks in nature end up in human death or misfortune and guess what? No formal dojo or regimented training and routines or techniques for those critters, just raw natural law. It may seem unfair that a 50 pound Bobcat could whip the shit out of a 250 pound man, although we all have the same weapons available to us, i.e. Tooth, Fangs and Claws. But, it happens and that is because the Bobcat is in accord with natural law and the situation is spontaneous.

This brings me to my final point for all the static soothsayers and opponents of Cagefighting as a Martial Art. MMA is the evolution of combat and the combat arts. Yes there are rules but, there are also rules in every dojo. These same rules apply in MMA competitions, I do not think I would have too many students if I all out punched them in the nuts or poked them in there eyes or for that matter kicked out there knees, punched them in the throat or popped their ears. These are all things that would put them in the hospital and get me sued and or put in jail. So, we have unwritten 0r written rules in the dojo that allow for practice in a safe way and in a secure environment, so for safety in sparring we have rules and limitations hence our own arts are no different now than the rules of MMA competitions. If I had a dime for every Karate guy that said that MMA is crap because it has rules, I would be rich. They (Traditional Martial Arts) have those same rules in sparring and practice of technique. If you want a dynamic practice of technique and ability you have to have rules and with those rules, enter the closest test of ability to a real fight with a minimum risk of injury or hospitalization, the UFC or MMA Competition. Ok, all the traditionalist can pile on now but, it is the truth. Unless you knock someone out with the first punch or they just stand there and wait for an ass whipping, no one is going to just stand there, they are going to move, turn, twist, run and any number of other responses that are unpredictable. No plan lasts first contact, there has to be contingencies and dynamic alternatives. Yes, training is extremely important and skill is of the essence BUT! How do you test it in a safe a LEGAL way? Yup, you got it, Mixed Martial Arts Competition. I am not saying that MMA is the Martial Way for self-Defense in the street, I am saying that if you are not testing yourself in a MMA competition against others you are falling short in your own skills and if you are one of those that says it’s crap, just get in the ring, cage or on the mat and have a go at it and see what works and what doesn’t. Try your technique (keeping it safe of course) and see if it will work in a reality based environment. I am a big supporter of traditional martial arts and the discipline but, I also understand that a style must be dynamic and evolve with the times. Someone is always figuring out counters to counters to counters, therefore our own styles must be alive and living enough to adapt to change and the future. What worked 1000 years ago may work today or maybe not, or maybe, just maybe, someone may have figured out a counter in the last thousand years??? You think??? The World Champions of Martial Arts Competitions of old definitely deserve their props but, the competition and times have changed and it is now fought in a cage, and the champions of MMA must also deserve their props as well, each in their own right being the best of the best. I have no problem listening to a grey hair from days past tell me about his skill and art as long as he doesn’t bash the skills ant arts of the 21st century. Sure a musket fires a bullet that kills but not as proficiently as a 50 cal at 1000 yards! If technology in equipment can adapt and get better so can a Martial Art. The proof is in the pudding, as my instructor always says and I quote “If you think you got what it takes punk, lets put on the gloves and get in the cage and show me what you got!”

Good luck and Play nice kids
GhostDog

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Attention

“Long ago, the World Honored One went into the Snowy Mountains, and after passing six years in suffering, became enlightened. This was the enlightenment of the True Self. The ordinary man has no strength of faith, and does not know the persistence of even three or five years. But those who study the Way are absolutely diligent for ten or twenty years, twenty four hours a day. They muster up great strength of faith, speak with those who have wisdom, and disregard adversity and suffering.” - Takuan Soho – The Unfettered Mind

NOTES: People of today become so short sighted and their attention spans so short as to be able to understand that the Way and true discipline take years of dedication and practice. Next time you are watching TV count how many time the scene or angle of the camera changes. Watch how the camera will show a conversation between two people but rarely do they show the two people in the same frame. This is a small example of how we can be conditioned to have short attention spans. Things have to happen fast and each frame grab out attention or the mind wanders off and we loose interest. For those who have never hunted or meditated, sitting for hours on end seeing the same scene drives them nuts. They can’t appreciate the beauty of each subtlety revealing itself as the mind shuts down and you begin to become part of the environment. The adversity and suffering is in passing through the gates of boredom and simplicity to arrive as one with your surroundings, to touch “The spirit that moves in all things”. Keeping at something means for a long time. Not just a few hours or days or months but, years and years. Most people don’t see that far or have the discipline to keep at it for that long. Without immediate results they quit and turn to something that gives instant (but short lived) rewards. When you make a choice to follow the Way it is a choice that will take a lifetime or more. When I tell a student that it will be three to five years or longer to obtain Shodan rank they get depressed because it seems so long but, is it really that long compared to 100 years or many lifetimes? I think not. Sometimes just stand in one place to teach yourself the discipline of time, fight the urge to move forward out of boredom. Sitting in a hunt spot (or sit spot) will help to enforce this discipline. Keep this in mind at length and practice daily.

Just the other day I received a lesson in tolerance and discipline in the form of a crying baby at the theatre. Why would someone bring in a baby to the movies and let it cry. I was not accepting the moment for what it was. I was not absorbed in the movie and was distracted. I had lost my discipline in attention easily by something I had no control over.

Peace – GhostDog

Saturday, June 20, 2009

et Spiritus Sancti

This counts for tommorrow because it is late enough today.

The Boondock Saints – court room scene (transcript)

“Now you will receive us. We do not ask for your poor or your hungry. We do not want your tired and sick. It is your corrupt we claim. It is your evil that will be sought by us. With every breath, we shall hunt them down. Each day we will spill their blood till it rains down from the skies. Do not kill, do not rape, do not steal, these are principles which every man of every faith can embrace. These are not polite suggestions. These are codes of behavior and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost. There are varying degrees of evil, we urge you lesser forms of filth not to push the bounds and cross over into true corruption, into our domain. But if you do, one day you will look behind you and you will see we three and on that day you will reap it. And we will send you to which ever god you wish.”

And shepherds we shall be,For Thee, my Lord, for Thee.Power hath descended forth from Thy hand,That our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command.So we shall flow a river forth to TheeAnd teeming with souls shall it ever be.In Nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritūs Sancti.
(The trinitarian formula: "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”)

NOTES: This scene and the words of this scene were the focus of my drive into to work today. Pay particular attention to the bold caps, this I feel is a huge statement. It can not be more crystal clear than that when it comes to the things you do in life. Also notice just before that in italics, the sentence does not suggest it is a fact of principle that every man should embrace. The code of the warrior comes in many forms but, the message is always the same. Live pure and just. Live ethically and morally. Corruption is for the damned and those that follow that path will be damned. There are not enough warriors in today’s society. Modern beliefs are breading true Warrior blood out of our young to create soft, weak, and politically correct fools. Life is a path and a lesson, tough lessons and on that path there are rewards and punishments, for the real Warriors, but today there seems to be no punishment for the fools and the corrupt. Without harsh punishments how is society to learn the valuable lessons? Maybe that was the point of the Old Testament, a way of scaring the shit out of a corrupt society into becoming more moral and ethical. I am not really sure but it makes sense to me. Where are our Super Heroes? Those who will fight for what is good, right and just? I suppose for now I will be the best Sheepdog that I can be. My children will learn the traditional ways of dedication, discipline and the Warriors way. The way of rewarding good behavior and action and punishing poor behavior, stupidity and unethical or immoral actions and thoughts. It will be tough and I apologize for the toughness I must show to keep them on the path but, when they mature and become Warriors in the own right they will understand and thank me. It will be an unspoken thanks and not expected because that is the way of the Warrior. They and I will both know, as I know why my father was tough on me to make me what I have become. Thanks Pops.

GhostDog

Purposeless and Awareness

“Paradoxical as it may seem, the purposeful life has no content, no point. It hurries on and on, and misses everything. Not hurrying, the purposeless life misses nothing, for it is only when there is no goal and no rush that the human senses are fully open to receive the world.
Absence of hurry also involves a certain lack of inference with the natural course of events, especially when it is felt that the natural course follows principles which are not foreign to human intelligence.”

- Alan Watts, The Way of Zen


NOTES: If you have not noticed in the right margin of my blog I have a link to a company called onPoint Tactical Scout Tracking and Survival School, I am an instructor with that company and teach a Basic Scout course. You may ask what a “Scout” is or what is there to learn about the Scout. Most of the skills taught are based on Apache Indian Scouts, the protectors of their people, the silent alarm system of the tribe. They moved about in invisibility keeping watch over their people and alerting them to danger when danger was near. They were skilled in all ways of survival and protection; they lived off the land, on the fly, melding with every terrain and environment with a dedication and conviction that made them an elite Warrior Class, the silent watchers and protectors. The way of the Scout is the way of the Warrior. It is a way of life and a life long path. The Difference between the standard run of the mill Warrior or Soldier and the Scout is the absolute commitment to AWARENESS. The Apache Scouts were so effective at thier skills because they were aware of everything that was going on around themall the time. They understood the language of the Natural World, bird calls, animal calls, tracks and tracking, the wind, the weather, all this and more, in a constant state of awareness, almost to the point of a moving dynamic meditation, allowing them to feel and perceive things going on around them beyond human capabilities. This can only happen when the mind is absent of thought.

So now back to Alan Watt’s quote. When we walk down the street or though the woods and we are preoccupied with our own thoughts we move with a “Purposefulness” that is not within the context of Natural Law. Nature (Natural Law) has an unwritten set of rules and laws that are based on a reward / punishment system. As prey, if you break the rules you get killed and eaten or injured and die, as the predator if you break the rules you starve and die. If you follow the rules then all is in harmony with the great circle of life and things good. When you sit in the woods and spend enough time slowing down modern mans clock you will begin to see the Natural World in a different light and see more things. Now we take that preoccupied human walking into the woods with no awareness other than their own thoughts and they stick out like a sore thumb. Tripping stumbling, moving to fast, making as much racket as a elephant stuck in a swamp puddle. Their minds look the same as they look in the woods, out of context and unaware.

Your mental awareness and absence of thought will help to slow down the chaotic mind and bring you more in tune with the things going on around you. Stop thinking into the past and into the future and pay attention to the here and now, it is a wonderful thing, stop and smell the roses, watch the birds, sit still and calm enough for the birds to land on you and investigate. They know what is natural and what is not. The Apache Scouts had figured this out and used it for a tactical advantage, like any true Warrior would. The most precious of skills if often the one most forgotten AWARENESSS know what is going on around you and be open to subtlest clues that something is out of place. Self-Defense in it’s truest form is not defending an attack, it is sensing that there will be an attack and not being there at all! In a true state of awareness you will know / sense something is out of context and in listening to you inner vision you will not be there at all or in an offensive tactical environment you will use that same awareness to set up an ambush and take you enemy when they are unprepared.

The only way to reach true awareness is to quiet our minds and life in the context with nature and the natural things around us that so many people miss as they think and rush there way through life. There are too many wondrous things in life to miss them because we are in a state of perpetual obsession with man made compulsions.

An Apache Scout Prayer

Grandfather of all Scouts, Teach me to be the eyes of my people, teach me to move like the shadow, allow me to become the winds, the rocks, the soils, and the life forces in all its forms.
Allow me to suffer for my people, and take away their pain, Honor me by allowing me to die for my people, For I love my people beyond myself, and I will sacrifice my all for my people, my earth and for you.
Test me beyond all hardships and pain, create me as you would forge a tool, and if you find I am worthy …
then bless me as your servant Your Scout

- Shadow Walker Age 91, Panther ridge 1807

Good Medicine
GhostDog

Friday, June 19, 2009

No matter where you are ... there you are.

“No matter where you are … There you are” - Randy Schryer – Past Fire Chief Davis Monthan Air Force Base

NOTE: I should start by explaining a little bit about Randy, he started at the lowest level in the Fire Department as a Dispatch supervisor, I worked under him for 2 years on and off. He worked his way from the lowest position to the highest position attesting to the fact that if you work hard enough, set your goals and follow that path you will achieve what ever you want. Randy was an inspiration to me and still is in all that I do. He was always laid back and took all things in stride. He was fond of a former Fire Chief’s practice of taking time out of the day to stare out the window and watch the clouds go by. Randy will be missed as he passed away a while ago. But, what he has shown me and others will echo in eternity.

The quote itself is a Zen Kōan, You are where you are because of your own actions and your own state of mental mind. "You" bring actions against yourself, if you trip and fall walking down the street, it is not the fault of the street it is the fault of your own poor awareness that caused you to miss the crack in the street that you fell over. You are the only one who controls what happens to you and how you feel. At any given time in your life you are there because of what you have done to get there, consciously or unconsciously, it is cause and affect. If you are in a shitty situation it is because you put yourself there and you allowed yourself to be put there. I am here because I put myself here and no matter where I go and what I do it will always be where I am. This is also a good grounding point because it can also be a “here and now” awareness. Where am I? And what is happening around me? And what am I doing to provide positive energy to promote peace and happiness? Sometimes the contemplation of this quote is enough to drop my heart rate and mental state to a level of peaceful tranquility because ... No matter where I am, there I am.

Peace be with you,
GhostDog

Monday, June 15, 2009

Its Bad When One Thing Becomes Two

"The way of the warrior does not include other ways, such as Confucianism, Buddhism, certain traditions, artistic accomplishments and dancing. But even though these are not part of the Way, if you know the Way broadly, you will see it in everything. Men must polish their particular Way." - The Book of 5 Rings Miyamoto Musashi

"Its bad when one thing becomes two, one should not look for anything else in the way of the samurai, its the same for anything else that is called a way, if one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all ways, and be more and more in accord with his own" -
Hagakure, The Book of the Samurai – Yamamoto Tsunetomo


GhostDogs Notes: This helps to explain that the absolute indulgence in the study of any way will help you to understand the way in all things. If you are a dedicated Christian and follow the Way you will understand all religions. I find, for myself, the Way of Bushido to be the absolute way but, that is just for me. Bushido is absolute because it follows the course of Natural Law and the rewards and punishment philosophy. If you fail at missing a strike the punishment is pain and discomfort or in the extreme, death, if you block the strike the reward is painlessness or the absolute, Life. This same theory can apply to all things and all ways. Let me add that Bushido is not a Martial Art or specific, it is a Way, a path, although it is one way it encompasses all ways. The Warrior and the Scholar, or, Light and Dark, physical and spiritual. The blend of energies. Inner Chi and outer Chi. The Chi of the spirit and the Chi of the Body. Body and Soul. Following this path I understand that there is an absolute path in the Way that must be followed to enlightenment. Not only must the Body be tempered but also the Spirit. This I know will take much study and practice. "Wherever the head goes the body will follow", a theory I teach in the Martial Arts, (replace the word head with spirit), this teaches us that if we are following a good spirit and have made right and just decisions our body will be in accord with our mind (spirit), therefore maintaining an enlightened path in life through right and just actions (physical to include vocalizations and looks). We must always meditate on this when it comes to all things we do in life. The rewards and punishments will be found in Karma, do good and good will be returned, do bad and bad will be returned.

Peace out GhostDog

Friday, June 12, 2009

HOLD THE LINE!

In Gladiator (2000 film) Maximus: "Three weeks from now, I will be harvesting my crops. Imagine where you will be, and it will be so. Hold the line! Stay with me! If you find yourself alone, riding in green fields with the sun on your face, do not be troubled. For you are in Elysium, and you're already dead!"

In Greek mythology, Elysium (Greek: Ἠλύσια πεδία) was a section of the Underworld (the spelling Elysium is a Latinization of the Greek word Elysion). The Elysian Fields, or the Elysian Plains, ...

... were the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous.

NOTES: AAAAAHHHHHHHH CHarge!!!!!! Hold the Line!!!!!!! Kill!! Need I say more. The Warriors of Old are very different from what we have today. I hope there is a place in Heaven for those of us Modern Day Warriors that still hold true to the Old Ways. Honor, Strength, Duty, Discipline, Ethics, Integrity, Family, Compassion, Loyalty, Virtuous … are just a few virtues of the top of my head. Oh how this quote warms my soul and the fires within the Warrior in me!

<<<<<<>>>>>>He is some more just because I like to be long winded!

Roman Virtues & Beliefs
The Virtues in this form listed below are by Nova Roma

Personal Virtues, these are the qualities of life to which every Citizen (and, ideally, everyone else) should aspire. They are the heart of the Via Romana — the Roman Way — and are thought to be those qualities which gave the Roman Republic the moral strength to conquer and civilize the world. Today, they are the rods against which we can measure our own behavior and character, and we can strive to better understand and practice them in our everyday lives.

Auctoritas: "Spiritual Authority" The sense of one's social standing, built up through experience, Pietas, and Industria.
Comitas: "Humor" Ease of manner, courtesy, openness, and friendliness.
Clementia: "Mercy" Mildness and gentleness.
Dignitas: "Dignity" A sense of self-worth, personal pride.
Firmitas: "Tenacity" Strength of mind, the ability to stick to one's purpose.
Frugalitas: "Frugalness" Economy and simplicity of style, without being miserly.
Gravitas: "Gravity" A sense of the importance of the matter at hand, responsibility and earnestness.
Honestas: "Respectibility" The image that one presents as a respectable member of society.
Humanitas: "Humanity" Refinement, civilization, learning, and being cultured.
Industria: "Industriousness" Hard work.
Pietas: "Dutifulness" More than religious piety; a respect for the natural order socially, politically, and religiously. Includes the ideas of patriotism and devotion to others.
Prudentia: "Prudence" Foresight, wisdom, and personal discretion.
Salubritas: "Wholesomeness" Health and cleanliness.
Severitas: "Sternness" Gravity, self-control.
Veritas: "Truthfulness" Honesty in dealing with others.

NOTES: As I read through these virtues I started to think about what makes a man. And in respect to that I was thinking about what makes a competitor, a soldier, a Warrior. The more I thought about this the more I realized that the virtuousness of a man is not gauged by his physical achievement or his physical competitiveness compared to another. In relation to High School football, what are we teaching our young men? Are we teaching them that all is rewarded to those who perform well physically? What about the virtuous man? The man that practices his heart out and shows great joy in supporting his team and the one who is there to encourage and congratulate the players coming off the field knowing that he himself may not have the opportunity to play. The player that finds great joy in getting on the field for one play! Where is the reward for this virtuous man? The superstar knows naught of the heart of the underdog. Just because he can run faster or move quicker he feels it is his right to be on the filed regardless of the type of man he is. Is this really what we want to be teaching our young men? A virtuous man with good physical ability would offer the field to the next man down, go to the coach and ask to let his backup in the game for a few plays as a just reward for being part of the team for being a teammate. Being part of the team is looking after your teammates and the man that does not, is not really a man at all, he is nothing more than a horse in a horse race, a cock in a cockfight. If that is all we want to teach our young men to do is win, then we are not teaching them anything at all. It is our job as coaches to help our young men get better, teach them the skills that they will need to play and when they don’t have that physical ability of a starter, we should take the time to work with them to make them better not just let them sit and rot on the bench or try to figure it out on their own. Being coaches we take on a big responsibility, we are there not to win but to make our future men better. Anyone can coach a superstar or put the most athletic player on the field but, we have to ask ourselves can we make virtuous man? What have I done to make everyone on the filed a better man? Do I only pay attention to the top dogs? Or do I take the time to make an underdog better? Do I motivate or de-motivate. I would like to believe that I make better people and in return they become better athletes, not just making a competitor or a winner.

Strength and Honor - GhostDog

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Today I am pretending to be Enlightened

"Today I am pretending to be enlightened" - GhostDog - Mindless meanderings

NOTE: Sometimes you are enlightened and other times you pretend to be enlightened. The path is not a given "Life is Suffering". Today I am suffering because I am pretending to be enlightened, how am I pretending? Today it takes effort to be peaceful and calm and to be at one with all things, to touch the "Spirit that moves in all things". How do you know when you are NOT pretending? When there is no "Suffering" in the effort to be peaceful, it comes at will and affects all that is around you. It comes in the smallest of beauties and simplest of things, they shear pleasure of watching a passing cloud or feeling a cool breeze against you skin. When you are "Pretending" It is like lifting weights or training (not doing, doing is different than training) in the Martial Arts. You want to be enlightened but, the path is difficult, you have to think about it, therefore making it a conscious effort and putting thought into it. Pretending is discipline and it is that discipline over time that will make the path effortless "No Suffering" or better yet the absence of suffering. So today I will pretend and practice discipline and maybe tomorrow it will have no effort and not have a conscious though about it. Everything is a lesson and today is a lesson in discipline. Practice, practice, practice. Today a Punch is more than a Punch, and a Kick more than a kick, and a block more than a block and tomorrow I can hope that a Punch will be a punch, a kick just a kick and a block a block. An effortless mindless action without any thought to be enlightened, I will just be.

My mind today is an “Affliction”. The mind has stopped and is not free floating.

Peace be with you

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

This is an Entertaining Enlightenment from a friend of mine.

>>> GrayBear 7/12/2008 10:41 AM >>>
“If you listen too much to the suffering, the anger of other people, you will be affected. You will be in touch with only suffering, and you won't have the opportunity to be in touch with other, positive elements. This will destroy your balance. Therefore, in your daily life, you have to practice so that you can be in touch with elements that do not constantly express suffering; the sky, the birds, the trees, the flowers, children - whatever is refreshing, healing, and nourishing in us and around us." - From "Anger, Wisdom for Cooling the Flames" by Thich Nhat Hanh

This stands out for me as only a short time ago an inmate asked me if the laundry was going to be done today, and I replied angrily "how would I know!" After having worked here for so long, I have built up a negative "habit energy" in how I interact with people here. This of course carries over to the outside world, as there is no separate me, one here and one outside of here. This energy is inside me, I believe, in part, due to what the author is saying in this paragraph. All around us, every day we come in here, we are surrounded by negative people, negative energy, and negative feelings. However, I do not place blame for this energy. It is in all of us, the important thing is that we recognize it, and how we deal with it.

Writing this is a wonderful way for me to touch the healing part of myself, and nourish myself, as I am reminded of the things outside of this place. Also I am reminded that I am not my feelings, and that they are not me. (this will be a discussion for later) And of course it reminds us of balance, and it is easy for me to forget how important that is in my life, and how much I neglect it.

Entertaining Enlightenment is an excellent idea Mike. 2 pats on the back for that one!

Truth, Honesty, Courage, and Compassion

GrayBear

Monday, June 8, 2009

“Because our clan is involved in the martial arts, I have spoken this conjunction with them; but it should not be restricted to martial arts alone. All ways are like this.

In the martial arts it is a sickness if you do not leave the mind of the martial arts behind. In archery it is a sickness if you do not leave the mind of archery behind. If you will only use your ordinary mind and take up the sword or draw the bow, archery will not be difficult and the sword will be used with freedom.

Not being surprised by anything, the ordinary mind will be good for everything. If you lose your ordinary mind, your voice will shake no matter what you are trying to say. If you lose your ordinary mind, your hand will shake when you try to write something in front of others. The ordinary mind is in leaving nothing whatsoever in your breast, lightly tossing off all traces, and leaving the breast empty. This is the ordinary mind” – Yagyu Munenori, The Life-Giving Sword


NOTES: Ordinary mind = no mind no thought, it is free slowing and unrestricted. Mind = preoccupied thought of everything except the here and now, it is distracting and impeding.

In this there are many lessons to learn that apply to all things in life. This is the void it is the emptiness that allows us to reach our highest potential. Being a martial artist and a fighter I can tell you that there are plenty of people that like to hang there hats on achievements, trophies, belt colors and pieces of paper framed on the wall. These things mean nothing when it comes down to the real deal. For those that have achieved a level of confidence and skill there is no thought or talk needed to express their skill, it shows in their actions and movements. The more you think and talk about it the more you become a fake. It is in the doing that we truly excel in our skills. One does not need to talk or think about what we are doing, if you do think to much it will be an affliction of the mind that will distract from the performance of the body. The same is for archery and all ways. If you empty the mind and understand the void you will move without thinking and this movement will be free and natural. For those still caught in the mind you will do things in impeded ways and others will notice this. One does not think martial arts, one does not think the arrow from the bow we do martial arts and do archery. It is the absence of thought that allows to tap into the void allowing us to have pure movements and accurate arrows. To much talk, discussion and analyzing places one in the line with the posers, the want-to-be’s. Those that know the way do and those that do not talk and think. Empty the mind and just do.

The last paragraph of the quote tells us that those of us that are I the mind will be easily recognized by others. As Munenori mentions “Our voices and hands will shake when in front of others”. This is not to be taken literally it means that there will be subtle nuances and clues that others will see that will give away the pretenders, those not living in reality or those that live in a dream world in their own minds. One can only pretend for so long before others will take note of their mind state and lack of ordinary mind. Those moving with ordinary minds move with a grace and fluidity, those in the mind move clumsy and unbalanced. This applies to all ways. The tree does not think itself into the sunlight or think itself to grow, it just does, the bird does not think of how to fly or think how to land on a branch it just does. Those of us that know the ordinary mind can see those that are caught in the mind and in a fight it is those in the mind that will find it difficult to adapt to the constant dynamic change of circumstances in a fight. We either are or we are not and eventually the void will exploit own weaknesses of the mind and open them up for others to see.

I will use stalking in the woods as an example.

When one moves in nature and out of context with the nature surrounding them they will stand out like a sore thumb. If you understand the way and clear the mind, when you become one with your environment and you move in concert with the nature around us you will move with fluidity and grace and seem virtually invisible in the wilderness, just like the deer walking in the woods. Thinking and analyzing takes us out of context reality and the present and this will show in all that we do. When we are accomplished in our ordinary minds and our abilities others will see this and understand. If you understand this then you know, if you do not understand this then we will know. A kick is just a kick; a punch is just a punch, and a block just a block.

Good Stalking
GhostDog

Thursday, June 4, 2009

There's always room for one more!

- The chamber of steel and the efforts of physical exertion.
- Part of the riddle of steel

What is the chamber of steel and what can it teach us? The chamber of steel is the weight room and it can teach us self discipline and focus. How can someone even think for a moment about your daily trials and tribulations when you are about to un-rack and lift 250, 300 or 350 lbs? All there is at that given point time is absolute will and determination, the total focus of mind and body. This all starts with the clearing of the mind, then focusing on the breath, then the flexing and full contraction of the muscle and finally relaxing of the muscles of the body and then the release of tension and finally nothingness. The total focus on the body and its physical exertion and then the release of tension and the absolute failure of the muscle at the end of a set or rep, that exertion leads to the release of endorphins at the end of the work out. This is a form of dynamic meditation and a way of releasing negative energy and or stress. Take into account deep breathing, a heavy exchange of oxygen and increase heart rate pumping rich oxygenated blood throughout the body and you pretty much have it all.

The steel in the weight room does not care about your daily problems. Happy, sad, depressed or angry, it does not matter. The weights will always weight the same it is never changing and it is constant, a humbling lesson in reality and consistency. The weight room can teach us many lessons about ourselves, things we may not want to know or refuse to hear. It will tell us when we are dehydrated, under nourished, lacking sleep or not mentally focused or prepared, it teaches us many lessons about ourselves, our commitment and dedication. The weight pile calls us out by name to challenge ourselves to focus and to challenge us for our own self improvement. We can learn things about ourselves through our dedication to hard work and a healthy lifestyle.

The hardest part of your day is in the chamber of steel. Think to yourself, what in our daily life could be more difficult and challenging than lifting the heaviest weight or repping the most we can physically handle and push it as many time as we physically can? The answer, Nothing! There is nothing that we will encounter in our daily life more challenging that absolute physical exertion. If you can push yourself to absolute failure, hard enough to the point of breaking, to the point where we become dizzy and nauseated, to the point our bodies are ready to shut down, it is there, we will find no thought, no confusion or contemplation just you and that moment and nothing else. If we were only able to harness that moment of absolute focus and hold it throughout our lives we would find that the challenges of daily life would be easier, simpler, and less stressful. We may become more temperate and compassionate. So many of life’s problems become miniscule when compared to the absolute physical exhaustion of a quality, intense weight lifting work out.

Some people walk into the weight room or the dojo and see only steel and mats, not me, I see a riddle, I see the lessons it has to offer and teach me. Some say that weightlifting is the fountain of youth and I think it is because of the lessons it can teach us physically and mentally. This same philosophy may apply to any physical exertion or training as long as you push yourself to the absolute end, where either the body quits and the mind pushes beyond or the mind quits and the body pushes on. This is where we learn about our true self. Try to tell that to the Jacksonville Jaguars running back, #34 Maurice Jones-Drew, that he cannot push though a defensive lines double or triple team (did I mention he is only 5’7” … and 208# !)

“There’s always room for one more”

GhostDog

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

This too shall pass

“Just be ordinary and nothing special. Relieve your bowels, pass water, put on your clothes, and eat your food. When you tired, go and lie down. Ignorant people may laugh at me, but the wise will understand” – Lin-chi

NOTES: The world can seem so problematic when we think too much but in reality “It is what it is”. We spend too much time thinking about things, thinking that there is a reason for things or that there is a deeper meaning. There is no deep meaning, there is no meaning at all, it just is. The Sky is blue and the grass is green. We need to breathe in air, drink water, eat food and stay warm to survive, that is it. “No-mind” – the paradox is for there to be no mind we have to have mind to understand no mind but in learning there is no mind we are really in mind and not no-mind and therefore detract from no-mind or what I also refer to as the absences of thought, a popular theme for me.

There is a tendency to over think things and or over think what someone else may be thinking or feeling and if we have a hard enough time controlling our own thoughts how are we to even consider the thoughts of others. Thoughts are like clouds, when we try to grasp at them they just slip through our grasp and trying to grasp at them is futile, oh, of course, there are those scholars out there that will tell you can fashion a reservoir of some type to trap the gasses in a cloud but, that is not the point here. Clouds do not effect out life most of the time, sure they may block out our sun every now and then but eventually they will pass and the sunshine through again. They may even come as a storm or even worse tornados or hurricanes but in the end they pass and with that passing they bring growth. We walk along our paths in life paying little attention to the clouds but they have so much to teach us. The clouds are so much a representation of our own thoughts that we need to treat our own thoughts just like we do the clouds. Watch them as they pass, maybe even laugh at the funny shapes they make and if they bring a storm just remind yourself that “This to shall pass”. Trying to control our thoughts is like trying to control the clouds, rather than control we should just observe and let them move on. For those that try to control there own thoughts will be like a dog chasing it’s tail (a short tail, for my scholarly friends looking for debate), around and around the dog goes until it is to tired to give chase anymore, never catching the tail and never achieving it’s goal.

Nature has so many lessons to teach us we are just too unaware to see the lessons. I often walk slowly when caught in a rainstorm, I even pretend that it is a bright sunny summer day, while walking in the rain. I do this to teach myself a lesson and lesson is it just doesn’t matter whether it is raining or sunny, the day is the same. No matter whether I move fast or slow I am going to get the same soaking. If we were to look at things in absolutes or black and white, it would boil down to; it is or it is not. I am alive or I am dead and everything in between is just a cloud passing over head. The basic needs of survival are shelter, water, fire (Warmth) and food, and outside from these basic needs, everything else is a distraction or waste of energy. In nature we learn “The conservation of energy”; if a deer was to expend too much energy in the winter it would mean certain death because a deer needs that energy to maintain warmth and bodily functions. Anger, hate, frustration, stress and many other “Passing Clouds” in our lives are energy wastes and nature teaches us not to conserve energy for our survival. Well, I am now starting to wonder in my mind and this is a good time to end this post.

Remember the passing clouds and how they relate to our own thoughts. Just let them pass by, even if it does blot out the sun. “This too shall pass”
Peace
GhostDog

Monday, June 1, 2009

I am I'm Me

I AM: I'M ME – Dee Snider “Twisted Sister”

WHO ARE YOU TO LOOK DOWN

AT WHAT I BELIEVE?
I'M ON TO YOUR THINKING

AND HOW YOU DECEIVE
WELL, YOU CAN'T ABUSE ME
I WON'T STAND NO MORE
YES, I KNOW THE REASONS
YES, I KNOW THE SCORE

I AM, AND I'LL BE
I WILL, YOU'LL SEE
I AM, AND I'LL BE
I AM: I'M ME

HOW I TRIED TO PLEASE YOU
LIVE THE WAY YOU SAID
DO THE THINGS THAT YOU DO
LIKE THE LIVING DEAD
THEN THE TRUTH IT HIT ME
GOT ME OFF MY KNEES
IT'S MY LIFE I'M LIVING
I'LL LIVE AS I PLEASE

I AM, AND I'LL BE
I WILL, YOU'LL SEE
I AM, AND I'LL BE
I AM: I'M ME

NOW'S THE TIME TO STAND TALL
START YOUR LIFE ANEW
FREEDOM LIES IN YOUR HEART
NOW'S THE TIME FOR YOU

I AM, AND I'LL BE
I WILL, YOU'LL SEE
I AM, AND I'LL BE
I AM: I'M ME
I AM, I'M ME I AM, I'M ME

CAN'T YOU SEE?, CAN'T YOU SEE?
I'M ME, I'M ME, ME, ME, ME, MEI AM: I'M MEI AM: I'M ME

CAN'T YOU SEE?, CAN'T YOU SEE?
I'M ME, I'M ME, I'M MEI AM: I'M MEI AM: I'M ME

CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M ME
I'M ME, I'M ME, LOOK AT ME
I AM: I'M ME
I AM: I'M ME

NOTES: It seems that the more I try to get in touch with the White Wolf inside me and balance myself, and then someone has to come along and kick the Black wolf in me. I do my best to balance Yin and Yang in my life and it is a struggle to maintain this balance. Due to many years of feeding my Black Wolf he is strong and extremely aggressive but as I move on in years I find this to be self defeating. I understand that there has to be a balance and the two Wolfs inside me are in a constant battle. I choose to feed the White Wolf only because he truly is the wiser of the two. I just cant seem to figure out why when the White Wolf is out in yard enjoying the sun and keeping watch over my life does someone come along and yang on the chain of the Black Wolf?! First he starts to growl, then he barks and they keep on yanking on the chain until he is damn near out of control.

“Why is Anger so hungry and Love so blind?” (That’s from a Steve Vai song). I suppose this may be due to the old adage that “Misery Loves Company”. When you find peace in you life you become out of context with the raging river of life. You find yourself on the shore wondering why someone would dare to swim in the river so out of control. But there I stand on the shore of life laughing at those riding the rapids of chaos and desperation, seeking adventure in external stimulus because they cannot find peace within. They see me on the shore and they go “Hey Dumbass!” “What are you doing up there on the shore? Are you scared to come in the river?” Nope, I just don’t what to be there. I will enjoy the sun and warmth of the day and be at peace with myself. But as I sit and enjoy the serenity of life on the shore, someone’s has to clamber on up the bank and try to pull me in. Well, I suppose I should feel compassion for those trying to yank me in but, as another saying goes, “Pull the tail of the tiger long enough and you will eventually get bitten”.

We all have choices in life, we can serve the greater good of mankind or we can serve ourselves although, self service is not the way of the Warrior.

Here is another quote from an old southern friend of mine I met while I was in the Military, “It’s not what you want that gets you pregnant, it’s what you get!” … this saying always makes me smile because it really is some deep meaning philosophy.

We want to be so many things in life that we sometimes forget that all we need to be is ourselves. The more we want the more we struggle and the more we struggle, the harder we try and before you know it you become something more or less than you wanted to begin with. I have played this game myself over the years until I came to the realization that “I am what I am and that’s all that I am”. I created an alter ego, one that made me feel “cool”, one that made me feel tough and I tried to become someone that others perceived as cool or someone they want to emulate but, I find the more I tried to roll play this character the more I actually began to believe I was that persona and not who I really was. At times of peace when I am alone with nature, reality sets in and I begin to hear the true voice of my inner self and it is not my alter ego. I find at times of peace I become lost and wonder how I got to that point to begin with. I roll played my persona so much that it actually consumed me and I became what I was not. I found that I had lost touch with those around me and those close to me. I created false friends who believed me to be something I was not. My world had been altered along with my perception of reality. I was a fake, I was a lie that I had sold to myself. In this deep realization my true self called to me and it felt like hearing the voice of an old friend and I welcomed him. I remembered who I truly was and what reality was, I was once again in the here and now, in the present, fully aware of myself and my surroundings and it felt good. I realized that I am my own character and I don’t need to pretend to be something or someone so that others will like me and look up to me. When we strive to be something someone else creates we are only fooling ourselves. It is good to break the chains of our conscious minds and submit to the reality of our true selves. Live “your” life not the life that someone else has created in a make believe world. There is nothing worse than to have someone see past the mask we wear and see a completely different person. It is like getting caught in a lie. Eventually people will see behind our masks and we can only hope that what they see is the same real person they saw to begin with. No lies, no actors, no stunt men or green screen, just our true self. When we see our self to we see we see something someone else created or do we see ourselves?

“Know thyself”. And “To thine own self be true”

GhostDog