"If your heart is large enough to envelop your adversaries, you can see right through them and avoid their attacks."Morihesi Ueshiba"Your brain doesn't control your body; your heart controls your body. We should work with our hearts more!"B.P. ChanThese are two of my favourite martial arts quotes. Compassion is what all traditional practice boils down to, after all.But what is Compassion, really? I think it is too easy to reduce Compassion to an emotion - weak and mutable - like merely feeling sorry for others. If we call it Love instead we can mix it up with affection. I think a better understanding of Love, Compassion, and the Heart in traditional practice is as an archetype - the archetype behind all the other archetypes - indefinable, beyond our human capacity to fully grasp. Every atom in the universe is an expression of Divine Love.When we hold ourselves to this understanding, keeping a careful watch on our hearts as they flicker in and out of awareness of Universal Love, darkness and fear dissipate. After all, darkness has no substance - there's no struggle between the dark and the light - darkness vanishes instantly in the presence of light. See you in class!Introductory Adult Karate Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsRs Introductory Yoga Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsRt Martial Arts for Seniors at http://shoplocal.ly/01zss5 Family Martial Arts Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zss6Introductory Karate Classes for Children at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsQQ
you are fundamentally goodyour purpose is to growyour main tools for growth are compassion, awareness, and community(growth is easier with other people who are growing too) Introductory Karate Classes for Children at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsQQ Family Martial Arts Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zss6 Introductory Adult Karate Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsRs Introductory Yoga Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsRt
In the beginning, the fastest way to progress in traditional practices is to do exactly what your teacher tells you. Think about it and ask questions, for sure, but also accept that you don't have enough experience to make good evaluations of the instructions you're receiving. You aren't going to revamp a huge teaching tradition in your first few months. This isn't about obedience, it's about making a reasonable assessment of the practice. Is this practice going to work for you? There's only one way to find out - follow the instructions. Later, with some practice years under your belt, you can begin to trust your instincts. At this point when you ask your teacher a question they say, "that's not a question, that's an insight, and of course it is right!" Adult Karate Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsQq Adult Karate Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsQqYoga Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsRT Adult Karate Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsQq
There is a particular understanding of human psychology baked into traditional practices. In Yoga it shows up in cultivating a calm steady breath during stressful and challenging poses. In Karate we see it in the need to ground the body and calm the mind in order to move effectively. There are two main components to this understanding. First, all the negative emotions we can experience are variations of fear. Second, the antidote to fear isn't agresion or will power - it's love. Introductory Yoga Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsRt Introductory Adult Karate Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsRs Family Martial Arts Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zss6
There is a particular understanding of human psychology baked into traditional practices. In Yoga it shows up in cultivating a calm steady breath during stressful and challenging poses. In Karate we see it in the need to ground the body and calm the mind in order to move effectively. There are two main components to this understanding. First, all the negative emotions we can experience are variations of fear. Second, the antidote to fear isn't agresion or will power - it's love. Introductory Yoga Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsRt Introductory Adult Karate Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zsRs Family Martial Arts Classes at http://shoplocal.ly/01zss6
