I had the great pleasure of filming a lecture by Dr. Jeff Brantley on Mindfulness at Duke’s Integrative Medicine Center in Durham. We had an animated conversation before and afterwards relating the confluence of Mindfulness and Aikido. Specifically I was relaying time studying with the late masterful George Leonard, one of the presidents of the Esalen Institute.
Here are some of Dr. Brantley’s observations on the subject which coincide with our concept of Mushin
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- A quality of mind that notices, in the present moment, without judging, or trying to fix or change anything.
- An awareness that arises from paying attention on purpose in the present moment non-judgmentally and with acceptance, where “acceptance” means a willingness to see things as they are.
- Is enhanced by developing skills of intention, attention, and an accepting, allowing attitude towards present moment experience; usually by “meditation” or “reflective practice.”
One of the biggest mistakes martial artists make is valuing mindless repetition of techniques. If a movement is practice a thousand times, each time it has to be done with full alertness, attention, context and the inner dialog designed to remove unnecessary tension.
But equally fascinating was Dr. Brantley’s emphasis on “Self Compassion – not being overly self critical”. Obviously this leads to anxiety, worry, stress and tension which prevents us from performing fluidly whether it be professional work, play or personal interactions.
“Train with a spirit of Joy once said the Founder but never let the focus waiver”.
Gil
Great insight ! Great day – as the Dali Lama says
“keep up the practice”
Mushin- a simple concept yet so difficult to master. Perhaps we concentrate too hard and forget its purpose!
Threshold training creates ever higher channels of performance
on a moment-by-moment basis
by always going beyond the fail-safe,
so that your norm for intellectual analysis,
physiological expertise and philosophical maturity
starts where others’ reach their peak,
so that your calm finds objectivity in a state which is always prepared
and the human formula is no longer mysterious,
where instead your decision has become precisely inspired
and the degree of freedom is measured according to the honesty of self-expression
There is a field of energy beyond the envelope of change
Chris Mar
That moment beyond training, beyond all the tools we use to sharpen ourselves. Clarity. It all comes together and we smile.