Tag: spirituality

Fear: A Catalyst for Consciousness and Transformation

Posted on by joeharman8 | 7 min read | 29 views

Fear. Often seen as a shadow looming over our aspirations, it is one of the most misunderstood emotions. Of course, most emotions are poorly understood, but fear is frequently painted as negative—a paralyzing force to be avoided or suppressed. But what if fear is something more? What if, instead of a barrier, it is a signal, a spark that drives us toward greater awareness and growth?

In truth, fear has no inherent negativity. At its root, it is pure energy—intense, raw, and immediate. When approached with understanding and appreciation of its immediate nature, fear can be a gateway to transformation and an opportunity to enhance our awareness. When we say “immediate”, this simply means that it can trigger us towards an immediate response, rather than causing us to react and lose all hope and become powerless.

Fear Sharpens Awareness

One of fear’s most profound gifts is its ability to intensify our consciousness. Consider how fear feels: it’s visceral, immediate, and impossible to ignore. It demands our attention. Whilst we can ignore the reactions to fear by responding appropriately, we cannot ignore the energy it brings. And for good reason. The heightened sensation of fear sharpens our focus, making us acutely aware of our surroundings, our body, and the choices available to us.

For example, a deer sensing a predator experiences an acute surge of awareness. Fear doesn’t paralyze it—it energizes it. Its body becomes attuned to every sound, every shadow, and the terrain underfoot. To become aware of this is a sign of intelligence. This heightened state of awareness allows the deer to act decisively and respond to danger. There was a time when humans were also more like this, but due to over reliance on information rather than experience, this intelligence has been seriously reduced.

For humans, fear can function in the same way. When we stop resisting fear and instead allow ourselves to feel its intensity without being overwhelmed by it, we open the door to greater clarity. Fear forces us to confront the present moment with heightened perception, breaking through the mental fog of complacency or distraction. The immediate fear is then transformed into a greater possibility which no longer resembles the initial trigger which we mistake as fear itself. Fear is just an energy, it is neither good nor bad inherently.

From Instinct to Insight

Fear begins as a sensation in the body—often in the legs, preparing us to move before our minds have fully registered the situation. This initial trigger is a gift, urging us to respond. But when we ignore or suppress fear, it stagnates, taking root as doubt or anxiety. Limited expressions of Doubt and anxiety are more and more prevalant largely because we no longer employ the legs as we used to. Hunter gathers, as well as other kinds of physical works historically employed the use of the legs more than today’s workers. Such people were already is full swing and able to ride the initial feelings without buckling better than the generation today. Wee can learn these lessons too.

By becoming more conscious of how fear manifests, we can intercept it early, transforming it from an instinctual reaction into an opportunity for insight and intelligent action. This process involves awareness—not just of the fear itself, but of the environment, circumstances, and our inner responses. Fear, in this way, becomes the first step toward heightened consciousness.

Fear: A Transformative Energy

At its essence, fear is a neutral force—a burst of energy that can either hinder or propel us, depending on how we engage with it. If left unchecked, fear can grow into a weed that stifles our development. This is true of any other emotions, which can wither and die. But when we meet fear with awareness and purposeful action, we transform it into a powerful ally for growth.

Think of a seed buried in darkness. The soil around it might seem suffocating, but that very darkness contains the potential for life. The seed doesn’t linger in fear of its constraints; instead, it uses the pressure, heat, and energy around it to sprout and expand. The same is true for us. Fear, like the darkness surrounding the seed, can be a catalyst for liberation if we engage with it consciously.

Fear as a Tool for Movement

In martial arts, this principle is both practical and within our immediate experience. A moving target is harder to hit. When fear strikes, we must act—move our body, focus our mind, and channel the energy of fear into purpose. At the same time we can learn to move even before it takes root. This proactive approach keeps us dynamic, adaptable, and resilient.

Fear heightens our awareness of the immediate moment, making us conscious of our surroundings, our options, and our potential responses. This state of heightened consciousness is the key to transforming fear into a constructive force.

Liberation Through Fear

Fear, when met with conscious action, becomes not a foe but a teacher. It can be a harsh teacher, but if you listen to it It reminds us of our aliveness, our ability to respond, and our potential for growth. The path to liberation lies not in avoiding fear but in embracing it as part of life’s rich variety.

When we take responsible action in the face of fear, we experience its transformative power. Fear challenges us to go beyond our comfort zones, to move toward growth and expansion. Each time we act to take possession of fear, we reclaim our power and discover new dimensions of our strength.

Fear as the Seed of Growth

Just as the seed doesn’t hesitate in the darkness, we too can use the intensity of fear to propel ourselves forward. The seed doesn’t rely on perfect conditions or certainty—it acts, taking nourishment from its surroundings and pushing upward toward the light. If it somehow could think about everything cerebrally rather than making extreme effort, it would not act with such intelligence. Instead it would see obstacles everywhere. Today, many of us over think everything in this way, beyond the necessary levels.

Similarly, fear can nourish our growth when we stop resisting it. To resist is to separate and turn it into an obstacle. But this is a limited vision of reality. By engaging with fear consciously, we integrate its energy into our journey, using it to fuel our evolution.

The Gift of Fear

Fear isn’t the enemy; it’s an ally. Or, if you like, it is neither an ally or an enemy. Its intensity wakes us up, forces us to pay attention, and calls us to action. This is the same for any emotion looked at in its entirety. It is just that martial arts works with fear because of its associations with conflict. The next time fear arises, don’t push it away. Feel its presence. Let it sharpen your awareness and heighten your perception of the unfolding moment. Do not separate it into an obstacle to get rid of because this gives it a dimension of power which is not inherently within its reach. This is a choice. Use its potential for transformation rather than making conclusions about it based on short sighted vision.

Fear is the doorway to transformation. When we embrace it, we discover that it’s not a force of limitation but one of liberation. By moving through fear, we find clarity, growth, and the limitless potential of our own nature.

So, instead of fearing fear, let it become your companion—a guide to deeper awareness, conscious action, and continuous evolution. Through fear, we step into the fullness of life. This is one way. There are of course many others. The idea is to use far and its challenges and opportunities, turning them into the ever-expanding possibility of who you are meant to be.

The Rise of Turbulence and Narcissism

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 16 min read | 27 views

“Let’s say you are in a boat that continuously changes direction. This leaves a trail of broken energy lines in its wake. If you sail another boat across this region, this is felt as turbulence. This is the way the human system works. Energy expression leaves a certain pattern in its wake. These patterns can be smooth and continuous, or broken and fractured, lacking coherent direction.”

Narcissistic attitudes towards winning have always predominated sport, and nowhere is this more true than in martial arts. Today, it is increasingly common for competitors talk about how if they lose a match, they sink into a depression. This is not a normal attitude, even if it is a prevalent one in certain circles. How did this come about?

In the past, there were more tournament formats, which you entered whether you were ranked or not. If you didn’t win you just turned up next time and tried again. Obviously there were also ranked tournaments, but I’m just reconstructing the thinking of the time. This was even so in Mixed martial arts around 25-30 years ago. During those times, you were obviously promoted if you won, but it was a long battle over time. This required continuous one pointed focus. At the same time you had to to get through a broad array of challenges. For instance, you prepared for multiple fights on the same night, not just one.

So in the past, you needed to be ready in general, not just specifically according to one particular type of opponent. This required a general flexibility, rather than almost weekly or monthly changes in fight preparation towards specific goals. This obviously extends outside of martial arts. For example, at work each office has a daily requirement and tasks to do. These change almost daily. In the past, the office demands was mostly unchanging. This meant that any personal shifts in mood or temperament were happening on a constant steady environment. This is no longer the case in many environments. So now, depending on the type of work you are in, you are likely to need a level of flexibility not seen in any other time in history.

Turbulence and Chaos as a Foundation

When you have to be well rounded, this makes it difficult to outwardly express energy in one direction. The need for well rounded lack of friction is needed today like never before. To be well rounded means you have a stable centre. When you move from this toward the edge, naturally you start to move away from the centre. This is one aspect. As a consequence of moving away from the centre and staying there, it is natural to develop a skewed personality which becomes increasingly empowered. It becomes increasingly difficult to navigate turbulent terrain if your inner compass is pointing the wrong way.

It is like if you sail a boat across the sea. This creates energy waves, or choppy waters. These are experienced by other boats long after your you have sailed by. Let’s say you are in a boat that continuously changes direction. This is the modern experience for not only athletes, but other people too today. This constant change of direction leaves a trail of broken energy lines in its wake. If you sail another boat across this region, this is felt as turbulence. This is the way the human system works. Each action within you creates a line or thread of energy. This weaves an internal garment. This can create turbulence within you if it becomes incongruent, as well as in your relationships with others.

Energy expression leaves a certain pattern in its wake. Let’s say you practice a punch. Various transmissions of neurological energy are imbedded. These become muscle memory. At first there is a jolt as the muscle fibres are stimulated. This helps with movement and energy. There is an initial explosiveness as the engine starts. These patterns can be smooth and continuous, or broken and fractured, lacking coherent direction. This is one simple example. So what you want is a coherent line of expressed energy so that the right kind of template for action is created for now and in the future. You then don’t happen in fits and starts but function optimally. This can happen in terms of activity of the mind, as well as the body.

On the other hand, energy expressed in different directions never gets a change to grow as a platform. It becomes a shifting landscape that changes before anything gets established on it. Energy just happens in fits a starts. This is useful for specific purposes, but in general you are teaching cells and your neurological system to function in a chaotic way if this becomes a habit. If the direction of energy is changing all of the time, it is difficult to establish a coherent pattern. So, the pattern that becomes established is chaotic due to severe fluctuations and turbulence that become normal in your experience.

Engineering the Power Generator

Today, many competitors get all out of sorts if they lose one match. Why does this happen? In one sense, they burn excessive energy on stressful and goal specific activity, rather than establishing inner balance. In another sense, the hyper developed ego has been deflated. Anything which you think about obsessively generally becomes an enslavement. This becomes an energy drain. Eventually after a few flashes of motivation, you are left empty. In other words, the light has gone out, and there’s no auxiliary, or power generator, to keep the power going. So this is why traditionally, the power generator was developed rather than the superficial light, so to speak.

As we have seen, for the modern athlete, superficial goals are considered the landscape. These goals change all the time. As we have seen, this was not so in the past, because there were more long term pursuits and less regular changes. Because of the shifting landscape and ceaseless changes, many people have made their own personality the rigid and unchanging element. In other words, their own personality has become institutionalised, rather than just the body. So many people develop rigid and tenacious personalities, rather than work ethics, to compensate for lack of balance in these shifting landscapes.

I do not mean to say that people are not hard working anymore. They are. It’s just that they work hard in an insistent and determined way that eventually erodes their energy system if they are not careful. But that is their choice. On the other hand, let’s say you just train all the time so that you are in a competitive condition, but not in any specialised sense. You develop a good generator but don’t waste it on emitting light all day long. You just use it when necessary, rather than all of the time. Lets look at what I mean by this in some more detail.

Goal Orientation Gone Wrong

Todays athletes are expected to change what they are doing all the time depending on who they are fighting. They have one very specific goal. This is sometimes done so that over a period of time this goal changes in different phases of the overall plan. However, the goal is predetermined so that the past is brought into the projected future. Anything which deviates is considered a distraction. This means that one minute you are building muscle, the next you are cutting weight, and then you do some specific exercises according to a periodic plan. This is different to in the past when people did everything at once but built up more slowly, a strategy which I think is more ordinary but better overall. But, this will of course vary according to individual needs.

So changing the direction of you energies all the time creates a certain turbulence in the system the more you do it. This is the up and down side to side nature of modern competitive sport. It all depends on someone else rather than your actual energetic and experiential needs in terms of action. This may be necessary sometimes but when it becomes a way of life this can be disastrous. One minute you are with the family, the next you are doing some media promotion. Each demand, training related or otherwise, is factored into a schedule of organisation. So the aim is to orientate oneself towards a goal, but the results are often the opposite to the intended outcome in the long term.

Because the energies are pulled in several directions, the only stable platform becomes the personality, which sits on top of a changing landscape. This becomes the investment, rather than the process of self transformation or development. In self development and transformation, nothing of the old remains in the end. You have moved beyond it. When you invest heavily in the personality in its current state, then this can become an enslaving process. This is because in order to evolve, you need a reason to move beyond limitations and obliterate them, rather than to empower them.

The Rise of Narcissism

So when this personality gets blown out of proportion and arrogant we call this narcissism. When you move beyond arrogance, this is called inclusion because something else a part of yourself. The problem is that when you fear the changes happening around you in modern living, you cling to what you do know, or create a rigid form. The larger than life superficial personality is the only constant thing, and you become a kind of parody of yourself. This is the other way round when you compare it to traditional martial arts, which sought to create a stable landscape and a flexible personality which was not hyper developed. This lead to more acceptance of others and a more flexible nature.

That is not to say narcissism is a trait associated with sport or martial arts, but it is reaching epidemic proportions within the industry. What do I mean by narcissism? I mean the kind of superficial arrogance which sometimes passes as confidence or self assurance. It is the loudest voice in the room, which represents the weakest person there. When one is in a constant state of stress, they become very loud. This is because when an organism is in decline, they generally become quite explosive as a survival mechanism. Rather than life becoming enhanced, this is understood in martial arts to mean life exiting the body in a dramatic way, often in instalments.

If you take a normal person, working on their trade and experiencing a generally happy life, there is a fairly steady cultivation of energy throughout the day. There is little in the way of excess or distraction (Yes, this is what I’m taking as a normal person). On the other hand, there is no real need to separate oneself from what they are doing in such a situation. This is because the day is steady and you go on autopilot. It is like if you fly a plane in the clear skies. You just guide it where it needs to go. In turbulent storms, you start to do backflips and god knows what else. You then think of yourself as special. When you identify as special, you naturally seek turbulence.

There is no need to dazzle an audience in order to gain attention for oneself. In martial arts this means there is little difference between what you are doing whether you win or lose, you just get on with it because it is a daily cycle of activity. Traditionally, it was about the battle. This was the daily cycle. It was not necessary to brag about how much you won, because the reality of training was a daily battle and this was accepted. Modern living has escaped this cycle, however this doesn’t mean there is no work to be done. In reality the work is only just beginning.

In the Shaolin Monasteries, it was common to undergo severe training which took everything out of you. This was not to train you for a one off fight, although the thought of doing so may have been used as a tool to focus the minds of disciples initially. So this level of back breaking work required that you didn’t look beyond what the task was in front of you. This was a way to focus the mind. This is a way of viewing martial arts as a means to an end, rather than some distant contest as a goal in itself. When you can focus on this task long enough, you eventually blend into it rather than stick out. You identify with the process rather than the goal.

Social Media

Today it is about social media exposure. These are the models which are being widely emulated, or we could say that these are the lights people see on the stage. However, in the past it was not about being lit up all the time. It was about cultivating and experiencing a certain level of vibrant energy to live a good life. So the energy level was higher, but the expression or emission of that energy was lower. Just think how much more work was able to be done by people in the past. Whereas today, the emission of energy is higher but the cultivation of anything is often lower.

Building the Energy Base

Let’s say you shine a light. Light is a projection of energy to illuminate the room. At the same time, certain other energy forms become less visible. Due to fixation on this artificial light, your surroundings, and the energy about them, becomes less obvious. In fact when people look at artificial light too much, for example LED light, this blocks out certain other frequencies of colour. This gives everything you subsequently look at a white or blow glow, which blocks out the horizon. In other words, you closer you look at the details, the more you can miss the big picture.

The nature of light is like that, on and off. Energy, on the other hand, is a platform to build on. So if you have a solid platform to build on, you don’t need to express the light so desperately. This is the whole problem today, people are too busy expending energy in the form of fancy light displays. On the other hand, when you have a strong energy base, the light will work anyway. You don’t need to directly work with the light up aspect. The sun works the same way. It is a big ball of energy, but when it’s cloudy, you can’t see the light. It doesn’t bother to shine any brighter, its just not as visible, but that’s fine. There is still warmth, and it is still there, but the light goes out in our visual perception. So appearances don’t really matter overall.

So the dazzling array of narcissistic personalities is like that. It blocks out everything else. This is so for the narcissist as well as the others they influence. This is precisely the danger with certain social media influencers. So we are incapable of seeing martial arts the way people traditionally did. Traditionally, martial arts was all about building energy. When the need to fight arose, the energy level was there so that it was possible when needed. But they didn’t go looking for it because there was no need.

Once you build up the energy bas and you want to turn on the lights, it’s not a problem for you. If you live off the energy consuming lights, then after some time the energy burns out. So they looked very ordinary, but building up a dazzling light display was not a concern for the martial artists of old. They just wanted the powerhouse to be built. There are many benefits to this, such as health, well being, and liberation. This inner powerhouse structure is known as the energy body1, or the aura in western spiritual tradition.

Let’s say the Earths Centre was to decrease in size. Then the gravity holding the elements in place would be reduced. In other words, the energy base would have decreased, and therefore the attractive force would diminish. This means that the subtler elements within the Earths atmosphere, the feminine dimension of energy2, would move away. In the human system, this means that if you don’t manage to maintain the centre within you3, then you end up burning out, or in a state of on and off. You are unable to extend yourself without being on and off. So to make the body more stable, this requires a certain amount of work. Anybody who lacks a substantial energy can generate a dazzling short lived light. However, with such a person, the moment the situation is over, they just go down again. This is the reason for so many short lived superstars today. So martial arts traditionally was about sustainability of that energy and making it more substantial and sustainable.

Martial arts and industry must be separated, because martial arts is not some commodity to appeal only to market winners. At the same time, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to market yourself just because you are not a big time industry winner. Marketability is about promotion, but in its extreme state it becomes about showing off. As I have tried to explain, this drive for self promotion causes a neglect of other factors, such as a stabilising influence. But this is only for certain narcissistic people who have to be competitive with everyone else superficially.

You can never build a solid foundation on the back of self promotion. So don’t bother trying to do that. It’s just a consequence of some activity. You are not working with the causes of success if you are focusing on just the outcome. When you work with the causes of success, it takes long but it last forever. When you work with the energy building up, it builds up in its own way, not according to what people want to see, or what you want to see. Every flower is different. If you try to manage how you look to others, then this shows nothing in terms of the expression of energy.

Energy expression is only an indicator of energy at some moment in time. If you are doing specific activities, then you might need to force the energies in some way. If you just manage your energies, or Prana, you can gain a certain security against natures dangers. One advantage is that you become insulated from such things due to the the protection your own internal energy offers. If you don’t have enough security against various dangers and worldly situations, then you will end up avoiding them due to a lack of energy for them. This is why you store it within yourself as a dynamic moving force. You are not really storing it, because so much energy is needed for just maintenance of the integrity of the energy base. So this insulation from the elements of the world and its dangers, is a security against such dangers which at the same time builds a strong base.

References

1 https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2021/04/12/the-dual-nervous-system-and-the-chi-body/ The Dual Nervous System and the Chi Body

2 https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2023/08/12/feminine-energy-and-intuition-part-2/ Feminine energy and intuition part 2

3 https://intuitivemartialarts.com/2024/02/13/hara-centre-seat-of-creation/ Hara Centre Seat of Creation

The Imagination

Posted on by joeharman8 | 10 min read | 34 views

When training in your mind, get into the habit of imagining yourself as the most powerful being possible. Concentrate, for example, on the light emanating from your eyes, on the brilliant white colours of your clothing, as you destroy and burn away the darkness, so that you begin to identify with this image and correspond to it in your physical gestures and bearing. This is a simple example to start with. Whilst it might do you some good to imagine winning a title and how great you look on television for example, this ideal is not high enough to inspire the greatest inspiration to surpass yourself1.

By aiming at something totally beyond physical possibility, you unleash the powers of the creative imagination. This is what fills the apparent gulf between reality and the unattainable. And you don’t ned to worry that this ideal can never be realised, because it will be realised in the mental world of ideas, which although invisible can have a real effect on the physical life. In this way the invisible reality of thought and imagination is an aspect of the physical reality, which although real, does not have a material existence. An everyday example should surface to illustrate this point.

Imagine, for example, that you are feeling ill and weak. Just by willing yourself to be in a state of harmony, through the intermediary of thought, you can to some extent at least, improve your health. Yes, because every physical reality starts with a corresponding thought which represents an ideal. And from there the effects of this ideal manifest physically, although not immediately. It is only in the imagination that space and time have not hold, so it is here that we can often do the best work. The results may be poor at first, but the more high the ideal, the more powerful the effect, particularly if you are accustomed to doing this habitually.

You might say “We’ve heard all this before, but the effects are so miniscule, it would just be a waste of time”. Whilst its true the effects are very minimal for many, this only proves how little effort is put into mental practice. Because most people think it is a waste of time, they give in to all sorts of immediate needs and neglect this longer term work of forming constructive thought habits. This is why so many people relate instead to misery and low expectation. Something else to understand is that thought itself cannot act on the body directly. However, the high ideal, which imagines a limitless reality can encourage feelings of inspiration and enthusiasm, and it is through these intermediary sensations that the physical effects manifest.

Simply thinking about light, darkness, and martial arts practice isn’t enough. You need to relate to though through the power of the will, which is responsible for directing our motivating energies. Otherwise your thoughts will likely just turn into listless daydreams. For example, imagine you are fighting the forces of darkness, with the weapons of light. By relating to the light and bringing these images to life by willing them into action, this can have an uplifting effect on your feelings and state of consciousness. Once this is understood, it becomes easier to use the will to concentrate your attention on only the most inspiring and evocative ideas.

Ideas inspire thoughts, and thoughts act on feelings, which act on the brain, and which in turn acts on the physical body. The reverse is also true. For example, by engaging in noble and inspiring behaviours towards others, this is a clear pathway to encouraging luminous thoughts and corresponding to the highest ideals, however dimly represented here and now physically. Whilst we are often unable to do much in the under immediate physical constraints, we are under no obligation to do so in the imagination, which can take any form, and represents an aspect of our high self2. The imagination can envisage the most diabolical things, as well as the most luminous.

Physical practice helps us make better mental representations. And Better mental representations help us to build an ideal model, which surpasses us and guides us. You could call it the God head, the higher self, the spirit, Prana, the infinite. Whilst a master or expert may also symbolise such a model, too often such masters are full of the same weaknesses and bad habits as those whom they have taken responsibility to instruct. To be sure, it is not a problem to have weakness, so long as our habits and behaviours are sound. We need a perfect model, an incorruptible model, with which to relate and feel so that it can act upon us and guide us. This solves the problem of our inherent weakness, common to us all. What this model example is will depend on the individuals subjective imagination, and can take myriad form. The important thing to remember is that the imagination is a tool to develop the most inspiring thoughts and ideas so that they can act and course through our every action and gesture.

Hopefully you are beginning to see that the realism of the mental representation does not matter. In fact, it should be deliberately unattainable and inspire the same sort of mimickery, love, and adulation that a super hero does on a small child. Once you have succeeded in imagining such a visualisation, the physical effects upon your health and well being, not to mention your enthusiasm and energy, will be so powerful that the reality of the idea will be unimportant. In fact, your own improvement will be the measure of reality. The objective results of exercises of the imagination, if practiced and developed over time with focus, will power, and attention, will become self evident. What started off as an unrealistic idea, ended up having very real effects.

I once travelled all the way to Taiwan, where I was invited to take part in a grading event where people from across the Country went to receive their 8th Dan black belts and International qualifications from World renowned Masters. Whilst there were some talented individuals there, I was surprised to find such poor role models, who were neither skilled, healthy, or inspiring. There were people breaking wind in the training hall, eating and leaving wrappers everywhere, lots of noise, and nowhere to practice and concentrate before the assessments began. I had come to learn from the Masters of the World and there I was in the midst of all this. I realised I needed to aim higher, rather than adjust myself to this kind of community.

It is often the case than when we try to pursue physical results directly, they allude us. The models aren’t their to nourish our urge to transcend ourselves. For example, by practicing a form over and over again in a technical and robotic manner, we often end confused and unable to perform with any real effectiveness. However, when we imagine ourselves in our minds eye as a great and powerful being, or even in the shoes of a great champion, we can feel we have the enthusiasm to be like them. We do not need to know how they do it, any more than we need to know how to digest food, we just follow their example and it nourishes us. This interplay between the imagination and our physical actions does not produce the same effect from one day to the next, unlike physical mechanical practice, even if our actions look similar.

This process of striving to surpass ourselves, to align ourselves to perfection, transforms and directs our instincts and desires, which are so often squandered on aimless activity, and this transformation can be used to sustain and develop our mental and physical practice. I’ve been doing this for years, and I entrust myself to this process alone, as a refuge from the seductive illusions created by many so called experts. I found early on that giving myself over to systems and icons weakened me by by making me too vulnerable and sensitive to the criticisms and praise of others. I needed to find this essential inspiration from an inexhaustible source within so that I could live it.

What you should remember is that appointed experts are often little more than actors, who have developed a certain allure and use their powers to seduce and encourage daydreaming in their students in a sense. However, by following a high ideal fuelled by the imagination, and perhaps encompassing aspects of genuine experts, you can then be content to move forward without fretting about what exactly you should be doing or learning, because of this strong sensation and guidance. Without this inner guidance you are obliged to simply fret and worry about the details. However, the details take care of themselves in this process driven model.

When we place this high ideal at the summit, our goal directed behaviour is given a much higher ambition than simply gratification of instinctive animal urges. Instincts are the fuel and are at the root of all behaviour. But why stop there? Gratification of instinctive urges, for example aggression, is not an end in itself for me. In the language of logic, instinctive behaviours are a necessary but not sufficient requirement of action.

Often instinctive reactions blind us. When we let anger take over, all we see are enemies and we want to destroy them. When this obscurity takes over this paints an illusory world that Hindu Philosophy calls Maya. This is our lower self, our emotions taking over. These are the real enemy and need to be fought and driven to into submission3. The meaning of Martial arts, for me, transcends mere perseveration of existence. It needs higher meaning. In any case, Killing the instincts is not the way, because they are vital for energy and action, and without them our behaviour is flat and dead. However, so many fighters are driven to waste their energies by simply supercharging their instincts without any high ideal or thought power to direct them intelligently. Personally, this truth has been the most defining factor in my my life and practice.

So, the high ideal inspires the imagination to create the most inspiring images and fills us with certain feelings which are indicative of truth. Our actions are then aimed at corresponding and orientating our energies towards striving to the highest standards if this practice is taken seriously. Obviously, it is up to each individual to decide to what extend this work is taken seriously. But if we concentrate on this, we relate more and more to it ( even imagining ourselves with others also doing this work), and eventually we are able to tell truth from falsehood merely by looking at others example and seeing to what extend their actions and words inspire a similar state within us. In this way the creative imagination is a key to truth.

References

1 The High Ideal https://harmanater.com/2020/07/26/the-high-ideal/

2 The Higher and Lower Self in Martial arts https://harmanater.com/2020/05/04/the-higher-and-lower-self-in-martial-arts/

3 The True Meaning of Martial arts https://harmanater.com/2020/05/18/the-true-meaning-of-martial-arts/

Stick Work

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 5 min read | 23 views

When working with weapons it is often better to practice the movements and actions around a target, articulating the joints and paying close attention to your every move. In this way you will be able to intuitively build a strong understanding of attack and defence by thinking consciously about your every subtle movement. But you have to be fully engaged, not thinking about smashing the thing to pieces, otherwise you will not be aware of the subtle movements. During inner Martial Arts practice we should realise that we already know how to do these things, it’s just a case of concentrating and genuinely feeling these movements and skills so that we manifest this understanding.

If you are simply seeking to smash the other person, you may well achieve your aim, but this is not to your own benefit. Personally I hold on to the idea in my minds eye that I am a living light, trying to illuminate the target, or forces of darkness. This can inspire the most attentive and inspired behaviours so that ones actions converge towards the highest ideal of perfection. But this is a very delicate point, do not confuse and delude yourself into think of yourself as a figure of light physically speaking, it is a mental tool.

You will find that by using this method you will awaken and stimulate skills and techniques which would otherwise remain dormant, even with extensive technical training. This is because we need a high ideal, and a simple symbol of power to surpass ourselves, which is often more effective than accumulating scars of lifeless information1. In other words to fully absorb ourselves in work, it is better to relate ourselves not according to our physical capabilities and limitations, but our creative imagination. You might say “What a load of rubbish, I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous”. You are free to think that and I wouldn’t blame you. However feel free to try it for yourself as I have no reason to deceive anyone.

It is better to concentrate fully on the task at hand, and then if you can put it into safe practice with a partner. Too often the partner drills lack any real intuition and freestyle improvised flow. These aren’t always conditions where your keen senses really develop, because you either get whipped up into a rage when hit by the other person or the exercise becomes dull and predictable. If you have a good training partner then great, but the subtle side of martial Arts requires relative silence from chaotic environments and concentration on the inner forces. In other words, this is where the lessons are learnt which will enable you to handle chaos2.

Obviously live sparring can be beneficial. But at the same time the inner attitude and philosophy is neglected so that the person engaging in such activities actually ends up more tense and taking things personally, when in fact it isn’t about winning some contest of drill. I only advise engaging in partner drills of this kind when it is clear there is no pride on the line, as pride is the most difficult enemy to overcome. Lots of people engaging in these activities say that they are humble but the way they go about training often betrays the fact they they are training their pride and vanity, which when active simply takes up all their concentration. They may pound other into the dust but in their ignorance they’ve stunted their development.

Only train with others if you think it will benefit your development. Otherwise it’s likely that your so called training partner will just undermine the exercise by letting the chaotic forces within them ruin the spirit of the activity. From my point of view, any training should seek to reduce the influence of vanity and pride by working on concentration, intensity, and inner understanding, and under those conditions your abilities will emerge triumphantly.

So move around the target, imaginary or otherwise, fully concentrating and immersing yourself in the subtle movements which are demanded of you to keep centred and connected to the activity. Keep this connection and you will find that you flow and understand the movements contained within the work you are performing. Each time you go back to this, your understanding will increase. Why stop there? every instance of the day is an activity to engage in exercise, by contemplating and mindfully practicing anything from lidting a chair, to holding a cup, from breathing to thinking.

It is not important to think only about the weapon. You will make all sorts of other connections by applying the principles learnt from weapon fighting to say, boxing. From knowing how to use a weapon you will better be able to use your hands more generally, and vice versa. Having the right attitude and perspective will allow everything to converge, so that even though you are practicing one thing, it represents everything else. This is worth contemplating.

Stick Fighting and Boxing Example
Stick Practice

References

1 The High Ideal https://harmanater.com/2020/07/26/the-high-ideal/

2 Live in Harmony, Fight in Chaos https://harmanater.com/2020/07/12/fight-chaos-live-in-harmony/

Methods for Sleep

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 7 min read | 30 views

Most people know about the importance of sleep yet many of us fail to get enough of it, or more importantly enough quality sleep. Everybody says we should be getting our eight hours of sleep, but we know that already and don’t need to be told this over and over again. Precisely how to get all this sleep often remains a mystery. So all the advice about “getting to bed on time” and “sleeping for at least 7.5 hours” is worse than useless because in the absence of any sound methods it just create needless anxiety. No wonder people often look at their phones all night, sleep with the T.V. on, or drink themselves into a coma. They think effective sleep is impossible!

To be honest, modern ways of living are often not at all conducive to good sleep. Late nights, irregular shift patterns, alcohol, excessive warmth, etc., can all be counterproductive. For example, being too hot in bed can cause you to sweat in the night. This can accelerate all the unconscious processes which should be relaxed. Because it is this subconscious part of us that is active during sleep, whereas the conscious is active during the day. So to limit it’s influence over us, it is often better to be slightly cool, so that metabolism and body temperature fall. This will slow everything down, including the mind. The last thing you want are thoughts and worries rushing around wildly. This is all common sense really.

To begin with, it is important to go to sleep with positive thoughts on your mind. If you haven’t got anything positive to think about from the days events, think about the things you would like to improve and then how that might be done. This will prepare you for the following day and set you on the right course. Because every day is a new day, and in a sense we are born anew each day. Ideally, you should think about the goal you want to achieve before going to sleep, the more positive and ideal the better.

Positive thinking does not need to be at all in relation to your immediate physical reality. In fact, our everyday surrounding are often uninspiring and dull so we shouldn’t limit ourselves to this. Get creative. It can be helpful to think about the beauty of nature instead. For example, the sound of water, the chords of a harp or guitar, and vibrant flowers1. with baby lambs running through them. If this sounds at all strange coming from somebody who engages in intense martial arts training in preparation for battle, let me assure you it isn’t. If you are going to face harsh realities and develop the mindset of a soldier, it is important to also develop the polar opposite qualities to compliment this. This is an aspect of self mastery, and it’s something I’ve put to the test personally.

In the past sleep was regarded as “descending into the abyss” against dark entities, and even a prelude to death. This is why sleep was considered so important. Whether or not you believe this is another matter. But one thing is clear, that many of us experience the modern day equivalent of these dark entities through negative thoughts and ideas that paralyze us and ruin everything the following day. Some religious texts speak of spirits which sap people of their vital energy during sleep2. Whatever your way of viewing sleep it is important to realise that it is arguably the most important part of the day and should be prepared for accordingly. The consequences of not doing this are obvious. To ensure good sleep it’s important to be vigilant even throughout the day.

The importance of preparing properly for sleep cannot be understated, because it prepares us for our work, for life. This is why in the past it was considered important to arm yourself with positivity and virtue, so that this could be embedded into your subconscious mind which is active at night. Your positive thoughts would then protect you from negative influence.

If you have let your subconscious mind run free all day it will be difficult to reel it back in later. and nowadays people just drop of to sleep whenever they feel like it without any preparation whatsoever. And with all the anxiety and fear going around at the moment it is no wonder that people are experiencing such awful sleep.

Avoid any negative thoughts in the moments before bed, preferably hours before. The more you have wasted time in the day by not attempting important goals, or working hard at your development, the more difficult it will be to relax in the evening. There will be too many regrets. So it all starts in the morning.

Many people will freely admit that negative thoughts allowed to accumulate before bed can ruin hours of preparation all through the day. Instead fill yourself with positive thoughts, and lovely inspiring images. You will then wake up feeling regenerated. In this way the whole of the entire day can be seen as preparation for sleep. Personally, this is something I always keep in mind which helps me keep on track with my important work.

Every night before bed make an active effort to think positive thoughts. Set yourself up for this by listening to relaxing music, having a relaxing evening stroll, or reading some pages from an inspiring book. Prepare for sleep as you would prepare for an important exam. Importantly, think about any mistakes you have made so that you will be inspired to correct them the following day. Putting this all into action can be your immediate thought upon waking up. This shows yourself symbolically that you are ready to improve. In this way you will demonstrate to yourself that you are focused and prepared for great work. Having this frame of mind will enhance your sleep greatly so that you wake up energized and motivated, rather than enervated.

If you think sleep is just an unnecessary waste of time it can be helpful to view it differently. Because in fact, sleep prepares us and forges our mind and body into the individual we become the following day. Exercise, study, and work heat us so that we can be put into the blacksmiths mould, figuratively speaking. We then cool overnight and become a strong and stable metal. So make sure you prepare yourself for such an undertaking, so that you can be forged with all sorts of diamonds and precious metals. Looked at differently, sleep is as much an important exercise as physical exercises, and it’s where the learning and development really takes place and are crystallised.

Go to sleep with a great goal in mind so that you feel inspired to relax and calm yourself for the next day. It is this kind of thinking which sets the stage for a good nights sleep. Otherwise you will probably not see the point of sleep. Is there a weakness you are determined to overcome, something you want to achieve? Meditate on this before going to bed every night.

When I competed in Martial arts, I often used to mentally rehearse winning against an opponent. I would imagine myself as a fearless warrior who would take on opponents much better and more intimidating than myself. I did this for years. I wasn’t interested in winning against lesser opponents, I needed a face the hardest challenges. Knowing what I know now I would think about such high intensity scenarios before going to sleep, it’s better to do this kind of thing during the day.

Never go to sleep self satisfied and energised, under the impression that you are tireless and too busy for sleep, that’s my advice. whilst this is sometimes unavoidable for many, you will only burn yourself out in the long run. It is up to your how far you take this principle, but it is true none the less. whilst you want to stick to a routine, it can be more beneficial to prepare yourself properly, even if this involves staying up a bit later than usual.

References

1 See my Active relaxtion for some tips https://harmanater.com/2020/04/27/active-relaxation/

2 See Mans psychic life Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov

Active Relaxation

Posted on by joeharman8 | 6 min read | 31 views

If you want to remain alert but at the same time slow down your system and its processes, you can try some kind of active relaxation. What do I mean by “active relaxation”? I mean having a serene influence over yourself which is at the same time a form of exercise. In this way you will be able to remain fully engaged in what you are doing at a slower pace.

All too often relaxation is taken to mean “switching off”. As if you have periods of rushing about mindlessly and then a period of lobotomy slumped in front of the T.V. In fact, this kind of thing can leave you “wired and tired” as I’ve heard it been called. This may be alright for some, but all too often this is when we are liable to feel irritated and anxious.

Instead, what I recommend is a form of slow practice which compliment the fast paced demands of life. Exercises which prepare you for living intensely. In this way relaxation becomes preparation for work, and an essential part of it. All too often people don’t enjoy their relaxation because they are too conscious of their need to be ready for the demands life throws at them. And their work becomes a heavy burden which stops them enjoying life. This eventually leads to stagnation rather than improvement. What you have to realise then is that relaxation can be productive, a passive form of work.

When you slow down and concentrate on something, like reading, you get more and more conscious of the skills involved and attain greater insight. In this way you are attuning yourself to a slower pace of life whilst training your faculties to perceive new knowledge. I often find that if I come in from a hard day at work I am too wired to read properly. It takes me some time to slow down enough to be able to concentrate and process the information properly. At first I skip words, and don’t take anything in. But after a while I am able to engage with the text. At first it’s tempting to just throw the book down, but this is all part of the exercise of willpower over myself.

Whilst we are often required to rush around in state of high alert, we quickly realise this is bad for us when we get home and try to unwind. What was good for us an hour earlier suddenly becomes a problem, an irritation. Whilst you need to be alert to react quickly and be on the ball, when you’ve got no goal required of this anymore there’s a sense of frustration after the excitement is all over with. What you’re left with is a battle against yourself which requires a different strategy. But don’t get caught unawares.

What I do is play some music with waterfall sounds, and bird songs, etc.1, and take some time to slow down and synchronize my breathing to a slower tempo. You can even do this to combat some of the ill effects of down time, such as the constant interruptions of social media. Just play some of this music in the background whilst your on there, or go outside. These sounds can have a brilliant effect on our state of mind. Using this exercise, your attention is drawn towards harmonious sounds so you remain alert, and can turn your energies towards something requiring concentration. You will feel relaxed and attentive to the slightest sound, but distracted. This compliments the intensive and often chaotic phase of the day, and it’s something I do often.

The important thing is to maintain your attention on something meaningful. What that is will depend on you. If you play an instrument, try playing the C chord. Place particular emphasis on the C-E-G notes. You will find this has a relaxing and at the same time invigorating effect over you. You feel energized yet relaxed.

Martial arts is known for deception and distraction. For example, an enemy will often appear weak when they are really attempting to manipulate you. This is how the enemy works. In the same way, it is impossible to rid yourself of certain unwanted impulses and states, but you can learn to channel them and manipulate them for the better. The technique of distraction is a method to do this on yourself.

If you are unable to concentrate properly, or are stressed and anxious about something, turn your attention towards something else. In other words, distract yourself with something pleasant. For example, towards listening to relaxing music, sitting outside in the woods, breathing exercises, or a relaxing location in your mind. Of course, all the better if you overlap these methods, and any others you can think of that work on the different senses in the same way. In other words, if your breathing can be synchronised to what you are hearing and seeing, the relaxing effect can be greatly enhanced. Remaining attentive yet relaxed allows you do divert and channel your energies from the slightest sign of their appearance so that you don’t get pent up. This is impossible from a position of being switched off or simply being pacified by drugs.

If you try to overcome states of stress and tension head on, it will usually end in failure. It is impossible to rid yourself of certain impulses and states, but you can learn to channel them and manipulate them for the better. And to turn them to your advantage. The key is to see relaxing phases as an opportunity to enhance your life’s work. What that work is can be your ideal goal to imagine in your mind.

If you are thinking about a problem that happened during the day, often the best thing to do is visualize yourself saying to the person politely “Sorry I haven’t got time at the moment, I’m busy working, I’ll see you tomorrow”. This will often demonstrate to the unconscious side of yourself (which is always active and ready to spring problems on you) that you are engaged with work. This is usually enough to convince it it’s wasting its time. Because it is difficult for it to fit into a space which is already full of positive thoughts. It knows it’s a waste of time. But if instead there’s a void, then it can take the opening. This is one of the true lessons of martial arts.

References

1 A good example of this is Takashi Kokubo, Forest Healing.

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