Tag: Willpower

The Economics of Martial Arts Part 1

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 13 min read | 151 views

Economics involves the distribution and use of scarce resources. Now, using up scarce resources so that they don’t materialise into anything more is a waste. We see this all the time, even amongst professional athletes. This concept of using up resources is clear from the simple fact that if we do not use up oxygen effectively we die. Similarly, in Martial Arts Training, if we do not allocate our energies effectively the outcomes will be less than impressive, even if we are trying hard and engaging in intensive work.

It is often thought that to get anywhere in professional Martial arts that you have to cheat and ingratiate yourself with key figures within the industry in order to gain privileges. From there, you are obliged to use up all your energies and resources for short term capital returns, in the form, say a title belt or money. Along the way you get a certain amount of physical abilities, tools of the trade. However, what is the point of all this if you are left impoverished, that is, injured and worm out, by the end of a short career?

In a sense, the organisation you are working for as a professional is like a shop. You are encouraged to spend, waste even, all your resources in the superstore. You are then rewarded with all sorts of membership deals, services, and reward schemes. In another sense, you become an advertising board, or a franchise shop. In yet another sense, you are given the opportunity to surpass yourself as something bigger and better. Depending on how you look at it, all of this is true. The important thing to remember, is that you will naturally want a return on your investment, that is, something better than you started out with rather than being conned into something with hidden long term liabilities. You might say “Well, in this fast paced world we have to just grab any opportunity we can”. Maybe, but it can at least be helpful to have your eyes open.

The thing to do is to use your energies and forces in such a way that you capitalise on the returns. For example, if you work hard what you get back should be more valuable than the time and effort you gave up. Training in such a technical manner as many people now do, you give up all your time and energy and the result is purely technical knowledge. The consequence of such superficial knowledge is often increased laziness and decreased personal initiative, which is a cost. In other words, you may gain some technical knowledge but you undermine the source of your own wealth – initiative, inquisitiveness, discovery, etc.

There is an eternal battle raging between the rich and the poor. The rich are said to keep the poor down, and the poor are envious of the rich. However, the rich don’t always stay rich for long if they hoard up all their resources. This is why you must keep giving away your skills, so that each time your practice is as if for the first time. That is, you must rid yourself of old habits and evolve ceaselessly. In this way, think of yourself as an entrepreneur who is ceaselessly investing his capital into new enterprises which, although you might not know what future developments may bring, end up surpassing the previous ones, even if you lose a couple of investments here and there. It is the daring effort to do this and never give up that is the true wealth.

If for example, you eat too much food and don’t use the resources it gives you, you will grow fat and lazy. Similarly, if you don’t develop your skills but instead live off the existing capital, without expanding your enterprise, you may well end up losing what you have worked for. In the same way, the rich who do not provide much need goods services to the relatively poor will find themselves in trouble. In this way, you should seek to give to the poor, or if you like those in need of your expertise, all that you have acquired. The poor then benefit from the rich and eventually become the rich who help the poor, instead of the rich simply exploiting the poor and the poor remaining helpless as is often the case. Then each individual will be like a nation passing through the industrial period into the new horizons of the future. In other words, weak people may suffer for a time but end up better off if they unite under the right conditions.

People get rich, generally speaking, by working hard and finding a service to provide in the market. Yes people get lucky, inherit money, etc., but generally speaking this is how it works. The mistake they often make is to lose motivation in this as they get more comfortable and lose their edge. The result is that they become lazy, flabby, and unenthusiastic, lose their zest for life, their impetus, and then can no longer enjoy the process of becoming enriched. This benefits no one. All they can then do is sit on their material wealth and squander it on amusements rather than developments, even though that does not bring them the happiness they had as captains of industry, or a leader. In other words, they rested on their laurels and became inwardly poor as a consequence of hoarding wealth. as you can see what happens on the large scale is true for the individual, both on the physical and mental level.

On the other hand, Many people who have never had to work hard or use their initiative to surpass themselves have remained poor and idle all their lives. They were too comfortable, preferring instead to remain idle, self satisfied and comfortable. This is what most people want, time to amuse themselves with pleasures a material gain. The problem is that this way of life kills their spirit and enthusiasm and they settle for mediocrity. And it has such a grip on people that it drives out all memory of anything more inspiring and noble.

What I am proposing is that you use all the motivation and determination to enrich yourself to reach a high ideal. You use all the means available to the capitalist to enrich yourself inwardly according to a glorious ideal, rather than just money a title, or comfortable arrangements. In this way you make the method of the capitalist the goal of your behaviour to reach the ideal of the communist. Symbolically speaking, you become the serpent eating its own tail, by uniting two polar opposites2. The two philosophies are not mutually exclusive according to this perspective.

Instead of the goal being some title and then stagnating after you’ve got it, aim for the stars and beyond using the means of determination, perseverance, and willpower3. These know no limits so there is no need to be ‘realistic’, so long as you are inspired and enlivened constantly. In this way it doesn’t matter if the ideal is unrealistic because the consequence it has on the human psyche has the effect of bringing about greater harmony than simply going with what’s immediately viable. In this way you make your training and development the priority and place the ‘goods and services’ you produce, such as skills and abilities, at the service of this inexhaustible ideal. Unless the ideal is beyond reach it will be realised and progress will stop. And to be inspiring enough humans, I would argue, need a goal which allows them to transcend themselves.

Once you have adopted this attitude, you are then free to become a communist in the true sense of looking out for others, providing for them, and treating everyone as part of a brotherhood. Even those who get in your way force you to develop and evolve, opening your eyes to new challenges4. Your enemies are often your true friends. The capitalist within you gets richer, and you pass on your abilities and skills to others, via the goods and service you continually turn over. Because old ideas are thrown on the scrapheap and you are obliged to evolve with the times, and you are continually required to work and surpass yourself, using your old products as fertiliser and manure for your new fields of production3. So you even also become an environmentalist in your mental life.

As you can see, for me at least, their is no irreconcilable differences between capitalism and communism. They are simple a duality within a unified whole, two polar opposites working for the same cause5, and the more you develop one aspect the more corresponding demand this places on the opposite aspect. It all depends on the perspective you view the whole from.

If you are concerned only with one thing, say, capitalism, then you will probably not look any higher to see how, further up the hierarchy, it springs from the same source as communism. To me this is obvious but it seems most people would rather be at each others throats. Just seeing how upset everyone gets about it says it all. Consider that the more skills and abilities you develop within your capitalist enterprise, the greater the demand there is for a corresponding spirit of communism to share your ideas. Otherwise you’ll just hoard the goods and never get them onto the market and contribute to evolution. And the greater the supply of your work in spirit of community, the greater will be the demand for your products, because others will be enriched, if only by your attitude.

And so, when you are a true capitalist, you are at the same time required to become a communist. If you have a great abundance of wealth and never share it, you just end up despised by others. It is only natural, because you will inspire envy and act as a model of selfishness. You then have to watch your back constantly, because of this. This becomes quite draining and saps you of enthusiasm and will power over time, in other words the source of your wealth. This is why so many fighters lose their edge, because they get so puffed up and look to dominate others, that they lose all perspective. Their own arrogance turns them as weak and vulnerable as someone who has never trained a day in their life. When people accumulate too much, they are often as unhappy as the ones who possess nothing. And if no one likes you or wants anything to do with you, you are obliged to hide away as a recluse because their is no demand for you. Therefore the capitalist mentality by itself is often very counterproductive, even if it appears to be the way to go for a short time.

Or, you might just become so bored and disgusted with yourself, because trampling all over others to get to the top of the pile tends to have a corrosive effect on character and self worth. So it is then that you are required to become a communist, in mentality, by offering a service to others of some kind, if only to selfishly save your own skin. Then you are not depriving anyone of anything, you simply convert the resources at your disposal to the service of others. It then doesn’t matter what people think of you, so long as you stay true to this cause and continue in your work, you are saved and invigorated daily. Why not extend this attitude across your whole life? Leave the others to their whining and boasting.

The best way is the middle ground, where you develop both your capitalistic tendencies and your communist side equally. Inside us there is an inner capitalist who creates wealth, symbolically speaking. This is achieved by working on your skills and abilities, often single mindedly without the community having much of a say. You have then satisfied your selfish tendencies rather than supressing them. The inner communist then distributes these goods to the community. They are often transmitted indirectly, through your motivated attitude and enthusiasm that you bring to the table in the occupation of your choosing, which may otherwise be dull and uninspiring. In this way you will be enriching your own otherwise mediocre day to day life even if nobody is receptive to you “goods” or products.

The capitalist within will want to hoard everything for itself, but don’t listen, the communist side should be in charge of distribution. On the other hand, the communist side will want to distribute before the goods have been made competitive. In other words, the inner communist will be so eager to share that it will want goods on the market which don’t benefit anyone and therefore don’t make anyone’s lives any better. So the inner capitalist must not listen to the inner communist as far as innovation and drive are concerned. In other words our drives and ambitions serve the communist ideal so that they are not purely selfish, but should never be killed off. The communist side leads the capitalist side and directs it. It is like a person riding a horse, they should never be led by the horse but must dominate and handle it, so that they can travel great distances.

On the smaller scale using in the example of martial arts practice, it is not the move that is important but the energy transmitted through it. In other words, if the drive and ambition to produce a powerful attack are there, and the senses supporting this are educated by hard work and knowledge, then the outcome will be a vigorous and lively technique. This is why I don’t personally care about form or technique, a person could never have practiced any form or martial arts and still have adopted the right attitude and I would congratulate them as a true fighter. If an inventor wants to bring an innovative product to the market, he needs inspiration and learning, drive and educated work, to bring it to fruition. The very next day he needs to do the same if he wants to continue evolving, otherwise his wealth, that is his inspiration and drive will dry up, even if yesterday he changed the world. We mustn’t be stifled by the past, but instead should make sure out present conditions are conducive to the future progress we want.

It is absolutely normal to want to posses power, knowledge, wealth, and all the rest of it, it is just the primitive instinctive side that often needs educating to better serve the wider sphere of life. In the true sense, we shouldn’t think of communism and capitalism as two opposing notions. For me this is absolutely clear. For example, I spend half the day working and serving others, and then the other half I spend developing myself and my capabilities so that I can continue to help and apply myself to the benefit of others. I don’t really concern myself with my own little ideas about what I would rather do, this is just the best way to demand the most from my efforts whilst supplying the best of myself, as far as I’m concerned. If I wanted to give without possessing anything then that would be of no use to anyone.

References

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

2 Signs and Symbols in Martial arts part 2 https://harmanater.com/2020/06/06/signs-and-symbols-part-2-pedagogy-and-the-art-of-war/

3 Will Power https://harmanater.com/2020/05/10/will-power/

4 Self defence without Violence https://harmanater.com/2020/06/14/self-defence-without-violence/

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

Intuitive Sense

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 19 min read | 190 views

In my experience, by focusing on mechanical routines or forms too much, I find I often get more and more confused and further from the truth.”Don’t think, Feel” said Bruce Lee. Whilst there is rudimentary mechanical practice needed to intuitively feel something, I don’t recommend making mechanical forms the basis of practice. Why? Because you will likely lose touch with inspiration and dynamism, and by being technically correct you may well end up the loser in the long run. I’ll show you why.

Analysis tends to divide and separate, to specify rather than unify. Instead, the starting point is always the idea; the high ideal1, and the mind fuel is will power2. From this perspective, your practice can inspire you to shape and mould yourself as a living example of this art. This is a higher goal than just remaining ordinary inside and producing some outside forms. Technical specialists have never studied or accepted this idea, which is why you won’t obtain any methods from them. So, by all means, practice technically for a short while, but then return to this centre, this source. The image of say, a certain style in action, is merely the stepping stone to propel you into practice of this nature. The image, the form is a starting point of reference not the end point. It is simply a means of practicing intuitive action, not the goal.

Don’t bother with over thinking and analysis for the most important tasks. As I was saying, you can view the technical details for a moment, as a starting point. You then get back to concentrating on embodying the technique, that is to practice it more naturally and intutively3. This requires serious work and development. But eventually this inner process of intuitive practice then sculpts your and fashions the physical organism so that the body itself reflects a particular form. You will then no longer need evidence of what is effective and what isn’t because you will simply feel it within. It starts off a conscious effort, but with training a honed intuitive sense will enable your practice to become second nature.

It is worth noting that the end products of your intuitive practice only reflect the technical forms. You will not be an exact replica because your are creating. Unlike mindless imitation, your execution of such forms will be adaptable, flexible, and alive. Your embodied practice reflects a likeness, not exactitude, because no individual is the same exact expression of truth. With knowledge of this, you are free to improvise and act with finesse, instead of sticking to a predictable script. This makes your movements elusive and cunning.

Truth is without form, we clothe it in our expressions and give it forms. In other words it is we who give expression to truth, and it inspires us to do so. To look for truth within a form would be illogical, because truth is above the constrictions of form. It is better identified by a feeling, a kind of developed sense. Personally, I have no idea what truth is and I can only look for the signs. This kind of intuitive training approach may not be for everyone.

Repetitively performing in a robotic way fails to make an impression on the instinctive sub conscious level, and therefore no evolution takes place inside. It doesn’t become part of us, or even second nature. If we train this way too much, it is as if we are just putting on a costume and then going back to our normal behaviour. It is possible to then be left with nothing, even after years of formal training once the conditioning of such training stops.

Scientists are beginning to take serious notice of how our environment effects our organism. However, the true meaning of Martial arts is not to act in our outer environment, it is to shape and mould the inner environment of ourselves. This inner transformation then later effects the outer environment. In other words, we are not prepared to shape the outer environment sufficiently before doing some serious inner work. We use the art forms we cultivate to channel our energies and surpass ourselves with our creations. This is true art.

In my opinion we must work on our instincts to transform their expressions, working with our inner raw materials, not against them. Desire motivated by a high ideal fuels this process. The instincts are often deadened by robotic spiritless exercises, which is why so many promising athletes burn out over time and lose their edge. This is not surprising when we set our sights to low, simply to perform a move mindlessly. If there is no selection pressure (as biologists would call it) to evolve ourselves within, then their is no need to harness our inner resources to surpass ourselves. That is, there is no evolution without getting our house in order. How can we expect to control the outer elements if we haven’t prepared ourselves properly by doing the same work inside?

Whilst our instinctive responses are crude and unrefined they do not require drowning under a tide of regulated behaviour. Nor are they the finished products. This is what people don’t understand. They suppose that our instincts simply get in the way of technical progress and can’t be channelled. What I am saying is that we need to intelligently assign work to our instincts to keep them busy if we want to take things to the next level.

When you are focusing on looking perfect, good for the camera, to impress onlookers, to win points in a match, etc., you are investing in something which appears correct or certain, but is actually very uncertain. In other words, when our behaviour is not motivated to develop our natural intuitive expressions, by the time it reaches the physical form its potency is greatly reduced.

That’s why I say it all starts with motivation, the inner drive – the high ideal. This calibrates our intuitive thought to expectations beyond normal. This explains why people who contrive an artificial appearance of beauty, without feeling it, often end up uglier over time. There was no solid foundation upon which to base expression, and later other individuals surpass them who were apparently behind to begin with. So, start from humble beginnings with the goal of greatly surpassing the norm. To be sure, the intuitive sense is hardly developed at all when we begin to work on it. The other sense like sight seem more reliable. However the more you practice the more intelligent and expressive you will become.

In the long run, endless imitation often ends up being a servitude even if it apparently seems like a good idea to begin with. This is why appearances are deceiving. People often become fed up of behaving this way only later, when the costs are seen to outweigh the benefits. So don’t worry about others overtaking you, it isn’t at all important. This lesson is a hard one but necessary for our development.

How can technical certainty lead to confusion? When you prioritise with all these external things like looking perfect, there is an inner tension, which prevents intuition from taking the first place and ruling. It is inhibited rather than trained into a force of nature. Even experts experience this, although because they have trained for so long to overcome it, they have succeeded in negating a lot of the negative effects of all this. One of the ways they do this is to commit totally as technicians at the expense of everything else. Ordinary people with more conflicting demands would simply tire out quickly. However, when they retire such experts often retrogress, become flabby, unenthusiastic, and bored. All this because they have failed to embody their practice by taking a more balanced approach4. But this takes time, which is why people don’t bother with it, because you don’t get anywhere very quickly.

The inner approach is intrinsically more satisfying for those who commit to it seriously. Most people consider getting bored later in life perfectly normal, “that’s life” they say, “it happens to everyone”. “Do what you can whilst you’re young”. What ignorance. Thoughts, like actions require sorting and correcting, there are some bad which shouldn’t be indulged, and other good productive ones that should be developed. Some thoughts are bad initially but can be refined and worked on so that they more accurately represent truth. I won’t go into that now but it worth thinking about carefully.

What kind of philosophy determines that we have only a few adult years to develop our talents before we lose all drive and motivation? The truth is, we lose all drive and motivation because precisely because we believe this. We assume our development has stopped and we stop putting the work in. From the intutive point of view, which has not even fully evolved in adulthood, this is idiotic.

Those who engage in short termism often win a few matches, get a few certificates and martial arts belts, and then that’s it. You retire and reminisce over what you were, a professional champion. You are obliged to wear yourself out and become fed up with it all. You are then said to be a somebody. Instead of moving beyond this kind of practice, they are instead charged with instructing others in this method. But there is something they have not seen. This kind of practice is only the reality for those who have used their resources within a short time frame to ensure their future comfort and status. Others have a choice. It is understandable that people desire this, and as far as I’m concerned they are welcome to this way of life and I leave them to it, they find meaning in it. But it’s not for everyone.

The problem is that all the training recommendations out there abide by this mentality of short term returns, and prescribe accordingly. I have no idea why. It is like someone who made a million pounds during the first few years of his career, at the expense of everything, and then after going bankrupt, telling others how to do the same. But this is not my model. It has nothing to do with success as I see it – for me, success is more of a long range broader goal. Later years should be more and more fruitful, and they can be. There is no point in initial benefits with long term liabilities which prevent enjoyment later. You only need to look at how many previous world champions are now broken down by injury and embittered by it all. For them, it may have been worth it, I will leave you to decide, but at least be aware of the realities.

For me it is about pooling your resources across a wide range of investment and then gradually watching your investments grow, figuratively speaking. You then see whilst others have over spent and pay the costs later, that a more sustainable and sensible model might be preferable. Each of your investments grows and grows and are reinvested into other ventures and existing enterprises. None of them collapse because they are all related, mutually supporting one another. You will notice these law of economics, of benefits incurring costs, and long term growth, apply equally to all areas of life.

Work on the intuitive level is only capable of working through the intermediary of certain fundamental movements patterns and the wisdom of the body5. This is the level to work at (below conscious thought) because the cause of progress is not simply chasing the effects without first doing the inner work. These subconscious pathways can be brought to the level of consciousness with training. Make sure your investments are based on these golden geese, you’re evolution depends on it. Progress will be slow, but certain. You will understand more each day. It’s not much, but its something. Those who understand what I am saying will benefit greatly from this knowledge. You can concentrate only on technical correctness if you want, and see what the results are.

The work of any Master who has created a form is not finished even if he dies. Yes, he is dead physically, but in spirit he will live on in an idea which has permeated others. And whilst there are many Masters who were simply idolised for no good reason, I am not talking about them. Such gurus die – that is, the spirit of what they stood for died – the moment they took up the path of comfort, ease, and short term pay off. I don’t suggest taking them as models. Only model yourself after the most inspirational figures who aim relentlessly at perfection without selling out. It doesn’t matter what field they are in, or even if they are technically highly proficient. You are better off working alongside someone who inspires, even if he is ignorant of many things.

Whilst you can relate to great masters through their work, you must also try to relate to their mentality which brought to fruition their gifts. I try to do as they would do – continuously work with inspiration and enthusiasm6. To work from the form and then try to reach a state of high motivation and enthusiasm would likely end in disappointment. It would require nothing of my creative input or spark. There would be no demand and correspondingly supply would cease. Instead I try to take something from outside of myself, an energy conveyed by others who have the spark, ignite it within myself and get to work. I don’t pay much attention to the appearance.

Instead of over analysing all the time, and consciously controlling the body, view things from the perceptive of the intuitive senses. Once you have embodied certain techniques and skills, your intuitive sense will make sure that your actions and techniques flow in such a way that ensures coordination and power without even thinking about it. Yes, but only if you take the perspective of the intuition, rather than copying a set drill or routine mindlessly. Then, everything is done in a balanced and relatively harmonious way, and we succeed in our work. You will get better and better instead of worse. We then start to feel, understand and realise what to do, in all sorts of unpredictable rhythms, in spite of our limited technical understanding of facts and mechanical knowledge. Even the most ignorant person can become very effective when using this method. It’s incredible, you should try it.

If the brain itself is in charge, with its tendency to overthink and micromanage the body, everything becomes clumsy and awkward even in the most intellectually developed. Yes you start off with technical imitation, but you then move on. Just look at all the scientists out there who analyse and think they understand everything, but haven’t even bothered organised their inner machinery. This takes many years of practice, but your intuitive sense will then have the conditions to instantly succeed if you practice intelligently. I assure you it is worth the effort for those who want to work in this direction. In fact you will feel so enlivened by this method of practice that you simply won’t be able to keep it to yourself.

In my view the goal must be an unattainable perfection, because evolution is relentlessly advancing and our little minds cannot possibly foresee the conclusion of this journey. arrive there before you’re body and brain do. This high minded ideal will ensure we don’t stop short of perfection. Therefore practice must reflect this reality. Perfection is without form so don’t look for it in forms, feel it, out there in the future and surpass yourself.

Form is just a passive state, an empty shell. It is the end. You may have noticed earlier a contradiction, that I said form is the beginning. But there is no contradiction because it is the beginning in the sense that it starts us on our journey, but once we have arrived we cast it off. It’s a circular relationship. In this way, the physical “fruits” of your labour if you like, that is the forms you create, then lay the ground for subsequent generations of future forms. The seed is then planted once again, and the whole process continues once more. It is exactly like the flower whose seed is spread and then starts all over again after flowering. Using a similar analogy, the old form takes on the new use of manure for your field of progress. Yes manure, get rid of it but don’t waste its recyclable properties.

As you progress, it is better to combine existing forms, using them to create, and in this way you inspire motivation, enthusiasm, and true art. This is a form of reusing and recycling. You are then progressing. It is a long and arduous process, but you will understand it better every day the more you practice with it. It is not necessary for any authority to give you the stamp of approval before starting with this method. Begin at once.

In fact, you can work on your actions and behaviours which are seemingly unrelated to martial arts. Working mindfully on your everyday gestures has a tremendous effect. Picking up a cup suddenly becomes an exercise, where you handle it with care and grace with your articulations. Form a habit of relating a certain universal principles to your everyday activities. First of all you might refuse to think that a particular thing relates to seemingly separate things, but with perseverance and practice your intuition later insists than your reasoning is wrong. You succeed in spite of yourself. It just takes time and work7.

It is important to understand that there is no way of gauging the power of this process if we have never seen the effects of it in action. In other words, those who have never worked with this method are unlikely to be aware of its power. Nobody thinks about this. This is because for the most part Martial Arts practice traditionally consists of working with fixed forms. These fixed forms were intended for the masses. Here, there is then a visible, tangible objective reality to imitate. Intuitive sense is the other way round, this visibility emerges from a subtle intangible reality. This is the Spirit of Martial Arts taking the forefront.

For me, I’m not interested in noticing all that is wrong, how good or bad other people appear, whether they are more refined… Or at fault. I try to visualise nothing when I’m training. Once you reach an inner harmony and silence all the noise, this is the way to see most clearly and simply sense what needs to be done. This is the way to reach towards perfection, beyond form. You will then be able to act instinctively and below the level of conscious thought, because by silencing the inner noise you will notice the subtler realities. This cannot happen with background noise. There is a scientific method behind this approach8.

By observing and practicing only what is most inspiring, unpretentious, and what makes sense intuitively, this is the way to do meaningful work which leads to success. I leave the other approaches alone – What they emphasise is none of my business. Many styles of Martial Arts emphasise separation from intuitive movements. They retain the physical forms but become estranged from meaningful action and behaviour underpinning them, the human input. In this way they become the contorted demonic forms we observe in certain Asian Traditions depicting evil entities. These evils are merely symbolic of reality.

When people are technically minded, exact, and ordered on the outside this is how they measure everyone else. And those who feel intuitively how things work tend to view others according to the same criteria. In other words we measure and sense the value of others by our own criteria, how we see things. This is why I said earlier that unless intuitive practice is actually practiced, people will remain unaware of its benefits. Personally, if I see what others is doing is too pretentious or technical I don’t bother trying to extract anything from it, I just move on. I just get on with my own work, and anything that doesn’t correlate with that is of no interest to me. I would expect the same from those who view things from the other perspective.

If I’m coaching I don’t correct other people by insisting they do things the same as me. If they are doing something dangerous or they’ve misunderstood, then that’s different, but if people insist on interpreting things their way then I take them as they are. They can then progress at their own rate. More often than not, people want technical explanations, and we will just be talking at cross purposes, but I tell them anyway. And since there are others to give them technical prescriptions, I leave it to the others.

As for me I try to convey an impression and spark an interest so that others might want to work with enthusiasm and motivation. Not a superficial excitability, but an energy. Seeing that technical descriptions, formulas, and lifeless routines offer no results to me, I see others in the same way. In fact, far from learning superficially, I feel as though I am unearthing something deep inside me which I already know. Yes, I have a criteria that I apply to others, based on my own vision and experience. I try to convey the same inspiration which was passed on to me through others, which helps me continue to develop.

References

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

2 Will Power harmanater.com/2020/07/26/the-high-ideal/

3 Martial arts and Health https://harmanater.com/2020/08/09/embodying-the-technique/

4 Embodying technique https://harmanater.com/2020/08/09/embodying-the-technique/

5 See Instincts, Behaviour and Archetypes. https://harmanater.com/2020/03/31/instincts-behaviour-and-archetypes/

6 The Skill is not separate from the work https://harmanater.com/2020/07/04/the-skill-is-not-separate-from-work-and-contemplation/

7 See The Stance https://harmanater.com/2020/08/05/the-stance/

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

The High Ideal

Posted on by joeharman8 | 12 min read | 108 views

A lot of people argue about which the best Martial art is, but the truth must always be looked at above form, in a high ideal. Of course, it is possible to practice a system and to bring it to life with years of dedication and sacrifice, but if you do this it is always thanks to the work you put in which reaches above and beyond mere form. Because the form is just an empty shell, a representation of truth, and a weak one at that. It is the inspiration behind the form that counts.

Whilst it may be possible to smash someones head in with a few moves, it is hardly a way to inspire the greatest dedication to an important cause. Work of this kind is completely unimportant when weighed against self development and longevity. It is only possible to relate to the greatest goals by channelling our own immediate desires and instinctive tendencies towards something greater. But that all depends on what you want. We can substitute immediate gratification for long term satisfaction, which on balance is a good trade off. This is true humility, which involves identifying with a self in the future. But this future work starts now in the present and in fact is inseparably linked to it 1.

Through ideas and forward thinking it is possible to transcend present limitations. That is why it is a mistake to put so much stock in dead mechanical forms, or even what can be achieved under present conditions. Much has been said about living in the moment, but most of the time people mistake this for living recklessly on borrowed time. Instead you should view ‘the moment’ as a part of the future which begins here and now. Even with all the progress that has been made in psychology and mindfulness, people often overlook this simple fact. Controlling your thoughts in the present so that the future perspective is represented in reality is the real work. This is the perspective of the true self. By adopting this attitude this you will be able to tread any path in life unwaveringly – Martial Arts or otherwise.

Present limitations are an aspect only of the past, so leave them there. Try and imagine yourself, to feel even, this ideal self in action, understanding that it is only possible to relate to this self by your own unceasing efforts. Many people say they lose inspiration and give up, but in fact it was them who abandoned the future perspective in the present. Yes, because we are inseparable from inspiring ideal thoughts, which represent our higher or true self, and what we will become. To the extend that this faculty is not exercised and practiced, it can be said to not exist. In that case, it is as if there were no imagination at all.

There is simply no point in bemoaning and living in the past, since it was you who chose to relate to it now instead of detaching yourself from it and living now. Instead you must think of all the gifts, talents and abilities that you posses in your mind through your ideas, so that they one day materialise. You of course then physically practice these. It all starts with a seed, an idea. Be awake to this reality, this is what the Buddha Symbolised, the meaning of the Name Buddha is “Awakened”. When you live the high ideal, everything begins to work, the chakras, chi, the energies, motivation, however you wish to view it.

By living in that moment ceaselessly, we may identify with our own progressive evolution as it unfolds and contribute to it actively. We are otherwise at the mercy of events and definitions made by others. This is why it is so important to watch your every move. Of course this is exhausting and even the best struggle at this and lose contact with this ideal, so don’t delude yourself. But the key is to notice when this starts to happen and take action. So it is not a problem to make mistakes, provided you are aware of them and seek to rectify them. In any case, even a brief encounter with this state of mind can have a lasting impression and can even enhance your motivation to go about the more mundane activities in your life.

What will protect you is the state of mind imprinted within you following years of dedication to a high ideal of perfection and the conviction that this can be achieved. This is true self defence. This work does not demand that you actually reach perfection, only that you never stop reaching. So develop a taste for the work of achieving this high ideal, day after day, night after night. Learn to rest and sleep properly, so that you emerge the next morning revitalised a new individual3.

Nothing is more important than identifying with this high ideal through our words, thoughts, gestures, actions, and behaviours, as this is how we relate it to ourselves. Every one of these has repercussions which contribute towards enriching or impoverishing our motivation, and therefore our abilities. Because it is always lofty ideas that precede meaningful results, not mindless activity.

The true meaning of Martial Arts is to strive towards the highest of all goals2. It is the intensity of this effort, not the time it takes to reach that counts4. Very few who practice martial arts or anything else manage to reach this summit. And only the greatest among them manage to dedicate all their energy across their whole life to get there. This is what the “Martial Spirit” is all about.

It is said that the famous Swordsman Itto Ryu had his entire style revealed to him after meditating for 7 days and nights at the Grand shrine at Mishima. Not twenty or fifty years of repetitive mindless work. And the process is the same for everyone. This is an incredibly important subject, which is well worth reflecting on. During seclusions of this kind, avoid all negative influences which may sap you of your vitality and willpower, so that you dont lose self confidence. You will then feel like making grand hopeful plans.

When someones whole concentration and will power is absorbed in one high ideal, closed to other influences, he is capable of almost supernatural abilities. He must serve this one ideal. However, suppose you give up most of your time to aimless activity with people whose attitude is flat and uninspiring, offensive even, you have the impression of being soiled and left unfocused. Just think of how powerful a suspicious glance can be! On the outside nothing has changed but inside there has been a weakening of energy. It is occasions of this sort which, which although unavoidable, you should guard against. It is the mental equivalent of being punched in the gut. You think I am being overly sensitive. No, I am just highlighting how every action has a powerful consequence on the road to true success. You must be constantly vigilant. Analyse these feelings and you will see that the real meaning of martial arts is to guard against these assaults as you would a physical attack.

From now on, I highly recommend you have nothing to do with a system of fighting which emphasises beating others, winning titles, or strutting about arrogantly. Why bother with this kind of life? The methods I recommend on this sight will never lead to a mindset of that sort. However, you shouldn’t believe that people who do any of that go about it consciously or deliberately. Far from it, it’s often just that they never received proper guidance from a higher ideal. To them, impressing others and personal ambition is the goal.

Think of all the people out there who take drugs and socialises with people that they know are bad for them. We see that same thing with many martial arts organisations, symbolically speaking. Their practices, which emphasises mechanical routines, end up destroying joints and even cause burnout amongst athletes. They were told that if they just give themselves over that a particular system, it holds the truth and will supply them with all the knowledge and skills they need. However, the methods advocated by many organisations are too short term. The work towards high ideal of perfection goes hand in hand with long term development, an idea we must ceaselessly work on, day and night.

Admittedly, this idea of long term work seems very far fetched, particularly if one is accustomed to hearing about all the promises of quick results, and perfect systems. It is much easier to supposes that with modern advancements there is no point struggling to find meaning in our training when all the technical aspects have been worked out for us in advance. However, the worst thing that can happen is to adopt this attitude. Instead, you must look at the situation as it is, saying “The temptation to believe in a system outside of myself is just a manifestation of my inner laziness, which I must work at subduing. It is absurd to suppose I can be good without constant work. It is the spirit that must take first place, not a mechanical system”. In this way you will develop your inner convictions and confidence.

Unfortunately, the situation we have in the market place of ideas is pretty dire. You see many so called masters out their stubbornly determined to keep their positions in the food chain, a position which they are quite unfit to represent. And what’s worse is they are quite proud of this stubbornness, thinking that it shows toughness, and that nothing and nobody can move them aside. However, with such a low aim in life, and such an uncompromising attitude, they are likely to bring about their own fall sooner or later. And who can blame them? One sees examples of this everywhere, so they say “Well, if you can’t beat them, join them!”. To overcome weaknesses of this kind is the sort of work I’m talking about when striving towards a high ideal. For work of this kind can go on every moment of the day. As you can see the temptation to succumb to this mentality is everywhere!

Picture now a great master such as Miyamoto Musashi, or outside of martial arts someone like Pythagoras, or Buddha. Obviously there are many others, but not amongst the living. It is even preferable to find inspiration from fictional characters, than any of the living examples one sees in the media. In fact many fictional stories, particularly centring around an incorruptible hero, correspond to a profound reality that you can grasp if you are in contact with inspiring ideas and notions. Use this reality as a model then, as you would build a car with an instruction manual. In this way, by relating to an ideal representation of perfection, and holding on to it, you gradually come to resemble it. It is entirely up to us whether we are able to extract this kind of inspiration from ideas represented in art.This is often a superior method than following a flawed character, particularly those represented in so called modern art which are full of imperfections and weaknesses.

We only need to observe how many iconic Martial arts teachers are when they interact with others – they talk to them like subjects in a captive audience. Claiming to be the only enlightened ones in the room, they represent a limited a warped truth. A true master should radiate the very enthusiasm and inspiration he feels. But instead, they usually kill off the enthusiasm in those they teach and inspire a kind of god like servitude towards themselves. This might be acceptable if they were living examples of perfection, but it is usually the case that they are simply putting on a show. There you have the sad truth. Personally, I’m disillusioned with them, and because of all their inconsistencies and errors, I no longer waste my time bothering with them. But who can blame them, people come to them asking for instructions and easy methods, and that’s what they get.

As an exercise, try identifying with a hero who inspires you. In the same way as if we think about a waterfall5, or certain other natural phenomena to relax, we can contemplate inspiring figures so that we might resemble them and enter into their state of mind. By identifying with these symbolic figures, you will come to resemble the high ideal that they stand for. This is an unbelievably powerful exercise. However, don’t suppose that you must try to resemble some average individual who is slightly gifted, and possibly troubled. This is a waste of time as you will only take on their limitations. There is too much important work to do. As it is individuals who are the cause of their own limitations, you must not focus on their weaknesses but their strengths, or if you like their ideal aspects. In this way you turn them into symbols of brilliance.

References

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

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

3 Methods for Sleep https://harmanater.com/2020/04/28/methods-for-sleep/

4 High Intensity Work and Balance https://harmanater.com/2020/07/05/high-intensity-work-and-balance/

5 Active Relaxation https://harmanater.com/2020/04/27/active-relaxation/

The Skill is not separate from Work and Contemplation.

Posted on by joeharman8 | 11 min read | 114 views

Many people believe that if they practice the right skill a few times, such as a punch, then they will simply have it at their disposal. And if a teacher fails to give them the right instruction they go off and find a better one. If the instructor doesn’t have the right paperwork they are ignored. The problem with this attitude is that it robs the student of the only resource that matters: themselves. In fact, if you go about practice the right way, working hard and honestly, even if you didn’t plan to be very good success will be unavoidable. You bring it on yourself through cause and effect. What the Martial arts community thinks of you is then of no real interest.

The skill is only a small reflection of the reality behind it. It is the outer appearance of the inner evolution, and present form, that appears on the outside of a fighter. It is this attitude that should be embodied. I don’t wish to spend time instructing others on the “technique” aspect, as you can find all the details you want everywhere. However, what is often missed is the spirit of perseverance, overcoming adversity, time and effort spent, etc., which are all inseparable from the physical manifestation of any punch, kick, throw, or whatever. Like a shoot from a seed, the seed must be planted in fertile soil otherwise it cannot take root and flower. The fertile soil, symbolically speaking, is the mental attitude and work.

When a fighter “effortlessly” Ko’s an opponent, it is often imagined that he did it easily. Or when they are “super fit”, people think that this grace and physical prowess are obtained through some kind of external fitness program. However, as I have explained before, the skills that can be acquired from instruction are mainly superficial aspects. The source comes from within the fighter 1. It is this source of motivation and drive that you must aspire to work with, rather than have someone else manipulate your energies from the outside. Of course, if a coach or teacher has your best interests at heart, and knows how to bring only the best out of you, by all means allow them to work on you. However this is often not the case.

The inner states, such as motivation and energies, are the essential ingredients, the factors that count. The various expressions of these, such as specific skills, I have called non essential, because their form changes, and in any case is context dependant. Form is therefore unreliable as a source in itself. Focus on what is essential, the driving force. You might say “That isn’t fun, and it takes to long without all the answers given to me”. How do you know that? If people worked on themselves diligently and took their time to acquire knowledge and experience, rather than rushing towards mediocrity, they would be amazed at the discoveries they make. The work is too hard, supposedly, but because so many people don’t bother working hard to to think for themselves they lack all inspiration to go very far.

People argue about and try to imitate the perfect from. They work for years imitating a tiger, crane, or professional fighter, and end up exhausted and injured from copying these superficial aspects. They have never been taught that is is important to use these things as a guide only, or if they are to identify with them it should be in the spirit of full commitment rather than passive observation. It is far more important to maximise motivation and health by pursuing what matters, or the meaning behind performance. Neither moves nor world title belts are responsible for this. In other words, it is essential to embody the work that goes behind achieving any great goal.

Specific skills are the peripheral details, the mere expressions, and the central central prerequisites are work an energy. In other words, these existing natural resources must be given direction and specific form, or meaning. It is not possible to perform a skill properly otherwise. And also, it is not possible to think you have learnt something by going over some mundane exercises, and then hope to inject a bit of energy into afterwards. This is why the Masters of the East used to give their disciples symbols and parables to contemplate: It would draw on their internal resource in a specific direction without working everything out for them. Through this method of teaching the disciple embodied the skills they practiced and became inseperable from them. I wonder if this is at all clear? The work and ideas come before the skill, there is no other way of thinking about it in my opinion. If so few actually achieve what they set out to do, it is because this basic truth goes unnoticed.

Of course any ideas conveyed in stories and parables must be symbolic of some truth so that the disciple will later come to understand. Through certain powerful symbols2, the student of old would meditate on images within the mind until the physical manifestation later emerged. This tradition is virtually lost today with advent of scientific detailed explanations. Such explanations rarely inspire any kind of intrinsic motivation within the student, they do all the work for him.

If you want to understand how martial arts works, you should use your mind to contemplate and experiment with ideas. For example, Snake Style kung Fu is really practicing skills using the imagery of a snake. You can do anything in this way, and the mind has an innate tendency to work like this. You must imagine yourself darting in and out from various angles and snapping at your opponent. Your attacks should have venom and bite. Any skills you then practice will take on a life of their own. Hopefully you can see how symbols such as this become reality having started as an idea.

Alternatively you can imagine actually defending against a Snake, as Steve Morris often suggests. Here you can use your mind which is a tool that, unlike the body, never wears out. It is an inexhaustible arena of practice, and limitless in its scope. But it needs to be exercised by creative thought and use of the imagination. It is then that your ideas become materialised physically. I hope this is quite clear. When it comes to images in the mind, I’ve never found it very fruitful to imagine mundane things that correspond to some dull lifeless training centre. Although this is what is typically recommended. Instead I prefer to imagine myself on a mountain fighting some larger than life opponent, but more about that another time.

Another symbol used in martial arts is the circle. In Tai Chi for example, circles are made with the arms. It is very easy to practice doing this in your minds eye, because a circle is an accessible symbol recognised by anyone regardless of their training. Therefore, a beginner can begin to practice, awkwardly at first, until they are adept, with just this symbol alone. Such is the power of symbolic explanation. A simple idea such as the circle can undelie more complex ideas later on. This is why babies play with shapes in early development. They later understand more complex things. This is seen in all areas of life, for example the world is round, and so are stones, both of which rotate around an axis.

All I am saying is that we should have the same child like inquisitiveness for martial arts, which is only beyond the scope of out understanding if we have failed to contemplate what its all about for extended periods of time. We would not expect a child to understand, say, rotation around an axis or the solar system without first playing with circles and hoops. It is the same with martial arts, we cannot learn complex fighting movements and skills without first drawing upon our knowledge of symbols, shapes, and ideas which have created meaning for our adult lives.

But most people say “I get it, it’s easy”. As long as they’re having fun, the musics blaring, and the coach is shouting commands at them, they’re quite satisfied. They are like dough in the hands of a baker, tossed around and pounded into submission, which they call work. I’m not talking about that kind of work, I’m talking about inner work which is the real reason for martial arts practice4. Work is not just going through the motions and simple amusement, it is a chance to contemplate and accomplish meaningful pursuits. Many people would like an approach that inspired their better nature, and it is them that I write for.

At the professional level, it is very much the same story. Many athletes wear themselves out looking for some medal or glory, and end up so jaded and worn out by all the politics, deception, and debilitating training, that they ruin their health. “I’ll do it whilst I’m young and able” they say, not matter the cost. If they had thought about it, these athlete “development” programs do nothing but exploit their limited resources of youth a lot of the time. They draw on their reserves, absorbing them in some “peer system” of similarly naive athletes, rather than a wise guide, and then as their enthusiasm grows fainter and fainter they are left on the scrap heap. This is all considered perfectly normal, since this counsel of “talent development” specialists has given them a livelihood and has a right to use them as it sees fit. “Here is a guy who is driven!” They proudly proclaim. Not that they have particular admiration for the superstar, they’re just proud of their hold over him.

What is the point in pursuing all these achievements if you are incapable of enjoying them and lose all inspiration and spirit? In my view “A living Dog is better than a Dead Lion”. In other words, a lion who becomes worn out and incapable of anything is useless, no matter his past glory. He was living on borrowed time. Whereas a dog who is still going and has some fight in it will outlast the Lion in the end. I don’t wish to upset anyone involved professional competition, and anyway there are some exceptions, but it is up to individuals to chose their path. Everything can be found in the manuals of technical instruction, except what I am talking about here. The thing to know is that training is all dependant on how the energies are expended. Are they being absorbed in mindless labour, or is there some left over for contemplation and mental work?

Most animals die in mortal combat in the wild. Clearly, this is the law of the Jungle. However, if we wish to understand how to survive longer than animals we must take the perspective of the child who starts at the beginning. In other words, imagine that you are thinking about martial arts for the first time and work to gradually understand. This is really the case, when you consider how many years it takes to learn even the most simple tasks properly, like writing perfectly. Using the perspective of the child, even in adulthood, you can use advanced knowledge of walking, crawling, rotating the body, etc., and apply them to still more advanced moves like punching. Yes, having spent 18 years learning to walk, there is a further evolution. And then tactical applications. You should then feel as though you are approaching everything for the first time, rather than strutting around as if you are some hard nut looking to prove himself. Here is another example of symbols.

In boxing, you circle the opponent. In order to practice footwork it is a good idea to imagine doing this in your mind. You can first imagine circling round an opponent, and once this idea has been set in motion you can begin contemplating what the steps might look like in relation to this circling. Lots of people get mixed up with the footwork because they contemplate all the details of the footwork separately. Instead, it is better to think of the circle, everything else will begin to make sense when you hold this idea and work with it in your mind. Otherwise, you just end up learning some complicated footwork and it never becomes embodies or feels natural.

Symbols, work, and perseverance. Never rush this process!

References

1 Signs and Symbols in Martial arts Part 2 https://harmanater.com/2020/06/06/signs-and-symbols-part-2-pedagogy-and-the-art-of-war/

2 Signs and Symbols in Martial arts Part 1 https://harmanater.com/2020/05/16/signs-and-symbols-part-1-the-way-and-the-number-ten/

3 Movement and Breathing https://harmanater.com/2020/04/17/movement-and-breathing/

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

Signs and Symbols Part 2: Pedagogy, and the Art of War

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 9 min read | 153 views

The ancient teachers and Masters of old used pedagogic methods involving metaphor and symbolic explanations. In Martial arts you have examples such as “Tiger” or “Dragon” style Kung Fu. For example the dragon metaphor is just another way of saying “Remain poised, vigilant, and dart in from all angles, waiting and stalking”. However, there are many interpretations and applications of the universal Snake symbol, which is known to provoke powerful imagery in the mind. Steve Morris suggests viewing the knife in the hand of an attacker as if it were a snake, to provoke the sense of urgency and danger required of a fight. In symbolism, most of the ancient examples are all quite obscure and impossible to understand if taken literally, and why this is so will become apparent in a moment.

Using the example of the dragon, or serpent, the disciple must shed their skin from time to time, that is, their old prejudices and ignorance. This takes time and happens many times for evolution to take place. All those who fail to make this effort remain at a lower level of evolution. Of course it’s tempting not to bother and stay in the same old familiar skin, but you must contemplate the new skin that awaits you in the form of a greater image. It all starts in the mind, and later takes physical form. Throughout history, man has had to make great efforts to do this in one direction or another.

Yet another illustration of the serpent is the Egyptian symbol of the snake eating its own tail. This means that the disciple must eat, symbolically speaking, their base motivations and passions represented by the tail, with the higher region, that is, brain represented by the serpents head. Another illustration of this was the Egyptian staff that showed two serpants wrapped around each other, representing the higher and lower self: that is the instincts and intelligence, married as one. Only then can disciples master themselves and direct their own forces at will, and move beyond good and evil1. Even ordinary marriage of two people is symbolic of something else.

Of course, this universal language of symbolism is necessary. Because then the disciple can carry about with him an internal method of reflection which requires no external teacher. This is the secret of internal teachings. Moves are not explicitly taught because they must emerge from a foundation. This is how children learn to walk, talk, etc., by watching little animals jumping around, animals who symbolise, in exaggerated form, some form of truth. The disciple must become a child once again, this time to their own intelligence, to learn more important truths later in life, often using the very same symbols they were brought up on in childhood.

Of course there have been endless foolish debates about whether mimicking a tiger or a dragon is effective, but this is besides the point. It seems that these images were invoked to make a powerful impression on the mind, and to teach complex movements by first using some familiar concept. This is an interesting point because this shows that the old Masters had knowledge about how the student can understand something abstract, like a mechanical fighting form, by first working through existing knowledge. In other words it’s always more effective to learn using metaphors and building on existing knowledge and experience.

Of course the situation is very different today, instruction is often devoid of meaning and highly unimaginative. Perhaps you are wondering if the advantages of the internal method are really any good. Yes, they are. By focusing on meaningful symbols, this encourages a creative energy that raises your imagination to its heights. Channeling ones energies is the real goal, to live an intense life whatever you are doing. Beating an opponent will never do this, even if you beat everybody. In this way, even the least gifted athlete can benefit and over time become a great martial artist in the wider sense. This is why I recommended mediating on these subjects for at least a few minutes everyday, and if you can do it for hours, then so much the better.

The process of inner focus triggers motivation from within, rather than from some meaningless external source, such as winning a contest or obtaining a certificate. To be fair, these are not meaningless in themselves, but the point is that vast quantities of these possessions and skills they are often obtained at the expense of quality. The problem is that many people are encouraged to switch off from the thought process entirely, with promises of learning some kind of self defence system within days. They will learn these skills, but their consciousness will have had nothing to do with it. Of course, thought take time and effort, but many people are unwilling to bother on the basis that they don’t get immediate results. Why? One reason is the pursuit of tangible or material results.

The old Masters were keen to put forward systems which neither individuals nor styles were able to refute. A higher Method. Because certain technical points differ from one school of thought to the next, you cannot eternalise a style in physical form. For example, one coach might says to punch from distance, and another might says to fight “inside” at close quarters. There is no point in debating which of these is right or wrong because these are just peripheral details which fluctuate with the times and depend on so many different situations. They often come down to matters opinion, as if an individual were able to refute the process by which we learn. However, you can instead use a metaphor which illustrates a universal point. This is why I don’t advocating learning from some organised system, instead you are better off relying on a method without form.

Take the saying “If the General be skillful, the spirit of his troops is as the impetus of a round stone rolled from the top of a high Mountain” from the Art of War2. In the language of symbols a mountain means from up high, which is where you must aim even though you might fall over, or overheat on the way up. Yes, there are many trials awaiting us before we reach the summit. A stone represents something which rotation occurs around an axis. This could be taken to mean “Sharply drop your centre of gravity into a strike” or “view things from the perspective of higher reason, with the use of natural forces”. It could also mean, in management of people “The leader does not gravitate around the troops, he keeps his distance so his followers are drawn to him. He is careful to not to be drawn to their level”. There are many more explanations of this simple sentence: use your imagination, that’s the whole point!

Even without knowing what they mean, you can begin to contemplate symbolic language and metaphors. This ignites the whole process. Because symbols apply to so many fields and on all levels, they must be kept deliberately obscure and simple. And this only increases their meditative value. Meditation begins by choosing a subject and contemplating it. Soon, the meaningful image you have conjured up quite naturally focuses your concentration. Then, eventually, eventually relate to it. Let’s look at some other examples of this phenomenon taken from the art of War, a classic text on Warfare.

Sun Tzu said “When the fire is at its height, attack or not as opportunity may arise”. This can be interpreted to mean “When the enemy has given themselves over to disorder, they will have lost their ambition and drive”. Equally it can be interpreted as “When you have channeled your inner fires, use them, or if they threaten to destroy you because you have been seized by chaos, then don’t”. But once again, it is not necessary to know the moves in martial arts to begin working with these methods. Some sayings and proverbs have such an impression on the mind that they provide enough motivation to run with them and teach yourself. It is not a question of their literal validity. And with enough motivation it is mathematically certain that you will succeed in your goals, using such symbols as an impetus for learning.

“War should not be undertaken because the Lord is in a moment of passion” Said Sun Tzu. Now many people have interpreted this to mean that there should be no passion behind practice, that their should be a void. But in fact, meaningful action is not possible without passion. Instead this statement can be interpreted to mean “If you are overwhelmed by your pure instincts, which have not been channelled by reason into power, then you will burn yourself”. Truth be told, many athletes, fighters, and other people, have never really wanted to channel their energies into something higher because they remain convinced that they would be unhappy. And for this reason it is impossible for many to see any truth in books like the Art of war.

The concept of Maya in Hindu Philosophy teaches us that what is immediately apparent is often and illusion. And that behind strength lies weakness. These deceptions are what the enemy uses to gain power over you. For example, Sun Tzu said “the Causes of defeat come from within. Victory is born in the enemies camp”. From this it is apparent that our own inner forces are liable to deception3. To overcome this, Sun Tzu said “the skillful in attack push to the topmost Heaven”. This is just another way of saying that the skillful fighter relates to a high ideal and channels his instinctual energies towards it. He notices the chaos around him, but like a laser focuses on the good.

Now the Chinese Divided Heaven into 9 levels. Similarly, the Yogis divided the self into 9 regions, or Chakras, the highest being at the top of the head. The highest point represents the high ideal, in other words perfection. Only by devoting all of ones energies to the highest form of motivation, rather than petty considerations such as ease and comfort (represented by the lower planes), can the fighter ensure intense vigilance and focus. Notice how, in the language of symbols, perfection is born from a foundation containing ignorance, or if you like the snake eats its own tail. This is what the fighter must aim towards: Perfection even if he falls very wide of the mark. Perfection is what inspires. The more powerful the symbol the greater impression it makes on the mind. Always use symbols and metaphors.

References

1 See Will Power https://harmanater.com/2020/05/10/will-power/

2 From The art of War by Sun Tzu

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

Will Power

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 7 min read | 123 views

What is meant by will power? Whilst the brain and body are not always highly active and alert, the spirit should remain alert through will power. In other words that aspect of you which observes what’s going on inwardly should always remain attentive, even if everything else is resting. Some might call this the spirit, or the minds eye. But none of this means you should be concentrating on something so intensely that you exhaust yourself and then need to switch off. On the contrary, remaining vigilant and alert about your thoughts and channelling them in a productive direction should energise you and save you from losing direction and motivation1. Because the mind simply wonders if left to its own devices, usually into negativity.

What does will power do? It directs and cultivates ideas principally. And these ideas are based on eternal principles, or archetypes, which we develop through thought. We later fashion such ideas into outcomes, such as behaviours, strategies, or physical objects depending on their direction. Think of will power as the directing force of currents, just as a river bed channels water. Because usually we don’t actually create ideas, we just inject a bit of ourselves into existing ones. If they were ours we would hold on to them as we do an arm or leg, but often ideas fail us and become unusable without the right mental approach. This is where will power is vitally important. Think of ideas as your children if you like, and tend to them and bring them up as best you can with all your energy. Because they will enrich your life if you take responsibility for developing them.

Think of will power as the first port of call which sets everything in motion. In other words, the change is immediate as soon as you think a positive inspiring thought, it just hasn’t materialised yet into a product or an outcome. It needs time. This is why it is important to always insist on thinking positive, inspiring, and motivating thoughts. Many people say “I just can’t resist this or that” or “I can’t get motivated”. But these initial negative thoughts, which occur in the absence of effort1, have the power to create the reality which we fear. Similarly, will power can define who you are once you recognise that thought is the foundation of action, the source of manifestation. The actual outcome of thought is unimportant and often obstructs progress, because the goal is the impetus, the great and driving force. This process is what we should relate to rather than outcomes.

In the exercise of will power change wont be visible outwardly immediately. Will power is useful for sowing the seeds of progress. And as I was saying, the effects are only immediately visible on the level of the mind, and it is this level you should relate to rather than what’s immediately in front of you. The fruits don’t come until later, which is why so many people give up easily. For example, say you wake up one morning and decide you can’t be bothered to train, telling yourself that you are no good anyway so what’s the point. Soon enough, without any will power directing thoughts in the opposite direction you have given in to this negative idea which started off as a passing thought. “Thoughts are things” and they must be nourished moment by moment, so other bad things don’t take their place.

Whilst physical training gives us a degree of confidence by creating a history of success, as well as good habits and routines, it’s not enough on its own. Without an ideal to strive for, a motivational force, even the most thrilling training yields little in the way of long term success. So it is in the mind that any physical achievement originates, by relating ourselves to our high ideal or grand goal. The physical outcome of these mental creations symbolise these ideas, and give them form. By adding something of ourselves into them physically, or altering our behaviour through the inspiration of such ideas, we give them physical expression. But it all begins in the mind. It is up to us to revisit ideas and thoughts constantly to nourish them and blend them with other great ideas so that evolution can continue.

Even the greatest champions have convinced themselves at one point or another that they were no good and were going nowhere. They let negativity take over because there was no counterbalancing influence to this natural retrogressive tendency. Either they got into drugs, became egotistical, self indulgent, or whatever.

Any negative state of mind is liable to take over quite naturally without will power setting in motion a counter offensive of positive ideas and productive thoughts. Think of it as a war going on inside of you, good versus evil. If you hate the idea of war, consider it a form of delivering justice against injustice. In fact this is why Martial arts have insisted on virtue and responsibility, so that inwardly you side with the good, that is the productive and sustainable, avoiding demoralization. The idea isn’t just to bow in front of the master and then be done with it, showing no respect for others as you go out into the world. The Positive outcomes appear later as a result of relating to certain principles. So don’t go rushing this process or looking for a quick fix.

Many people think “If I just had the right training” or “If I just had enough money” that things would be easy. In fact the opposite is true because then there would be no need for will power to assert itself against such easy conditions and senescence would set in. Instead, see your disadvantages and adversity as a gift, or what scientists call “selection pressure” to adapt. In other words, a reason for will power to assert itself and propel your upwards. There is no other logical way of looking at it, there must always be an equal and opposite force.

The thing about will power is that it needs to be directed actively, whereas doubt and negativity are passive states. Such states are the absence of will power rather than a bad state in itself. Nobody holds on to an inspiring idea or makes a work of art without the will to do so. This is why it’s so important, it’s a fundamental prerequisite for an outcome. In other words, the outcome doesn’t come before the work, anymore than the flower comes before the seed.

We all start off weak and ignorant, and it requires monumental will power and work just to maintain what little we have achieved. Because we are free to will thoughts in a direction of our choosing this means we can adapt the form of our ideas to suit our circumstances and tastes. We can become whatever we like. It also means that we are free to become lazy and lose our edge, making way for the next generation of artists, creators, and leaders.

Through will power alone we can stop this natural tendency to decline and therefore we must never rest on our laurels. Ideas are flexible and adaptable, which reflects our changing and evolving circumstances and needs. This also explains why we must ceaselessly act in order to develop our thoughts and capabilities.

If we want to develop our thoughts into abilities later on, we need to put in the work first. Insofar as a spirited energy dwells in us it must be nourished. This means we need to be alert and vigilant in order to sow the seeds that may take years and years to become giant creations. This is the first step of any great endeavour and we should identify with this perspective rather than the narrow view of material circumstance. It isn’t enough to realise that action needs to be taken at the eleventh hour, so we must be forward thinking and ready to see the slightest change in the landscape which calls for new creations in the future.

References

1 https://harmanater.com/2020/04/27/active-relaxation/

2 https://harmanater.com/2020/05/04/the-higher-and-lower-self-in-martial-arts/

Methods for Sleep

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 7 min read | 116 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

Focused Attention

Posted on Last updated on by joeharman8 | 4 min read | 97 views

The mind is continually amenable to suggestion which means moment by moment it is under the influence of whatever is feeding it. If a particular message or suggestion is continually reinforced, it becomes impressed on the mind, for better or worse. Over time this becomes imbedded in our subconscious. Therefore it is essential to keep the mind occupied with thoughts of a constructive nature.

Many religious and spiritual teachings have attempted to instill powerful and positive symbols into the mind of the individual. More recently, psychological methods have focused on creating literal images in place of these symbols, for example, mental rehearsal of skills in athletics. In any case the effect is the same. The attention of the individual for a period of time is directed towards some meaningful goal or principle which enhances motivated behavior.

Thought can be directed towards anything, whether that is towards making money, scientific discovery, battling mental illness, or whatever. The methods for achieving this vary, but the principle is always the same. The idea is to moment by moment and day by day keep the mind occupied with thoughts of a purposeful nature, so that you don’t lapse into idle thought. This then becomes routine. In my view negative thought is often simply the absence of positivity.

Practically speaking, a good exercise for martial arts is to imagine yourself doing footwork or aligning yourself to deliver a punch during mundane moments of the day. For example, you can twist and align the body in a similar way as you would in the gym whilst walking down the street. All motivated movements, whether that is powerful speech, throwing a spear, or reaching for an apple share the same underlying movement patterns (For more on this see Steve Morris).

If you try to act with purpose in whatever you are doing in the day, you enhance motivational behavior. you will have a great advantage and accumulate a lot more indirect training time than the average individual. This will support results in the gym. The more it is practiced the more automatic it becomes.

As we have seen, the mind can turn mundane activities into highly motivated ones by simply perceiving them as such. No overt act need take place that is read by anyone else. It only matters what you think. You have then entered into the mind gym. The idea is to make this place familiar so that it becomes a default setting in the minds eye. Furnish it with the right decor.

Just as the religious man enters into the kingdom of heaven within, so too can the athlete enter into the inner gym. Here, mental practice can take place according to some grand goal, for example winning the world championship, which is supported by subtle physical actions performed at mundane moments of the day. The accumulation of these small instances has a large effect size. Prominent scientists are said to have created ideas in their minds which years later have materialised into inventions or grand theories. The same laws which govern creation of physical ideas apply to the mental world, and there appears to be no predestination. You have to get creative and run with it.

The possibilities for application of focused attention are endless. Some live and breath it. And it doesn’t matter if the ideals thought up in the mind are unrealistic according to physical reality, which always fall short of perfection. Many studies have proven that mental practice stimulates the same neural pathways as physical activity. And it can be performed without the fatigue of intensive physical work, which can be engaged in only for short durations. Forget what’s “real” or “natural”.

The creative imagination of the individual is seemingly limitless. This ensures that our performance is measured against high ideals, whether morally, physically, or otherwise to raise us to our highest potential on the path of our choosing. In the same way, the process of scienctific discovery aims at truth but never arrives.

Powerful imaginative ideas cannot help but have a positive effect on the ignorant and weaker side of our nature. Whether such imagery bares any resemblance to our current physical surroundings is beside the point. It didn’t matter to Galileo whether his ideas bore any resemblance to what was out there already. Nor does it seem to matter whether motivated thinking even materialises into anything. As long as the mind is occupied and moving forward it’s moving in the right direction, and an individual is at worst removing their own ignorance, which itself gives power to counterproductivity.

Likewise, counterproductive ideas or simply the absence of constructive thought has the reverse effect. “Nature unaided fails”. This is the secret of the spiritual teachings.

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