Slow Dance

I’m tired of listening to the purveyors of hope and doom.
I’m tired of hearing them on the radio, pretending to have the last word.
I’m tired of ignorance passing as intelligence.

For them, the choice, is always between
the virtues of capitalism and the evils of socialism, or
the virtues of socialism and the evils of capitalism.

Virtue and evil [...]

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Open-hearted communication

We just assume that home is where the heart is but….

We first have to open our hearts before we can be at home.

There is a fine line between protecting open hearts and closing protected hearts.

Excerpts from the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tsu

Feng/English translation

Forty-eight
In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.
In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped.

Less and less is done
Until non-action is achieved.
When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

The world is ruled by letting things take their course.
It cannot be ruled by interfering.

Fifty-two
The beginning of the universe
Is the mother [...]

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Commodity or Gift?

In the world where fear prevails,
respect is a commodity to be earned.
It is won and lost, like status
generating the fog of doubt and guilt
hovering unjustly above
the fields of competition.

In the world where love avails,
respect is a gift to be offered.
It cannot be won or lost, because
it is given with faith and
received with innocence.

Whenever we feel [...]

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Forward to Peace Books

This is the first book in a series of books that represent my efforts to comprehend the language of peace. It’s clear to me that as a child, I didn’t acquire much fluency with peace as a first language. Thus, the first book of the series is entitled, Peace as a Second Language

As I understand it, the vocabulary of the language of peace consists of any and every situation where our big willingness to narrow meaning (and become exclusive) is transformed by a little willingness to broaden and deepen meaning (and become inclusive). [...]

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Fullness of the Moment

So many choices to be made.
It’s difficult to find the balance;
to decide at any given moment to:

honor our agreements or break them
be carefree or responsible
follow the beaten path or blaze a new trail
wait for guidance or take the initiative
care for ourselves or care for others
preserve ourselves or preserve our environment.

Perhaps in the end, it [...]

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No Need

No need for guilt…
where there’s forgiveness.
No need for forgiveness…
where there’s acceptance.

No need for doubt…
where there’s understanding.
No need for understanding…
where there’s faith.

No need for hate…
where there’s tolerance.
No need for tolerance…
where there’s love.

No need for guilt…
No need for doubt…
No need for [...]

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In the Lilacs

Ah! There’s a very busy squirrel in the lilac bush outside my window, jumping and climbing about, making the branches wave as if a great wind were passing through them.

I really enjoy sitting here watching the critters. Ooops…now he’s trying to get inside the window. It’s open and I’m about four feet away from him [...]

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Creator/Discoverer and First Master of Aikido

The art of aikido was created by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969). Master Ueshiba was a Grand Champion in many martial arts before discovering aikido. He was also a deeply dedicated Warrior in the spiritual sense. His life was a never-ending quest for universal truth.

Professor Ueshiba, as the First Master of Aikido, is regarded internationally as a great teacher. He viewed the entire planet Earth as one country. He recognized all human beings as members of one family. He believed that the power of love is the greatest power, and he built and refined the art of aikido as a means to express this truth. [...]

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Revelation from the Benzinger

A violin is not just an instrument; it is something that is used to express feelings, emotion, style, and personality. When I chose my violin, it wasn’t just, go to the violin shop and pick one out. There were so many violins to choose from, each one a little bit different.

I would depart from Strings (a group in the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association (VYOA)) to the violin shop in Burlington, every Saturday and play five violins, decide to take two home, and choose a few bows to take with them. Each bow made every violin sound so different; changing the tone, and affecting the way I played the instrument in many ways. There are so many varieties of sound, which one to choose was difficult. [...] [...]

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OPT & Script 89: on “Education”

The work of schooling is so complex. It is dependent on so many factors that precede the schooling process. Let us list a few so that we might comprehend the multifaceted reasons for learning failure.

By the time we’ve reached six years of age, most of the damage and good regarding our schooling potential has already been programmed into us. It is not that there is no way to turn this around, but if the inner feelings related to education and growth are negatively internalized, the commitment to growth and activities is not endogenously mature and is very difficult to positively sustain [...]
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Welcome to the Mat

You have embarked on a path that I, in free translation, call the Heart Belly Walk.
From the beginning, it is important to be joining the opposites. At first, you may be very excited, perhaps even a bit anxious, to be engaged in learning something new, something potentially dangerous. Please calm yourself. Breathe easy.

You may [...]

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What is Aikido?

Aikido has a deep and lasting value in human society

- promotes peak physical condition and vibrant health
- heightens mental concentration
- develops good character, improves human relations
- provides alternatives in resolving conflicts
- increases self-discipline, confidence, ability to share

Though Aikido has been understood as an Oriental art, it has become a Global art, a transcultural activity. [...]

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Meaning of Ai Ki Do

Let’s learn something about the name of our art so that we can form a certain and clear mental picture to help us navigate. As you focus your study with the ideas which underlie the art, it will smooth the way. As you experience practice and understanding deepens, occasionally go over these concepts for ‘course correction.’ [...]

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Aikido In

The following is a brief outline of the internal names of Aikido In. These have been inspirational to our development and remain as direction finders when forks in the road appear and new choices must be made.

Aiki-in seibu enyu Daidoshii
‘The great leader who spread loving kindness through his art of aiki and helped multitudes’: this [...]

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Etiquette

Courtesy among students and teachers is most important in the sincere practice and study of aikido. The etiquette forms provide a framework for deeper concentration and, as we truly express our appreciation of each other, a harmonious atmosphere (aiki) is created and enhanced. [...]

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The Meristem Approach

An academy is a place where, almost by definition, a new student must be confused. There is this interpretation, that point of view, sometimes they are only slightly different, sometimes they seem to be opposite to each other. Which is right? Which is true? Ah! Here is the essence of the academy matrix. The students must reason, and practice, and decipher, and adjust their understandings for themselves—always arriving at a new synthesis, a new interpretation. [...]

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Five Principles of Aikido

The following 5 ideas are powerful aids in centering. If you go over them,
restate them in your own terms and practice them every day, a few times a day,
you will deepen your awareness—through experience—of your state of being.
Try this on for size: if/as you can ‘get’ any one of them perfect, you have them [...]

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Mantra; an Exploration of Sound

Occasionally, in our practice we vocalize, either as we move, or from kneel-sit position. There are four basic sound forms we work with: Iei! is usually practiced from kneel-sit position. Ei-Ho! is usually practiced in principle exercise and techniques motions. These are both uttered to reach toward a completely fulfilled expression of our essence, with an effort to be spontaneous, instantaneous, and complete. [...]

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Aikido Practice; the Art and the Science

From the beginning, do your best
to unify your body and mind as you
explore the motions of aikido.

Due to our culture, we have a strong tendency to want to figure it all out mentally, to have the particulars first explained so that we can then move the ‘appropriate ‘ parts of our body ‘correctly’ (usually through separate mental ‘command’). As we continue in this manner, we reinforce a gap between the mental and the physical. We must remove this artificial gap. [...]

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