I recently came across something I found really interesting.  It was an article that talked about how you can keep fish apart in a large tank without any actual barriers.  First you put up glass partitions. After a little while the glass partitions can be removed. The fish swim to the edge of where the glass partitions were and return.  They made a commitment that that’s as far as they can go.

That last line really caught my attention,

“They made a commitment that that’s as far as they can go.”

Wow, how often do we do just that? Without ever being consciously aware of it we put up mental barriers and then tell ourselves this is as far we can go. And so we find ourselves in a self fulfilling prophecy. The reality of the situation and our perception of it have little to do with one another.

It all boils down to our beliefs. If we think we are not capable, we are not.  But is the opposite true? If we think we are capable, are we? Well once upon a time when I was a little girl I was convinced I could fly if I only tried hard enough.  I would go up high and then jump over and over again. As you might guess, it didn’t quite work out as I had hoped but one thing is for certain, our chances of success increase dramatically when we think we can.

What we perceive to be true may in fact, be completely false.  There was an interesting study done along the same lines in India.  When they train their elephants, they take a baby elephant and tie it to a large tree with an iron chain.  Then they start reducing the size of the chain and cutting down the tree. Eventually, you can tie the elephant which now nearly fully grown with a flimsy rope to small tree but the elephant is unable to escape. It’s made a commitment in its body-mind that it’s imprisoned! That is a pretty powerful example of how perception and reality can have little in common.

How often in our lives are we held prisoner by our own beliefs?  How often in our martial arts training do we tell ourselves we cannot go any further and so limit our own abilities? Do we commit to failure?  Surrender needlessly when the reality is we are capable of so much more?

Over the past few months, my confidence in my abilities has been waning.  I keep telling myself I need to practice more and that is true. Yet maybe, I need to tune into my inner voice. How much of my recent lack of development has to do with practice and how much of it has to do with my growing belief that I am just not good enough? Am I that fish that swims to the edge and returns because it thinks it can go no further? Responding to a barrier that only exists in my mind?

I will think of those fish next time I am convinced I have reached my limitations and try to remember that perception and reality can bear little resemblance to one another.

Keep swimming!

Spring is finally here with everything just getting ready to change and blossom.  Always a great reminder to take stock on how the personal growth is coming along. Have I grown in the past few months? Have you?

Something that has been pointed out to me along the lines of where I have some room for personal growth is that I tend to hide a bit.  I have some trouble being in a room and being singled out (even for something positive).  So, when I am told I have room for growth in this area, I have to recognize the truth in this statement. This is something that my martial arts practice, and my teacher, helps me to do; recognize and acknowledge where change Is needed.

But recognizing the need for improvement is not enough is it? We can’t just own it and then do nothing.

We need to be grateful to the people who point flaws out to us, even when they can sometimes be hard to hear.  It often takes a little pain for real growth to take place though and knowing this can sometimes help us accept that.

And so, with a heightended self awareness and some discomfort I begin to let others get a glimpse of my true self.

The physical side of the martial arts is something I love but it is the mental aspects, the philosophy behind the martial arts that lights me up and sustains me when the physical aspects prove so challenging.

When I am practicing in class and it gets so tiring, so difficult, so frustrating I sometimes think - this is just too hard. But then another voice comes to my rescue. Reminding me that the self defense aspect and the physical exercise I get from my martial arts is only one half of the equation. I am getting out of the practice so much more than that. I am learning lessons that help me in all areas of my life.  The education I am receiving is invaluable.

I am continually grateful for my teacher and his commitment and ability to communicate the martial arts philosophy behind our practice because it has enriched my life and broadened my perspective on so many things.  He takes every opportunity to enourage our personal growth. He constantly reminds us to sit down and meditate to help achieve a greater sense of inner peace and calm. Things so needed in the world today. Yet he is quick to point out that it is the body and mind together that helps give us the internal fortitude and resources needed to find our own way.  But you don’t need to hear it from me. It is far better to learn it directly from my teacher and I am happy to say now you can. His weekly meditation talks given to his students have been captured on video and now featured on BodyMindAwakening.com.  I am genuinely pleased that more people will get a chance to listen and learn from this man who has dedicated his entire life to the practice of martial arts and to helping others deal with with their own challenges. On the site there are other things as well such as meditation tips, recommended reading and a philosophy section.  Why not go check it out?

Think you are aware of what is going on? It’s so easy not to pay attention to what is going on around us -but why? Well, first of all it takes focus to be aware. You cannot be lost in your own thoughts and be truly paying attention to everything going on around you.  Secondly I think, depending on where you live, we are lulled into a false sense of security. Generally speaking, most of us can walk around or drive somewhere in our car and expect to arrive at our destination safely. Yet, it is easy to miss something if we aren’t paying attention and how keen your awareness skills are can make a real difference. After all, we all know that life can change in an instant. Best to keep your wits about you. 

So how aware are you? Think you are pretty good? Why not check out this video for a minute and take a the  Awareness Test  then come right back and let me know how you did.

Kind of fun right? Part of being aware of your surrounding is the ability to see all but not focus on any one thing in particular. I find that for me to do this takes real focus. Our tendency seems to be to look at specific things yet with time I think this can become enough of a habit that we can take more in of the world at a glance.

So why is it important to be aware? Well for self defense is one obvious reason. Pretty much any martial arts school you attend will teach you that being aware is the first line of self defense. The more aware we are of our surroundings, the less likely we will be surprised to find ourselves in a bad situation. 

Often we get nagging feelings when something isn’t right yet we eithe tune them out or let our intellect talk us out of heeding that inner voice. But that is a whole nother topic isn’t it? Tuning into that little voice often called intuition. Look for more on that topic in the future.

Sometimes when I saw people younger than myself in class, particularly someone who I know started taking martial arts as a child, I would think how lucky they were to have begun training their bodies at such a young age. I would reflect on the fact that if I were younger, I too would be a little faster, stronger and more flexible. 

Yet, recently I am realizing there is a flip side to all of that. I think because I did start at an older age (in my thirties), that I did have something working in my favor. I had the maturity to appreciate the practice at a level that I might not if I had joined at a much younger age. I can listen the philosophy behind the martial arts and I am easily able to see it can help me in my everyday life partially because I can draw upon my own pool of experiences. I have had the great fortune to have enough mistakes under my belt that I can step back and see what areas I need to work on in my life.  Those years reveal patterns in my thinking and actions making it easy to clearly what behavior has served me well and what has not.

I have some people at my place of dojang who are many years senior to me in age and let me tell you, every one of them is an inspiration and an example to the rest of us.  I don’t think there is an age where you are too old for martial arts.  I just think the experience you will have will just be different.  No doubt, due to their more advanced age, there are some unique frustrations and bodily limitations, but just think of the wealth of life experience those people can bring into their practice!

If I am ever in need of some martial arts inspiration, I only need to look to those people at my dojang who are practicing in their fifties, sixties and even seventies. I am both humbled and grateful to be practicing with them.

We hear about people dying needlessly everyday but I was truly taken aback to read a story in the newspaper today about a temporary Walmart employee being trampled to death by the Black Friday shopping crowd out in Long Island, NY.

Apparently, these shoppers were so hungry for their bargains that they actually broke down the doors of the store and trampled this maintenance worker. I wonder if the following day or on Christmas morning these shoppers will look at around at all their worldly goods and feel it was worth it? Knowing that a 34 year old man’s life was traded for what exactly? A video game? A new coat? A Hannah Montana doll?

What was it that caused these people to cast all sense of humanity aside and knock this man to the ground? The scene was later described by police as “utter chaos” and employees said the customers were “acting like savages”. Even after it was announced that they must leave because an employee was killed, it is reported that people were yelling in protest saying that they were on line since yesterday. These people wanted to keep shopping!!

If this is not one of the most saddest commentaries of how greed and want have taken over our society today, I’m not sure what is.  I honestly believe that if more people were exposed to traditional martial arts education where things like self control, patience, awareness and meditation are taught and valued over things like material things and a “me first” mentality something like this would not have taken place.

Rather than getting caught up in the chaos and frenzy, people would have the clarity of thought to recognize the fact that the acquisition of things does not equate with true happiness. Our value in this society cannot be measured by the amount of stuff we have. A clear mind would not have not been so easily seduced.

Just imagine for a moment the reaction of family getting the phone call being told that their loved one died in a throng of people out to get a “bargain”.  Such an avoidable, senseless death.  It saddens me to think of what kind of holiday season they will be having this year and each one following.

If there is growth to be had in face of tragedy, then one can only hope that this event and the attention it receives will serve as a giant wake up call. 

I see the economic situation we are in as just that. A wake up call. Our society is led astray. We are placing too much value and time on the wrong things. I am hoping that this distress will eventually lead to a shift of consciousness. As our material possessions get stripped away we will be forced to realize what is truly important and that it is not found on the shelves of a store.

Helping us to look within -that is what martial arts training at its best is really about. It provides each of us with a road map. It points us to the areas where we need to work on ourselves. In doing so, we benefit everyone around us.