I am teaching at US National seminar in Las Vegas now. I am so impressed with participants’ way of learning Ki principles with a serious mind.
The most important Ki Principles of Ki-Aikido is "do not take others and yourself relatively, but become one with others and move together."
We perceive others and ourselves relatively. We need this viewpoint and, by itself, this is not bad, but if we see things only from the relative way, there will be a problem.
When you try to move others, if you see yourself and others from a relative viewpoint only, then your movement will be "pushing others". If others are pushed, their mind will resist you. Therefore, it is not possible for them to move with you.
On the other hand, if you do not think of yourself and others as separate, but think of yourself and others as one, then you will be able to move together easily. If you and others move together, then they will not resist you. In this way, you can always lead others comfortably.
Here is an example.
When you nurse, or take care of, another person, sometimes you must move the patient. If you try to move the patient, you may use unnecessary power, and as a result, the patient’s mind will resist you. Then, nursing becomes heavy work for you, and the patient also does not feel comfortable.
On the other hand, if you think "I will move together with the patient", and you do not use unnecessary power, then the patient’s mind will not resist. Also, you will be able to move very comfortably. Most importantly, the patient feels very comfortable to receive the care.
In fact, our quality of movement is changed by the quality of our own mind. If you apply this to your daily life, you will understand how to lead others.
Here is an example.
If your child does not clean up, you might say, "Clean this up!". However, if the parents themselves do not clean up, but insist that the children clean up, then the children will resist. On the other hand, if the parents say, "Let’s clean up together", then the children’s mind will be moved to clean up because the parent’s mind moves first. "Let’s move together" is very important.
"Let’s move together" does not mean "trying to fit yourself to others". Many people tend to misunderstand this idea. Each of us has a different mind, a different way of thinking, and a different perspective. It is impossible to fit yourself to all people. If you force yourself to fit with others, you cannot move together with anyone.
The important thing is to follow the way of the universe and move together. Even if you think "let’s move together", if your mind does not meet the way of the universe, you cannot lead others.
It is not correct to think "I must be one with another person". We must be one with the Universe. It is impossible to explain this principle in words. Therefore, for beginners, please attend Ki-Aikido seminars. If we learn Ki principles through Ki-Aikido, our viewpoint will be changed. We often see our own problems disappear through Ki-aikido practice. Because we can realize so much through Ki-aikido practice, let’s always study together.