When we want to fulfill our missions in life, it is important to want this very strongly. However, in reality, sometimes things do not go as we like, for instance when we are fumbling with the buttons.
There are some people who think, “I am desiring this so strongly, so why can’t I achieve this?”
I saw two men on the Shinkansen the other day, one was like a boss who looked fierce, and the other one was like his young employee who cared diligently. However, it seemed like there was some miscommunication and he bought the wrong bento (lunch box) for his boss.
The boss messed his clothes with that bento and shouted, “Oh, my! You know who bought this messy bento? Bring me water!”
The young man seemed like he felt rushed and said “I will be right back!”, but he did not come back for a while. The boss was very irritated while he waited, and meanwhile the mess seeped further into his clothing.
“I am back!” the employee breathlessly handed his boss a bottle of water.
I knew that the boss wanted some wet paper towel or a wet cloth as soon as possible to wipe the spot off, not a bottle of water.
I think that was the boss’ fault that he did not provide the correct request, but the young man thought “I made a mistake again!” and was frightened out of his mind, and he could not understand what his boss needed the water for.
If we cannot make the correct decision, it may be because of “stuck Ki”. We want to do our best, but we easily fall into a state of “stuck Ki” without noticing it.
When we are stuck in one thing, we cannot see the whole picture. Our mind loses flexibility and falls into a state of partial optimization, instead of total optimization.
The important thing is always to keep the flow of Ki moving, and not stuck. When Ki flows, we can use our mind freely. This is the most important understanding regarding the relationship between Ki and mind. When we adhere rigidly to something, this is “stuck Ki,” so this is always the big challenge in our life.
The problem is, we are often not aware of our “stuck Ki”. If we cannot realize it, we can never change for the better. And so, it is good to recognize both the feelings of “Ki flowing” and “Ki is stuck”.
“Ki flowing” is natural and there are not necessarily any special feelings. For instance, when we are in good health, we do not feel it specifically. However, we know when we feel that “food is delicious” or we are “cheerful and happy”.
We can also know the feelings when “Ki flows”, for example, when we can feel our surroundings.
When “Ki is stuck”, we have a narrow view and cannot feel our surroundings.
Another example is when we can feel “the whole body”. When “Ki flows”, we can select the best choice from the whole picture. When we can only feel part of the whole picture, “Ki is stuck”.
Speaking of our body, when we use the whole body and feel “at one”, then “Ki flows”. When we only use the part of our body, like moving from arm, then “Ki is stuck”.
Through Ki-Aikido training, we can realize both feelings of “Ki is flowing” and “Ki is stuck”, and we will be able to repeat the good one. Many top athletes visit us at Shinshin Toitsu Aikido Kai to learn this.
Let’s enjoy practicing Ki-Aikido together and learn how to deal with “stuck Ki”.