Learning To Be Silent

The September 2010 newsletter has been published.

Please post any feedback, comments, or questions below.

Two site announcements and a preview of things to come. First, you’ll notice that our single posts now sport Twitter and Facebook buttons. Yes, it’s true. The dojo now has a Twitter account, AikidoJax. So for all you Tweeters (Twitters? Twitterers? Twizzlers?) who communicate best in 140 characters or less, you’ll receive a handy link every time we publish a new blog post. And if something we write tickles your fancy, tweet away. Ditto for Facebook, with one addition: I’ve spruced up our group page with one of our dojo graphic designs. And I’ve finally learned how to send out group events, so hopefully that page won’t seem so quiet.

Second, we’ve reached a milestone of sorts with regards to Google: We now have over 350 pages of unique content submitted, all relating to Aikido. As I look at my own past blog comments, I’m not entirely sure this is an event worth mentioning. But there it is.

And lastly, a quick preview. After Dee’s impromptu soft ukemi lesson on Saturday, I’ve been inspired to create a video series on soft ukemi, with Sensei demonstrating. On this score I have to agree with Lane Sensei — aside from a few well known practitioners, I think Dee has the best ukemi anywhere. And by anywhere I mean anywhere, not just Florida. So now we’re going to record it. Hopefully our students will use these videos to improve their own practice.

Thank you Sensei for teaching our Saturday classes! We all had a wonderful time.

Consider this: Three hundred and thirty-five dojos participated in Peace Week, from forty-three countries. According to Google, World Peace Day was observed in such diverse locales as the Punjab province, Addis Ababa, and Kathmandu. Nearly three hundred news articles reported on the event during the last week alone. It’s something to think about.

O-Sensei:

Those who think deeply about Aikido feel that they must participate in the establishment of a universal system of truth and justice. It is our duty to serve as messengers and guides for world peace and universal brotherhood.

Martin Luther King, Jr.:

We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear… That old law about “an eye for an eye” leaves everybody blind… The time is always right to do the right thing… Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.

Mahatma Gandhi:

It is easy enough to be friendly to one’s friends. But to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.

This week is International Aiki Peace Week, an event organized by Aiki Extensions, an international nonprofit dedicated to the application of Aiki principles outside the dojo. Peace Week is inspired by the International Day of Peace, or World Peace Day, sponsored by the United Nations. World Peace Day is observed annually on September 21 and is a global call for ceasefire and nonviolence. Our dojo is participating in Peace Week.

During the week, we’ve received daily messages from Aiki Extensions inspired by O-Sensei’s message of nonviolence. One in particular hit home for me, as I began my Aikido training right after 9/11. It’s from Thomas Crum of Aiki Works. In its entirety:

Shortly after September 11, 2001, I wrote about what we, as aikidoka, can bring to the world conflict resolution stage. The thoughts are as relevant now, 9 years later, as they were after that fateful day. In honor of International Aiki Peace Week, I offer these thoughts:

Only when we are centered will we be guided to the most effective actions without injuring or implicating the innocent.

We can breathe deeply and bring our awareness to center, to gain the courage and ability to let go of judgment, prejudice, and righteousness.

We can walk a new path to lead humanity to higher ground. Criminals and terrorists are grown in a soil created by revenge, fear and separation. We can plant our feet in soil based on tough love and centered connection.

We can make it our mission to listen actively to each other, to lend our prayers and our helping hands to others, and to seek and appreciate the gift of being together.

We can be centered in the possibility of ending the cycle of violence forever. In our own actions and conversations we can help others be aware that force follows force blindly, causing a never-ending cycle of suffering and revenge throughout the ages.

Our greatest contribution toward humanity lies ahead of us. May we get centered and embrace it.