A Centering Break

My friend Ashley Davis Bush is a grief counselor and lovely person. She is also pretty savvy about YouTube, and she creates simple and helpful 2-5 minute videos to help clients (and anyone!) come back to center in times of stress, pressure, and loss.

Her most recent posting - ABC Meditation - came across my computer screen today. It offered a needed reset to an already hectic beginning of the long holiday weekend. You might enjoy it, too. Plus you'll get to meet Ashley.

Good ki!
Judy Ringer

Perseverance

Margaret Wheatley's new book, Perseverance, shows every sign of offering her trademark wisdom and thought-provoking insight into how we can in fact invent ourselves and our world more intentionally.

You can sign up to receive eight segments of the book on her Website. I already did this. Every page contains a provocative quote and a brief essay exploring one theme. The first theme: "We've Been Here Before" encourages us to take a look at how we have persevered in our lives before. I found the quote by Clarissa Pinkola Estes particularly affecting - and true: "Any small, calm thing that one soul can do to help another soul, to assist some portion of this poor suffering world, will help immensely."

Good ki!
Judy Ringer

What aikido teaches

Here is a post from my aikido dojo's blog that I think describes what center and aikido is about. The fellow who wrote it is a nidan instructor for us (second degree black belt).

Checking Your Radar

Working with an aikido student last week, the metaphor of radar arose. We were exploring the timing for a particular aikido move that requires the nage (person who is throwing) to redirect the attacker’s energy once they have begun to lose their balance. There is a period when it is too early for the nage to act and then, in an instant, the timing is right. After that point, the throw still works but not quite as well.

To recognize that special moment, the nage needs to feel what is happening in the attacker’s core. If the nage is oblivious and simply following a prescribed set of movements for the throw, it is sheer luck if perfect synchronicity is achieved.

It was while exploring this thought that the idea of radar popped into my mind. The nage needed to have the uke on his radar screen to sense that magical moment. That magical moment might actually happen while the nage’s back was momentarily to the uke, so the idea of a radar screen seemed particularly appropriate.

As the radar metaphor nested in my consciousness, its application to relationships in daily living blossomed. If we don’t have our radar, or awareness, turned ‘on,’ we don’t connect with those around us. This often happened in the busy, chaotic lives we often lead. How often have you been in a discussion with someone and felt their mind was elsewhere? Contrast that with the experience of speaking with someone who is giving you his or her undivided attention and you begin to understand the significance of connection and being able to choose to be connected with people. With our radar ‘on,’ we are better able to hear and understand others, to be able to see their point of view, to establish common ground for resolving issues and building trust in relationships.

But, how do we turn our radar on? Why, by centering, of course. A few deep breaths, aligning our body and settling into that familiar centered space and awareness will follow. It matters not whether the other person is in the same room or across the country, we will feel a connection with them. Take a moment and consider some of the important relationships in your life. Are you walking around with your radar on or off? What checks could you create for yourself to assure that you keep it on?

Judy Warner