AIKI

T H E P O W E R O F H A R M O N Y

Life
in Three
Easy Lessons

Aikido, Harmony and

the Business of Living
RICHARD MOON

Zanshin Press •Nicasio, California

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Published by Zanshin Press, San Rafael, California
For more information about this book, contact:

The Listening Institute

75 Los Piños Road
Nicasio, CA 94946
Phone (415) 662-6903 Fax (415) 662-6904
Web site: www.listeninginstitute.com

Edited by Carol Yamasaki, Ed Buryn, Eugene Lesser, Toby Lafferty, Chris

Thorsen, Greg Baron, R. Moon
Thanks to Bill Holm for permitting use of his poem “Advice”
on page 61.

Copyright © 1997 by Zanshin Press. All rights reserved.

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Contents
Acknowledgements 4
The Way of Harmony 5
Change as a Source of Power 8
Preface Historical Context 12
Teachings of Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei 16
Life in Three Easy Lessons at a Glance 17
Life in Three Easy Lessons in Three Easy Pages 18

1. Presence Feel Where You Are 18

2. Harmony Harmonize In Relationship 19

3. Creativity Share Who You Are 20

1. Presence Feel Where You Are 23

Ground is Connection to More 26

KI the flow of life energy 29

The Art of Awareness 32

2. Harmony Harmonious Relationship 35

The Power of Harmony 36

Off the Line 38
The Power of Inquiry 40
The Power of Training 42
3. Creativity Share Who You Are 45
Authenticity and Spontaneity 47

The Process as a Whole 51

Healing into Wholeness 51
3-in-1 Oil: The Mystery of the Holy Trinity 52
Social Change: Leadership of the Spirit 55

Quantum Possibilities 58

One System 60
“Advice”: Someone Dancing Inside Us 62
The Birth of the Three Easy Lessons 65
Life in One Easy Lesson 66

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 FIRST, I WISH to acknowledge the founder of Aikido: Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei.
Next, I am deeply grateful to Robert Nadeau, a personal student of O Sensei and my
instructor.
I also want to thank my friends Chris Thorsen, my partner in business, Carol
Yamasaki my partner in life as well as Jim Dixon and Dan Whalen, who have supported
the art and the work and the dojo with full spirit and without whom this book would not
exist.
Finally, I thank everyone who has studied with me in the dojo as well as in the corporate
and international arenas. All of you have given me the opportunity to grow in
understanding and develop the perceptions presented here.

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The Way of Harmony & The Business of Living:

A Mind-Body Approach to Extraordinarily Effective Human Action.

Did you ever wish you had a prescription, a formula, a way of

functioning with greater authenticity and effectiveness? I believe everyone
wants to contribute something to the world, whether it’s our ideas, our energy
or our listening. It is a human desire to contribute and receive value. We
would like to do it well. No one wants to do it poorly. Every one of us would
like our contribution to count. Our desire to be effective is in service of that
aspiration.

Fundamentally people experience creativity as enjoyable and conflict as

stressful. The art of Aikido means aligning with, and tapping into, the
creativity of the universe. The founder of Aikido also called it the Art of
Peace. Peace describes a time when our attention is focused on what we are
drawn to, on what interests us, on what we want. When we fight we are
resisting something. War describes a state where we fight against what we do
not want. Our energies go to opposing that which we fear.

Our interests make it apparent where we would like to focus our

energies. Yet somehow we get caught up in wars and fighting. Without
realizing how we got there, we use our energies to attack and defend rather
than to create. Fear and aggression are so pervasive we struggle within
ourselves as well as fighting with each other. Not just the big fears but also
the small fears like not having enough time for ourselves and each other color
our daily lives. This happens without our noticing the power of these subtle
influences on how we expend our energy.

We need a technology to resolve the war within so that we can stop

projecting our inner struggles outward. It must be simple so everyone can use
it. If this technology were effective, it would resolve the inner conflict and the
external struggles as well. Such a technology would enable us to use all the
energy available to create a beautiful world.

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 What if we were to pursue peace as intensely as we wage war?

The three easy lessons for the business of living are the most essential
principles that I have distilled from my study of Aikido. The lessons are
based on three distinctions. The first is how we participate in creating our
state of being, the attitude through which we approach our life. The second is
how our attitude participates in creating our relationships, which in turn affect
our ability to contribute to situations and other people. The third is how our
contribution participates in creating the world.

The study and practice of these distinctions enhances one’s ability to

contribute what each of us brings to the world to produce the greatest benefit.
I have stated them as simply as I am able. You must translate them into your
own understanding for them to have meaning in your life. You must practice
them for them to have value. Paying attention to distinctions develops
awareness, as exercising muscles develops physical strength. Skill is
developed through the practice of applying these distinctions to how we create
our lives. The lessons give us techniques to help us in that study.

In a world of diversity, complexity and distraction, the ability to operate

authentically becomes increasingly valuable. The power of Aikido enables us
to connect with what is essential and true for our growth and development
while contributing the uniqueness of our gifts to the world. The principles of
Aikido, when practiced, empower each of us to complete our bestowed
mission.

We live in the world but understand so little of the effects of our

participation in creating what we experience? The three easy lessons offer
basic distinctions and fundamental skills that powerfully influence the
business of living. I use the term the ‘business of living’ to imply all the
realms that matter to us in our lives, commerce, science, education, spiritual
development, family and personal relationships.

Mind and body are a system, each affecting the other. They combine to
create a field we define as our spirit, the attitude with which we engage in the

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world. Our effectiveness and our state of being are interdependent. Our
reactions physical, mental and emotional affect each other. When we are
upset emotionally it affects our thinking and shows up in the body. When the
body is sick or hurt it affects our thoughts and emotional state. The
combination of how we think and feel affects how we interact. The
fragmentation of being produces ineffective perception, strategy and
interaction. When mind and body are unified we experience a level of power
and possibility unimaginable to a system in conflict.

When we are under pressure the intensity of the energy flowing through
our bodies increases. A rush of energy happens in response to any challenge
large or small, from a physical attack to the phone ringing. Stress results from
resistance to the increase of energy we experience in response to the pressures
of life. Under stress, whether that stress is internal or external, physical or
emotional, real or imagined, the aspects of our system get knocked out of
alignment. When what we do is not in harmony with what we think and feel
we are not very effective. The inevitable outcome is conflict, internal, external
or both. Conflict implies not only blocked communication but also more
importantly, blocked creativity. Internal conflict causes resistance to the flow
of our vitality.

Medical science has identified over two hundred symptoms of stress,

notably increased heart rate, long muscle tension, narrowed peripheral vision
and shallow breathing. When our muscles tighten so does our perception.
When peripheral vision narrows it limits what we can see. Correspondingly
stress also causes a narrowing of the range of our thoughts, our emotional
options and the possibility of creative solutions.

Aikido develops the art of utilizing the energy of life, rather than
resisting it. Aligning our thoughts, feelings and actions, allows energy to flow
freely and creatively. Unifying mind and body is a simple, subtle and
powerful practice. It is a meta-skill that we can apply to every pressure we
face in life. Resistance uses our limited power against the divine power.
Harmony allows us to join with it, draw on it and utilize it.

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Change as a Source of Power

Aikido translates as, “the way of harmony with the spirit/energy of the
universe.” The art of Aikido is based on more than non-resistance, although
that is a good start. It is based on harmony. An Aikido master by using the
energy of an attack and by working with it can influence an otherwise
dangerous situation to create peaceful reconciliation. Translating our
metaphor from the realm of the martial arts to the business of living, an attack
represents the force of change. Resistance to the energy of change creates
stress. A master in the business of living works in harmony with the force of
change and can influence an otherwise stressful situation to produce positive
outcomes.

Aikido produces maximum effectiveness with minimal effort through

harmonious relationship. A master in the art of Aikido or in the business of
living uses the energy in any situation to attain their desired goal, as a sailor
uses the wind. By harmonizing or aligning their sails with changes in the
wind, a sailor reaches their desired destination regardless of the direction the
wind is blowing. When we harmonize with it, the energy that might have
distressed us becomes a source of power. When we can align properly
energies that might have blown us off course help us accomplish our bestowed
mission.

When we harmonize with the energy of change it increases our power

and ability. The somatic disturbances that become visible as symptoms of
stress can be reversed through the application of Aikido principles. When our
energy flows freely in harmony with the winds of change, the sense of stress
diminishes and the mind and emotions open to an increasingly perceptive and
creative state.

The ability to generate high performance presence is an ability, a learned

skill. The human system is a combination of mind, body and spirit. Through
heightened awareness of how the aspects of our being interact, we can learn to
influence our state of being consciously. Although emotional upset can be
subtle to control, the physical reactions of muscle tension and especially the

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process of the breath are tangible and relatively easy to access and affect.
These in turn affect the mental and emotional state. By practicing with the
most tangible physical aspects of breathing and muscle tension, we can
influence the subtler aspects of feeling and thought. By relaxing the body we
relax the emotional charge. By breathing deeply and slowly we deepen and
calm our thinking allowing us to connect an increasingly complex web of
neurons and creative possibilities.

Mastering the connection of mind and body engenders a state of

confidence, courage and clarity that allows us to function with increasing
precision. The freedom engendered evolves creative solutions that are
unavailable when we are in conflict within our own system. An open mind
can perceive and resolve conflict in ways that would be impossible from a
defensive state of being. When we are attentive to our state of being and our
relationship to the world, our contribution is naturally aligned with a larger
whole. Aikido as a way of development brings our experience and action into
harmony with the whole of creation.

The power of harmony resolves conflict. We create harmony internally

by unifying mind, body and spirit. This is the first principle. It is
accomplished by centering, connecting attention with sensory experience.
The process of inner harmony producing harmonious relationship with the
external universe is the essence of the practice and is the second principle of
The Three Easy Lessons. When our spirit operates in harmony with itself, we
resonantly operate in harmony with our environment. In a spirit of harmonious
relationship, energy otherwise wasted in resistance can be fully utilized for
contribution.

The first step in learning Aikido is developing an awareness that the

relationship of mind-body exists and can be influenced. With that knowledge,
instead of living as a victim to the stress crated by the effects of one aspect of
the system -- mental, physical, emotional -- on the others; we can consciously
create a unified state of being. Once this process is begun, it becomes the
seed of an ongoing life practice.

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 It is only when we lack creative spirit that we default to the defensive
mind-set that produces and reinforces fixed thinking and feeds ongoing
conflict. Conflict without creativity breeds a sense of powerlessness. A lack
of options breeds despair and violence. The founder of Aikido said, “the true
spirit of a warrior is that of loving protection.” A spirit of loving protection
resolves challenges creatively rather than avoiding or attacking them out of a
sense of hopelessness and fear.

When our power is sufficient we can look beyond our personal survival
to a larger, more encompassing view of how we might contribute in the world.
Our perception of what is possible changes. Aikido unifies the individual
with the universe. The sense of personal power and personal mastery that
emerges from the knowledge and practice of Aikido principles, manifests as
the divine spirit of creativity and serves for the completion of the universe.

Rely on harmony to activate your manifold powers and create

a beautiful world.

Morihei Ueshiba, O Sensei

This book is dedicated to those who want to “Create a beautiful world.”

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 In the vast
emptiness
of eternity

flows
the energy
of
the universal
intelligence;

one system
of
divine
creation ensues.

In the emptiness,
energy and perception

is
the formation
of
our
lives.

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PREFACE: HISTORICAL CONTEXT
THE ART
AIKIDO IS A MODERN martial art developed in Japan during the twentieth
century. Though based on ancient martial practices dating back to the 15th
century, Aikido is a new and unique form. The founder of Aikido, Morihei
Ueshiba, also called O Sensei, lived from 1883 to 1969. Sensei, in Japanese,
means teacher and implies “one who has gone before, one who has walked the
path.” O Sensei means great teacher or teacher’s teacher.
Aikido emphasizes the concept of blending with rather than opposing the
KI (energy or force) of an attacker or situation. Aikido is based on the
principle of reconciliation. That is, the reuniting of what may seem to be
opposing forces, i.e., “the mind and body, the material and the spiritual realms
or the opponents in a conflict.” It differs from other martial arts because it
espouses the spirit of loving protection, demonstrated through its emphasis on
neutralizing the attack rather than the attacker.
Aikido emphasizes unifying the forces of the individual with the forces of
the universal, the alignment of what we know with forces beyond our present
level of understanding. This movement beyond the known, this entry into the
unknown is in my understanding the essence of the study.
The Work
This book has grown out of my Aikido teaching, corporate consulting and
international peace work. Since 1974, I have headed an Aikido dojo (school)
in Marin county, California. Since 1987, I have been a partner in an Aikido-
based consulting firm. Our work is built on the principles of Aikido and
Dialogue. We see Aikido as kinesthetic listening and Dialogue as verbal
Aikido.
In the business domain, we coach executives and their teams to develop
dynamic presence, inspired leadership and intuitional decision-making. We
also facilitate team communication and mediate conflicts. In International
work we teach the principles of peaceful reconciliation. Taking Aikido
principles into the world of business and international peace building has
helped me translate the fundamental philosophy of Aikido to the business of
living.
In the role of teacher I am committed first to my growth, as any leader
should be, and then to the growth and development of my students. In the role
of an executive coach the focus is more on effective execution rather than
personal development. From a larger perspective they are the same thing.
Developing a higher degree of self-awareness enables modifying our actions
to account for the inevitable changes that occur. As we develop self-awareness
we continually mediate our strategy during execution, effectively making

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ongoing corrections mid-stream. On-going realignment as opposed to blind
commitment is an infinitely more effective mode of operating.
Negotiating a changing universe requires Aikido. We all use its principles,
often unconsciously. Through practice in paying attention the principles of
Aikido become conscious and one’s skill at negotiating change increases to a
level of mastery.
The practices of The Three Easy Lessons develop infinite creativity rather
than prescribing specific techniques as solutions. A state of creativity is
generated through intention. The focus of our intent forms the creation of our
lives. Energy follows attention.
Simply practice applying Aikido’s principles to the best of your ability.
Your ability will grow and your understanding will deepen, making possible
enhanced ability and broader understandings. This is the path to learning. Do
not let the voice that says, “I don’t know,” drown out the voice that says, “I
want to learn.” Rather, train to perceive the unknown with a spirit of wonder.
We develop wonder as we would any muscle or ability, by exercising it.
Listen to the whisperings.
A Unique Approach
The power of harmony, the art of peace applies in all our relationships and
interactions. The real benefit of Aikido derives from applying the underlying
principles of the techniques in our daily lives off the mat. The cost of doing so
is our attention. To integrate Aikido into our lives we must pay attention to
how we are doing, what we are doing.
Aikido is a profound art. Taught in the traditional approach the essential
understanding assembles over many years. In trying to learn Aikido people
often get lost in its depth and miss its essence. We may learn the moves of the
physical, self-defense techniques but fail to change our identities. Unless we
have a conscious intent to practice the art, we may only learn techniques.
When we defend ourselves rather than transform ourselves we reinforce our
defensiveness. We may get stronger and more capable of defending a belief or
perception instead of learning, instead of aligning a harmonious relationship
with a constantly changing universe.
After many years of training I distilled the essence of my practice into
what I have come to call the three easy lessons, easy to say but a lifetime of
study does not exhaust the practices. This simplified map represents a
doorway into the study.
A book cannot begin to convey the beauty of the art. For all of you, I hope
deeper study will follow. In this work my intention is to convey the power of
Aikido’s principles in the simplest way to make its gifts available to a wide
audience. It only represents the beginning of what can be a lifelong journey.
Life in Three Easy Lessons as a learning system introduces the art of Aikido.
It does not contain it. Whether you apply the art in daily life or engage in the
physical practice of Aikido techniques on the exercise mat, this book offers a

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window to expand your view of the art and the power of its application to life.
The lessons are easy. The practice may be another matter.

My view is just a view. This is how it looks to me at this moment. As we

explore this window into the art of Aikido, I hope what you see here will
enhance your life and work in creative and renewing ways. Thank you for
your openness and willingness to share in this exploration of learning without
end.
The best compliment I ever received was when a student once said to me,
“You’re not teaching. You’re learning out loud.”
The Book
The content is presented in layers. The ideas are first presented in outline
form to give an overview. Next the ideas are each expanded briefly. The
concepts are then discussed in greater depth. As it evolves the presentation
becomes more exploratory.
The ideas are repeated and renamed. They may seem repetitive but that is
how we practice Aikido. We learn a technique or principle and then practice
it over and over, gradually deepening the skill and understanding through
repeated practice. This is a teaching method done so the reader may absorb
Aikido principles through several doorways. Hopefully the multiple
descriptions of the Three Easy Lessons will harmonize with one another and
enrich a deeper understanding.

The language like the art is in constant evolution. It evolves in connection

with consciousness. Rather than choose He or She or alternate or use s/he . . .
I choose to refer to an individual as they, implying he or she or both or neither
or something else. I am aware that it is not the old approved method but
neither is anything else in my approach to the Aiki Dialogues.
As to the use of terminology if you are familiar with looking at the world
as a field of energy these ideas will seem familiar. If not please be willing to
consider the ideas the best you are able as your vocabulary grows to include
new meaning.
Begin in the spirit of pure science, learning for its own sake. Then move
on to applied science, making use of what is learned to improve our lives.

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Say one word, hear ten words.
Japanese Proverb

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 Teachings of Morihei Ueshiba, O Sensei

“MARTIAL ARTS MUST undergo constant change. Budo (the way of the
warrior) develops in an evolutionary manner together with the movements of
the heavenly bodies and must not stop even for an instant. The first stage of
my Budo has come to an end and serves as the stepping stone for the second
stage. Its form must be continuously renewed.
There are no kata (set forms—fixed techniques) in Aiki Budo. All
phenomena of this world vary constantly according to the particular
circumstances and no two situations are exactly alike. It is illogical to train
using only a single kata, thereby limiting oneself.
Techniques which are visible to the eye are useless. Your body and the
kami (deity) become one through the accumulation of training. It is for this
very reason that you stop your opponent’s movements with rapid techniques
that are invisible to the eye without allowing him to touch your body and
without leaving any openings.”

From Aiki News, Winter 1992, reprinted from a 1942

article by Morihei Ueshiba in Shin Budo magazine

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 Life In Three Easy Lessons In One Easy Page

I. Presence
Substance / Rhythm / Center

You can’t get there from not here

II. Harmony
Fluidity / Adaptability / Blend

The only constant in the universe is change

III. Creativity
Listening / Melody / Lead

The mystery is infinite

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1. Presence - Feel Where You Are

THE FIRST LESSON OF LIFE OR principle of Aikido refers to a state of presence, being
centered and fully aware. The practice that produces it can be stated as Feel Where
You Are.
Feeling where you are refines awareness into attention. When your attention
connects with your experience you are present to your life.
As a starting point bring your attention to your physical body and listen to the
feedback. Feel where you are as if every detail mattered. Then expand this awareness
into the whole of your life.
Feel where you are can be practiced a number of different ways. Notice your
physical balance. Locate your center of gravity. Feel where you are in relation to your life
energy. Feel where you are tight and resisting the flow of energy through your body.
Feel where you are relaxed and where the energy flows freely. Feel where you are in
space. Feel where you are emotionally. Feel where you are in relationship to other
people. Feel where you are in relation to the attitudes and emotions of others.
The first principle extends to feeling where you are on the mental, emotional, and
spiritual planes as well. Pay attention to your attitude and extend this awareness into your
relationship in-and-with the world at large.
Feeling where you are includes subtler dimensions, such as feeling where you are in
your life’s journey, feeling where you are in the whole of Creation.
Paying attention to feeling where you are makes it possible to know where you need
to go and what you need to accomplish. Focusing awareness into attention in the physical
domain allows us to walk through a doorway and not into a wall. The same focus of
attention is equally vital in our mental, emotional, and spiritual domains, moving us
through the abstract doorways of life with equal ease.

You can’t get there from not-here.

FEEL * SENSE * EXPERIENCE

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2. Harmony – Harmonize in Relationship

THE SECOND PRINCIPLE of life is adaptability. Being fluid and adaptable allows us to align
the next lesson of Aikido, a harmonious relationship. Harmonious relationship means
adapting to change by aligning with each situation as it unfolds. This is a state of engaged
non-resistance. Non-resistance means moving in concert with experience, accepting your
feelings and the feelings of others.
In the physical practice of Aikido, when someone attacks, representing the force of
change, we don’t resist the force. We don’t hold a position that was based in the past.
We don’t stay on the line of the attack in opposition to the energy, limited to being
pushed or pushing back. Instead, we enter in next to the attacker, turn and face the same
direction and try to understand their point of view. In life don't oppose the force of
change, either being pushed around by it or pushing back against it. In the face of change,
don't resist. Move in harmony with the direction of change.
Emotionally harmonious relationship encompasses entering into an inquiry that
allows the emotional energy to change us. Whatever emotions arise, whether excitement
or anger, frustration or enthusiasm, sadness or joy, sense the feelings deeply and receive
their guidance.
If another person reacts negatively to a suggestion, don’t oppose their reaction or try
to convince them otherwise. Enter into an inquiry together. Understand why they feel the
way they do and seek to understand where they perceive value. Receive their reaction as
guidance towards a creative solution. Work with them to improve the suggestion.
Harmonious relationship allows us to work together creatively. When energy isn’t
lost to friction or opposition, all our attention is free to generate solutions and positive
action. This is difficult when we are opposed to that which is, just as it is difficult to be
heard by someone who is talking. Harmonious relationship opens the doorway to the
third principle: Creativity - Share Who You Are.

HARMONIZE* BLEND*LISTEN

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3. Creativity - Share Who You Are

THE THIRD PRINCIPLE is to contribute your creativity, Share Who You Are. Aikido
is not passive and harmony does not imply giving up. They imply creating new
possibility by contributing your note to the chord and your tone to the symphony. Make
your contribution. Each of us has a unique view of the world and something special to
share. All of us value making a contribution and having our contribution valued by
others.
Your contribution is of unique value. No one else can make the contribution you
would. It is critical to focus attention and respond to situations without resistance.
Operating from a state of conscious awareness and non-resistance, life is imbued with
authenticity and spontaneity.
Fearful of resistance or rejection we often avoid contributing or sharing who we
are. Or perhaps we try to impose ideas, increasing resistance and creating resentment.
Often people want to jump to the third step without doing the first two.
The first two principles are prerequisite to the third. You need to be (1) Present,
feeling where you are, in a self-aware or self-reflexive state, focusing attention on being
fully present, centered, and grounded; and (2) Adaptable, aligning in harmonious
relationship with the force of change, in a state of being non-resistant to the situation
which needs to be handled. When you operate without resistance or resentment, all your
energy is available to (3) Creatively contribute in a positive spirit, share who you are.

Once we are centered and blending with the moment the possibility to lead change
opens to us. When creativity flows, dreams become reality and what was once impossible
becomes what is so. Get present with what is, adapt to change and create what you
envision. Create a beautiful world.

Feel where you are; generate a harmonious relationship and share who you are.

CONTRIBUTE * CREATE * LEAD

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 Life In Three Easy Lessons In One Easy Page

I. Center
Presence / Rhythm / Focus

Be here now

II. Blend
Adaptability / Harmony / Confluence

Go with the flow.

III. Lead
Creativity / Melody / Radiance

Let your self be seen

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 1
FEEL WHERE YOU ARE
Feel where you are tight.
Feel where you are relaxed.
Feel where you are in your life.
Feel where you are in Creation.
Presence / Rhythm

2
HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP
The essence of Aikido is non-resistance.
Align with the situation as it unfolds.
Move in concert.
Adaptability / Harmony

3
SHARE WHO YOU ARE
Express your energy.
Make your contribution.
Lead.
Sing your song
Creativity / Melody

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 1. Feel Where You Are
THE FIRST LESSON, Feel Where You Are, when practiced creates a centered state of
creative presence. Feeling where you are, although deceptively simple, is a powerful
exercise that generates a state of dynamic capability. Presence, centering, functioning out
of the essence of who you are fosters intelligent action.
Feeling where you are develops awareness into attention. Paying attention to how
you feel, changes how you feel. When you feel, what you feel is change, differential.
Feeling where you are, simply put, causes the unity of mind and body. Then the
unified field of mental and somatic awareness, becomes the ground of experience.
Otherwise we operate out of fragmented consciousness. When thinking and feeling,
sensing and knowing come into harmony, a new and exquisite level of intelligence arises.
In focusing our awareness on how we feel, by paying attention, we come to know
ourselves more intimately. The intimacy introduces us to ourselves in new ways. Our
power is enhanced as new possibilities appear.
Feel Where You Are. Notice what you have not yet noticed.

Centering connects us to the source of our being. Apprehending our physical

experience opens a doorway to our “felt sense” of being. Sensory awareness extended to
infinity and received completely suggests the possibility of experiencing the connection
of the here and now with the totality of time-space; of who you are, with all that is.
Center engenders a state that balances being in touch with our essence and our
connection to the world. It means a continual entering into experience. It is seeking to
understand reality as fully as possible. Centering opens the door to receiving knowledge
beyond understanding. It establishes connection with the whole of creation as an intimate
and immediate presence.

The first step in presence is focusing attention, bringing your conscious awareness to
your immediate experience. Thought can focus in the past or the future. Feeling occurs
in the present. Paying attention to experience is always in the moment. Feeling where you
are, causes you to function out of who you are becoming, rather than based on
habituation from the past. Feeling dissolves history. Feeling where you are connects you
with the forces that guide your life

Everything you think and know and believe came from your interaction with
someone else. Feeling is your experience alone. It is truly original and the essential
expression of your uniqueness. Feel where you are is the process of creating the life that
you dream for yourself.

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EXPLORATIONS - Simple exercises in presence that draw attention to feeling connecting
awareness with experience.

You may want to take a quiet moment to settle yourself. Put the book aside if
you like for a moment as you explore each exercise. Taking simple notes about
your experience may help you see the changes in your perceptions over time.
The Breath
Begin by bringing your attention to your breathing.
Feel the breath moving in and out of your lungs. This is called “external”
breathing. Notice if through this simple act of attention the rhythm and depth of
your breathing changes.
Next using the imagination, (imagine, pretend that you) feel the breath moving
through your lungs into the blood stream and through the bloodstream into the
tissue of your body. Sense the oxygen being absorbed at a cellular level. This is
called “internal breathing.” Feel where the absorption of oxygen becomes a glow
of energy. Notice the areas where it doesn’t. Maintain this focus of attention for
a few moments. See what you notice.
As you notice your breathing feel how much effort you are exerting to breathe.
Now sense into how connected your attention is with the impulse that activates
your breath. If the impulse that activates your breath is vague for you, hold your
breath a moment. It becomes very obvious.

Centering Through Physical Experience

Notice if your weight is more to the left or right, more forward or backward.
Noticing your weight, rock slightly left and right, forwards and back. Gradually
reduce the movement to smaller and smaller motions. Continuing to notice until
your weight rests at a central point of balance that's neither left nor right forward
or back. Notice the sensations that tell you when you are centered.

Feel yourself. Notice everything you can about how you feel.

Feel where you are

Focus your attention on your physical sensation. Feel where you are tight; feel
where you are relaxed. Now feel where you are emotionally. Notice the quality
and tone of your thinking. Feel where your energy is flowing freely and where
there is resistance to the flow of life energy.

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Expand this awareness into the whole of your life. Feel the state of your vitality.
Feel the quality and tone of your relationships, with people, your work and your
involvement in the world. Notice the areas of your life where you have passion
and enthusiasm. Notice those where you don’t.
Continually increase your attention on where you are. Notice your experience of
everything that is going on around you. Sense into your relationship to
everything that you are aware of. Notice the subtlest sense of how you feel
about any individual thing. Then notice similarly how you feel about everything.
Feel where you are in the whole of Creation. Though this directive challenges
the linear mind, the exercise is a simple one for the imagination. Start there.
Approach the practice in a playful spirit.

Simple exercises like these are practices that center you. They can be repeated
anytime that you feel the need to increase being centered and present. Practicing
this kind of exercise distills diffuse awareness into attention focused in the
moment.

Attending to feeling the breath along with feeling the state of tension in the body
allows the system to self-organize continually. The absence of feeling inhibits the
process. Feeling gives birth to movement. In feeling is the guidance that leads us
through change to growth and development.

The practice of feeling where you are is easy. What makes it a challenge is
continuing to do it in the face of life’s distractions, pressures and disturbances.
That requires discipline and training. Exploring the practice to its infinite
degrees of subtlety requires commitment. Commitment comes from valuing the
outcome.

“I’m calm, however, and whenever I’m attacked, not

only when I am attacked physically on the mat but in my
daily life as well - because I leave everything as it is to
the divine force of creation. “

O Sensei

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 Ground Is Connection to More
When we describe a person as having their feet on the ground we imply they are in the
reality of the here and now. When we say someone is grounded we are saying they are
connected to a larger more encompassing reality than their own thoughts. Centering
allows the muscles to relax. Relaxing connects us to the ground. Grounding connects us
to our substance, that which we stand on. This means more than the ground that supports
us physically. In the realm of the spirit it means the ground of our beings. Grounding
connects us with that which supports our existence, the original source of life.
Grounding frees awareness and allows us to use energy intelligently. In connecting
with the earth is the recognition that we are part of a larger system. We do not exist in
isolation. We don’t float in empty space because the support and gravity of the earth
holds us in place. This support signifies the expansive field of sustenance the universe
offers. It includes the energy of sunlight and the vitality of our biosphere, the oxygen we
breathe and the food we eat. Though we forget to remember it, we are interacting with the
energy of the whole of creation. We are interacting with the force of creation that is
creating us. We are inexorably entwined with the whole Creation. Remembering that
interconnection changes the context of our lives.
Grounding ourselves awakens us as active participants in the unfolding of Creation.
In the process of grounding, the practice of relaxing, of opening to and allowing our
connection with everything that is, the universal power flows through and into our lives.
With practice, grounding increases our ability to consciously draw on this power.
When we are startled we get up-tight, our shoulders come up and our muscles tighten
down. We disconnect from the earth and resist the flow of energy through our system. As
soon as we focus attention on feeling where we are, the natural intelligence of the living
system begins to correct without effort.

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AN EXPLORATION
As you focus your attention on feeling where you are, shift attention from your
thoughts to feeling your body. The simple exercise of tightening and releasing,
the muscles of the body draws attention to feeling in a simple and tangible way.
As you continue to pay attention to feeling sensitivity increases. Feeling
becomes increasingly accessible and easier to apprehend.
Straighten your posture and take several slow deep breaths. As you exhale softly
settle into yourself. Sense the pull of gravity drawing the weight of your physical
mass down into the earth. Notice where you resist gravity by holding your
weight up through the tension of your muscles. Inhale and feel the tension in
your muscles. Exhale slowly and feel your muscles relax. Feel your weight sink
down into your hips or feet. Sense the weight of your body ‘pouring’ through
your bones. Imagine it settling through the floor into the earth, dispersing
throughout the earth’s mass. Feel the support of the ground, of being connected
deeply to the earth. The next dimension of grounding might be how the earth is
interdependent with a yet larger system. Feel, sense, imagine through the earth,
to your connection with the universe.
Standing or sitting, repeat the exercise of rocking gently left and right,
diminishing the movement gradually until you come to rest at Center. Let the
centering reconnect you to a grounded feeling. How do you recognize Center?
How do you know where to stop?
A. It felt right.
B. I relaxed.
C. My breath released.
D. I felt more stable.
E. I had more energy.
F. My attention became clear and sharp/ vague and diffuse.
G. I felt a sense of readiness or capability.
H. I felt lighter / heavier.
I. All of the above.
Can you tell when you are grounded? Can you tell when you are not? Again
and again, when you practice centering notice how your weight is transferred
naturally and effortlessly through your bones, to the earth, increasing your
connection to Ground. This focus of attention changes your state and deepens
your experience of Center and Ground. This in turn changes your relationship to
the universe.

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 Centering and grounding are like breathing. Once in the morning is not enough. If
you practice on a regular basis you will be able to use this exercise as a technique to
achieve increased effectiveness anytime you are in a pressure situation. Train yourself the
second you start to panic to ‘Feel where you are’. Instead of reacting by trying to stop or
get away from a disturbance notice everything you can about what is going on for you.
As your attention focuses on experiencing your essential self, you connect to the vitality
of life. This brings you in touch with what is going on in the present moment and
enhances your capacity for action that is both elegant and effective. Centered you
naturally know what to do next. Feeling guides our lives. It is why the first question
whenever two people meet is, “how are you?” meaning how are you feeling
Your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energies inform and shape events that
become history. In feeling where you are, the essence of who you are awakens. Attention
effortlessly connects to the whole of existence and senses what you need to do and what
needs to change in your life.

“Should you first know yourself, you

will come to understand all. Everything
in the Universe is, in other words,
included in the Self.

There is no time or space before Ueshiba of Aikido.

Only the universe as it is.”

Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei

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KI The Flow Of Life Energy

We are alive because of the life force flowing through our bodies and minds. This
force, referred to as Élan Vital - (vital force) in the west, is called Ki in Japan, chi in
China and prana in Sanskrit. The Japanese term ‘Ki’, the second Kanji (pictograph) or
syllable in the word Ai-ki-do, comes from an ancient root meaning steam, implying
potential power. The word power comes from the Latin verb ‘poder’ which means ‘to be
able’. Power implies ability, possibility, capability.
Ki might translate as energy, spirit, mind intent, intelligence, the energy that
sources creation. Ki also implies adaptability and common sense. The teachings around
this principle are subtle, mysterious and powerful. The original concept includes a view
of our personal energy as a part of the Ki of the universe.
Ki is the source of energy that generates our ability to adapt to and to create
change. A light bulb gives off more light as the flow of electricity increases. Our beings
have more power when the flow of Ki is strong. When the flow diminishes our ability
diminishes. If we learn to increase our Ki, we can increase what is possible. The
founder, because of the ability to effect and direct his Ki, did things many people would
consider impossible. (See The Thalamic Discourses: Aikido, Energy and Possibility,
Zanshin Press)

The Kanji ‘Ki’ implies Aikido takes place in the domain of energy that activates
and manifests the physical realm. Without Ki nothing exists. I do not claim to
understand the concept of Ki. I can only say I have studied it. To me it remains a
mystery like life itself. I’ll leave you to your own exploration of its mysteries and share
with you a little of what I have come to sense about the study.

When we experience stimulus our energy system responds. The movement of

physical energy – muscle tension, hormones breathing; mental-emotional energy, the
flood of thoughts and feelings, are all the result of the subtle energy of Ki. We
experience each wave of energy through our beings as a rush, an increase, a charge.
Intention for action increases the energy flowing through the system. We get a ‘rush’ of
energy every time we are required to negotiate change. The size and intensity of the
energy rush matches the perceived requirements to handle a situation. A small rush
happens every time the phone rings. Bigger situations produce a bigger rush like a close
call on the freeway, but the process is the same. We typically only notice the larger more
intense rushes of energy but the process occurs with every stimulus, no matter the level of
intensity.

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 Here's an example:

Introducing yourself to a stranger usually produces an experience of this energy

flow. There is a "job" to do, albeit a small one, in saying, "Hi, I'm So and So, how are
you today?" In doing this "job" you may experience this energy as excitement or fear,
pleasure or discomfort. In the case of introducing yourself to only one new person it
would most likely be an amount of energy that you are familiar with and handle relatively
easily.
Now, what happens if you have to introduce yourself, in exactly the same words to
an audience of 10,000 people from a stage and with a microphone? The amount of energy
required for this "job" is considerably more since it is a larger "job"! Your system of
energy increases to make you equal to the "job".
In this situation many people experience this increase of energy as 'stage fright'.
They may feel shaky, scared, choked up, etc. The intensity of the rush increases the
effect of the ‘fight/ flight/ freeze continuum. This 'stage fright' is not the true intent of the
energy. However, if we misunderstand this intent and resist this energy increase, it can
have the opposite effect of its true intent. Its real purpose, in this case, is to increase our
capability, to expand us to a size equal to the "job" at hand. To open to this larger rush of
Ki, to harmonize with it, we have to recognize and open to the helpful intent of the
energy. Then we have to be willing to be affected, expanded and charged by it. Finally
we must let it flow through our system to accomplish our mission rather than get caught
in resistance to it. This is the art of Aikido.
To adapt to this change may indeed take a moment or a day or a year! It all
depends on the size of the "job", our attitude toward this increased energy and our skill in
harmonizing with it. Your skills in doing this can be developed quickly through the
practice of Aikido. Aikido means harmonizing with the energy. The natural effect of
Centering and Grounding achieves balance and a sense of support. All the energy we
unconsciously expend in resistance can be used intentionally.

When the energy flows through to the job we are effective. When we resist the
energy we feel the resistance as tension. Over time this becomes stress. Stress in turn
diminishes relaxation, creativity, health, and our body's ability to assimilate nutrients and
release toxins. This debilitation becomes a vicious cycle further limiting our ability
causing further stress in the face of life’s challenges.

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 There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening, that is
translated through you into action. And because there is only one of
you in all time, this expression is unique and if you block it, it will
never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will
not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor
how valuable, nor how it compares to other expressions. It is your
business to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe
in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly
to the urges that activate you. Keep the channel open.
Martha Graham

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 The Art of Awareness
In the same way lifting weights develops muscles, feeling where you are develops
attention through the process of continuously refining awareness. The developmental
process of focusing attention on feeling applies to all dimensions of being: body, mind
which includes thought and emotions, and spirit.
Center doesn’t just mean a place in the physical body. It is a process. The practice is
not being centered. It is centering. The practice of centering starts with continually re-
connecting feeling with the center of your body and develops to include the center of
your being, the center of your life, the center of the earth and the center of Creation.
The first principle of presence in the moment is accomplished by practicing the first
lesson, Feel Where You Are. It includes experiencing yourself mentally and emotionally.
It includes paying attention to your attitude and extends to your relationship in-and-with
the world. Feel where you are emotionally so you can begin to chart a course to an
emotional location you would rather live in and operate from. Feel where you are in
relationship to other people and their attitudes and emotions.
Awareness empowers volition. Without awareness there is no intention. Our
emotional filters sometimes referred to as moods and also the innate affects, are the
translators of our life force. Failing to pay full attention to them during our life journey is
analogous to driving without watching the road. That is how important they are to our
destiny.

What clues help you decide the direction to take at any given moment? Feeling
where you are means being present in the moment. Presence connects you with the past
and the future. Focusing your attention on where you are in the present moment makes it
possible to know how to get to where you need to go and what you need to accomplish.
Columbus could not have ‘known’ where he was in the universe but he had a feeling
about it. He listened to that feeling, he followed the call of what I call the whisperings.
Based on the subtle messages that he could not confirm only explore, he created his
destiny.

. . . all experience hath shown, that

mankind are more disposed to suffer,
while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms
to which they are accustomed.
The Declaration of Independence

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 If you invest your attention, feeling where you are includes subtler dimensions. Feel
where you are in your life. Are you on your path? Are you accomplishing your bestowed
mission? Feel where you are in the Creation. How connected is your life to the larger
forces that sustain the universe and make existence possible?

Being aware of feelings and emotions and the whisperings of yet subtler forces leads
us to the guidance of our lives and the understanding of others. Understanding ourselves
and others positions us to apply the second principle of harmonious relationship.
Perception is fundamental to our ability to harmonize.

Moving from a centered state is important beyond the physical domain. It is a

perceiving, a listening for the forces that guide you in living your life. It is the focus of
awareness into attention that allows us to drive a car or follow a conversation. The power
of focused attention is as essential in our mental, emotional and spiritual growth as it is in
the physical realm when we move through space from one place to the next. Without
attention we miss the doorways and walk into the walls. If you are not centered, whose
life is it?
Your willingness to deeply experience your own life gives you power, the ability to
create and to choose. When we avoid, resist or repress experience, doing so dissipates our
power. We all know how capably we can do our jobs when we invest our heart and spirit.
For example, which would you generally prefer to hire an enthusiastic beginner or an
experienced, uninspired time-clock puncher? In life, you either intend a process of on-
going attentiveness and renewal or you repeat what you know. You either choose
growth; development and learning without end, or you calcify and default to stagnation
and entropy.

He who is not
busy being born
is busy dying.
Bob Dylan

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 Life In Three Easy Lessons In One Easy Page

I. Perceive
Breathe, Sense and Feel

Open your Attention

II. Align
Adjust To Changes In The Wind

Unify with the situation as it unfolds.

III. Discover
Learning without end

Share in growing and learning together.

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 2. Harmonious Relationship
THE SECOND LESSON is practiced through the exercise of aligning a Harmonious
Relationship. Harmonious relationship is developed through the principles of adaptability
and blending. It implies fluidity with the ceaseless change that is life. Harmonious
relationship means non-resistance to the unfolding universe, accepting and receiving
what is, rather than opposing it. “Harmonious” and “arm” both derive from a Greek root
meaning “fitting” or “joining,” as an arm fits or joins into the shoulder. Musically a
harmonious relationship is one that enriches the overtone series of two or more notes
increasing the power of their effect. A choir sings different parts in a harmonious
relationship. As we harmonize with differing aspects the overtones produced create
possibilities that echo into infinity.
Harmonious relationship experiences the power of a coherent, unified whole. An
interconnected state of being participating in the universe is at the heart of Aikido. When
we are non-resistant to experience our field of perception is expanded. The more we open
ourselves, the more we perceive. We can see our actions in relationship to the whole.
Non-resistance produces a field of energy which has the potential for self-organization,
The forces in a self-organizing system naturally seek a relationship of harmony. Science
calls this tendency entrainment. - Lit. to get on board. The natural harmony between
centripetal and centrifugal forces keeps planets in their orbits. Harmony between the
individual and the universal keeps our lives in balance.

Everything in the universe exists in relationship. Nothing exists in isolation.

Everything is connected to everything. We exist in relationship to the planet, to each
other, to our thoughts, values and perceptions, creating a universe of complexity and
possibility. Harmonizing with the universe takes us beyond the limits of our perception.
Our state of being is the fundamental tone out of which we create our life and our
world. Rigid thought will conflict with the flow of change. Freedom of thought opens
the possibility of resolving conflict within a system. When we perceive with an open
mind, we create the possibility to design a harmonious relationship. Once we are paying
attention we can align a tone that harmonizes with what is unfolding. Aikido aligns
awareness, perception and action into relationship of harmony. Our refinement of that
harmony generates a reciprocating process in others. Moving in harmony, without
resistance, reveals our inter-relatedness and reconciles our differences.
Harmony with another begins with the first lesson. Feeling where you are means
being present and grounded, aware of and in harmony with your own experience. Coming
into an inner coherence, unified in body, mind, and spirit, affects the tone and quality of
any relationship. Harmony within creates a reciprocating echo producing harmony in the
external world as a natural outcome. When you live in a state of dynamic presence, the
second principle of harmonious relationship emerges.

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 The Power of Harmony

The science of physics teaches that resistance means the loss of energy to friction. When
electricity is used to create light, resistance to the flow of current reduces electrical
potential. The potential is diminished as some of the energy is used up in the creation of
heat (an unintended consequence) instead of light (the intended purpose). The lower the
resistance the more effective the system. In an effective system a brighter light is
produced with less energy. In electronic communications researchers seek
superconductors to create systems with less resistance. This allows computers to process
more data at faster speeds with less wasted energy. This is what we must do within our
own systems to handle an increasingly complex world.
This dynamic of energy lost to friction is visible in the world of human
relationships—among individuals and within and between companies and countries.
Discord means we use our energy to make each other’s lives worse. The power of
harmony means our power can be used for positive ends. Harmony in human interaction
like a super conductor in electronic transmission diminishes the energy lost to friction,
conflict, arguments and war. Harmonious relationship allows all the energy available to
be focused on creating a beautiful world. When there is harmony between people wealth
is created through our interactions. Peace and prosperity go together.

Life energy allowed to flow generates ability. When resisted it creates stress. Our
efficiency and effectiveness diminish under stress. Tightness in the muscles inhibits the
range and power of an athlete’s motion just as tightness in the mind impedes an
executive’s ability to organize information and develop strategy. Rigidity in a parent’s
mind blocks their ability to hear and work in harmony with their child. It inhibits their
ability to help the child develop effectively. Resistance to one’s own feelings and
intentions constrains personal power and impedes the leadership ability needed to guide
and motivate ourselves and others.
When we are open and non-resistant to the flow of our own power we generate an
indomitable spirit. The word “spirit” defines the power of our intentions and the power of
our attitudes. It refers to the indefinable energy that activates the forces of intent and
determination. When a leader or parent has a strong spirit the team or family feels
energized and empowered by it. When a leader, teacher or parent succumbs to the stress
and overwhelm it becomes ever more likely so will the people in their charge,

The power of Aikido emanates from the principle of non-resistance. Non-resistance

allows all available resources to be used to create harmonious relationship and effective
action. In the midst of change, do not oppose your feelings or the feelings of others. Start
by accepting experience as it is, including your desire to change it.

36
 Water by its nature shows us non-resistance, effortlessly taking the shape of the
container into which it is poured. In an effective Aikido response one aligns in a
harmonious relationship with the shape of an attack. Rather than opposing the incoming
energy Aikido moves with and responds to the unfolding situation. Using the energy
present towards reconciliation of conflict achieves any goal with less loss of energy to
friction and conflict. Aikido accomplishes more and more with less and less.

Using Aikido as a metaphor for the business of living, the attack represents the force
of change. We learn not to oppose the inevitable. We learn to work with change in a
spirit of harmony. In that attitude the force of change and the seeming chaos that ensues
becomes a source of creativity.
Albert Einstein and David Bohm, also a prominent physicist, belonged to a
community of scientists whose most valuable capital was the ability to share in a
common pool of intelligence and knowledge. The scientific community, when it works
well, exemplifies the value of harmonious relationship in the search for knowledge.
The story has it that the head of the team developing the atomic bomb for Nazi
Germany was domineering. He ridiculed those who did not agree with him diminishing
their collective intelligence and creative effectiveness. The military general who
controlled the American team for the Manhattan Project wanted each scientist kept
separate to maintain secrecy. Dr. Oppenhimer, who headed the team of scientists on the
project, fought to create an open exchange of information, which was key to their
creativity and ultimate success. When great minds harmonize it shows us the power
unleashed in the ability to think together. A spirit of harmony and cooperation rather than
one of dominance and fear creates an environment where learning and creative thought
flourish.

The secret of Aikido is to harmonize ourselves with the movement of the

universe and bring ourselves into accord with the universe itself.

Aiki is not a technique to fight with or defeat the enemy. It is a way to

reconcile the world and make human beings one family.”
Morihei Ueshiba, O Sensei

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 Off the Line

Getting off the line of attack is a powerful technique. Though it looks like inaction it
is a movement into a harmonious relationship. Especially when someone intends to
cause you harm—physically, politically, or socially allowing them to complete their
mission is both disarming and the beginning of reconciliation.
In Aikido, when someone attacks us, we do not resist the force. From the point where
the attack is initiated to the point where the attack is aimed there is a line of intent, what
we might call the line of attack or the line of fire. “Getting off the line” means we do not
stay on the line of the attack in opposition to its movement. Getting off the line means
we do not engage in a power struggle. In the physical domain we enter in beside the
attacker turning and facing the same direction. This action symbolizes an intention to
listen. All our effort is used to learn and understand, to enter into harmonious
relationship. We try to understand their point of view. By doing so we chose not to
dissipate the divine power of creation that we have been given. We choose to use our
energy for reconciliation rather than to use it increasing defensiveness and resistance.
Getting “off the line” is the first step in developing harmonious relationship. In the
physical practice of Aikido, the term describes getting out of the way of an attack, a
sword strike, a physical push, or a grab. When we are dealing with hostile energy we
never want to be in the line of fire, on that line of attack. Moving off the line is what
allows us to deal with someone’s hostility without taking it on or returning it in kind.
Physically if we do not get hit we do not have such a strong urge to hit back. When we
hit back, even if we win the fight we increase future resentment.

Most people, if they had the awareness to see it coming and the power to move in
time, would move out of the way of any oncoming threat. For instance if we see it
coming, we get out of the way of an oncoming car and naturally adopt a harmonious
relationship rather than one of opposition. If we applied the same response to verbal
attacks we would be better off. Defensiveness means we have not moved off the line and
instead are defending ourselves against the force of change. If we get off the line, the
energy we would have expended defending ourselves is available for the creative process.

Principles of interaction can be translated from the movements and applied to our
lives. As mentioned above, the attack serves as a metaphor for any change or pressure in
daily life, whether the intent is hostile or benevolent. The pressure of the attack represents
the pressures of daily life; time pressures, psychological and emotional stress, etc.
Getting off the line of attack is a remarkably powerful technique, especially when
someone intends to cause you harm—physically, politically, or socially. If you are “not

38
there” to receive the attack and your adversary can’t land the punch they cannot harm
you.
Moving out of the way of an attack rather than blocking its force keeps us from being
entangled or run over by the force and frees us to make use of it. Moving off the line
allows us to lead the attacker’s intent. In our life metaphor non-resistance represents
staying on the leading edge of change. It is fundamental to leadership and the doorway to
creative response.

Moving off the line of attack can be described in an emotional context as “not taking
it personally’. If we don’t receive a statement personally we are less likely to return
hostility which usually escalates violent behavior. In the mental realm this translates as
not opposing a statement verbally. Your integrity increases by choosing to learn rather
than defending your position. It allows you to listen and deepens your ability to
understand their intent. The spirit of non-resistance models a harmonious relationship
with change and opens you to the whisperings of the divine within you. In the realm of
the spirit it means allowing our energy to flow without resistance from our limited
identity. Harmonious relationship means living in harmony with, not in opposition to, the
flowing energy of the unfolding of the universe.

Get off the line. Don’t let another’s interaction with you become a personal matter.
Choose to listen and understand their meaning as an expression of how they are feeling.
Acceptance doesn’t necessarily mean agreement. We can accept their expression of their
feelings as a valid description of their experience, without having to believe that what
they are saying is right. If we get off the line we can listen. We can empathize. Perhaps
we can even help. If we take what they say personally defensiveness ensues. We tend to
hear our own reactions louder than the meaning they intend.
If you don’t take another’s response as an affront, you are free to engage in a genuine
dialogue. You can seek creative solutions together instead of becoming entangled in
negative exchanges or defensive arguments that leave you drained rather than vitalized
and that diminish the quality of relationship.

We may have an idea of harmony but if we are not present we can’t actualize it.
‘Going with’ implies you are present, involved and engaged and contributing energy to
the unfolding experience. Getting present with what’s going on allows a non-resistant
relationship. We can’t be absent and non-resistant. Getting off the line does not mean
avoiding experience. An unwillingness to engage inevitably diminishes effectiveness.
Going with the flow does not mean hanging out around the flow. ‘Going with’ the
flow is not a passive ‘giving up’ to the flow. Going with does not mean that we do not
participate. The opposite, going with’ implies a spirit of active engagement. Go with,
don’t hang out around the flow or wait to be taken.

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 The Power of Inquiry
Harmonious relationship can be described as the willingness to enter into an inquiry.
Inquiry is the spirit that transforms confusion, misunderstanding and the opposing
opinions of another into a quest for learning. The process of inquiry requires entering the
unknown. If we remain in the domain of the known we gain only additive knowledge that
does not disturb our present descriptions nor change our existing view.

Don’t oppose your feelings or the feelings of others. Explore the origin of these
feelings and receive the subtler differences as something to investigate. Listen for a
message, a sense of guidance from the collective wisdom behind the differences.

Inquiry is the doorway to greater knowledge in all things. Inquiry through non-
resistance, through subtle listening to what I call the “whisperings of the kami” (guidance
of the divine spirit), accesses knowledge beyond conscious knowing, beyond intuition.
When the kami whispers, it takes an inner quiet to hear. O Sensei said Aikido
transcended human limitations because he received it from the divine wisdom that he
called the Aiki kami, ‘the divine spirit of harmonious energy’. In a state of harmony,
your inner feelings echo the whisperings of the Aiki-kami, the voice of inspiration.
Experiencing this knowledge produces creativity and leadership. The whisperings of
wisdom are of no use to us if we are not listening.

Feeling where you are could be described as listening to your own experience.
Harmonious relationship includes listening to and blending with others as you sing your
part. Aikido creates an open spirit, non-resistant to new information, what science calls
an open system. The universal intelligence, the kami, the voice of wisdom within our
deepest self, is always speaking to us. The issue is whether we are listening..

David Bohm was a major proponent of the “discipline of Dialogue.” He described

similar characteristics speaking about Albert Einstein and Jiddu Krishnamurti, a
contemporary eastern philosopher. “They both showed an intense energy of listening and
a freedom from self-protective reservations and barriers.” (From On Dialogue by David
Bohm). That is the quality from which we should seek to engage in the world. That is
the spirit Aikido cultivates. Listening to ourselves, each other and the universe without
resistance is the process of Aikido. Allowing our lives to be guided by that listening is
the practice of the art.

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 Harmonious relationship positions us to work creatively with another person, with a
situation, or a problem. When energy is not lost to the resistance of defensiveness, all our
attentiveness and awareness can be focused on generating solutions and creative action. If
another person reacts negatively to a suggestion, don’t challenge the correctness of their
reaction or try to change their point of view. Listen! Learn why they feel the way they do.
Understand the criteria they are basing their judgement on. Then enter into an inquiry
together. Draw on their energy and passion by appreciating their contribution. Use their
input as guidance to move towards a creative solution. Work with them to improve the
suggestion and create a beautiful world.
This is the power of harmony—the essence of Aikido.

“Aikido is non-resistance. As it is non-

resistance it is always victorious.

Never defeated means never fighting.

There is no discord in love. There is no enemy of love. Love is the guardian

deity of everything. Nothing can exist without it.”

Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei

41
The Power of Training
Imagine a hillside of soft dirt. When it rains, gullies form. Once they are
formed, during future rains the water repeatedly runs along the gullies it
previously created. Early on in our learning we created pathways of thought and
action in response to specific stimuli. When we experience a rush of energy, we tend
to habitually act in a response programmed from the past. We are conditioned at the
most formative time of our lives to behave according to the rules of our family
and our culture.
Society’s expectations often combine with our fear of the unknown to bridle
our sense of wonder. If we have habituated to resisting change that will seem to be our
innate response. Although resistance can be so strongly conditioned as to almost seem
innate, proper training can transform habituated tendencies in our personalities.
Conditioning causes us to act unconsciously, unless we consciously train a new
response. Training offers the possibility of consciously creating new pathways.
Training can go far beyond simply establishing new behavior. It can develop the
ability to spontaneously create new pathways of thought and options that were
previously non-existent. Developing the ability of creating new pathways is the
source of creative process. This underlies the study of Aikido in its highest form.

The attitude of non-resistance is natural for the flow of life energy. As a behavior,
non-resistance can be developed. Easier said than done, it is a learned skill. Through
repeatedly awakening to the possibility of choosing a positive, creative response, a new
way of relating ultimately develops.

Aikido mirrors life and reflects our styles and patterns of behavior. Our relationship
with the outer world reflects our relationship with our energy, our spirit. The person
“attacking” us can be used as a metaphor to reflect our relationship with external forces
we encounter as well as the internal forces we experience emotionally and
psychologically. Harmonizing with the attacker’s energy implies aligning ourselves to
our own Ki, energy or spirit. In physical training, our response to the energy of the
person attacking us reveals how we respond to our own life energy. Presence implies
seeing and choosing our relationship to the energy of change rather than being
condemned to react out of previous patterning.
It is irrelevant whether the pressures we face are a physical attack, the rent, taxes, old
age, or death. As our energy increases to help us deal with the pressures we face in life, if
we resist our vitality becomes stress. If we train non-resistance our energy becomes an
ally. Harmonious relationship transforms energy that could become the source of stress
into a source of power.

42
 Training, if we choose to use it this way, allows us to develop a willing exploration
of the unknown. We can learn to integrate aspects of ourselves, which may at first seem
foreign and uncomfortable. In training we learn to align with Ki and open to it instead of
resisting it. Harmony enhances our ability to draw on and utilize energy as potential.
Aikido practice opens up channels for universal Ki and allows this energy to flow
through our system making it available for the creation of our lives.
Initially we practice harmonious relationship with our life energy. Eventually we
learn that what we experience as our life force is part of a larger universal field. As that
awareness increases, our ability to experience the harmony of the universe grows and
with it our ability to draw on that universal power. When we learn to handle the Ki
within our own system effectively, we handle the Ki in the world effectively. In a state
of non-resistance to the power of the universe it naturally flows into our lives producing
creative response at any given moment. By refining awareness into attention, perception
can be brought to focus on a greater field of potential, infinitely increasing our options.
Attention increases potential. Refining awareness into attention is a developed skill.
Skill is developed through the power of training.

Traditionally, we bow at the beginning of Aikido training sessions. We bow to

acknowledge a desire to learn more about ourselves. The ritual should reinforce going
beyond our conditioned patterns. Training non-resistance evokes the mystery of who
we are at the deepest level. Harmony means embracing the life force, not fighting
against it. In consciously developing the spirit of harmonious relationship we invoke
the expression of mystery and wonder. Harmonious relationship develops a spirit of
learning without end.
Feel where you are and align a non-resistant, harmonious relationship with the
universe as it is. This opens a doorway to the third principle: Creativity. Share Who You
Are.

“Winning means winning over the mind of discord in yourself. It is to accomplish your
bestowed mission.”
Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei

43
 Life In Three Easy Lessons In One Easy Page

I. Attention
Be here now

Notice
Sense
Awaken

II. Connection
“Don’t need no ticket, you just get on board’

Entrain
Synthesize
Conjoin

III. Influence
Being responsible to authenticity

Affect
Change
Transform

44
 3. Share Who You Are
THE THIRD PRINCIPLE, Creativity is practiced through the third lesson which is share who
you are. Make your contribution. Accomplish your bestowed mission. Each of us has a
unique view of the world. Each of us brings something special to share. I believe it is in
our natures to value making a contribution and having our contribution valued by others.
Conversely, the pain of having our contribution rejected or worse ridiculed can be so
agonizing that we may learn never to take the risk. How many possible contributions
have you held back? How many times in a meeting or a simple conversation with
someone have you had something of potential value to say and withheld it or said it under
your breath? When we allow our creativity to express into the world we contribute. To
complete your bestowed mission it is imperative that you, Share who you are.

Every innovation in business and government, every breakthrough in science, and

every major transformation in art enriches the whole world; and yet virtually every new
idea has had its detractors. I love the part in Martha Graham’s quote where she says: “It is
not your business to determine how good (your expression) is, nor how valuable, nor how
it compares to other expressions. It is your business to keep the channel open.”
The opportunity of sharing who you are means not only to being aware of “the urges
that activate you” but manifesting them, contributing them. Life is not satisfied by
simply having the idea of something. Creativity, sharing who you are, implies bringing
the idea into form, to fruition. Make your contribution. Keeping the channel open allows
action. Going with the flow doesn’t mean passively hanging out around it. It does not
even stop with appreciating the flow. It means leading change by expressing the spirit of
creativity.

During the early years of Aikido’s birth, O Sensei’s teacher told O Sensei that his
traditional Daito-Ryu Aiki-jujitsu practice was getting weird. O Sensei’s teacher was
implying that O Sensei was out of line by changing the art. Listening to his growing
connection with the Aiki-kami, O Sensei did Aikido. He obeyed his teacher but
maintained his convictions. “Yes, teacher it is as you wish,” he said, “I will no longer call
my practice Daito-Ryu Aiki-jujitsu.”

Aikido is not about receiving support or accolades; it means becoming who you are.
It means actualizing and sharing who you are becoming. It is about being authentic and
spontaneous; being who you are and sharing who you are.

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 “To act without attachment

to the fruits of one’s action

is the path to liberation.”

Sri Krishna, The Baghavad Gita

“Whatever you can do or think you can, begin it;

boldness has genius and magic and power in it.”

Goethe

“This is not mere theory. You practice it.

Then you will realize the great power

of oneness with nature.”

Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei

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 Authenticity and Spontaneity
Life is not only about handling pressure; it is about being who we are. Success is
discovering our truth and expressing it in the world. When our spirit gets lost in the all of
the myriad entanglements of daily life – when pressure steals our enthusiasm and
diminishes our flow -- we lose touch with our bestowed mission. Before we know it, our
lives are consumed with handling the pressures of life and we no longer know who we
are. We cease becoming. We share who we were, if we share at all.

If you ask me who I am, at first I would not know what to say. I could not tell you
what my special mission is or why am I on this earth. As I slow down, and breathe and
feel, a deeper experience of myself comes to the fore. As I feel where I am and
harmonize with, what seem at first indistinguishable whispers, I recognize a sense of
something unknown yet familiar. When I tap into a connection deeper than my conscious
knowing, I get a sense of who I am at this time, what I’d like to do, and what needs to
happen in my life. If this practice is left undone these flows of energy show up as vague
or unconscious urges that drive us subliminally. When we pay attention, feel deeper parts
of ourselves and connect to more than the known, we invite the intelligence of spirit, the
invisible, the universal, the whisperings of the kami.

An unfathomable wisdom exists in the universe. It flows through us as energy.

Listening to the whisperings of our awareness allows us to be moved by this internal
voice. If we are centered, grounded and non-resistant, the natural essence of who we are
will manifest itself. Then we find ourselves drawn to the right partner, connecting with
the right work and moving towards personal completion and a larger contribution.

I don’t think the purpose of life boils down to paying the rent. I don’t think it is about
how well known you are or what deeds you accomplish. I think it’s about being true to
yourself. It’s about manifesting your own experience and living with integrity, living
authentically, sharing who you are. And yes, while you’re here, you will pay some rent,
earn some money and make your personal contributions for better or for worse. But in the
larger scheme of things, these are incidental. The practice in this lifetime is about staying
true to your connection. “Keep the channel open.”

When you sense and connect with something larger than yourself, a rush of energy
floods your individual awareness. If you engage and align yourself in a state of fluid non-
resistance, your bestowed mission moves towards natural completion as if of its own
volition. When you move with your forces in a way that is harmonious other forces align
themselves. They are influenced by the field of energy you have activated. This in turn

47
opens the possibility for you to lead others in the completion of their bestowed mission.
When you are aligned with your bestowed mission you generate a reciprocating echo.
You naturally lead people to find where they belong rather than requiring them to be
where habit or precedent thinks they should.

Sharing who you are means being authentic with people. Contemplate the word
“authenticity’. It begins with being honest with yourself about whatever is going on. It
means sharing who you are, at least with yourself, in each moment. It doesn’t mean you
have to shout the news, make proclamations, confessions or put advertisements in the
newspaper. You only need to be in touch with your own experience, be willing to feel it,
and let it flow.

Don’t get into an argument with yourself about who you are. Through the practice of
non-resistance, relaxing and allowing, return to the essence of who you are and let that
feeling guide the movement of your life. Awareness flowing freely and harmoniously
becomes power itself. Creativity unfolds out of the totality of awareness. This is the core
of leadership.

48
AN EXPLORATION
You may find it easier to access sharing who you are through visualization.
Close your eyes and picture yourself in a recent challenging situation or conflict.
As you watch the scene, pay attention to your state of being in the visualization.
Notice your muscle tension, your posture, your breathing and your feelings.

Now rerun the scene. This time, Feel where you are. Imagine yourself centering,
and your breath flowing freely. Picture yourself relaxing in the situation. Pay
attention to the flow of your life energy. Imagine being filled with a sense of
power and capability. See yourself moving into a harmonious relationship with
the situation. From this state of being, notice how you interact in your
visualization. What changes?

The ability to shift your state of engagement allows you to go from being locked
in, to (a) knowing that you’re locked in, to (b) dissolving the tension into free
energy, to (c) something new emerging. Once you’re willing to enter the
unknown, infinite creative possibilities appear. Life is your experiment. You
make it up. Share who you are.

49
 Life In Three Easy Lessons In One Easy Page

I. Focus
Presence / Rhythm / Center

Awareness into Attention

See one

II. Listen
Adaptability / Harmony / Blend

Align into Connection

Do one

III. Learn
Creativity / Melody/ Lead

Evolve into Innovation

Teach one

50
 The Process as a Whole

The Three Easy Lessons revisited as one unified process of harmony:

ONE, feeling where you are, a state of centered, grounded, flowing awareness, -
harmonize with your self. Feeling where you are means non-resistance to "being where
you are", deepening felt sense (your feeling experience of the moment) and heightening
awareness (paying more attention to the moment). Feeling where you are produces a
natural state of presence. TWO, harmonious relationship, which means moving in non-
resistance with the power or energy of the situation. Harmonize with what is. And
THREE, 'share who you are’, participating fully in the unfolding universe, harmonize
with the becoming. Harmonize with what is changing.

Harmonize, internally, externally & with change.

Aikido in one easy lesson: Harmonize

Healing into Wholeness

Healing comes from the root meaning to make whole.

THE UNIVERSE IS ONE system, a unified field of energy in which we are participants. When
we feel ourselves as part of the universe, we sense where we are in the flow of Creation;
we naturally experience a connectedness with the earth. Feeling this connection heals the
isolation that characterizes modern life. We experience life’s interconnectedness. We
find ourselves in empowered alignment with the universe as it unfolds. Coming into
alignment with the essential core of your being echoes a sense of connection with
creation. Experiencing a harmonious relationship with the universe and contributing to
the unfolding—is the experience of Aikido.

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3-in-1 Oil: The Mystery of the Holy Trinity

THE THREE EASY LESSONS offers the simplest way I have found of talking about the art of
Aikido. It distills a simple way of practicing in emotional and verbal situations as well as
physical ones. To effectively apply the three easy lessons, it’s critical that we complete
all three steps.

As mentioned earlier the first two principles are prerequisite to the third. You need to
(1) feel where you are, meaning that you are maintaining a self-reflexive state, self-
aware, paying attention to feeling centered and grounded in the present. Then you can
(2) align a non-resistant, harmonious relationship, a state of congruence with the situation
at hand. Once you are present and non-resistant, all your energy is available to (3) make a
creative contribution, sharing who you are.

Feel where you are so you know when you are in a harmonious relationship; then it
becomes appropriate to share who you are. If we get involved “out there” and lose step
one, feeling where you are, we lose presence. Then step two, harmonious relationship,
becomes an abstraction. And, step three sharing who you are, is a miss or a clash.

Paradoxically the Three Easy Lessons occur both sequentially and concurrently. The
first step, grounding and feeling where you are, happens during the second step,
harmonious (non-resistant) relationship, as well as while you are doing the third step,
sharing who you are. In the performance of the art of Aikido, they aren’t linear - one,
two, three. They are all happening at once. We may break them down to study and
practice them, but to effectively utilize them they must be practiced simultaneously.
Being present, centered and grounded in your experience gives you the power to enter
into a relationship. Working in harmony allows you to contribute.

In the physical practice of Aikido our relationship with a partner produces a physical
technique that (neutralizes the attack and) resolves the conflict. In the business and
personal domain the quality of our presence influences the relationships that describe our
personal and business lives. Instead of losing presence when the quality of the
relationship starts to change, flow with the change in a positive spirit. From a state of
presence and non-resistance, you can lead, guide, explore and create.

Often people, especially leaders and parents operating out of a command and control
mentality, want to skip to the third step—lead, tell, do something to take charge, fix the

52
situation, or help someone—without doing the first two. However, it is critical that you
operate from a centered and grounded state. You can’t get there from not-here. It is also
crucial that you operate from a state of non-resistance. Any resistance you feel coming
into a situation will generate counter-resistance in the situation.

Once you are in a state of dynamic presence and harmonious non-resistance, you can
make a contribution of unique value. No one else can make the contribution you would
make. Again I return to Martha Graham’s quote: “You do not even have to believe in
yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that
activate you.”

In Aikido when we speak of “blending with an attack,” it means non-resistant,

harmonious movement that allows us to neutralize the threat of the attack and transform
the force into potential. Once we are centered and blending with the reality of the
moment we become a vehicle for the flow of Ki and open the possibility to lead change.
The beauty of O Sensei’s art teaches us to naturally and effortlessly participate in and
contribute to, with the unfolding universe. Feel where you are, move into harmonious
relationship, and share who you are.

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 Life In Three Easy Lessons In One Easy Page

I. Vitality
Presence / Rhythm / Center

Relax into the moment

II. Non-Resistance
Adaptability / Harmony / Blend

Allow and appreciate

III. Contribution
Creativity / Melody / Lead

Envision Unfolding Creation

54
 Social Change: Leadership of the Spirit

Changing the Structures of Business and Community

FRAGMENTED INDIVIDUALS inevitably produce a fragmented society. The process we are
exploring in this book——is a process of continuous development and renewal. The
commitment to self-development is basic to the development of our society.

Aikido is about developing self-directed individuals who give attention to, and take
responsibility for, the creation of society. The process starts by healing the fragmentation
within ourselves. With that commitment we naturally spread the spirit of harmony into
the world.
There is an innate human drive to learn. When learning is supported it is a natural
outcome of doing. Then focusing on perfecting our work and helping each other improve
becomes a reciprocating cycle of continuous growth and development. Societal leaders
from all walks of life who have made the greatest contributions have focused on
developing themselves and rewarded learning in those who follow them. By modeling
their commitment to learn they motivate their people to grow.

“A mind to serve the peace of all human beings is needed in

Aikido, and not the mind of one who wishes only to be strong or who
practices to fell an opponent.”
O Sensei

The above statement to translated the business of living might sound something like:
A mind to serve for the completion (growth, development, and satisfaction) of all human
beings is needed in the leadership of education and business, and not the mind of one
who teaches to convince others of their beliefs or who works only to benefit one’s self.
The majority of marriages, mergers, re-engineering and recovery processes fail. For a
company to be successful there must be an alignment of mission - values, leadership -
workers and contribution to a larger field of society. The unification of mind, emotions,
body, and spirit is the beginning of the process. Three Easy Lessons represents a simple
and accessible way to begin.
If an individual desires to transform a relationship, a team, a company or a nation,
the process must begin with self-transformation. Transformation won’t work with
employers who want “others” to change without leading, seeking change within
themselves. It is ineffective to drive a car from the outside. It is ineffective to lead a team
or develop a family or society seeing yourself as separate from the whole. If you wish to
lead, you must commit all your forces.

55
 “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Gandhi

Everybody wants to go to heaven but nobody wants to die. Everybody wants things
to be better yet resistance to change seems as common as change itself. Resistance to
change keeps us mired in social and personal conflict. If we resist change our self-
protective behavior drains our energy. We must learn to embrace the cycle of change to
foster transformation and welcome the death of the habits and the mental structures that
bind us.
Who we are is constantly changing. Listening to the whisperings of the kami means
allowing the way we think to transform, to grow anew. We come to think differently by
differentiating our experience more clearly. Changing the structures of thought allows
meaning to form in ways that are beyond our present understanding.

Hindu mythology teaches the divinity of three forces: creation, preservation and
destruction. The God of destruction and transformation was called Shiva, the destroyer of
worlds. Where as death in the west was seen as the grim reaper, Shiva was revered
because the rishis (wise men) of Hindu mythology recognized everything is part of an
indivisible cycle.

The Buddha taught, “Everything we are is a result of what we have thought.

Einstein said, “We will not solve the problems we face with the same thinking that
created them.”
David Bohm concluded, “Fragmented thought will produce fragmented results.”

Solutions generated from incoherent thinking will yield only divisiveness and
conflict. Thought needs to be “at one” with feeling, action, and spirit to develop coherent
being. The first order of business is to challenge and recreate our own thinking.

“Aikido is not for correcting others; it is for correcting your own mind.”
Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei

Folk wisdom asserts two certainties: death and taxes. We may joke about taxes but
facing the fact that life is temporary may not seem as funny for some people. Although
the concept of death has negative connotations for many, it can paradoxically be used to
engender positive change as it represents a pressure we cannot defeat.

56
 The Buddha said, “there is no place, not the heights of the mountains nor the depths
of the sea, where death cannot find you.” There is no outwitting the temporal imperative
of life. The presence of death brings our vitality to the fore.

Aikido does not resist death. An attitude of non-resistance allows us to incorporate

death’s guidance gracefully into our living.

The awareness of death enlivens the creation of life! Recognizing that our own death
is stalking us, we don’t have to wait until we’re on our deathbeds to start being honest
with ourselves or to hold anything back from accomplishing our bestowed missions.
Listen to death’s wise and implacable advice: “Live life to the fullest. It’s always later
than you think.”

We live differently with change through the power of non-resistance. Change

accepted is a source of creativity. Embracing change means rebirth and renewal. Instead
of worrying about death, focus attention on living. Someone said, “My greatest fear
would be to get to the end of my life only to find out it was somebody else’s!” Aikido
teaches us to live our time here in a positive spirit rather than spend our life worrying
about its end.

Learning causes our picture of the world to change. Seeing the world through new
eyes causes our sense of ourselves to change. A state of being without depth produces
shallow thinking and irresponsible action. We cannot share who we are effectively
without “deepening” our state. When we calm the waters of our being we can receive
messages from deeper levels of knowing.

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 Quantum Possibilities

THESE PRINCIPLES OPEN the doorway to another world. In Aikido, the Japanese word
Kokyu describes a state in which the spirit infuses and empowers the physical, mental
and emotional dimensions of life. When these dimensions cohere into wholeness, when
there is harmony between the parts, life expresses Kokyu. When people are good friends
or when singers’ voices blend together well that state of interpenetration is described with
the term Kokyu. Kokyu is a quintessential concept behind the principles of Aikido.

Understanding that we should “go with the flow” is meaningless unless we actualize
it in our lives. In a state of dynamic presence and harmony with the moment, the fears
that block the expression of our essence seem to melt away. We are free to complete our
bestowed mission. Something beyond imagination happens when we individually and
collectively tap into becoming part of the ultimate force that gives rise to all creation. A
state of grace arises.

In business or sports, when mind, body, emotions, and spirit are unified, when the
mental power and physical skills of the team members synchronize into a unified force,
the dynamic power of Kokyu is unstoppable.

Sports champions speak about “peak experiences” or “being in the zone” where they
seemingly enter into another dimension and produce exceptional results. In the business
world the appearance of this Kokyu State is called inspired leadership, intuitional
decision-making, or creative problem solving.

Some problems will always remain, but the creative development of one’s strength
and courage remains fundamental. The universe is a unified field of infinite intelligence.
Problems arise out of poorly aligned relationship to the universal force, out of
misunderstanding its principles. Listen to the whisperings of your deepest sense and your
highest aspirations. When the intelligence of the universe whispers to you, respond
without resistance.

“When you bow to the universe it bows back to you.

When you call out the name of the divine it echoes inside of you.”

Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei

58
 Life In Three Easy Lessons In One Easy Page

I. Substance
Presence / Rhythm / Center

Feel what supports you weight

Feel what supports your beliefs and ideas
Feel what supports your life.

II. Fluidity
Adaptability / Harmonize / Blend

Non-resistance in yourself.
Non-resistance in relationship
Non-resistance as the situation unfolds.

III. Listening
Creativity / Melody / Lead

Receive the changing

Of experience, thoughts
And the whisperings of the spirit

59
 One System

MASTERY PRACTICE IS simple. If you are feeling where you are, you are in a process of
feeling the universe. The universe is not something separate you have to learn to relate to.
You are the universe. The creation of the universe is a process in which you are fully
enfolded. You are Creation.

“There are neither opponents nor enemies for true Budo.

True Budo is to be one with the universe;

that is, to be united with the center of the universe.”

Morihei Ueshiba O Sensei

The challenge lies in developing the focus of our attention. Through the focus of
attention we develop an awareness of how our internal processes influence the unfolding
patterns of energy that make up our lives. This awareness enhances the ability to
influence the protean energy that creates experience. All things change. If all things
change, you can change. If you can change, your changing changes the changing.

Life changes when we perceive ourselves actively creating the universe, including
family, society, culture, the world in which we live. When we claim responsibility for our
lives we shift from a victimized state, a state of feeling powerless, to a state of feeling
access to the resources of the universe.
Larger forces are at play in the unfolding of our lives. Feeling where we are in
relation to these forces changes our relationship to them and our ability to lead creatively.
We are transformed from fragile leaves buffeted by the winds of change into pilots of our
destiny navigating through the unfolding journey of our lives.
Simply imagining you have this power begins to awaken latent powers you may not
have known existed. In the best of worlds increased power means the ability to dream, to
imagine life anew. The dream is the first step on the journey to a beautiful world.

The journey of a thousand miles

begins with a single step.
Lao-Tzu

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 Life In Three Easy Lessons In One Easy Page

I. Emptiness
Nothing no thought no expectation
Consciousness without form
Unknown possibility

II. Energy
Ability
Vision
Unlimited possibility

III. Form
Unfolding Creation
Unending possibility

61
ADVICE

Someone dancing inside us

has learned only a few steps:
The “Do-your-work” in 4/4 time,
the “What-do-you-expect?” waltz.
He hasn’t noticed yet the woman
standing away from the lamp.
The one with black eyes
who knows the rumba
and strange steps in jumpy rhythms
from the mountains of Bulgaria
If they dance together
something unexpected will happen;
If they don’t, the next world
will be a lot like this one.
Bill Holm

62
 Life In Three Easy Lessons In One Easy Page

I. Continuous Attention
Expanding awareness
Mindfulness

II. Harmonious Relationship

Listening to the unknown
Responsiveness

III. Engaged Participation

Learning without end

Willingness.

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Exquisite presence
Connection beyond the senses
Exploration into the unknown

Enter the emptying

Allow the vastness
Become the unfolding

64
 The Birth of the Three Easy Lessons
TEACHING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES IN PARTICULAR NEW ZEALAND stimulated a new
approach to my understanding of Aikido—an insight I now call “Aiki-land.” describing a
way of being, not simply practicing skills. I was dreaming about it when a student came
into class distracted or upset. I took her aside and asked, “What’s going on?” Close to
tears she replied, “My brother has a tumor. The doctors think he has cancer. I don’t know
what to do.” In my experience, when confronted with a life crisis, a common reaction is
to avoid the situation, deny it, or to put on a brave face. The options seem to be flee,
freeze, or fight your experience. Aikido should open a doorway to something more.
After a quiet moment, a vague sensation formed into feeling and eventually the
words formed and expressed themselves. I won’t say it wasn’t me, yet I wouldn’t say it
was. I responded, “You can react to your discomfort with denial or avoidance, or you can
simply be with where you are and feel what’s going on for you. In other words, you can
painfully resist the situation, including what you are feeling and thinking, or you can
accept the situation as it is, feeling where you are. By simply being present and non-
resistant, you can assist your brother and yourself by just sharing who you are.”
This experience is how I got into the articulation and practice of the “Three Easy
Lessons.” I teach it to my clients in the business realm and to Aikido students wherever I
go. I use it in mediations, including international peace-building work. The Three Easy
Lessons keeps deepening and the applications keep getting broader, revealing power
beyond my expectations.
Two months later I was with this same student after we finished a demonstration. I
was on my way to my car when she caught up with me and said, “I want you to know
that my brother is okay.” We cannot know whether her practice affected her brother’s
healing. Maybe, maybe not. What I would say is that with the practice, during the period
of her brother’s illness, she lived in a different reality invented out of the way she
responded to the crisis.

Whatever you encounter in life there is the opportunity to apply the principles of Aikido.
I feel the three easy lessons were offered as a gift to me for simplifying the application of
those principles. I offer this book in the hope your life will be enriched through the
experience of Aikido.

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 Life In One Easy Lesson

Continually
Harmonize
Creatively

Continually Realign
Harmonious Participation

Aikido in one easy lesson: Unify

Unify the experiencer - breathing and feeling / equal and even / opening and settling /
whole and total
Emptiness / Suspension

Unify the experience - one system / harmonize / align with / blend

Energy / Inquiry

Unify the unfolding - become the unknown / everything is connected with everything /
lead / expression unifies experience /unlimited creativity
Form / Relevation / Revelation

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 More Threes

Here Now
With Into
Explore Mystery

Get present Get it together Get it going

Get into it Get with it Get on it

Listen to it Learn from it Grow into it

See it Be it Do it

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3 easy in life

feel your desire to contribute

find a way to contribute
do it

3 easy in business

desire
design
deliver

3 easy in healing

examine
diagnose
prescribe

3 easy in negotiation

identify the conflicting needs

identify options for solution
explore possibilities for resolutions

3 easy in diplomacy

know where you stand

meet the other
see what we can do together (Courtesy of Louise Diamond)

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 About The Listening Institute & The Quantum Edge

The Listening Institute & The Quantum Edge are dedicated to increase human wealth
through extraordinary communication. Aikido of Marin is the dojo –the school where we
practice
We are a network of consultants specializing in executive coaching, leadership and
team development, mastery training and mediation. Our training and process work are
drawn from and explore the disciplines of Aikido and Dialogue. Our coaching and
training has been delivered primarily in high-change environments. We have worked with
fast-paced start-ups within the telecommunications industry, large utility firms, the
banking industry, and a number of high-tech corporations. We also contribute in the
arena of international peace building, having worked with the Institute for Multi-track
Diplomacy, Harvard Negotiation Project, Conflict Management Group and the Fulbright
Commission.
For information about our classes, training seminars, corporate and other services, please
contact:

The Listening Institute

75 Los Piños Road
Nicasio, CA 94946
Phone (415) 662-6903 Fax (415) 662-6904
Web site: www.listeninginstitute.com

Aikido of Marin
75 Los Piños Road
Nicasio, CA 94946
Phone (415) 662-6903 Fax (415) 662-6904
Web site: www,aikidoofmarin.com

The Quantum Edge

99 Carnoustie Heights
Novato, CA 94949
Phone (415)-884-9446 Fax (415)-884-9447
Web site: www.quantumedge.org

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 Glossary
Aiki News: a magazine on Aikido
Shin Budo magazine: a magazine on Aikido
Aiki-kami: the divine spirit to whom O Sensei attributed the creation of the art of Aikido
Aiki-land: a term I coined to describe the quality of being in an Aiki state
Aikido: the way of harmony with the spirit of the universe. O Sensei called it the
Art of Peace - sometimes understood as the warrior techniques and practices derived
from the way of harmony
Attention: the developed ability to concentrate and fix awareness that allows us to
use it as a tool
Awareness: the power of perception, the ability to perceive
Bestowed mission: a term used by O Sensei to describe one’s path of contribution to
all of humanity
Black belt: a grade of rank designating a graduate student in a given martial art
Blend: to join forces into a confluent or unified field of the whole
Buddha: the enlightened one, one who has seen beyond the world of duality, it also
refers to the individual who showed the path, the founder of Buddhism
Budo: the way of the warrior; do is a path or way of study, Bu is the Japanese term
for the spirit of a warrior, one who fulfills their responsibility
Center: physically, the point of balance within the body - emotionally, the quality
of calm presence - spiritually, the source of power and vitality
Creation: the totality of all that exists
Daito-Ryu Aiki-jujitsu: the form of martial arts studied by O Sensei before
founding Aikido
Dojo: school, a place where one studies the way
Energy: the activating force of a system
Extend: to project one’s mind or energy into a situation
Felt sense: being in touch with one’s experience
Flow: the movement of KI or energy in a specific channel or direction
Form: the manifest state of energy
Ground: connection for an individual to the larger force of being beyond the
personal
Irimi nage: entering throw, an Aikido technique
Jiu waza: lit. free technique, a type of practice where the response is not pre-described

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Kami:: divine spirit, god, source of power or creative force
Kata: a set movement or series of movements practiced repeatedly to develop
deeper learning
Ki: originating from the symbol for steam it implies the energy of the universe, life
energy, spirit, common sense, adaptability, vitality, creativity
Kokyu: literally translated as breath or breath power, it describes the
interpenetration of the physical by the spiritual - also harmony, connection,
resonance, friendship
Mabinogi: the Welsh creation myth
Morihei Ueshiba: the founder of the art of Aikido also refereed to as O Sensei
Non-resistance: allowing a situation to unfold according to its nature
O Sensei: great teacher or teacher’s teacher
Principles: the basis and rules of action in a system
Relax: to release again the tension held over from past thought and activity
Self-reflexive: the ability to perceive oneself in relation to a situation and continually
adjust action according to the feedback
Sensei: teacher, literally one who has gone before
Shiva: the Hindu god of destruction or transformation.
Sho Dan: the first level of graduate study in Budo commonly referred to as the first
degree of black belt
Take Musu Aiki: take (pronounced takay) refers to the martial realm; musu is the
realm of the divine or the mystery; take-musu Aiki is the power of divine
creation that creates the martial art of Aikido. It implies the power to
spontaneously create infinite or kaleidoscopic Aikido techniques.
Techniques: forms that apply the principles to action
Ueshiba: see Morihei Ueshiba above
Universe: the oneness of everything- all that is manifest
Whisperings of the kami: is a phrase I coined to describe the transfer of unknown
knowledge and power. It implies the transmission of divine guidance.
Omens, intuition and such phenomena are examples of how it may make
itself heard but are reflections of the power and not the power itself.

71
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