Dancing the Small Dance

The poem below resonated with me and brought to mind the book and wonderful photos in It's a Lot Like Dancing: An Aikido Journey by Terry Dobson, Riki Moss and Jan Watson.

Dancing the Small Dance
I want to dance,
On the edge between the new and unfamiliar,
And the old and familiar,
Reality.
Dancing, moving, feeling.

The music and the movements come from everywhere.
And a lovely way of knowing
Is to identify with
The dance,
Rather than identifying with
The dance critic's interpretation of
The dance.

It might be an awkward, poorly choreographed dance,
But it is MY dance nonetheless,
And dancing MY dance,
Gives me a deep sense of serenity, surrender, and grace.

I am not alone in this dance.
My movements are enfolded in the movements of all life,
All sadness,
All triumph,
All joy.

cb Hop, poet

The Age of the Unthinkable

I recently listened to the May 11, 2009 Charlie Rose interview with Joshua Cooper Ramo on his book The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us And What We Can Do About It.

His main themes were:
• We have to look at the world differently
• Focus on Resilience, instead of deterrence
• Not always be direct in our negotiations, look at indirect negotiations
• Learn to give away power




The book include a number of excellent thought provoking ideas that one can use in their personal life, at work, in our respective countries and larger world.

I grouped them as ideas for upcoming Aikido classes as:

What is it
"The main argument of the book is not particularly complicated: it is that in a revolutionary era of surprise and innovation, you need to learn to think and act like a revolutionary." (pg. 11)

"...we need policy makers and thinkers who have that intuitive revolutionary feel for the inescapable demands of innovation. We need early adopters, men and women who touch newness and change as an almost totemic reminder of what is possible in the human spirit and who are honest about the fights and struggles that lie ahead." (pg. 37)

Responsibility
[George Kennan] said "Today you cannot even do good unless you are prepared to exert your share of power, take your share of responsibility, make your share of mistakes, and assume your share of risks." (pg. 19)

"There was something profound and amazing in the dynamics of the piles (of sand), he thought: their ability not only to translate order into chaos, but also to translate chaos into order." (pg. 54)

Current state
"The main lesson is that just because something is too terrible to contemplate doesn't mean it's not going to happen." (pg. 56)

[Lawrence Summers], head of the National Economic Council said, "adopt a probabilistic view of the world and discard the black-and-white models that make for success in academia." (pg. 34)

Next steps
"It is senseless to aspire to periods of 'peace on earth' during the lifetime of anyone reading this book unless we begin to change how, where, and why we do fight. Threats to our physical security are complex, new, and growing. They demand nothing less than a complete reinvention of our ideas of security" (pg. 99)

[Aharon Farkash], former head of Israeli military intelligence said "look deep, focus on things that move and change, never ask the usual questions." (pg. 144)

“Deep security doesn’t answer all of our questions about the future. Indeed, it’s predicated on the idea that we don’t have all the answers and, in fact, can’t even anticipate many of the questions. What it is instead is a way of seeing, of thinking, and of acting that accepts growing complexity and ceaseless newness as givens–and, used properly, our best allies." (pg. 108)

“Perhaps the best way to think of deep security is as a kind of immune system, a reactive instinct for identifying dangers, adapting to deal with them, and then moving to control and contain the risk they present." (pg. 109)

“Learning to think in deep-security terms means largely abandoning our idea that we can deter the threats we face and, instead, pressing to make our societies more resilient so we can absorb whatever strikes us. Resilience will be the defining concept of twenty-first century security, as crucial for your fast-changing job as it is for the nation. We can think of resilience as a measure of how much disturbance a system can absorb before it breaks down so fundamentally that it can’t easily return to the way it once was." (pg. 172)

“Resilience allows us, even at our most extreme moments of terror (in fact, precisely because we are at such a moment), to keep learning, to change. It is a kind of battlefield courage, the ability to innovate under fire because we’ve prepared in the right way and because we’ve developed the strength to keep moving even when we’re slapped by the unexpected.” (pg. 178)

“Construction of a resilient society need not be complex. The aim is simple enough: to withstand the surprises that await us; to absorb the worst nightmares and walk away with the core attributes of our freedom intact.” (pg. 190)

“Resilience isn’t a just a passive virtue, it’s also something we have to be able to incorporate into the way we act in the world, whether it is regulating financial markets that change faster than we can think or, as we’ve often done in the Middle East, stepping into unstable landscapes of ethnic and religious fury.” (pg. 192)

“Among the elements common to successfully resilient systems was an ability to constantly reconceptualize problems, to generate a diversity of ideas, to communicate with everyone from fisherman to truckers, and to encourage novelty and even small-scale revolts or crises and recoveries instead of waiting for a big, unanticipated collapse.” (pg. 197)

Peace
“What Jean Monnet, one of the most masterful strategists of the last century, wrote in 1951 is true today: ‘World peace cannot be safeguarded without the making of efforts proportionate to the dangers which threaten it.’” (pg. 240)

“We owe everything to human creativity. Everything that lasts, that changes our lives, that emerges from what was once unimaginable has its roots in that initial spark of innovation.” (pg. 240)

“I want to propose [is] that we focus our attention also on the very smallest parts of the system, on people, and bet that the one thing we know for sure is that we can’t predict what they’ll do. In other words, the last step to deep security in a world of unthinkable granular surprise is to push-as hard as possible-for even more unthinkable granular surprise.” (pgs. 242-243)

“As Niels Bohr remarked in later life, ‘Every valuable human being must be a radical and a rebel, for what he must aim at is to make things better than they are.’ Conformity to old ideas is lethal; it is a rebellion that is going to change the planet.” (pg. 262)

Sacred Space

"Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again."
-Joseph Campbell

What a fabulous quote from The Guru - Joseph Campbell!

What or where is your sacred space?

If you are looking for a "sacred space" to train, come to visit the Shuharikan in St. Paul.

The Soul Spark, Creativity and Imagination

In preparing for an upcoming class at the Shuharikan, I've cited some of the wonderful quotes I'll be using to support the lecture as it relates to the use of imagination and creativity in developing and finding your Aikido.

The Soul Spark
“The world comes with shapes, colors, atmospheres, textures-a display of self-presenting forms. All things show faces, the world not only a coded signature to be read for meaning, but a physiognomy to be faced. As expressive forms, things speak; they show the shape they are in. They announce themselves, bear witness to their presence: “Look, here we are.” They regard us beyond how we may regard them, our perspectives, what we intend with them, and how we dispose of them. This imaginative claim on attention bespeaks a world ensouled. More-our imaginative recognition, the childlike act of imagining the world, animates the world and returns it to soul…”
James Hillman, The Thought of the Heart and the Soul of the World, pgs. 101-102, 118, 128-129

“For Merleau-Ponty, all of the creativity and free-ranging mobility that we have come to associate with the human intellect is, in truth, an elaboration, or recapitulation, of a profound creativity already underway at the most immediate level of sensory perception. The sensing body is not a programmed machine but an active and open form, continually improvising its relation to things and to the world. The body’s actions and engagements are never wholly determinate, since they must ceaselessly adjust themselves to a world and a terrain that is itself continually shifting. If the body were truly a set of closed or predetermined mechanisms, it could never come into genuine contact with anything outside of itself, could never perceive anything really new, could never be genuinely startled or surprised. All of its experiences, and all its responses, would already have been anticipated from the beginning, already programmed, as it were, into the machine. But could we even, then, call them experiences? For is not experience, or more precisely, perception, the constant thwarting of such closure?”
The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World by David Abram

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.”
-George Bernard Shaw

Aphrodite, Soul Food and Aikido

So many of our experiences in life, through Aikido, our family and friends, revolve around a meal and "breaking bread." Aikido trips I've taken have provided wonderful memories of our training or talking in-depth of our lives.

From having a classic egg and toast breakfast with Kancho and Fred Haynes sensei in Georgetown, to eating dim sum and sushi at small crazy loud rock-n-roll spots in southern California with Geordan Reynolds sensei, Chino sensei and Sensei Bob and the Lincoln Continental, hitting the late night spots in San Francisco's Tenderloin area and the weekly Saturday breakfast with the Shuharikan Crew at The Downtowner in St. Paul, having a Cajun with Black and Tan toast, all are memories I treasure!

These two quotes are so descriptive and capture in such detail, the enjoyment of experiencing a fantastic meal while spending time with great friends.

"Little by little, I worked up a list of everything that according to my own experience and the knowledge accumulated through centuries in different cultures enhances passionate life, or just life in general. As is only natural, food headed the list." Isabel Allende, Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses

“To cook soul food you must use all of your senses. You cook by instinct but you also use smell, taste, touch, sight, and, particularly, sound. You learn to hear by the crackling sound when it’s time to turn over the fried chicken, to smell when a pan of biscuits is just about to finish baking, and to feel when a pastry’s just right to the touch. You taste, rather than measure, the seasonings you treasure; and you use your eyes, not a clock, to judge when that cherry pie has bubbled sweet and nice. These skills are hard to teach quickly. They must be felt, loving, and come straight from the heart and soul.” Sheila Ferguson, Soul Food: Classic Cuisine from the Deep South

Dawn toward East and Fred Haynes sensei

When I tested for San Dan (3rd degree Black Belt) I stayed with Fred Haynes sensei and his family in Toronto. During my stay we had many great training sessions and some even better conversations of his travels and views of what a senior instructor needs to do and was following the direction from Kancho sensei as his role is helping others find their Aikido and help “grow instructors.” (Photo: http://aikidoikeda.com.br)

This memory came back to me when I read East toward Dawn: A Woman’s Solo Journey Around the World by Nan Watkins. The first quote below struck me with the wonderful hospitality I experienced staying with Fred sensei and the ideal of tradition and passing down what you’ve learned to the next generation.

“You won’t repay me directly, but you will do things for others, just as I have done for you.” With that statement she showed me a path that I have taken-a lifetime of mentoring and friendship with young people, many of whom were foreign students in America, as I had once been in Munich. (pg. 19)

The next ideal was of how one evolves and grows in the medium they’ve chosen to express oneself. Having known Fred sensei for more than 15 years now and countless training sessions, clinics and conversations, it is always a pleasure to see his evolution as an Aikidoka, but more importantly as a wonderful mentor, friend, supporter and human being.

I think of the role of the artist in society, of how the artist stands outside the mainstream, exiled as recorder of human experience, critic of human behavior, town crier, visionary…No matter when, no matter where, each of us is on a journey, day by day, year by year, whether we are conscious of it or not. The artist’s journey is purposeful; the artist may not be a tidy citizen, but the artist knows why he or she is here: to tell a story, to awaken our minds and hearts to the bigger story of the universe beyond. I admire the artist, who with heightened ability of expression is able to articulate the pain and joy of the human journey through writing, painting, sculpture or music. (pgs. 29-30)

During my trip in 1999 I also had the great privilege and honor of training and testing with Jim Murray sensei. His home and dojo are located at Base Borden and it reminded me of my family’s retreat in northern Minnesota. One has the opportunity to smell the fresh air during the day, see the stars on a clear evening and hear the call of a loon as the moon reflects across the lake.

I look out the window at the sky and know that though I am in a foreign country on the other side of the earth, the sun, moon and stars are still there as my familiars. (pg. 49)
Taking time each day to retreat from the spoken word brings us in touch with the natural world and with the universal spirit. Perhaps I am able to live so easily among these people on the other side of the world because we are communicating at a level beyond our surface differences. I am with people whose greeting and farewell refer to the divine qualities within each of us. It is in that divine spirit beyond words, beyond language, that we have much to share. (pg. 61)

As I reflect back on the training in Toronto two key themes arose: where was I training that day and where were we going to eat, followed by some cold beverages. I trained with Fred sensei, Alister Thomson sensei, Tim Webb and Rod Rhem sensei, Seibukan Dojo, Jim Murray sensei, Base Borden, Mark Handley-Derry sensei, Shinseikan Aikido Club, David Stinson sensei, Seidokan and the many Aikidoka training at each of the respective dojos.

Throughout history, enlightened souls have shown us in their words and actions how to live in harmony with fellow humans and with all life on earth. Iris Murdoch, the British philosopher and novelist, said it well in one of her essays: “Love is the imaginative recognition of, that is respect for, the otherness of another person.” Respect for the otherness-a beautiful and necessary aspect of love, of understanding and relating to all kinds of people. One of my childhood heroes, Albert Schweitzer, took this thought one step further. He taught “reverence for life,” extending respect beyond humankind to include all forms of life. (pg. 75)

The final thought I had was how far the Shuharikan and Aikido in St. Paul has come in the last 10 years: scores of people who've trained at the dojo, the number of individuals who tested for Kyu and Dan ranking, hosting Kancho sensei and the many wonderful people we've hosted and met during our travels. The greatest treasures have been the deepening of friendships with Gordie, Glen, Jim and Maggie and with all those we've trained with and have been able to share the mat and celebrate with over cold beverages.

…so have I traversed in this last decade of my life the world of emotion-from deepest sorrow to profound joy. I made the journey, step by step, day by day. (pg. 174)
Developing my talents and moving out into the greater world, I learn that the diversity of people-and all forms of life-is to be cherished: the differences between us are insignificant in light of what we hold in common. (pg. 175)
I’m in travel mode, and it’s a wonderful gear to be in. It’s an entirely separate state of mind from that of being rooted in a particular spot. The essence is movement. The challenge is confronting the new. There is no boredom of routine, no daily job to go to, no responsibilities other than myself. (pg. 177)

The Collaborative Habit and Dancing

And some people only think Aikido is hard on the feet! What a great photo!

Twyla Tharp's book The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together includes excellent quotes one can apply to their Aikido training, work, or family.

I define collaboration as people working together-sometimes by choice, sometimes not. Sometimes we collaborate to jump-start creativity; other times the focus is simply on getting things done. (pg. 4)

Collaborators aren't born, they're made. Or, to be more precise, built, a day at a time, through practice, through attention, through discipline, through passion and commitment-and, most of all, through habit. (pg. 12)

Watch them, learn from them. And see if you don't soon feel that, far from being burdened with a partner, you're beginning to find new options and new ways of thinking. Thinking? Collaboration may be a practice-a way of working in harmony with others-but it begins as a point of view. (pgs. 13-14)

The sooner you establish a routine, the more smoothly your collaboration will advance. The first requirement of collaboration is commitment. (pgs. 26-27)

The root of any collaboration is interchange-literally, change. Nothing forces change more dramatically than a new partnership. Collaboration guarantees change because it makes us accommodate the reality of our partners-and accept all the ways they're not like us. And those differences are important. The more we can draw upon our partner's strengths and avoid approving our partner's weaknesses, the better that partnership will be. (pg. 36)

You need a challenging partner. In a good collaboration, differences between partners mean that one plus one will always equal more than two. (pg. 36)

As for me, I learned ways of extending movement from one place to another that would never have occurred to me had I not been able to transpose myself into this amazing artist, to feel the innumerable hours he trained, drilled, and practiced from one inside edge to the other outside edge and back, carefully tracing his patterns into the ice. (pg. 43)

Collaborative projects offer tutorials in reality. And that tutorial always presents the unexpected. (pg. 63)

Crisis focuses energy. When it really matters, people rise to the occasion. (pg. 86)

Richard Avedon taught me what Keats called "negative capability"-a willingness to suspend judgement and see reality as another might. That's creativity at its most openhearted. Those pictures of the two of us remind me that the ultimate best result of any collaboration is learning to look through your collaborator's eye. (pg. 117)

But beyond the scoring of your collaboration lies the real gain-the chance to interface with others and to develop a whole new tool kit of values. Our lives are performances-each of us starring in a play we come to know as our own. Essence isn't just who you are. It's who you are with other people. (pg. 143)