ALL-IN DRILL (Two heavy bags, one hanging, other on floor. 7 rnds 2:00/1:00 w/ 10% b/w weighted vest. Each rnd, mount and strike down bag10 times, roll bag and strike bag 10 times from bottom, boost bag, get up, punch and kick hanging bag 20 times, repeat until bell rings); MEDITATION (Meditate on the concept of “striking through the target.” What does this mean, not just in fighting, but in terms of business, relationships, service, self expression, etc.)
A young monk in a Zen monastery, after many months of study and practice, is sitting in meditation when suddenly there appears before him a miraculous image: the Buddha, enshrined in golden light, hovers in the air and smiles down at him in silent blessing.
Overcome by the beauty of the image, and feeling blessed beyond measure, the student jumps up and runs to his master.
“Master, master! In a vision I have seen the golden Buddha!”
“There, there,” the master replied sympathetically. “Keep meditating. It will go away eventually.”
Posted in Martial arts, Mysticism
At the beginning of March I began working through Donald Kraig’s book Modern Magick: Twelve Lessons in the High Magickal Arts. Part of the program is completing a daily Tarot Meditation.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been a student of the Tarot since the 70s, and I’ve been meditating almost as long. And I’ve meditated on Tarot cards before. But it’s simply amazing the things you can find — even in terrain you think you’ve explored pretty darned well.
Last Friday I sat down to meditate on VII The Chariot. I settled into meditation, taking note of the solar imagery and connecting that to the Solar Chariot myths found everywhere from Ancient Egypt to Denmark. I relaxed and “sank into” the card. Then, although I’ve looked at this card a million times in the last forty or so years, I noticed that the natural focal points of the image are seven in number. That seemed curious and probably not coincidental. Then, in my mind’s eye, I connected them with lines.
The natural focal points on the card are the seven lowest Sephiroth, the ones just below the level of the Abyss.
The glowing square on the figure’s chest equates to the Sephira of Yesod, which is the vehicle through which all of the powers from the Sephiroth above are conveyed into the material world of Malkuth, which is the eight-pointed star on the figure’s forehead. Note that the winged sun on the chariot itself equates to Tiphareth, the Christ point. The figure can go nowhere without this power.
If you are familiar with the Qliphoth, the spheres are different. And yet, to me at least, the overall message is strangely similar.
To me this card symbolizes the maximum human attainment, the highest degree of achievement, the greatest victory short of attaining personal godhood. But being upside down, it is also a warning. It says that victory has its costs, difficulties and dangers.
The Fool — by way of the Aeclectic Tarot website.
I’ve been using the Hoi Polloi Tarot since I bought it at B. Dalton Bookstore back in the 70s. After almost 40 years of friendship, that old deck is very dear to me.
But it must’ve been sometime around 2001 when I realized that, while it is beautiful to look at, there are issues with the deck. It’s fairly faithful as Rider-Waite-Smith clones go, but the backgrounds are missing, and certain very symbolic details are different, such as the number of Yods and the colors of certain objects. One example is The Fool. In the RWS deck, the rose is white. In mine the rose is red.
These differences and issues have surfaced several times before. I always gloss over them and move along with my old friend as before.
Then other day, while contemplating the Knight of Wands, it hit me that his tunic should not be green. It was like a mallet to my forehead. “Mitch,” the voice in my head said, “this is a test.” But what kind of test? Was the challenge before me to just relax and not be so uptight about details? After all, I do struggle with being very driven and nit-picky. Or was the test to realize that all tools wear out eventually and must be replaced, to remain focused on getting the job done rather than being sentimental about tools?
The next day, while performing the Qabalistic Cross, it hit me that the challenge was to do both. If I was going to build a new house, would I throw away the antique hammer that I inherited from my father and replace it? No, I’d just set it aside as a keepsake to use for hanging pictures an such. I’d go and buy a framing hammer for the new job. As usual, the false tension of dualism is the enemy.
So I wrapped up the old cards in a scarf and put them in a pretty box to use on special occasions. The new cards are necessary if I’m going to progress in my esoteric studies. And I ordered a new Tarot deck. It’ll be arriving in the mail soon.
It’s time to make a new friend.
The Tower (courtesy of Wikipedia)
TAROT MEDITATION: “The Tower”
Dim lights and set a timer for 10 mins. Lean card against an object such as a stack of books so that it is at or near eye level when you are in your meditative pose of choice (sit or recline any way you wish, as long as spine is straight and neither arms nor legs are crossed). If you do not own a Tarot deck, pull up the image on the right with your cell phone and stand it up instead (make sure you change the screensaver settings to prevent your phone from going to sleep). Take several deep breaths and relax. Regulate breathing to a deep and slow rhythm and droop eyelids slightly with eyes focused on the card. As you sink deeper into your meditation, sink also into the image. Allow yourself to be fully present, as if you are standing inside the actual scene which the card depicts. Allow yourself to experience the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that attend the experience of being in that imaginary place. When the timer beeps, open your eyes and slowly exit your meditative pose and state. Record your thoughts and impressions in our journal, diary, or workout log.
KNIFE (or primary weapon, 4 x 2:00 vs. Dbl. End Ball, alternating hands & grips); SPIN KICK COMBOS (15 mins); MEDITATION (10 mins)
WEIGHTS (4 x12 of Triceps Ext, Squats, Plank Rows, Sit-ups); CONTEMPLATION (15 mins)
So proud that I my article The Purpose of a Giraffe was accepted by The Tusk. Check it out.
A recent post by Steve Grogan entitled “Why I Prefer Spirituality over Religion” got me thinking. I started to simply reply in the comments, but I soon realized that I had far more to say. Here is Steve’s post:
And here’s my response.
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Steve:
I understand how you feel. Truth be told, I have had similar knee-jerk reactions myself. But deep down, I don’t believe that many people are “churned out of churches” with narrow viewpoints because they have ideas “ground into them.”
You have come upon the verge of a powerfully brilliant realization, and I hope you don’t mind if I — one martial artist to another, in a friendly way — give you little helping hand making the leap.
Humans are not generally stupid or easily brainwashed. I believe people sometimes espouse ideologies they really aren’t deeply invested in, and that they do so for reasons that are frequently quite mundane. They make investments in order to receive gains. If they are lonely, they may go to a church to make friends or to interact with existing ones. If it benefits them socially, politically, or commercially, some folks will attend a church just so that they can hobnob with powerful people, make business contacts, and so forth. This group explains why, as you said, some people you perceive as religious don’t practice what they preach.
Others attend a given church out of tradition. Going to the same church that grandma and grandpa attended provides a sense of security, stability, and comfort. Or maybe they just go because they’re bored, or because they feel they’re supposed to.
And there are the role players. These are people who attend churches to pursue their self-aggrandizement, so that they can either feel — or appear — pious, hardworking, selfless, and/or committed. They volunteer for projects, try to raise the most charity money, lead the choir, the committee, the study group, etc.
Many go to church in search of guidance and direction. The ones who are free-thinking and determined may stay for years, quietly studying and seeking, perhaps even secretly harboring a viewpoint divergent from fellow congregants, holding out hope that someday enlightenment will come. Others are more rudderless. For them, something, anything, is better than wandering aimlessly. Once inside, lacking wisdom and insight, and surrounded by others who follow the teachings, these types do whatever it takes to exemplify the ideal.
In my experience, there is usually a small but very vocal group of people who are the hardcore believers, the ones who have mistaken the communion wine for the Koolaid. Don’t judge the entire congregation by these characters. That would be like judging all Muslims based on the behavior of a few jihadists.
With all this in mind, it should be no surprise that people in religious organizations might be “unwilling to admit that anything else might be true or make sense.” When you challenge someone’s religious beliefs you are forcing him or her to self-evaluate. People don’t want to look themselves in the mirror. Hardcore believers will be especially resistant because they have invested so much more. It is as if they have built a massive and incredible bridge, and you are asking them to admit that the engineering is faulty, or that it perhaps may lead nowhere.
Human beings don’t usually like facing facts about themselves and others. They don’t enjoy admitting uncertainty, poor judgement, or true motives. If they are in a congregation owing to heritage or tradition, it isn’t fun to admit that grandma and grandma might have been wrong. If they’re there because their friends are there, a challenge of beliefs may ignite feelings of tribalism. In the end, although some people do push back against religious criticism because they are true believers, reasons vary greatly because people vary greatly.
Making assumptions about the homogeneity of “religious” people — some of whom may only appear to be religious — lacks nuance. This goes for all broad categories of people. You are a martial artist, a practitioner of Wing Chung. Why do you practice it? Do all practitioners of Wing Chun have the same reasons? How many reasons are there for people to practice Wing Chun and advocate its concepts? I posit that there are as many reasons as there are practitioners. How would you react if someone criticized Wing Chun?
Most of the things you have observed have more to do with human nature than they have to do with religion. As a martial artist, you know that when a person is pushed, he usually pushes back; when she is pulled, she pulls back. This is a natural tendency.
But the master is the one who pulls when he is pushed, who pushes when she is pulled.
Perhaps, when dealing with intolerant people, folks with whom you disagree, and so forth, you might anticipate the push. All options are available to you in terms of thoughts, feelings and actions — pushing, pulling, blocking, shielding, clashing, avoiding, and so on.
From one martial artist to another, I feel I must warn you against the great trap that is dualism. I really hope you don’t think of this as a lecture. I enjoy your blog, and I find it thought provoking. Please keep posting.
Yours in the arts,
~Mitch
This is my favorite knife, handmade using 18th Century methods by Deer Runner (a.k.a. Joe Schilling). Note the little deer track stamped in the blade and the old school flavor of the sheath. In the background is my little “go bag,” a vintage hemp Italian gas mask bag.
As a martial artist, I study and practice skills with the potential to cause grievous harm. I train in all aspects of unarmed self-defense, as well as with knife and cane.* As a mystic, I look at my hands, my knife and my cane — all possessed of violent possibility — and I feel very differently about them than I do about my pistols. I own two, passed down to me when my father died.
My hands can be used to do a million things, most of them non-violent, like writing, cooking, driving, and holding hands with my wife (my personal favorite). My knives also have multiple uses, like opening packages, slicing apples, carving wood, and getting crud from under my fingernails. My cane offers two primary kinds of support — a third leg while walking or hiking, and a bit of added security against multiple attackers.
Two hands and a knife are with me always. My cane, more limited in use than my knife, stands in the corner until needed. Knives are safely placed to the right of every plate in the Western Hemisphere. Canes are used by elderly people worldwide. It takes time and practice to turn a fist, a foot, a knife, or a Mulberry stick into a true weapon. In their natural states they are innocent, nearly harmless things.
But the pistols, which are made for the sole purpose of killing things, are tucked away in a safe. Their profile is the reverse of the hand, knife, or cane. Rather than being safer in the hands of an untrained person, they are far more dangerous. Careless handling by a child or novice can result in tragedy.
I had been considering a shooting class sometime this year, but after careful thought and meditation, I’ve decided against it. I’ll maintain my focus on martial arts. Sure, there’s a violent element. But martial arts also make the body strong and flexible, build character, and focus the mind. Give me those tools which are inherently innocent, and let me learn how to use them for all their myriad purposes under the sun. I have no interest in picking up an instrument of death to learn the art of slaughter.
Still, I am a mystic, and in the words of Socrates, “All I know is that I know nothing.” Perhaps I’m too nice, too kind, too sensitive. Perhaps someday I’ll feel differently. So let us all be free to do what we will, feel what we will, and love what we will.
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* I also train with chucks (a.k.a. nunchaku, jool bong, “numchuks,” etc.) but that’s more of a fun, dexterity thing than a weapon thing. They hang on a hook in my workout room.
Posted in Martial arts, Mysticism
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Robert Mitchell Jr. 