That’s a state of mind that’s sought after in Eastern schools of meditation. In Japan it is called Zammai, in India it's known as Samahdi. Samahdi is a natural state of mind that everyone has experienced. It's when one is so wholly engaged in some activity that one forgets oneself. In Eastern schools of thought it’s systematically sought after and practiced. It is the removal of the ego, the sense of ‘I’, from the picture.
In Kime it’s sought after to focus all of ones energies into the task at hand. The mind, the body and the spirit all work together to accomplish ones goal.
I used to teach rape-defense classes for various police departments. The very first things I would address with a room full of new women were the psychological aspects of self-defense. If a woman was raised to be a ‘good girl’ and believe that good girls don’t hit people, she would have to recondition herself to understand that sometimes it’s OK. Perhaps someone was raised in a religious home and taught that good ‘Jewish girls, Christians, Buddhists, whatever…’ don’t hurt people. That too, is a kind of conditioning that must be addressed before any physical technique will work. If one believes that it’s wrong for them to hurt someone else their biggest battle, when confronted with an attacker, will be with themselves. If you use, say 50% of your energy to fight your own conditioning, that only leaves you with 50% of your energy to fight off an attacker. If all of you believes it’s OK to defend yourself before you’re attacked you have 100% of your energy available to you. For the average American woman who weighs say, 125 pounds, to fight off the average American man who weighs maybe 165, she will need all of her energy for the fight. If all her energy isn’t available she’s more than likely to lose.
The principle of Kime, or focus, can be applied to many things. There are, of course, other voices in us that aren't unified most of the time. If you do something you believe is wrong, you are working agaist yourself. If all of you isn’t behind something it isn’t a ‘pure’ act. A pure act is one in which there is no inner conflict to address.
In the age of computers another analogy can be applied. If you give your computer one command, then give it a competing command, it can seize up. The human brain works in a similar way. Doubt, fear, anxiety, worry etc. all work to send competing commands to someone engaged in an action wherein they need all their energies. Most of those feelings involve thoughts about the future. They can be avoided if one lives in the present.
Living in the present or ‘in the moment’, means to focus all your awareness and energy on what you’re doing…even if it’s only sitting. It’s easier said than done but with practice it can be readily achieved. It frees up ones energies so that they’re available at the moment they’re needed. Unfortunately most people don’t know about the simple skills necessary to achieve Kime. Most people don’t know what a ‘pure act’ is, except for the random times they naturally occur.
Most of humanities battles are the battles within individuals. Because it’s easier to face an opponent outside of us…most of our inner battles are played out in conflicts with other human beings. If human beings are ever to come to a place wherein they are free of inner conflicts, they’ll need to learn to speak with one voice.
It is the man who has conquered himself that has won the greatest victory. Inner peace is the greatest strength…
No comments:
Post a Comment