HTP Scribbles

The Gift of Time If you are breathing, if you are aware, if you are a willing participant, a passenger on this ride called life, you have the gift. The gift of time. In this moment whatever you seek and perceive is your reality. Existence in this moment is your opportunity to connect, react, and partake in or abstain from all things. The things that make you who you are and who you aren't, love, hate, pleasure, pain and all the rest are yours. You can either define your time or be defined by it. This is the great opportunity. If you have taken the reigns and responsibility for the steps you take on this journey, it is yours. For better or worse, in this moment, it is yours. Enjoy or amend it. These are always your options. There is always a choice. Choose or else the choice will be made for you. Take it. Make it. There are no

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Today I thought I would give you a bit of practical insight into psychology. I have a creed. I set it when I was an undergrad in Dr Diekhoff’s Perception and Cognition. From his teachings I surmised that “existence is perception.” The far-eastern Buddhist koan presents it in a cheeky way. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Sound is audible absent the observer, though by definition it does not qualify. The hearing that confirms the sound requires ears to perceive it. Through our 5 senses (or fewer for some creating remarkable depth of perceptions absent a single sense) we construct the palace of our minds. We line the walls, fill the sky with observations, decorations, and create connections and extensions to process the sights, smells, tastes, touches and sounds that make up existence.

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The Art Of Peace Wise words from the creator of Aikido, the most deadly warrior of his time to serve the Japanese Imperial Guard and, quite possibly, the greatest martial artist of all time. Morihei Ueshiba The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that you encounter. Upon achieving this fatal distinction, Morihei’s life and work took a drastic turn. For him it became obvious that conflict was destructive and that in order to be truly victorious, one should strive to keep the sword unsheathed. Much like Sun Tzu who said that if a battle takes place, then neither side wins. They have both lost. So Morehei developed a form of fighting that requires hardly any original force or power. It is about redirecting the energy of one’s opponent. When this is the goal, injury and overexertion are not a significant concern. The focus is on redirecting not only the body of the opponent, but his adversarial posture and intention as well.