Creating my own problems
Published: Wed, 01/07/15
The writer and martial artist Geoff Thompson likes to tell how he was a magnet for violence when he worked on the doors. Not just when he was working as a bouncer either, violence was an integral part of his everyday life. At the time he partially justified this situation by the fact that Coventry (where he lived) was one of the most violent places in Europe at the time and that people started on him and he was just defending himself. On the other hand even the bouncers who were his colleagues were astounded at the degree of violence and mayhem that occurred when Geoff was around. When Geoff finally took a good hard look at himself he realised that his internal state was one of anger and aggression. When he took serious steps to change his internal landscape the external situation changed too and from then on actual violence became highly unusual experience for Geoff rather than the norm.
My own experience is different in that I have only had one brief period in my life when I found myself carrying the kind of internal rage that was normal for Geoff Thompson for many years. During that period I found that perfectly nice dogs would bark aggressively at me in the street and during that period I got into what was probably the most serious fight in my life, the police got involved and I still have a damaged little finger on my right hand as a result. I am glad to say that I quickly realised what was going on and got a grip on my internal state and have avoided such situations since.
If you read yesterday’s post about spirituality and martial arts then you will realise that I am expanding on the question of the importance or otherwise of the spiritual dimension in martial arts training and practice. My point yesterday is that you cannot avoid having a spiritual dimension in martial arts any more than you can avoid it any other aspect of life. So the issue is whether or not you are conscious of the kind of spirituality you are adopting and creating. Unfortunately, because of a widespread ambivalence if not outright hostility towards conventional religion, spirituality is often dismissed as irrelevant. Organised religion often does not help by claiming a monopoly on spiritual teaching and then being very dogmatic in the way that teaching is delivered. So whether you are secular or religious it is quite likely that your spirituality will be unconscious and thus you will be unaware of the effect that your
spirituality is having on your life.
The great thing about violence is that it should be so shocking that you have to stop and ask yourself why it happens. If you are willing to be awakened then you may quickly realise that your spirit is generating and attracting a certain kind of energy and you really need to take control of the situation. The good news is that you can change the situations you created and attract but you have to acknowledge your responsibility for the situation and be prepared to make some changes, or even be the change.
Martial arts training should teach you your power to do violence, show you the cost of violence and awaken you to the responsibility of keeping the peace. That peace of course begins internally with thinking correctly, breathing, correctly and being aware of what you are expressing with your body and outward attitudes. The first battle is with the self ensuring that the spirit only creates energy which is conducive to restoring harmony and creating peace. This is where the idea of training hard but never having to use your art in anger comes from. The mistake that is often made is assuming that if you are not going to get into violent encounters then there is no point in training at all. This is missing the point which is that all training which cultivates a harmonious and peaceful spirit creates an individual who will be a positive and loving force in the world. Each individual with that spirit will influence everyone they have
contact with whether they realise why or not and a better world can be created as a result.
So, change to world by mastering your spiritual energy? Well anyone got a better idea for making the world a better place? If it doesn’t start with you who does it start with?
regards
Graham
PS Training this Saturday morning 10 am until noon and the emphasis will be on an integrated body, mind and spirit approach to self-defence training. http://www.somersetstav.co.uk/stavcourses.html