Perspective from Martial Arts – The Lost Year
We are now entering the 9th month of Covid-19 in the US and the 6th month since California announced a stay at home order. Many people have died and everybody’s life has changed. It seems like our entire world has
Do I like the person I am?
I like the question of the week, "Do I like the person I am?". It gives me some insight into how I have changed over the years. When I was younger I didn't like myself. It seemed like other kids were
Breathing with a mask
Returning to the dojo means breathing with a mask, and some of us find that difficult. What can happen is a feeling of breathlessness, of not being able to breathe enough. This feeling is called dyspnea by scientists and clinicians,
Martial Arts in Troubled Times
I had planned on talking about forgiveness in this newsletter, but I’m finding it to be an increasingly difficult topic to navigate these days. I’m not going to tell you to forgive anybody, nor will I attempt to tell you
Emotional Content
A student asked me about what I meant by emotional content last week and as it is an important concept in martial arts, I’m seizing the opportunity to discuss it at length here. As Bruce Lee famously mentioned in Enter
Thriving
Over the last few weeks I’ve been talking a lot about thriving and the idea of turning challenges or problems into opportunities. I believe that this is one of the most valuable things we get from our practice of martial
Responsibility
There seems to be an air of helplessness in the world today, rather than responsibility. If you watch the news you’ll be scared half to death by any number of things. Lately, politics and coronavirus are the most pressing, so
Web of delusion and non-attachment
I have a friend who has been unofficially diagnosed with schizophrenia. He doesn’t get psychiatric help or take medication, and his symptoms make it difficult for him to work and have a social life. One of the most difficult aspects
Goals: Building your Path
This time of year is pure magic. I’m not talking about the holidays. Those are over. I’m talking about the potential of the new year. Many of us use this time to look back on the previous year, see what
Perspective
I recently heard a great story about perspective that I will paraphrase here. View from the toll booth A man was approaching a line of tollbooths on the freeway in San Francisco. He began to dread the most mundane, sometimes depressing kind
