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

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

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

When I was young I used to choke a lot. I mean this both in the physical sense (me choking on something, not choking someone else as we do in the adult martial arts classes) and the mental sense. For

In a few weeks we will be having our first Internal Retreat here in California. My teacher Sifu Brown, who first taught me the value of meditation in martial arts, has had many such events in Michigan, and we are

About two years ago I wrote an article about rank in martial arts after Chris earned his red sash. We’ve had many tests recently, so I’ve decided to revisit it with some changes and additions. Enjoy!   How do you get a

The question of the week in the dojo is about your relationships, “What is the most enjoyable thing your family has done together in the last three years?” For many of the students who have brought their family to the

Last week’s challenge was to forgive someone. We got a lot of great responses from it, so I’d like to talk a bit about forgiveness in general and how it relates to our martial arts and meditation practice. First, who is