Dark Night of the Soul
A Dark Night of the Soul (not to be confused with The Dark Knight, the only superhero movie I saw twice in theaters) is a concept I’ve been familiar with for a while but haven’t had much direct experience with. The idea was first described by St. John of the Cross while he was imprisoned in the late 1500’s as a sort of purification of the spirit . Today, the
Ups, Downs, and our Attachment to Each
In martial arts and meditation we strive to become aware of our emotional states and learn to ride the waves of physical and internal energy to our benefit. The ups and downs become more predictable, just like practicing falls on the count. Teaching and watching this happen from the outside has given me some perspective, but taking care of a baby has made me increasingly aware of the natural rhythms
Empowering Context
Creating an empowering context is a crucial skill. Empowering context is basically shifting your mindset so that you get energy from a given situation and you can flow creatively to meet challenges. An example of an empowering context we talk about all the time in martial arts is to treat challenges like opportunities. When someone throws a punch in kung fu or tries to sweep you in BJJ, this is
Baby Zen
Aside from the moments where I am avoiding punches in Kung Fu or getting tapped in BJJ, I can’t recall being as present as I have been since baby Alora was born. For one, I basically have nothing to do except help take care of her. Aside from some grocery shopping, writing this blog is one of the few things I’ve had to do. I don’t generally have worries or
Asking for Help
The theme for this year's Kung Fu retreat was “asking for help”. The idea came to me as we were talking about using the jo (a 4 ft staff) for a few drills. It's basically the same size as a walking stick. Using a walking stick is kind of like asking for help. Really, any time you use a weapon in Martial Arts is like asking for help. It doesn't
