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 the Dragon, emotional content is about being in the moment, free of attachment, and feeling. Don’t think, feel
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 arts and meditation. What we as a human race are facing right now is undoubtedly a challenge. It seems to be one of the greatest we’ve faced thus far. How we
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 I’ll use those as a jumping off point. In many of my recent conversations about politics, the eventual conclusion we’ve arrived at is “it’s all a mess and there’s no way
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 for him are the constant delusions he suffers from. For example, my friend believes that a life-like crucifix on display at the Detroit Institute of Art isn’t just a statue,
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 we did well and what we could have done better, evaluate our goals then decide how to evolve. In the past years I’ve talked about the importance of setting goals. This
