I continue to weep for the insidious creep of competitive culture as it secures its tendrils around the roots of the saplings of our youth. It is bred. It is cultivated. Even amongst children playing their newly-invented imaginary games, the desire to win at all costs is harvested daily. It is the bitter fruit borne…
Read moreAikido and Deepflow
Aikido is a Japanese art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his mastery of martial arts, shamanism, and philosophy. It means “path of harmonious energy.” In a war-torn global era, the founder’s hope was that it would be “a way to reconcile the world.” Deepflow is my Aikido-infused synthesis that is about harmonizing…
Read morePersistent Resistance
“Throwing a wrench into it” is as apt an idiom as I can presently ponder, as like ants, we all wander. To resist is to inherently oppose. To oppose is a karate chop to the nose as far as harmony goes. It’s like a minor chord in a major key, but on purpose and spitefully….
Read moreSolve, Resolve, Dissolve
I have been reflecting on the spiritual implications of addressing certain situations through three lenses or modalities: Solve Resolve Dissolve I say “situations” rather than “problems” because it is becoming increasingly clear to me that situations only become problems when one uses that frame to define them. Problems are created by individual interpretation, not merely…
Read morePeel, Feel, Heal
Condescending barbs, shrapnel of disregard, incessantly bombard an increasingly bleeding heart REACT, RETRACT, REDACT We don’t question the obscure, while illusionists fake rapport, steal our stage for their encore EAT, BLEAT, REPEAT War is at our door, blaring lies we’ve heard before, our morals now on the floor POINT, SHOOT, REBOOT Deafening…
Read moreShine Theory
Back in 2015, I was spending Thanksgiving weekend with some friends in San Francisco. One afternoon as we were hanging out in a public park, catching up and enjoying the present moment, one of my newly met friends suddenly excused herself and walked over to a woman a few groups away. I couldn’t hear what…
Read moreDrab Sands of Time
Possession is a poisonous vine It shackles the body and clutters the mind For what do I ever possess that’s mine? Career is a sham, a clever design For what would I rather glean from the grind: Glistening gold or the drab sands of time? But choice is a luxury finer than wine It isn’t…
Read moreResist or Maim
Are you alone? Are you afraid? You can’t leave through the door from which you came It’s do or die, resist or maim Full moon, new moon, wax and wane And afterwards, you’re not the same But in your heart you try to tame That raging storm, that wild flame But through the blood,…
Read moreGrounded Spirituality
I like to think of spirituality as the concept of connecting with something bigger than ourselves. Connection with the source of eternal possibility can be so vast and complex that it can be easy to lose our frame of reference along the way, our “groundedness.” Grounding is an energetic technique whereby we tether ourselves to…
Read moreDeepflow Meditation Process
The Deepflow Meditation Process is something I’ve developed through the study of Aikido, meditation, and energy work. I’ve developed a three-pronged framework to unpack the process and make it easier to explain how to achieve a powerful state of deepflow, from which creation and understanding can eminate. The basic framework is as follows: Grow…
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