When I first started training in the martial art of Tae Kwon Do, I did it with the intent to gain some mental discipline to help me with my recovery from depression. For the first few months of my training, I would literally bit sitting on the floor bawling as the emotions came flooding out. I learned a very important lesson from this experience that has shaped my approach to life and my activism in a significant way.
This physical environment is designed to teach us some very important lessons and if we don't fully engage with it, those lessons will not be realized.
The physical body was never designed to store emotional, mental or spiritual energy but instead it is designed to process, channel and MOVE the energy. How many of us avoid dealing with shit and decide to avoid, stuff, bury or ignore it all instead? That causes illness as the body is prevented from doing it's job, must find a way to store the energy and then we wonder why the body struggles and gets sick. When I started working my body hard in class, it had no choice but to let all of that energy go so that it can do what I was demanding of it from Creator to do: MOVE!
Black Stripe promotion ~2002
No amount of technology was going to help me. I had to get sweaty, spend the time and get the work done. After 10 years of training I realized some important lessons. My mental discipline came from doing the physical work under the guidance of an elder. By working on my physical body, my mind had no choice but to ignore everything else and focus! Having an elder to help me through that process was critical as there was lots that I did not know, but he did! My Tae Kwon Do instructor is a Grand Master in the art form and it was not only an honour but a huge privilege to train under him. How many of us search for an elder in life to train under? How many of us need to spend the time to find an elder and start training?
Grand Master James Lo & I
My elder taught me about honour, respect, discipline, being open to learn and to try new things. I had my own self limiting beliefs and he pushed me past those barriers. He knew I could do more than I ever thought possible. He knew, while I did not. He pushed and pushed and pushed until I reached my limit. How many of us have people like that in our lives? How many of us walk away when our elders push and we give up?
My training produced unexpected results. While I was focusing on physical and mental training, what manifested was significant spiritual training as well. While the physical and mental aspects were the area of focus, my spirit gained tremendous insight into who I AM, what I AM capable of accomplishing and even learned how to love myself and others. Spirit figured out how to love it's vessel unconditionally and to realize it is capable of doing some amazing things. This spiritual growth was only possible as it is a manifestation of the work that I did. It would not have come about any other way but through the hard work.
So why do I focus on relationships, off grid living and homesteading in my writings?
Because I now train in the Pacem Arts and I'm using the exact same methodology that the Martial Artists have used for thousands of years. By focusing on my physical environment and doing the work, I gain significant emotional, mental and spiritual learning from the process. This physical realm is a tool and if we don't learn how to fully utilize that tool for our own growth and experience, then we will miss out on the opportunity that Creator gave us to be here. Only through hard work will we gain those insights and experiences. There is no other way!
Our addiction to convenience prevents further learning - exactly what 'they' want to happen!
Our vessels tendency is to do things with the least amount of energy possible. As a result, we created all kinds of technology to make life easier. I'm not against technology as I'm using it right now to share this message with the world. But if we look at the institutions that have grown up around us, how far have we been removed from doing the physical grunt work with Mother Earth that is required to obtain the emotional, mental and spiritual teachings that this environment is supposed to provide for us?
Convenience removes us from doing that work and we miss out on far too much Spiritual growth. In the Martial Arts we did lots of running, kicking and punching. In the Pacem Arts we do lots of gardening, building, animal husbandry and a whole range of other activities. Rather than paying others to do the work for me, it is my responsibility to do the work myself. I'm not going to scoff at the work as many feel it is beneath them. Others would rather pay somebody else so that they can enjoy a high standard of living. How many Martial Arts black belts got their belt by having somebody else go to class in their place? Zero!
The irony is that by being dependent upon others, the amount of energy we put into life does not change, but instead we receive less and the rest of that energy gets funneled to a small group of people. If we disconnected from their empires and did the work ourselves, we would all have a higher standard of living AND be doing the work for our own physical, emotional, mental and spiritual growth. Just as gravity provides the resistance we need for physical strength, this physical realm also provides the resistance we need for emotional, mental and spiritual strength as well. When we fully engage in the Pacem Arts within this physical realm, our conscious awareness increases and that is another hidden benefit of training in the arts.
The technology that we implement should be designed to facilitate and encourage this level of training rather than hindering it. How well would my Martial Arts training have gone if we built exoskeletons to strap on to do the training instead of us figuring it out for ourselves? Sounds absurd to even contemplate the idea. In my view, the majority of the technology of the state, corporations and their infrastructure has had a negative impact on the Pacem Arts.
They love to sell us their technology because it is cool, wiz bang, fancy and lots of flashing lights. People buy it up like crazy because it is convenient, entertaining and can also be used as a status symbol. But if we are really interested in getting our black belt in the Pacem Arts or even getting to the point where we are Grand Masters teaching others the art form, it requires Years upon years of discipline and dedication to the physical forms that facilitate the learning process. That is found in our relationships with our gardens, the forest, plants, animals, air, water and spirit of all life on this planet. These spiritual beings are hear to teach us something and if we ignore them, we do so at our own peril. But if we embrace them and work with them, our spirit will gain an experience, knowledge and wisdom far beyond what any technology will do for us. Over time we will receive our black belt in the Pacem Arts which only means that we know the basics. We must then teach others and that is when our learning really starts to take off!
The Martial Arts and Pacem Arts require the same things; sweat, sore muscles, dirty hands, patience, observance, dedication, commitment, awareness, self challenge, pushing our limits, taking risks, elders to teach and others to practice with. That is why I speak of the physical so much in my posts. The physical realm is the tool given to us by Creator to teach spirit. We are in a class room and if we want to Graduate Life with Honours, we better start taking this class room seriously and fully engage in the experience!
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