Furuya Sensei posted this to his Daily Message on June 27, 2004.
Training is very interesting, especially in how we must train our minds. We always talk about shoshin (初心) or “The beginner's mind” because it is important to have the mind of someone who is practicing for the very first time. Their mind is so eager and so naive and so ready to absorb everything about Aikido. At the same time, as strange as it is to say, we must also have the mind that this is "our last practice" as well. We practice each day as if this is the last day we will be on this earth.
We need the energy and freshness of practice on the very first day, but we also need the desperate and anxious energy as if it is our last day on earth as well.
Some people call this, "life and death" practice. How do we achieve such a state of mind? Please find it on the mat!