Fall Back Fridays - Subtle Communication
Note: Furuya Sensei originally posted this to his blog on March 30, 2003.
We think we can communicate in our words and actions but I have come to realize that this is not always so. Beyond our words and actions, it is important to communicate with our hearts, spirit, mind, courage, love, and awareness. This make communication a little more subtle and perhaps a little harder to sense. This is why between teacher and student and between student and student, it is important to cultivate this to its highest degree.
Generally, we are too greedy or too manipulative to think about the other person beyond our own selves and self interests - no communication can ever take place beyond the simplest and basest level. This is why at higher levels so much misunderstanding takes place. Often we say, "no" which means "yes," and often we say, "yes" meaning “no." It sounds like it doesn't make any sense but we do this all of the time in our lives and in our thoughts.
To communicate something as subtle and profound as Aikido, we must be there, in the moment and fully centered or we will miss it so easily.