Intuition and the call to communion by Judee Gee

30 August 2010
Posted in Getting Real

Intuition opens the door to the truth, to the vast mysteries of existence,

and to the equally vast mysteries of the human being.

Intuition: awakening your inner guide, by Judee Gee

Intuition, our capacity for perceiving truth and receiving immediate insight1, is an innate ability serving us well as we navigate our way through the myriad challenges of everyday life. It helps us to discern what is really going on, what is really being meant and what is really essential in the moment-to-moment unfolding of events and interactions as we experience them. 

Read more...

The City by Paulo Coelho

27 July 2010
Posted in Getting Real

I stroll through the big city like I have strolled through so many other big cities in this world, and I see the same scenes; a man walking and talking on his cell phone, a boy running to catch the bus, a mother pushing a stroller, a young couple kissing in a park, kids playing football in a vacant lot, churches, traffic lights, billboards. I stand waiting with a group of people to cross the street and glance at the monuments that always show great men deep in thought, bearing the world on their shoulders.

Read more...

The Five Laws of Sun Tzu by Paulo Coelho

28 May 2010
Posted in Getting Real

“The Art of War,” written by Sun Tzu in 490 A.C., speaks of the five laws of combat, which are as follows:

Faith: before entering a battle, it is necessary to believe in the reason for the fight.

Rabbi Zuya had so much faith that he wanted to know the divine mysteries. To do so, he decided to imitate the life of Moses.

For years he tried to behave like the prophet, but he did not obtain the results he had hoped for. One night, exhausted from so much studying, he fell asleep. In his dream, God appeared to him.

Read more...

"We-dentity" in the dojo by Charlie Badenhop

26 May 2010
Posted in Getting Real

The slippers each student wears from the changing room to the dojo are meant to be neatly lined up at the dojo door. If necessary, when you enter the dojo you tidy up any slippers left askew. You do this, because after a while it feels unsettling to see slippers out of place. You also do this because you know sensei sends a student to make sure everyone and everything is ready, before making his way to the dojo. Neatly lined up slippers is a way of saying "We are ready to receive your lesson." 

Read more...

What have you come here to learn? by Charlie Badenhop

19 April 2010
Posted in Getting Real

When new students showed up in Aikido class, one of my sensei's favorite questions was, "What have you come here to learn?"

When sensei asked such a question you could be sure he wasn't going to accept the first answer someone gave. 

I was intrigued to discover no one seemed to have a reply that was well thought out. Myself included! 

The longer I studied Aikido the more I felt sensei's question was a kind of Zen "koan”. A paradoxical question designed to show the inadequacy of your logical thinking. 

Read more...

The Problem of Others by Paulo Coelho

19 April 2010
Posted in Getting Real

There was once a well-known scholar, who lived in a mountain in the Himalayas. Tired of living with men, he had chosen a simple life and spent most of his time meditating.

His fame, however, was so great that people were willing to walk narrow paths, climb steep hills, swim rivers - to meet the holy man who was believed to be able to resolve any trouble of the human heart.

Read more...

Annotations in Airports by Paulo Coehlo

01 April 2010
Posted in Getting Real

Moses parts the waters

"Sometimes we get used to what we see in the movies, and end up forgetting the true story," a friend said to once while we were looking at the port of Miami, "remember the Ten Commandments?"

Of course I remembered. Moses, played by Charton Heston, at one point raises his baton and with that action the waters were divided and the Jewish people walked through it.

"In the Bible it is different," says my friend, "in the Bible, God orders Moses to do this by saying, ‘the children of Israel are to go forward,’ and only after they start walking does Moses raise his staff to part the Red Sea.

Courage in the path is what makes the path manifest itself.

Read more...

What disturbance? by Charlie Badenhop

16 March 2010
Posted in Getting Real

It was six o'clock in the evening and the train platform was crowded. 

I'd been to the convenience store in the station, having bought two sandwiches and a packet of juice for myself, and a small box of chocolate covered almonds for my daughter, who was waiting for me at home. 

Read more...

The streets of Sofia by Paulo Coelho

01 February 2010
Posted in Getting Real

After spending five special days in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, for the first time I board a plane of the Bulgarian Air company, which will carry me to my next destination on this journey without (many) plans that I am making in tribute to the 20 years since my pilgrimage on the Way to Santiago.

Since it is forbidden to turn on your computer before and during take-off, I take a look at the airline magazine. Like all other airline company magazine, I know that it will describe the marvels of the country, which I am not very interested in because my visit has been wonderful, so nobody has to tell me again how marvelous the place is.

Read more...

The three hearts of a Japanese man

01 February 2010
Posted in Getting Real

Well it's Friday night and I'm pretty certain my friend Tabata-san will be hanging out at the usual place. So I decide to go have a talk and perhaps a beer as well.

Sure enough, I find him sitting with a couple of young men telling them what Judo used to be like in the old days.

I wait patiently for an opening in the conversation, as I want to ask Tabata-san to talk more about a previous topic. His experience of being a Japanese man.

Read more...