The best Aikidoists are good at changing their minds.
In Japanese, one way to say “to change one's mind” is kigakawaru (氣が変わる). Kigakawaru literally translates to mean “to change one’s energy.” To be able to change one’s ki (氣) or “energy” is to be able to change one’s life.
It is said that Aikido is moving meditation. What that means is that through the repetitiveness of the movement, we can reach a higher mental state of consciousness. In our normal everyday lives, our minds are in a beta state or a heightened state of arousal which is associated with concentration and fight or flight. With the repetitive nature of Aikido training, we are able to shift our minds into a theta state. Theta is the state of mind associated with REM sleep, creativity, unconscious behavior, super learning, and the unconscious mind. It is the same state that we reach while engaged in seated meditating and when athletes are “in the zone.” It supposedly can take up to seven minutes for our minds to switch from beta to theta. Theoretically, the more we train, the faster we can get into theta. It is in theta that we can supposedly gain access to our unconscious minds and make changes to our ways of thinking, personalities, character, etc.
O’Sensei began every class with tenkan. Furuya Sensei said something to the effect that everything we need to learn in Aikido is encompassed in the practice of tenkan. On the surface, tenkan teach us things like body movement, coordination, and connection. On a deeper level, tenkan can also teaches us higher consciousness concepts like patience, perseverance, and compassion to name just a few. That is why in my dojo, I let tenkan go on a little bit too long, possibly 5-7 minutes. I do this because not only is tenkan teaching students movement, but I am also hoping that the students can calm down and get into a theta state of mind which will help them learn faster in the rest of the class. Once students realize or learn how to put themselves into a theta state of mind in class, it becomes easier to reach theta in their daily lives and they can change other aspects of their consciousness or in other words change their minds.
This is where the idea that studying Aikido makes you a better person comes into play. Aikido techniques are metaphoric. What this means is that the techniques are the physical representations of higher philosophical concepts like compassion, empathy, restraint, etc. Therefore, every time we are in a theta state and we throw a person down and we demonstrate restraint and care for our partner’s wellbeing, we are unknowingly practicing to be kinder, empathetic, and more compassionate human beings.
A person who studies Aikido is a seeker. A seeker is a person who strives to know, change, and grow. When we know who we are and understand our tendencies, we look for things that we need to change so that we can grow. Aikido practice is not just about improving physical movement - it’s about becoming better human beings. It said that the mind leads the body and thus everything we do stems from how we think. A person who studies Aikido understands this and that is why the best Aikidoists are good at changing their minds because if we can change our minds, we can change our lives.
Today’s goal: Right or wrong, good or bad are just judgements. True power lies in the ability to change our minds.
Watch this video about the Counterclockwise study and
how changing your mindset can change your life.