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There, students expect the teacher to give them everything. I feel that long-term exposure to passive learning makes students less mentally sharp. For martial arts training, students’ minds must be sharp, so I feel the school teaching model is insufficient for our purposes. In our martial arts training, students are expected to do research on their own, beyond what I show them, to discover the inner secrets. Although it may seem as if our approach to learning is very difficult, I feel people develop more from doing their own research and exploration than they do when they are just told how to do everything, which engenders a lazy mindset. I feel that doing your own research brings out your innate intelligence, and that makes you a much more powerful martial artist and human being. With the idea of research in mind, I think your meditation question provides a great opportunity for exploration. I am eager to hear what you discover.
The Samurai required instant access to profound inner silence under the tremendous chaos and pressure of battlefield combat against other highly trained warriors. Sitting with eyes closed for hours on end would not allow a warrior to fulfill his duties, nor would it lead to the instant calm awareness that he required when attacked unexpectedly or chaotically — a possibility about which a warrior must always be mindful. A warrior’s practice had to be simple and effective, period.
believe you have found the right answer. Now you must discover a way of meditation that puts you into an instant, calm clarity, from which you can move properly, without thought, under extreme martial pressure. Please keep in mind that two seconds may be only a hint of what is required. Against a skilled opponent, even two seconds is too long. I am eager to hear what you discover.
You can be incredibly aware and whole while in active, daily life. In fact, don’t be surprised if you find yourself experiencing some of the following phenomena associated with deeper brainwave patterns even while in motion: Moments of perfect blissful clarity Spontaneous insights and solutions to problems that had previously plagued you Relaxation as long-held, unresolved mental/emotional issues and traumas begin to melt away Incredible engagement with the present, such that time seems to speed up, making hours feel like minutes — yet, amazingly, time can also seem to slow down when you are in tricky life situations, giving you more time to navigate those difficult moments consciously Enhanced physical sensations such as feeling your pulse throughout your entire body, knowing when someone is staring at you from behind, or feeling at one with your environment Levels of intimacy and sexual pleasure beyond what you have ever experienced before Inexplicable experiences of synchronicity Profound visionary states Transcendent sense of oneness with the universe
For most people, unless we are at rest, the brain is constantly generating measurable beta waves. When at rest, the brain is generally emitting alpha waves, which are slower and higher in amplitude. Alpha represents a nonaroused state, so a basic calming meditation would be reflective of alpha.
Free yourself of biases by being curious, by exploring. You’ll discover that it is quite empowering and fun to meditate as an exploration, not just as a discipline.
They go from a goal-oriented, aroused state, which coincides with beta wave, to alpha, which indicates a resting, relaxed state. In general, it takes less than a minute for the brain to shift from beta wave to alpha wave during meditation.
Proper breathing can stimulate the vagus nerve to tell your body to relax through the release of acetylcholine, prolactin, vasopressin, and oxytocin.
With fifteen minutes of practice, vagal breathing should noticeably drain tension from your body and create a warm, clear, calm feeling.
For modern people in developed nations, 90-plus percent of our waking time is spent in beta wave state, because we are thinking and focusing so much. Beta wave is a stress-generating brainwave to which we have been habituated by our safe, goal-oriented modern world of squares, angles, and edges. In our modern world, exclusive attention is encouraged through reading and constant thinking. Because there are no tigers around that might eat us, awareness is not required. The result is that, although we lead safer lives than do hunter-gatherers, we are highly anxious by comparison. Hunter-gatherers spend most of their time in alpha wave state because awareness is vital to their survival. They understand that the focused mind is very poor at detecting subtlety and movement in the environment.
AI Summary
The Warrior’s Meditation by Richard L Haight, Nathaniel Dasco, Edward Austin Hall, and Hester Lee Furey presents key insights from the Taoism tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.