GrandMaster Art Mason's Martial Musing

Here are the six tenets that we teach our students in our school.

• Integrity
• Courtesy
• Self Control
• Commitment
• Perseverance
• Indomitable Spirit

Our students must know these, live by these and show them in all aspects of life.  So why is it then that so many martial artists and instructor are such egotists? The answer is simply, they practice what they preach. That’s right, they practice what they preach!

OK, now I know you are confused! Aren’t you supposed to Practice What You Preach? Well, if you practice what you preach you practing because this is what you are preaching. Thus the HUGE egos in the martial arts world! What should you be doing? Preaching what you are practicing in your life!

Think about it….

This is the current situation with Miky in Romania. My thanks to all the generous people who have helped out with donations thus far. Here is a copy of an email I received yesterday in regard to her condition.

Hi Art;
Just spoke with Cristina on the phone. She is on her way back from Bucharest with Nelu and Oti. They had a chance to visit with Miky and a team of physicians that are keeping her alive.
It appears that the culprit is a very severe case of bacterial infection (sepsis infection) of the blood. They are administering her a drug (xigris). I’ve googled it and pretty much falls in line with her status as described by the physicians, in other words, it is administered to patients with severe case ofsepsis, in life or death situations. Miky’s condition apparently outweighs the severe side affects of the drug as I understand.
She is in an induced coma, six of her organs have been desumated by the bacteria and she is on life support. The doctors give her a 2% chance for survival, and she could pass away today, tomorrow or maybe weeks. Right now this drug is holding it’s ground I think, and life support took over all her vital functions. The doctors are testing her blood for improvement. Apparently the doctors do not have an answer as to what caused the sepsis infection. Unfortunately, I have been unable to travel with them to see Miky.

It is a very sad situation Art, but at this point I am not sure how we can help. Apparently this hospital is top ranked in this department and have the resources for intervening in the worst cases such as Miky’s.

Lets all pray for her subconscious fighting it while the sepsis infection goes away, blood and organ treatment refined and recovery begins.

Tib

Anyone who wished to help this family please follow this LINK. Again thank you all for your kindness and support

Martial Arts people are some of the most generous people I know. That is why I am doing this blog post. Please read this article below and follow the links provided. It is your chance to make a difference.

Hello Everyone,

If you look to the right of this article you will find a donation button to help a good friend of mine in Romania with medical expenses. I met this lady about 6 months ago and she helped me to travel to her country to introduce the art of Kyusho Jitsu to martial artists there.

Approximately one week ago from the date of this article she took ill with a serious liver condition. Her life is currently in danger, however the situation is improving. I arranged on Wednesday of this week for a helicopter airlift to Bucharest to save her life. Without this she had no chance for survival. However the problems still exist. The medical system in Romania is very poor and very expense. The economy in the country is in ruins.

Currently I am fund raising and taking donation to help the family with these expenses. Any and all donations are welcome and ALL the money is sent directly to the family. If you would like to help please use the donation button to the right of this article. All donors will have their name added to a card for Miky which Master Art will personally deliver to her when he returns by request of her family as soon as she regains consciousness.

Thank you for your generosity in this matter! Please see UPDATES below.

Sunday July 18th 2010 As of this writing Miky is in stable, but serious condition in Bucharest. She is currently on a machine which is cleaning her blood since her liver is all but shut down. This is LIVER DIALYSIS which will help to regenerate the liver. The cost of this procedure is 3500 euro which is NOT covered by insurances. Please follow the link provided for more information.

To donate to this cause please follow this LINK.

Also note 100% of all Kyusho DVD and eBook sales will go to this cause.

Master Art Mason

Yes I really did leave the word ‘defense’ out on purpose from the title. The term ‘self defense’ always conjurers up an image of a fight or attack situation, where training in the martial arts goes much further.

I have news for you. You are attacked each and every day. This attack is done against you directly and it is done thought your 5 senses. With the bombardment of our senses it is little wonder we can function at all. We have become creatures of deleting information. The problem is we often delete the wrong things.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Have you felt that your life is not longer on track, or perhaps that something is missing? If you have you are certainly not alone. People feel this day in and day out until they discover something. “The Art of Self “

Now I can hear what some people will say, this being ‘selfish’. If you are thinking that very good because it is! We have nothing else but ourselves. Also, you cannot give what you do not have, so everyone needs to work on themselves FIRST.

Everyday I sit in quiet reflection at my dojo for 15-30 minutes. Some will call this mediation, others reflection, the title doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am alone with me. Here I get to understand me. But this is only the start because then I go out on the floor and teach several hours of classes each day. I also do this for me, and when I do the students are the ones that benefit, much more than I do. When this happens I am in the moment, not somewhere else.

Martial Arts training is a great tool for self discovery because it is all about YOU. You are on the floor training and no one can really help you. A good teacher can be a guide but that is all. You learn to conquor your body and your mind. Add this to some mediation or reflection time and you have the basis for a path to a happier life! Not bad for a few hours per week!

If you are a student of the arts, any art, get yourself back to regular training. You know you felt better when you did. If you are not a martial artists find something you love to do and do it!

Sing like no one is listening, dance like no one is watching. Connect with yourself and enjoy our physical reality!

Why do we love to hang on the past? So often when I meet or talk to people the injury and hurt from their past will come up. Like a cut on the body that we just keep digging at until it opens and bleeds again. What is it about us that makes us want to do this again and again. Don’t you think it is time we all moved on?

Letting go of the attachments to the past is what is required. Then at a higher level we need to let go of all attachments. Why? Because none of these serve us.

The year 2012 is fast coming. We hear a lot of talk about December 21st 2012. Some people say it is the end of the world, which is cool since the world has not ended since 2000 (remember all the hype).  What do I think is happening in 2012? It has already begun, people are beginning to think better. Are you on this leading edge?

There is an old Buddhist tale about the Buddha being approached by a person in the streets. The man asks the Buddha, “are you the messiah?” The Buddha replies “no I am not”. The man then asks “are you a healer?”, the Buddha again replies “no I am not”.  The man asks this time “are you a teacher?”, the Buddha once again replies, “no I am not”. Finally out of frustration the man asks, “well then what are you?!?” The Buddha replies “I am awake.”

Are you waking up? Are you working towards being ‘happy’ and understanding the world you have created around you?

How do you get started? Let go……period. It is time to let go of the hurt of the past, the opinions of other people, your need for the unimportant. Just let go…..but how you ask?

First you must internalize the fact that everything in your life is a result of your thinking to this date. We are what we think about most. If you are not happy with this scenario then you need to think differently. Remember when you were a kid and would pretend to be someone else? Now I am not suggesting you imagine you are superman, but seeing yourself in a different light and focusing in on this, all the time will make the transformation happen if you put enough into it. If you want to be successful, act successful.  This will help reprogram the sun conscious mind.

Also part of letting go is to realize that nothing, including ourselves is permanent. Everything changes and evolves. With this said, why them do we insist on becoming attached to things that are not forever? There is nothing wrong with enjoyment, but attachment is terrible for your self esteem, and stress levels. I just makes you unhappy and jealous!

Now here are two true stories to show you what I mean by attachment.  Many years ago I had a friend with a beautiful white Camero. This was his pride, to the point of obsession. One day we were out driving, and he was following me to a house. This person lived on a dirt road. When driving my friend was keeping a little to close. A stone came off one of my back tires and chipped the front of the car. The chip was the size of maybe a small fingernail. He ended the friendship and sold the car. He was devastated! He also always wondered why his life seemed to be so stressful and going nowhere. He almost broke up with his girlfriend when see suggested he was overreaching.

Here is another example. I borrowed my Dad’s car to go to the mall one night. At the mall I was in a minor accident.  I was worried about how angry my father was going to be with me. He was only worried about me being injured. As he said, there is nothing that can happen to a car that cannot be fixed or replaced.

My dad even though he really loved his car also, was not attached to it.  Attachment and letting go, go hand in hand. Can you think of something you are attached to? Material or human, let go, and then you can find the joy in the object or person in reference. How? Remember that nothing is forever. Letting go allows you to fully enjoy the physical experiences life has to offer.

Calm your mind and see things as they really are.

Happy Halloween Everyone,

Each year at Halloween young students will come and ask me if it is OK for them to wear their Dobok (gi) out for Trick or Treating.  Even though it is really a breech of etiquette I always say yes.  Now Halloween is a time to dress up as something you are NOT, these children are all martial artists.

As I was thinking about this today, I realized that perhaps some people see martial arts training as role playing. This can be especially true for new members, but in reality they are not role playing, they have become martial artists.

This all gets down once again to the way we think, especially the belief system that will often tell a person they are not good enough. Many times new adult students will come and talk with me because they feel ackward in class, and feel they are not really good enough to martial artists.  The truth is every accomplished martial artist in the world was once a beginner, a white belt, but we saw what we wanted and went after it.  So should you!

This applies to everything in life. I only use the martial arts as an example, because that is what I am most familiar with.  But here is the important point.

“You are exactly what you want to be…….”

There are no exceptions to this rule. Everything you are is an extension of your thinking, good, bad and indifferent.  Your reality is a result of all your thoughts to date. If you are not happy with this, then your thoughts must change to become what you desire down the road. The first step however is seeing in your mind’s eye, yourself as the way you want to be.

This has been a hard lesson in my life, but only hard because I kept getting in my own way. My belief system needed a major overhaul. The only area I had no trouble in was martial arts. This is because that fire burned very bright and hot. From my first class I could see myself in that Black Belt.

Start right now and imagine the changes you want in your life as a reality. When they appear in your mind they have been created, keep seeing them and they will manifest in your personal reality.

Everything is created twice.

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense”.……Buddha

What do you believe to be true? Why do you believe it? If it was true, is it still true today?  These are questions that we all need to ask about our beliefs. Just because you heard it from a friend, saw it on CNN or read it on the internet does not make it truth.

Do the things you hold as truth really harmonize with you? If they don’t it is time to toss them out.  The great purpose of life is to be happy, and if the things we believe to be true do not hold with this we must get rid of them.

Everything in our world is created with our minds. When our beliefs serve us, rather than us serving our beliefs, we can create our life on purpose.

Everywhere I look I see stressed people….Sounds like a twist on the movie the 6th Sense, but this is true. Everywhere, all day long I hear about stress, stress, stress…….Hmmmm, Why am I not stressed???

There are two types of stress. There is physical stress, the kind you get from working hard or exercising, then there is mental stress, the killer in our society. Here is a definition of the word Stress.

Stress is a biological term for the consequences of the failure of a human or animal to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined. Ok people, guess which one is killing you? That is right, the IMAGINED one!

Most stress caused in people lives today is because of their lack of ability to prioritize their lives. They put far too much mental energy into things that are of little or no real consequence. This accounts for about 80% of your life and day.

Have you ever been awakened at night by something that needs to be done the next day, or a bill that is late being paid, or a problem with a family member, etc etc etc. Well everybody it is high time to take your life back. Read on and I will get you started.

First, everything in your life that happens is only as important as the meaning you give to it. Life does not need to be a drama. When something happens that upsets you ask yourself, will this still matter in 2 years, 2 months, 2 weeks? It might not even matter in 2 hours!  Since the only moment we have to live in is this one, there is no past or future, then we can chose how we feel about these events.

How do we live in the now, rather then the past? First you MUST spend some quiet time with yourself each day.  Mediation comes in many forms, but a great way to start is to just sit in a comfortable chair for 15 minutes and listen to some soft instrumental music.  Don’t use this time to plan or anything else. Just concentrate on relaxing and breathing. You will feel much better after wards.

You must take time for yourself each day, no excuses. Don’t bother to talk about what the kids or the spouse or the boss needs.  If you don’t put yourself ahead of these other issues you will not be effective in handling them when the time arrises.  You must come first!

To reduce and eliminate stress in your life you must give time to yourself.  If time is so short get up 30 minutes earlier, before anyone else is up and use this time. The difference in how you feel will be well worth the effort!

There are many great philanthropists in the world, when I think of these men and women people like Bill Gates comes to mind.  But what really is giving, why should we do it, but more importantly how should we do it?

Giving is very misunderstood. Churches will teach you that you should give 10% of your gross salary to their work (if you belong to a church) and you will be rewarded a 100 times in merit and other rewards.  At the same time telling you to not focus on being rewarded.

Most people when they think of giving with think of money or some physical item like food and clothing.  Sadly this also falls short of the real meaning of giving.  Giving is also a donation of your time, the most precious thing we have to offer.

Today no matter were you go you will find a hand out looking for money. There is certainly no lack of opportunity for giving.  The government even gives us tax credits for doing it. But how best do we do it?

In the Diamond Sutra the Buddha talked about giving. He said that “you must give without attachment to the thing given.”  He also said “you must not be attached to merit or rewards you will receive from giving. ” This is all pretty straight forward and is taught by many religions across the planet.  “Giving from the heart without thoughts of rewards, or that you are losing something by giving.”

The final part of this teaching however is the most difficult. This is “not being attached to not being attached.” This may sound like a puzzle, but what it means is not being attached to the great feelings you get in giving without thought of return. This is true Altruism, and is the Zen in the art of giving.

Now perhaps this posting has caused your head to hurt. Don’t despair, this is all good. Everything we are and everything we do comes from MIND. Understanding this and the concept of non attachment leads to a properous and happy life.  Everything is thought and how we think. Now I have you thinking….

This is wisdom from The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet. This hangs on my wall. I hope you enjoy it.

“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples: no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.”

“In the struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we posses.”

“Love and compassion are necessities not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.”

“A learned person will become noble only when he or she has put into real practice what has been learned, instead of just mere words.”

“Compassion and love are precious things………..they are not complicated. They are simple, but difficult to practice.”

“The purpose of religion is not to build beautiful churches or temples, but to cultivate positive human qualities such as tolerance, generosity and love.”

“Come together and think in terms of one world. What we call Buddha is warm heartedness developed indefinitely — love perfected.”

“We should think of compassion as being the preserve of the sacred. It is one of our basic human qualities.”

“From the very core of our being we desire contentment. For harmony each individuals identity must be fully respected.”

“Our planet is our house. We must take care of it if we are genuinely concerned about happiness for ourselves, our children, our friends, and other sentient beings who share this great house with us.”

“The seed for nirvana exists in all of us.”