Saturday is the old "Sabbath" of Tradition and therefore the day the "Seventh Day Adventists"- and the Jews - treat as the Holy Day…of the seven noted musical scale- represented by the seven days of the week- it is the day to remember Tradition. Every Saturday is a kind of Memorial Day.
Halloween or "All Saints Day" is about this too. Traditionally it was about the visitation by the spirits of the dead which we can experience as a going into a kind of darkness where we get ideas. As we feel the long nights of the winter and watch our fireplaces at night there is this sense of the unknown.
But there is also another kind of Fire ---- Gandalf's "Secret Fire". That fire that burns in the deep buried darkness which no one can put out. That fire is what allows us to remember our dreams---it represents the part of us which can bring light to the most unconscious places in ourselves. It also is the subterranean fire which lies beneath the ocean floor and is connected to the apocalypse - wether real or imagined…when Hvarnah--the "Horse headed Man" makes his final ride around the earth...
Tradition is about The Dead. Those who went before us and made mistakes so we would not have to. Of course each generation makes it's own mistakes anyway. However- since we can sometimes avoid some mistakes by seeing the mistakes of others-just as the ancient Greeks would watch a tragedy on stage as a lesson to themselves-it is good to remember the old tales and myths in order to benefit from their lessons. And save ourselves getting hit on the head.
Besides this there is also the vibration of appreciation for all the institutions which preserved these tales for us - however much we may disagree with their politics. Institutions also represent The Dead. They are the corpse of what was once a vital living ideas among people. As you know- most institutions no longer benefit modern people except as memory machines- to remind us of lessons learned. So interestingly when you send money to an institution you are funding The Dead.
In martial arts the formalities of bowing to the lineage of teachers and saying vows is also connected to The Dead-this is found in Buddhism or any formal path of Religion -in Catholicism the fellowship of the saints and their presence in our lives---among the great Pagan traditions the communion with the dead…all of these ritualized behaviors are simply ways of coming into conscious vibration with and appreciation of --- the past. This past to which we are connected-we are connected to genetically (Christian Theology would say via "Sin" - the inability to hit the mark intended - which is inherited) and karmically (Buddhists say it is the threads of desire which keep us coming back into numerous lives here on earth). So Relgious Tradition is very much bound up with this idea of obligations to the dead, the deceased and in Native American terms - "The Ancestors".
When a martial arts person practices a kata or ritual form of movement he is rehearsing and recalling the memory of someone else. He is -in fact -practicing the forms of someone who is dead. So in some way he is becoming a corpse. Bruce Lee seems to have cottoned on to this idea when he talked about people being "…crammed and distorted by the Classical Mess…" The person doing a traditional form is dramatizing the actions of someone who is dead.
So actually, though kata and "shadow boxing" is initially thought of as "learning a way to combine techniques into a fluid flow"---and this is necessary for skill---the flow is not just about learning to do a technique it's also about installing it into the memory. So two grooves are laid down in the brain.
One is the installation of the technical memory- how to do it. That's technique.
The other is about putting a groove in your brain from someone else's catalog of memories!
That's Occultism. You are training in things coming from the Mind of the Dead. After all it is not a technique you came up with --- right? In fact there may be room in this idea for actual mediumship or perhaps more accurately "Communion with the Dead". Any these ideas then explain why some teachers are able to exert a kind of Power over their students. They are borrowing energy, conviction, intent---from the Dead. And if the teachers are not evolved spiritually this can be the core element of their teaching. The Martial Arts School of Zombies!
The installation of automatic movements into your body and nervous system IS necessary - so you can have an optional program to default to if you are attacked. So you don't "Freeze in the headlights" like a Deer on the highway. So you are using the memory of the Dead to defend yourself. This can be very effective because the experience of the The Dead is useful. Remember in Lord of the Rings how those in The Fellowship of the Ring recruited the Dead Spirits out of the mountain to achieve victory over Sauron? that is the idea…did you notice the spirits were let free after that? that also can happen in an individual.
However The Dead are not here now in a body as you are. So they cannot deal with new conditions. They can only deal with old conditions on planet earth. Do not get trapped in the mind of the Dead. This is NOT their time. It is YOUR time.
This means that it is important to also do the kata or "shadow boxing" not as you were taught but as you know -from you own experience-it should be done. Of course you need to be very critical with your self about this. You must burn with the earnest desire to know the truth about the technique, your mind your body. Then you can do it the way you know it will work the best for your entirely unique way of doing things. This is all about YOU. This no one can teach you. And this is where working with a partner on hands-on techniques is extremely valuable.
So now-in martial arts- you have two distinct practices;
1. Practice out of respect for and memory of The Dead. Which can help you defend yourself or can be a trap of indoctrination or control - "Our school does it this way because THEY say so."
2. Practice out of what you know to be true for yourself now. And this changes periodically according to your age and experience. This can help you defend your self or be a trap of your ego. "I do it this way because I know better than anyone else what works for me."
Both practices are extremely important for you to understand- History - and -YOUR
PRESENT.
Finally there is the practice of form and shadow boxing and conditioning for The Future.
This is very strange indeed in that it allows you to think of your Future Fears. You can change that to future victories or do away with the concept of battle and go straight to symbiosis like Ueshiba attempted.
This is all about conceiving of what you think is in your potential future. Here remote viewing and other meditation and psychic protocols will help you design your adaptation of a form or technique. So at this stage you can do some interesting things. One is do a form as though you are fighting someone much better, much more fearsome than yourself. It could be your "Evil Twin"---your shadow. It could be your Guardian Angel teaching you to be better. Or it could simply be your future, more skilled self. Maybe twice as skilled! But this too can be a trap for you---you could become trapped- in your imagination!
So I leave you now with these practices for your martial arts practice. These three
1. The Dead- (you and your teachers memories). Don't be trapped in their memory-just use it.
2. Your Present Experience. Don't be trapped in your ego-just use it.
3. Your Future Anticipation. Don't be trapped in your imagination-just use it.
All things used for your best motivation for the benefit of all,
All Powers, Wisdoms, Loves to you.
Allen
