Advanced Aikido. Phong Thong Dang

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      The concept of divinity, or God, in the Omoto faith is inclusive of all three concepts of monotheism, polytheism, and pantheism. Omoto worships the one ultimate original spirit of God, while acknowledging the same character of spirit of God in many and all things.

      SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

      For most people, the practicing of spiritual truth is isolated to specific places and times. Aikido encourages its advanced practitioners to maintain these spiritual truths in their hearts and minds because the practice of the techniques is designed to deal with aggression and conflict in a nonresistant, nonviolent, noncompetitive way. It has long been held that the benefits of spiritual truths are apparent when they are practiced and applied in daily life and interaction.

      If one wants to go beyond the physical practice of techniques, one can follow some more spiritually based exercises.

      Kotodama: Spirit Sounds

      Similar to chanting, Kotodama is the belief that every sound has some spiritual property and power. Kotodama is a Shinto practice of intoning various sounds to produce mystical or spiritual states. Sounds have a specific vibration or rhythm. They synchronize the brain wave rhythms by repetition. The seventy-five sounds of Kotodama form words that purify the universe and teach the way of aiki as deigned by the universe. The sounds of the kotodama are ka-ko-ku-ke-ki and saso-su-se-si. Notice that these consist of the common denominators and most used aspects of even the English language, the vowels a-e-i-o-u. Words in language have a sound, a voice, a rhythm, and a literal, as well as a deeper, meaning. The air and breath give life to these sounds and words. This type of practice is very common in most religious rituals.

      O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba performed Kotodama as part of his daily spiritual and martial practice. He believed that out of stillness comes the resonance of heaven and Earth. This resonance or sound, when chanted, helps one become aligned, harmonized, and at one with the vibratory resonance of the universe. Human beings are a microcosm of the universe. By developing awareness of the connectedness of human nature, one begins to hear Kotodama.

      The vibratory resonance of Kotodama makes and moves everything. The Omoto explanation of the origin of the universe suggests that an ever-increasing density and explosion, similar to the Big Bang theory, created the universe. The subsequent birth and movement of Kotodama generated the material and spiritual world. All things first exist in the spirit world before a latent causative predisposition transfers them to the material world, just as all physical behavior comes from thought.

      The actual practice of Kotodama may be too esoteric for most aikido students. Further investigation, study, and training should only be done under guidance and supervision.

      Chink-Kishin

      Chink-kishin refers to the meditative or mind-calming techniques of the Omoto faith. One of the aspects that drew O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba to the Omoto belief is the methods used to calm the mind. These techniques are referred to as chink-kishin. Very little detailed information is readily available about the specifics of these techniques unique to the Omoto faith. They do tend to follow the generic patterns of mental training and meditation as presented and discussed in Chapter 3: Training the Mind. Calming the mind is very important in any spiritual or psychological progress and evolution. Holding the concept that nature is spiritual, it is often our internal mental consciousness that blocks and prevents a direct experience of understanding, insight, and enlightenment. By learning to calm the learned ego identity of the mind, advanced practitioners will find their training and technique becoming more spontaneous and directed by natural causes. These causes may be attributed to advanced levels of training leading to takemusu-aiki, or a feeling that they are divinely directed, as described by O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba. It is beyond this book and beyond the expertise of its authors to provide explicit descriptions of or information on the instructions of these techniques. One is encouraged to seek further exposure and experience directly from the Omoto foundation.

      Yusai

      Yusai refers to prayer. O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba was known to practice daily rituals and prayers as a part of his spiritual practice and routine. It is sometimes said that prayer is talking to God and meditation is when one listens. The two practices complement and support each other. Many advanced practitioners of aikido, before starting practice and training, bow and offer a prayer to their spiritual godhead asking for guidance and protection. After a training session, another prayer is offered in gratitude to all that was offered, learned, and received.

      Misogi: Purification

      Misogi usually refers to austere or ritual training practices used for spiritual and physical development. Misogi is a traditional Shinto practice to purify the body and spirit.

      The most common image of misogi is standing meditation under an ice-cold waterfall. Other practices include breathing during movement such as the aikido turifune-no-gyo (rowing) exercise, hand shaking, chanting long prayers, kiai (spirit shout), seated meditation using mudra (hand postures) and visualizations, and specific dietetic restrictions, such as fasting. Eventually, with consistent and persistent training, the student practices misogi in more common everyday activities. Regular dojo activities and responsibilities, such as sweating, cleaning, and training can serve the purpose of misogi, a purifying ritual.

      Throughout all these activities, there is a focus and emphasis on consciously controlling the breathing. Breathing is essential to life and to the purification of life. Breathing connects the physical and emotional states. Beginning students of aikido will tend to hold their breath as a stress reaction when practicing. Eventually, students will naturally synchronize their breathing with their movement and their training partner's. Breathing creates the connection and joining of the two into one. This process is spiritual and purifying.

      Common to the misogi practice is the ability to keep the mind calm and clear, as in mushin, while the body is undergoing severe, often repetitive, experiences. Taking a very cold shower while keeping the mind calm is a common, very private, form of misogi. O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba was often known to pour cold water over himself to start the day. Another commonly available form of misogi is the use of saunas to provide extreme heat conditions and an opportunity for the mind to be disciplined and to overcome the body's reaction to discomfort.

      O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba believed that the practice of aikido itself was misogi since aikido purified and united all beings in nature and provided a bridge between heaven and Earth. The kami gave O'Sensei Morihei Ueshiba aiki to protect and perfect humanity. Practitioners use misogi as a way to connect with the divine. Misogi is budo, martial arts constantly polishing the spirit of the warrior through rigorous daily practice.

      SPIRITUAL TRAINING

      In addition to the profound and abstract psychological, philosophical, and spiritual meaning of these spiritual truths, aikido also contains many practical martial applications. Many of the characteristics used to describe peak performances, such as the "flow" and the "zone" states of athletic performance, are similar or identical to those words used to describe a mystical or spiritual experience. One can find and produce these methods and experiences, both athletically and spiritually, through aikido training. In the chapters on training philosophy and training the mind, more specific ideas will be presented and discussed on how to find and produce these methods and experiences. What is required is the honest and genuine intent and intensity in training the body while maintaining a calm and peaceful state of mind.

      It is not necessary to acknowledge, endorse, or embrace any of the spiritual concepts and philosophies of aikido in order to gain a high level of technical proficiency and the benefits of training. However, many believe that you will only be limiting yourself from achieving the spiritual benefits of aikido, which are a natural extension of the training.

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