mushin — Blog — Little Creek Monastery

The martial arts, I came to learn, eventually delves deep into consciousness. Musicians, by comparison, learn that certain tones, timings, rhythms, melodies, changes or chords can strike their listeners strongly and emotionally. They may leap to their feet in joy, or slump in their chairs lost in tears and reminisces.

Martial arts works similarly deliberately on a subconscious level . Along the way, like the master musician, the martial artist may eventually become conscious of what makes these moments or events occur.

For the martial artist, we learn to ‘connect’ deeply within ourselves, to a spot that at first is frustratingly vague and highly elusive. We hear about from the early days of our training, this instruction to us to ‘center’.

Irina Tweetie and Fire

When certain doors get opened, the wise old sayings tell us that they can never be shut again. I’ve found that to be true. It’s also true that when certain doors get opened, you are going to encounter some unimaginable things. And sometimes they are devastating and deeply consequential. They might even kill you.

Irina Tweedie studied Sufism. In her studies she focused on kundalini, or ‘the fire’. I studied in martial arts. In my studies we focused on movement and flow, or on ‘ki’ energy. One person studies fire, another water.

ESSAYS, REPORTSMark WalterJanuary 3, 2021mushin, mystics, mysticism, teacher, training, field reports, mark walter

Practical Practices of the Nothingness Mind

We all have experiences with the state of ‘mushin’, or ‘empty mind’. Perhaps it’s just after we wake up in the morning, laying very still in bed. Or, maybe we drift into it as we watch the waves crash on a visit to the seashore.

But are these experiences simply isolated, only an occasional thing to somewhat haphazardly encounter as we thread our way through life? Or, can we find ways to extend these moments, eventually creating a continuous flow of inner calmness?

Wandering Komusō

Irina Tweetie and Fire

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