Vision for the Evolutionary Aikido Community
We as the members of the Evolutionary Aikido Community hold this vision of Aikido as our art, our practice and our way:
Our vision emerges from the understanding that we exist in a single, interconnected, interdependent system, and that we are not separate from the other in conflict. We understand that damaging the other, damages the relationship, and thereby impacts who we are. The intention of our art is not to win over the other, but to skillfully bring embodied wisdom into conflict and Life. As practitioners we are catalysts for this evolution.We as the EAC wish to recognize that Aikido impacts our lives at many different levels.
As Aikido impacts our Body, we wish to align with the vision of Releasing the inherent intelligence of our Body from the habits, reactions and impulses that arise from our conditioned past and wish to encourage the capacity to heal, to be centered, to be flexible, flow, to align, to be stable, awake, to make contact and resonate with the world around. The body is the essential medium for the practice of Aikido and through the practice we wish to honor its nature, intelligence and evolution.
As Aikido impacts our Heart, we wish to align with the vision of honoring the inherent intelligence of the Heart, encouraging Empathy, Compassion and Love to function freely in the Heart. Through Acceptance of life, we aim to transform the conflict in our Hearts into an opportunity for trust, inspiration and evolution.
As Aikido impacts our Mind, we wish to align with the vision of honoring the inherent effortless intelligence of the Mind, encouraging the discovery of Freedom, grounded in the Now, expressing clarity, and embracing unity. By being present and conscious with Life, facing the Unknown, accepting the moment as it is, we aim to meet conflict nonviolently, to transform our relationship with conflict, to realise that conflict is an opportunity to evolve.
As a community dedicated to the Art of Aikido, we envision being open to Life, striving to support each other through open communication, clarity, connection, meeting each other in harmony, taking responsibility, and striving to evolve. By engaging a collaborative decision-making process, and honoring the intelligence of the community, we aim to embody the principles of Aikido itself.
As we strive to embody this principle of evolving through conflict and bringing greater awakening and wisdom into conflictual situations, we recognize the very real and threatening possibility of meeting physical violence in our lives. Our Vision values the importance of training to meet that possibility of physical violence as being essential to embody the higher principles of connection, inclusion and harmony. We, the Evolutionary Aikido Community are deeply grounded in the traditional approach to Aikido and are committed to the deeper exploration of the principles that lead to spontaneity, creativity and freedom in the art. We, as practitioners are also engaged in investigating the spiritual perspectives that gave birth to the Art of Aikido.
As both individuals and a community, we look to face the shadow of ourselves and our practice. We commit to transforming the egoic holding patterns of rigid hierarchy, immature competition, arrogance and abuse into a capacity to be powerful, free, compassionate and inclusive with the world around us. We see that the conflict within ourselves, within our relationships and within our communities are reflections of each other. To accept and transform conflict with the world around us in a way that supports the evolution of ourselves and the world, we need to accept and transform the conflict within ourselves in the same fashion. We recognize that transforming conflict into a life affirming moment of awakening and evolution, the words of the Founder of Aikido are essential: “I and the Universe are One”.
As a community dedicated to the art of Aikido, we recognize that the art itself is alive and is evolving. With this in mind, we commit to supporting this evolution, by being open, available, and embracing the unknowable future. We see ourselves as part of the art, collaborating with life to bring Aikido to a greater expression of itself.
