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The world of Aikido is vast with many interpretations of how it should be practiced. This discussion is already difficult to navigate but even more so is the question of what are we trying to develop as we practice Aikido, where are we going individually and communally, what are we evolving into?

This is the question that inspires me most.  To look into the direction of new territory for ourselves and for us as a community.  It seems that life as a whole is asking for us to change whether we accept it or not.  But to take a proactive stance with this change, to encourage this process within oneself is a compelling opportunity for evolution. 

Somehow the Art of Aikido seems to be a perfect environment to explore this question of individual and communal evolution.  It offers a territory to engage with, in which we can confront the experience of conflict and directly relate to it with a new understanding.  We can recognize that it is one system that we live in and that system is intelligent.  To align with the intelligence of that system is to discover a higher order perspective.  This higher order perspective transcends the habitual reactions found in conflict situations.  It offers the opportunity to transform the conflict with responses that flow in accordance with the integrity of the system while honoring the individuals. 

Aikido offers a laboratory for us to break new ground on how to respond to crisis.  I don’t know about you, but it seems we need this kind of laboratory. 

So for me the question “What are we evolving into?” is an essential one that determines the intention of our exploration.  It can give us a direction for our evolution and hopefully shed light on emerging solutions that we desperately need.

Patrick