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Chapter 2 INTRODUCTION TO MIND BODY UNIFICATION FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES TO UNIFY MIND AND BODY 1. Use the mind in a positive way. 2. Use the mind with full concentration. 3. Use the body naturally. 4. Train the body gradually, systematically, and continuously. As human beings we seek freedom—political freedom, religious freedom, freedom fromdiscrimination The free use of our minds and bodies—freedomof action in general—is an innate urge. Each action we take is an act of selfexpression. We often think of largescale or important deeds as being indications of our real selves, but even how we sharpen a pencil can reveal something about our feelings at that moment. Do we sharpen the pencil carefully or nervously so that it doesn’t break Do we bother to pay attention to what we’re doing How do we sharpen the same pencil when we’re angry or in a hurry Is it the same as when we’re calmor unhurried Even the smallest movement discloses something about the person executing the action because it is the person who’s actually performing the deed. In other words, action doesn’t happen by itself, we make it happen, and in doing so we leave traces of ourselves on the activity. The mind and body are interrelated. How do you feel when you’re unable to express yourself Imagine you couldn’t speak or in some other way communicate. An extreme example perhaps, but how would it feel In the same way that we suffer if we’re unable to express ourselves, we also languish when we cannot, for whatever reason, assert ourselves skillfully. Selfexpression is natural, even inevitable, for all of us and skilled, efficient selfexpression goes beyond mere activity and enters the realmof art. For instance, many of us realize that our handwriting tends to reflect our personalities or at least our state of mind at the moment we put pen to paper. However, when we become conscious of our handwriting as an act of selfexpression, when we allow our creativity to flow through the brush or pen in a way that’s not only efficient but also coordinated and dexterous, we call what we’re doing calligraphy—the art of writing. Just as writing can become calligraphy when it’s creatively, skillfully, and consciously performed, so can all other activities become art. In this case, we are reflecting upon life itself as an artistic statement—the art of living. From the Particular to the Universal In Japan, a number of timehonored everyday activities such as making tea, arranging flowers, and writing have traditionally been deeply examined by their proponents. Students study how to make tea, performmartial arts, or write with a brush in the most skillful way possible to express themselves with maximum efficiency and minimum strain. Through this efficient, adroit, and creative performance, they arrive at art. But if they continue to delve even more deeply into their art, they discover principles that are truly universal, principles relating to life itself. Then, the art of brush writing becomes shodo—the “Way of the brush”—while the art of arranging flowers is elevated to the status of kado—the “Way of flowers.” Through these Ways or Do forms, the Japanese have sought to realize the Way of living itself. They have approached the universal through the particular. Since the universe is infinite, grasping the ultimate nature of life and the principles of the universe is seemingly a largescale undertaking. For this reason, it isn’t difficult to understand the traditional emphasis on approaching the universal via a profound, ongoing examination of a particular Way. Still, we must wonder if it isn’t possible to discover directly the essence of living and the universal principles relating to all aspects of life Nakamura Tempu Sensei, upon returning from India, shared with others the principles and exercises that he felt were universal and not dependent on a particular art that is, concepts relating to all activities and all people regardless of age, sex, or race. Methods that have observable and repeatable results, along with principles and exercises that can withstand objective scrutiny, were of primary importance to him. These concepts and techniques were created to encourage humanity to see into its true nature … to realize that life is art. Just as artists can shape clay or brushed images into their vision of beauty, we can shape our lives. But just as artists must acquire certain methods and abilities to effectively create a piece of sculpture or a painting, we need to develop certain qualities of mind and body. Unification of Mind and Body No art takes places without inspiration. Every artist also needs effective knowledge of his or her tools e.g., does a certain brush function well with a particular kind of paint. What’s more, artists need effective techniques for using those tools. Likewise, to express ourselves skillfully with maximum efficiency and minimum effort, we need to investigate the most effective ways of using the mind and body since, in the end, they are the only “tools” we truly possess in life. Nakamura Sensei wrote that upon examining life, it’s clear that people need six qualities to adeptly express themselves in living tairyoku “the power of the body,” physical strength, health, and endurance tanryoku “the power of courage” handanryoku “the power of decision,” good judgment dankoryoku “the power of determination,” willpower for resolute and decisive action seiryoku “the power of vitality,” energy or life power for endurance and perseverance noryoku “the power of ability,” the capacity for wideranging ability and dexterous action More importantly, he realized that since the mind and body represent our most fundamental tools we must be able to use these tools naturally, effectively, and in coordination with each other to artistically express ourselves in life. The ability to effectively use and unite our minds and bodies, our primary components, allows for freedomof action and skilled selfexpression. In the instance of the lungs and various internal organs, the mind exerts unconscious control of the body through the autonomic nervous system. In this system, the mind and body remain unified, and this unity is essential to learning any activity effectively, including Japanese yoga. However, because of this relationship between mind and body, the mind can positively or negatively influence the builtin mindbody connection. When this tie is weak, you may observe a Japanese yoga exercise demonstrated by a teacher or in a book, fully comprehend it intellectually, and still fail to physically respond in the proper manner. Realizing the mindbody relationship, Nakamura Sensei envisioned his basic principles as a means for people to discover for themselves how to coordinate their two most basic tools in life and to learn how to “regulate and strengthen their autonomic nervous systems.” Using his background in Western medicine, Nakamura Tempu Sensei conducted biological research dealing with the nervous system and mind and body unification to accomplish this goal. The result was his Four Basic Principles to Unify Mind and Body. These four principles, which are listed at the beginning of this chapter, are the broad means by which Nakamura Sensei aimed to aid people in uncovering for themselves their true potential and freedom of expression in life. They are a way of discovering that life can be lived as art. Nakamura Sensei also realized that exercises based on these four principles could give people the opportunity to cultivate the abovementioned six qualities and other important character traits. The MindBody Relationship I will discuss these four principles and their subprinciples in greater depth in the coming chapters, but for now let me emphasize that the mind controls the body, while the body acts as a reflection of the mind. Let’s look at these two statements and attempt to discover if they’re true. What allowed you to read the last few sentences Did you read them with your eyes Many of us, without thinking deeply about this question, would respond that we do indeed read a book with our eyes. And while this is certainly true, can we accurately state that it’s the whole truth Clearly the eyes do not read by themselves. In other words, the body doesn’t read. Isn’t it the mind that reads through the eyes In the same vein, the hand does not turn the pages of this book. Does your hand think or direct itself Perhaps that may occur in horror movies, but in real life the mind turns the page via the hand. We sometimes say, “Oh, I didn’t mean that I spoke without thinking.” Can we really speak without thinking Does the mouth have free will Probably not. Since it is truly the mind that speaks through the mouth, verbal expressions always reveal some aspect of us. Perhaps it’s a part of ourselves that’s buried deeply in the subconscious, but it is nevertheless part of the mind that’s being expressed through the body. Think about this seriously, while observing yourself and others to find out if it’s actually the case. If the mind moves and controls the body, then there should be a flip side to this statement. Therefore, if the mind does move the body, we can also say that the body follows the mind. Suppose you see someone’s hand shaking. Further suppose that this person appears to be young and healthy. What would you surmise We would probably think that the person we’re observing is nervous. We arrive at this observation because it’s obvious that the body, in this case the hand, acts as a reflection of the mind. And while we may realize this fact, what do we actually do with this knowledge Realizing that our minds control our bodies while our bodies reflect our minds amounts to understanding the most fundamental aspects of ourselves. It further equals a comprehension of the relationship between our “tools.” And since the mind and body are interrelated, this understanding makes it easier to see why coordinating themis a practical way of using these tools to greatest effect—a way of using the mind and body to live our lives as art. Moreover, because all actions and expressions stem from the mind, it is vital to know the mind as well as decide in what way we’ll use it. Everyone has heard of psychosomatic illness, and most of us acknowledge that psychosomatic sicknesses can and do occur. But what about psychosomatic wellness How many of us have considered if it’s possible to stay healthy or cure various maladies with the positive use of the mind And if we have thought of this, have we done much more than simply consider the idea Japanese Yoga will give you various ideas, principles, and exercises based on the truth that the mind controls the body that can be directly experimented with in daily life. In fact, let’s try two experiments dealing with the relationship between the mind and body. Fig. 1. Experiment One. Interlace your fingers and focus your eyes gently on your fingertips. Move your index fingers together by concentrating. Experimenting with the MindBody Connection EXPERIMENT ONE Interlace your fingers with the two index fingers extended and apart, as in Figure 1. Keeping your body erect but relaxed, focus your eyes gently on your fingertips. You will attempt to move your index fingers together with the force of your concentration. You can accomplish this in more than one way. First, try creating a mental image of your fingertips coming together. Next, simply imagine that your fingers are already together and continue to hold that notion in your mind. Third, “talk to yourself,” mentally commanding the fingers to touch. Each of these ideas represents fundamentally the same thought process, but some people have more success with one approach than with another. The central point is to examine whether the power of a concentrated mind can influence the body to automatically respond to whatever thought is in the mind. Since we’re experimenting to see if such a response is possible, let’s not make any assumptions. You should avoid having any sensation of deliberately bringing the fingertips together. Rather, merely focus your mind intently on one of the above thoughts or images, sustain this state of attention, and see what happens. If concentration doesn’t waver and the body remains relaxed, many people find that their fingers start to move without any intentional effort on their part. This effortless feeling is essentially different from the way many of us move our bodies, and it’s one of the secrets to arriving at maximumeffectiveness with minimal exertion in Japanese yoga exercises. On the other hand, because we’re experimenting with the effect the mind has on the body, if your concentration weakens, or if you believe that you can’t achieve any physiological response by means of concentration, then the fingers may fail to move. In the beginning it may also take some time for the fingers to gradually come together. This tends to improve with practice. Some might note that the index fingers have a natural tendency to come together due to the position of the hands. This is certainly the case. The fact that despite this tendency some individuals fail to cause their fingers to join or can only do so by concentrating for an extended period of time only serves to validate the principle that the mind influences the body. This influence, however, isn’t always positive. If we think that we cannot cause the fingers to move with concentration, then the body will fulfill that thought. Let’s try a different version of the same experiment. Realizing that the index fingers actually want to come together, hold them apart and imagine you’ve placed an invisible rod between the fingertips. Keeping this image in your mind, simply wait. Let 5, even 10, minutes elapse. While you effectively sustain this mental picture, do your fingers come together on their own Now, what happens to your fingers over the next several seconds or minutes if you imagine that the rod between your index fingers breaks or falls to the floor It’s impossible to arrive at a true conclusion by guesswork, which is why actual experiments form the basis of science. Nakamura Sensei, with a background in Western science and medicine, often asked his associates to conduct such experiments. According to Hashimoto Tetsuichi Sensei, one of his top students, he first used the above exercise in the 1920s as a way of illustrating the mind’s effect on the body. He emphasized that we understand through real experience. Everything else is mere speculation. EXPERIMENT TWO We might surmise that if the mind influences the body, then our mental state should also exert an unconscious influence on whatever the body touches. If this is factual, then our mind can sway everything from the pool cue we’re grasping to the car we’re driving. Let’s experiment to find out if this is true. Fig. 2. Experiment Two. Focus your eyes softly on the pendulum. Relax. Imagine the pendulum moving in a clockwise circle, or simply “tell” the pendulum to move. What happens For this experiment, you’ll need a pendulum or pendulumlike object. Grip the top of the pendulumstring as in Figure 2, and focus your eyes softly on the pendulum. Using the same sort of relaxed concentration described in the first experiment, imagine the pendulum is moving in a clockwise circle. Or simply “tell” the pendulum to move this way. Make every effort to hold your hand still. What happens as you continue to sincerely concentrate Frequently, the pendulum will follow your mental dictates whether or not you feel or see your hand moving. Not only does this illustrate the effect the mind has on whatever we come in contact with, but it also shows the extremely subtle effect the mind has on the body. And make no mistake, the mind is moving the pendulum through a remarkably faint motion of the fingers, hand, and arm. Unlike certain occult practices, Nakamura Tempu Sensei never suggested that this was anything other than a humble experiment with which we could see the profound influence the mind has on the body. With practice and increased concentration, it’s possible to make the pendulum move in bigger or smaller circles, move sideways, or change direction suddenly—all with little apparent movement of the hand. It’s fun to try all of these variations, but don’t delude yourself or others into thinking anything supernatural is taking place. It isn’t. Shinshintoitsudo is a study of the principles of nature and how they can be refined to help us realize the truths of nature and our full potentials. While the power and ability released by the practice of Japanese yoga may often exceed the norm “supernormal”, Nakamura Sensei never aimed at the supernatural. Seeing the genuine heart and principles of the universe is miraculous enough. Because all actions and expressions stem from the mind, it is vital to know the mind as well as decide in what way we’ll use it. Everyone has heard of psychosomatic illness, and most of us acknowledge that psychosomatic sicknesses can and do occur. But what about psychosomatic wellness It’s also interesting to note the effect of fatigue, depression, happiness, or other conditions on our ability to achieve results in these two experiments. The force of our concentration should be the motivating factor in these exercises. Bearing this in mind, is it possible to discover through direct experience the characteristics of concentration and the positive use of the mind by performing the above experiments repeatedly Can practicing such tests of the mindbody connection enhance our power of attention There’s only one way to find out. An Objective Approach to Universal Truths Through direct, unbiased observation and experimentation we can see the various aspects of the universe as they really are. Approaching the principles that govern all sentient life and functions of the universe is fairly simple. A universal truth should be, on some level, detectable. If we cannot see how a principle or concept functions, we really can’t validly say anything about it with certainty. At the least, we should be able to observe its functioning through inference. For example, we can’t see oxygen, but we can see a candle’s flame die when we cover it with a glass. We still can’t see the oxygen, but we can see how oxygen, or the lack of it, affects fire. Likewise, we can’t see the wind, but we can see the effect of the wind on leaves rustling in the trees. Experimentation is a way of observing nature. Nevertheless, if we conclude by the above two experiments that the mind moves the body, this would not be a sound conclusion in that it’s based on our personal experience alone. Only when other people try the same experiment and arrive at similar results can we begin to form a judgment. Not only should we be able to see tangible results from our own experimentation but also fromthat of others. In short, that which is true is repeatable. However, even observable and repeatable results do not automatically qualify something as being universally true. For that, the experiment must be observable and repeatable on a universal scale. When people of all ages in all parts of the world regardless of gender, race, or religion can generally arrive at the same results we can consider a principle or concept to be universal in scope. Shinshintoitsudo is concerned with principles that are genuinely universal and relate to all aspects of living. Nakamura Sensei’s experiments, more of which will be detailed later, are designed to help us personally experience principles that are perceptible, repeatable, and universal. During his lifetime, Nakamura Sensei continued to experiment with the exercises and concepts outlined in this book. While he drew certain “conclusions” from his study, he didn’t view these conclusions as an end, and as a result he changed and refined his program of practice on a regular basis throughout his life. In other words, Nakamura Sensei continued to learn. We can do likewise as long as our minds are not stuck on past conclusions and remain in the present. Then, through the above experiments for instance, we can see with our own eyes the effect the mind has on the fingers or the pendulum. If we try these exercises several times, we can observe that the results are repeatable. By observing our environment, reading, and watching the results of others, we can discover whether or not they’re universal. In other words, the fact that the mind moves the body while the body follows the mind is something that can be seen and felt, not just once or twice, but over and over by people everywhere. It isn’t something that’s only valid for certain people in a certain place at a certain time. Other Japanese yoga experiments, some of which will be introduced in subsequent chapters, also confirm this. But don’t take my word for it. Try to find out whether this is actually the case by seeing if the other concepts outlined in Japanese Yoga are also observable, repeatable, and universal. Because the mind controls the body, Nakamura Sensei placed the two principles for the mind at the beginning of his Four Basic Principles to Unify Mind and Body. In fact, of the four concepts, number one—“use the mind positively”—should be given greatest priority. In the following chapter, we can consider together the actual characteristics of the conscious and subconscious aspects of the mind. In addition, I’ll explain Nakamura Tempu Sensei’s Five Principles for a Positive Mind as well as a method of autosuggestion for eliminating negativity. Seeing the roots of our negativity is vital. Without a positive attitude, we’ll rarely have the perseverance or incentive to thoroughly investigate, let alone follow through and comprehend, any practice. If we think that it’s too difficult to remember four different principles, that we will never succeed anyway, that we aren’t smart enough to figure all of this out, we may fail to even get to principles two, three, and four. In short, without a positive mind, we give up before we start. SHIN, KOKORO “mind,” painted to resemble a “brain wave.” Mind and body are in many ways opposite from each other, and mind and body must each act according to its own principles. Nonetheless, while the mind and body are different in disposition, they are complementary opposites that form a single whole. For us to sustain mind and body harmony, and function as whole human beings, we need to discover the actual nature of the mind’s characteristics.