Two Hundred and Thirty-one

Minimum Energy Principle -
Energy in any form seeks stability at the lowest energy state possible, and will not transition to a new state unless acted on by another energy source. - Louis A. Del Monty, Unraveling the Universe's Mysteries

Notes to self:

Tightly coordinated mind/body - high energy state, sharply focused, suppression of conscious thought preceding action, expansion of awareness/contraction of reference.

Loosely coordinated mind/body - low energy state, diffused focus, conscious thought preceding action, contraction of awareness/expansion of reference.

Degree of coordination of mind/body (Ki) transitions to a higher degree in a conflict situation due to the influence of another energy source (uke).

Aikido is a vehicle for implementing the MEP.

Ki development work facilitates the transition to higher energy states brought on by influence of uke's energy input. Waza provides a mechanism for transitioning to lower energy states via the neutralization of uke's energy.

When engaged in solo training I become the energy source normally supplied by uke in paired training. Solo training takes me from a low energy state to a high energy state and back again. With time and experience I come to see uke as a physical projection of the same energy that I am capable of generating on my own. With an uke my inner solo training is externalized and brought to life.

Two Hundred and Thirty

In the very early universe, Planck-time moments after the Big Bang, all the known forces were unified. As the universe cooled and expanded this super-symmetry began to unravel and the four forces of nature that we currently recognize emerged. I liken the cooling and expansion of the early universe to the growth of conscious self awareness in the developing human being which breaks the symmetry of mind and body.

I suppose that there isn't an individual moment in the past when I first became aware of "me" or an exact time when I first thought of "my body" as somehow separate from my "me-ish" essence. Consciousness of self, I think, happened gradually; that it kind of crept into my awareness when I wasn't looking. Prior to the emergence of self my mind and body were tightly coordinated and very close to the moment. Self awareness opened the doors to past and future which broke the symmetry and gave my mind the ability to wander from the moment.