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Close you eyes in seiza Mokuso and occasionally twist at the waist. Closing the eyes turns off your connection with the world and the twist opens the chi pathways for the flow of energy from and between the upper to the lower as symbolized by tai-chi and I-Ching of heaven through man to the Earth. Coupled with proper deep diaphragmatic breathing, twisting the body gently one left and once right helps rid of us of random thoughts, it relieves the stiffness of sitting seiza and still, and it improves the flow of energy in the body and mind while relieving sleepiness.
Closing of the eyes is used by our species to disconnect the mind from the stimuli of the work around us allowing us to achieve a meditative state of the present moment.
Closing the eyes, being a major input sensory of our species, literally placed a barrier, like a light switch to darken a room, between the mind and the environment.
Sight sense, for the majority, is a dominant sense usually supported and enhanced by the other sense systems of hearing, taste, smell and touch. Even those with other dominant sense, not sight, tend to still rely on sight due to social conditioning and conditions.
Mokuso comes from the art of Zen Buddhism and has been adopted for martial arts and karate. Seiza, the art of sitting, also comes from Zen.
Through Seiza Mokuso, the eyes are a form of cut off from stimuli so that the other senses can be reduced to level often unnoticed in the mind allowing free flow thought patterns to emerge, drift into the moment then float away as if riding a soft summer breeze.
The goal is to separate the overwhelming stimulation of the world outside the dojo so it drifts away to allow room for the dojo to occupy the mind just within the microcosmic world of the martial art dojo.
Human thoughts age sifted and separated accordingly to the focus of the present moment.
Such practice teaches us to separate our thought so the deep mind can create appropriate responses, to put up filter barriers to block out distractions, and allow us present moment awareness and focus in the dojo.
In this process it is critical to add in the art of the breathe, breathing along with seiza and mokuso is deep, diaphragmatic and rhythmic and focus is gained by one observing and sustaining our focus on each single breath. Coupled with the closing of the eyes and the twisting of the torso as described sitting mokuso before and after dojo training and practice holds more meaning, a connection to the actions or moving meditative aspects of martial arts and karate as well as provide present moment focus and awareness that transcends the dojo and provides benefits for every moment in one’s life.
The goal is best described from Zen practice as believed by Kido Inoue Sensei, “Before long, the mind chatter/scattering mind calms down. You are not taken by thoughts even if they arise, leaving them as they are. Around this time, you can trace the instant when thoughts and consciousness begin to rise. Then you begin to see the source itself of cutting off thoughts, where nothing exists. And it is possible to be clearly conscious of each moment throughout daily activities. Your mind is no longer easily distracted. But it is still necessary to remain on guard, not allowing your mind to be stolen by senses and perceptions, because random thoughts do continue to rise.”
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“In order for any life to matter, we all have to matter.” - Marcus Luttrell, Navy Seal (ret)
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