Senshin and Bu

Consciousness. Some say awareness, some say intuitiveness, I say communication, I also say awake...ness.

In the spiritual field much is said about cosmic consciousness. O.K. Universal. I don't disagree for there is universal consciousness.

All well and good except for a more sound explanation of it as far as I am concerned.

So I return to Aikido. I return to Bu and heart and love. The spirit of loving protection, universal love, etc.

This thing called consciousness is actually of the heart. It has space and in purity it has peace. It flows through the universe as a universal thing and then too you have it as well.

Now I'm going to not use the word love here and I'm going to use a word used by Inoue Sensei, who used the word affinity. He saw that energy of affinity and how it was the binding force of the universe. The consciousness of the universe.

Love is pure affinity but affinity gives it that more real feeling when communicating.

So straight away some may be thinking of the attractive force of affinity. All well and good but that's o.k. as study but not as aim. What it means is innately in you is this great affinity. You are therefor conscious to the degree you use it. You are conscious to the degree have affinity for, to the degree you can see through the eyes of affinity.

Universal love....universal affinity.

Think of something you like....think of something you have affinity for or with. Aha...right there...you felt more awake. You became more conscious and in fact more in communication did you not?

So universal love..Bu.. is to do with that awakened consciousness.

Let's now get more real. YOUR consciousness...YOUR Affinity.

Time for honesty. Can you look at something with affinity? Unperturbed affinity? Without doing so you are to that degree out of communication with and to that degree looking and speaking from unconsciousness...unawareness.

Those without much heart are thus not very awake or conscious or aware.

Now take someone you don't like. You have anything good to say about that person? You have no affinity for and so your communication about will be negative....unconscious communication. Honesty. Unconscious communication is no more than jaki. It is not universal love. Thus we must polish our own hearts and wake up.

When you have love for everything and that means love for everything 'bad' too then you will be awake. Then also you will be more aware. Unperturbed affinity...for all things.

Then you will have wisdom too for it will join with such purity.

Then your affinity...your love will be so much more pure. It is yours is it not? Do you want to be awake?

It is yours so thereafter you can give affinity to goodness, to kindness, to improvemnts of all kinds but if you think not having affinity for someone or something is good then you imprison yourself in unconsciousness and unawareness and proceed with weeping and wailing and bawling and gnashing of teeth.

Aikido is for life.

Peace.G.