THE ZONE & NO-MINDEDNESS

The Zone and No-Mindedness are related concepts and essential in experiencing Zen in the Martial Arts. As discussed earlier, the Zone is that realm we enter into where action is automatic, instinctive. It's the place where the mind is clear and we perform at our highest levels.

The traditional term for The Zone is Wu-shin, or "no-mindedness." Before we can talk about what it is, let's first talk about what it is not. No-mindedness is not mindlessness. It's not a thoughtless mind or blank mind void thoughts or emotion. It's not just a quiet mind either. So then, what is it?

In essence, the no-mind is a state where the mind operates freely without the interference of the separate thinker. In other words, the mind functions in a state of wholeness without you distracting it with your thoughts, feelings, or emotions. For example, you're driving down the road thinking of nothing in particular. You turn into a neighborhood. You notice the trees dotting the subdivision and the cars parked along the edge of the street. You absorb the scene as a whole without thought or impression. You make no judgment about what you see. You simply drive.

Suddenly, a child runs out into the street chasing the ball. There's no time to stop or think. The action must be immediate. Without thought, your adrenaline surges. You instinctively take your foot off the gas and slam on the break. How did that happen? You didn't stop to think about it or even tell yourself what to do. Your mind simply took you (the separate thinker) out of the equation and took action freely without permission.

In this situation, the mind took the correct action because it was free to observe the environment in total without becoming bogged down on a fixated point. The no-mind is like a river flowing down its natural course, never becoming stagnated. Or, the no-mind is like a mirror - it never grabs on to anything or keeps anything, but receives every image placed before it. Make sense? Think of watching a football game. You don't concentrate solely on the player with the ball. You watch the field as a whole - aware of the total movement. In like manner, the no-mind observes the whole. It does not anchor itself to a fixed point or thought. In doing so it is moves unencumbered. It takes action freely.

So, how do we cultivate the No-mind? And what is the relationship between the No-mind and the martial arts? We'll address those items in the next post.

THE MARTIAL ARTS AND SELF-EXPRESSION. What does it mean to "express yourself?"

If you want to accelerate your personal growth and development in training, it is absolutely essential that you understand what it means to "express yourself" through the martial arts as soon as possible.

In the Western world, we think of self-expression as simply a "statement" or particular point someone makes about what they think or feel. We say an artist expresses themselves through a painting or song. Or, some may express themselves through the clothes they wear, tattoos, or other adornment. In effect, we find people express themselves by performing certain acts or behaviors in order to stand out from the rest of society. Self-expression in this context has nothing to do with expressing yourself in the martial arts.

Self-expression in the martial arts occurs when your technique comes automatically without thought, without pretense. It is the point where mind and body have come together to affect one action - one motion. For most people, this occurs after years of hard work and countless hours of drills and repetition. This type of expression goes beyond simple muscle memory. It's what others in the sports world call being "in the zone." When you're in the zone, there is no thought process involved in your performance. The action comes automatically with flawless perfection. We can all remember a time in our lives when we secured the victory or did something spectacular while in the zone - that moment when time stopped, all internal dialogue ceased for that split second when we made our winning move. For most of us, we fell into it by accident. We remember what it felt like, but have no idea how to we did it or how to repeat it.

This is what the martial arts attempts to teach us. In learning to express ourselves in the martial arts we discover how perform in the zone upon command. The Bruce Lee interview I have posted below addresses this topic in greater detail. It's well worth your time to watch repeatedly.

Imagine what could happen if you, having learned to enter the into the zone upon command for purposes of training or competition, expanded the concept to other areas of your life. What impact could living in the zone make in your business decisions? Life decisions? Your relationships?