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Over the past few years I've focused so much time and effort on training that I've neglected other areas that should also be developed. Recently I've been thinking about the following quote:
"In order to increase your skill as a martial artist you need to develop the qualities of courage, will, patience, perseverance and endurance." (ILC Martial Art of Awareness, pg. 18).
I used to think that by focusing on physical training, all these other qualities would develop automatically over the course of training. Now I'm not so sure.
This year I would like to work towards further developing some of the non-physical qualities mentioned above. There's a lot of room for creativity here, since these qualities actually influence every area of our lives.
For example, courage might simply mean speaking up in another person's defense when they are belittled in your presence, while to build perseverance one could be more serious about checking items off one's to-do list, and not repeatedly postponing things to a later time.
I'm curious how other ILC students work on these particular skills, and would be interested in examples from your own life.
Peter
tough to say really since character development isn't exactly quantifiable ...
Well, you certainly get very high marks from me for perseverance, commitment and helpfulness (off the scale, actually).
Peter
tough to say really since character development isn't exactly quantifiable ...
Well, you certainly get very high marks from me for perseverance, commitment and helpfulness (off the scale, actually).
Peter
thank you for the very kind words Peter. 
i think of it this way.
by training the mental and physical, our character can develop along with the refinement of the physical. the mental state of wu ji is that of the mirror. with clearer perception comes better judgement and with better judgement, better actions.
physical training alone, without the three mental factors of the 6-3-1, does not go deep enough to join mind and body to be useful.
the body must be neutral AND the mind must be neutral. if one can maintain this state, over time, one can penetrate deeper into the nature of things as they are.
how to do this in your training? i do it the same way we can learn about "2 into 1" there we use the hand to teach the foot and the foot to teach the hand.
neutral is easier to find in the body than the mind... the body can teach the mind the same way the hand can teach the foot. when that relationship is clear, the mind can in turn be used to teach the body... and so on... refining the body and mind to build character.
i have found it to be a great adventure - difficult - and worth every challenge.
kelley's response will go here.
tough to say really since character development isn't exactly quantifiable, so i view it as more of a long term process. i kinda just let it simmer in the background while i go through the trials and tribulations of basic training...
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