Recently I went to train with my teacher in Boston. I expected the training to be another amazing three days of exploring Taijutsu secrets; however, we spent more time talking and exploring inner emotional and psychological concepts and how they can manifest in our physical reality.

The three days went by faster than anything I had experienced before, and although we did very little physical activity, I was exhausted each night as I went back to my hotel room. After the end of the seminar a day later, I called one of the senior black belts who was at the seminar.

Learning Never, Ever, Truly Ends…

We talked for a while about the enlightening seminar.  Before we ended the conversation, he said that now that I had had the experience of learning secrets from my teacher, I should read Chapter 7 of “The Ninja and Their Secret Fighting Art,” again.

I said, “I read that book twice, but I don’t remember ever reading anything that had to do with this weekend.”  The senior laughed and said, “You may be amazed.”

I was about to come to a major realization…

When we got off of the phone, I went to my library and looked for it but realized I had loaned it to someone from my past who had never returned it.  I slapped my forehead, frustrated.  I had to order the book again from a friend’s school.

Once I got the book, I re-read Chapter 7 for the third time and, as the senior predicted, I was ambushed with the same information. Looking at it with newly-experienced eyes, it was like I was reading it for the first time. This taught me a valuable lesson about growth and discovery.

We Must Learn To Look At Life From All Perspectives…

In our fast-paced world, it is so easy to see something and make quick, unexplored judgments on it based on where we are in our lives.  We often view things from a single perspective, never truly entertaining the idea that there may be another way to look at it.

We quickly dismiss a moment or a lesson without truly exploring all that it has to offer. Allowing the subject matter some time and committed exploration is not really a normal thing for people; however, this kind of exploration is something that those who are truly successful understand.

Ask any high-level person who has been in the same field of work for a long time if their perceptions of their profession have become more revealing over time, and they will most likely tell you “Yes.”

The Wisdom That Comes From Proper Perspective Changes Everything…

I once had a student to whom I taught a new technique. He had very good mechanics, and after 5 repetitions, he started adding his own flare and extra moves.  I asked him why he was so quick to abandon the technique I had shown him. He smiled and said, “Because I got it already.”

I smiled back and said “Really, you don’t.”

I laughed inside because I used to be just like that.

Most things have several uses or layers, but only when viewed with an open heart, and the wisdom of experience will we understand anything past the surface layer.

Keep an eye out for part 2 of this story…