Consider the ebb and flow of the tide. When waves come to strike the shore, they crest and fall, creating a sound. Your breath should follow the same pattern, absorbing the entire universe in your belly with each inhalation. Know that we all have access to four treasures: the energy of the sun and moon, the breath of heaven, the breath of earth, and the ebb and flow of the tide.
In breath we replicate the continuous cycle of creation and awareness. The Kabbalists call this the “Will to Bestow” and the “Will to Receive”. Spirit, bestows the world, and the individual self receives it. But, that is all, like the continuity of our breath, one ongoing cycle without beginning or end. By working on our breath we see this sameness in other phenomenon and consume all similar processes into it. Into us. By attaching ourselves to this practice we become one with the cycle that contains everything.
In our distinct techniques the attack could be seen as the “Will to Bestow” and the response as the “Will to Receive.” My teacher, Kato Sensei, has said that, “Ukemi is true Aikido. All Aikido comes from your Ukemi.” ”Ukemi” is the art of receiving.
