Mary chose our instructors with such wisdom, and we are blessed to have access to their thoughts. Each one is happy to share their journey with us so that we may KNOW MYSELF BE IT IS, IS.

Michael Hakuzan Wenninger shares part of his awareness and understanding with us in the Spring 2009, issue Number 64, of The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter. You may obtain your own personal copy at http://www.jsjinc.net.

Being the Breath

“The only breath we can ever be is the breath we are.”

These simple words spoken by Mary contain all there is to know and realize in the moment. These words hold the practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu. These words are the combustion of realization and the manifestation of understanding. When we realize there is only One Breath and in that One Breath all is contained, all is nurtured and all finds generation and regeneration, we are in harmony. In the simple process of Being the Breath, we let go and receive the abundance of life. For it is in the moment that our lives are actualized.

While there is only this Breath in this present moment, we also know this Breath is always changing, always moving, always in transition from moment to moment. to receive this moment, we only need to exhale. Even this misses the point of being the Breath, for any concept, any thinking cuts us off from the Breath and the present moment. When movement stops, stagnation begins, projects begin. When we resist this moment, when our fears take over, when we neglect to fully perceive “What Is”, there remains an unknowing, an uncertainty of IT IS (Infinite Truth, Infinite Self). Doubts arise, we question our actions, and we hesitate in the moment. We feel this uneasiness and are discontent. Mary says, “I’m not in harmony. I’m out of Cosmic Rhythm.” (Text 1, page 13). To return to Cosmic Rhythm we need only return to the Breath and the realization that we are never disconnected from the “unencumbered communion with the Creator“. It is only our thinking that makes it so. The is-ness of the present moment is the expansion and contraction, appearing and disappearing of each Breath. This is where we live. Our presence of Mind governs the rhythm and texture of our relationships. Our understanding of IT IS determines the relationships of “What Is”.

In the practice of Kyudo, the Way of the Bow, the mind is trained to be Mushin, no mind. Kanjiro Shibata XX, Kyudo master and retired bow maker to the Emperor of Japan, teaches the importance of polishing the mind. He said that in sighting the arrow, there is no regard to hitting the target. Rather all is forgotten. Mind, target, bow, arrow, all become this Breath. All are contained in letting go of results. We are simply this moment of Breathing in space and time. In the stillness of the space between “this” and “that”, between the gap of the inhale and exhale, we can experience the infinite reality of space and time. Then we hit the target even if we don’t hit the target. In the essay Uji: Being-Time, (translated by Eido T. Shimano Roshi and Charles Vacher), Dogen Zenji, 13th Century Zen Master, presents a unique position of time. Conventionally, we consider time separate from ourselves. We speak of “not having enough time” and “running out of time”. We think of time in sequential, linear moments spreading from the past to the present to the future. Dogen, however, offers the view that all moments of Time are contained in this One moment. Past, present and future are only this moment of Uji: Being-Time. The “impeccability” of this moment contains all that is. The processes of regeneration, the dependent origination of all things are present in this moment of Time. Nothing is excluded, nothing omitted, nothing superfluous. Everything is absolutely perfect. There is only this Breath, only Being-Time. There is only this Breath Being-Time.

To be continued…

Mary chose our instructors with such wisdom, and we are so blessed to have access to their thoughts. Each one is happy to share their journey with us so that we may KNOW MYSELF BE IT IS, IS.

Anita Willoughby shares part of her awareness and understanding with us in the Spring 2009, issue Number 64, of The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter. You may obtain your own personal copy at http://www.jsjinc.net.

PHYSIO-PHILOSOPHY (Nature-Effortless Reality), Part 3

A few months ago, I decided to try out this new profession. On my way back into the U.S.A., the immigration officer asked me my profession, and I looked him right in the eye and said, “Yes, (you know) ‘physio-philosopher’.” I rolled those Ps, he rolled his eyes, we both smiled, he gestured me through, and said, “Welcome home!” While writing this paper, I have been trying out physio-philosopher with some of my clients, friends and family. Some of their responses have been quite illuminating. “Wow! Awesome…Cool…So descriptive and beautiful.” Physio-philosopher has become my husband’s term of endearment for me. My father’s response to physio-philosopher was, “My god – never heard of that before!”…and this coming from a 94 year old promoter of peace.

Now that I have declared I am a physio-philosopher, I know who and what I am. It is time to find out what physio-philosophy IS. “Physio” comes from a Greek word, which means nature and is a combining form meaning nature, natural, or physical. The definition of the word NATURE, in my old Webster’s Dictionary is “the essential character of a thing; quality or qualities which make something what it is; essence.” Another is “inborn character, innate disposition, inherent tendencies of a person.” And “the sum total of all things in time and space, the entire physical universe.” Philosophy means love of wisdom or knowledge and comes from “philo“, which is a combining form meaning loving, liking, having a predilection for – and “sophy“, which comes from the Greek word, “Sophia“, wisdom, and is a combining form meaning knowledge or thought. History has it that Pythagoras invented the word “philosophy” as a result of a question posed to him. When asked, “Are you wise?” he is said to have answered, “No, but I’m a lover of wisdom.”…thereby creating the word philosophy. “Philosophia” is a term signifying “the love of wisdom” and “to lift the soul to truth”. (from A Beginner’s Guide to Constructing the Universe, by Michael S. Schneider, p.xxiii)

On the forward page in Text 1 and Text 2, Mary mentions the complete phrase, JIN SHIN JYUTSU, Physio-Philosophy at least 5 times. Is this to remind us that JIN SHIN JYUTSU is first and foremost a physio-philosophy, and to remind us that this study is for “lovers of wisdom and natural truths”? Throughout the introductory pages of both Text 1 and Text 2 there is an interplay between JIN SHIN JYUTSU and PHYSIO-PHILOSOPHY. Both are featured pretty prominently. (There’s that alliteration again.) Go take a look at those pages, see for yourself. On other pages, further elucidation is added in parentheses beneath PHYSIO-PHILOSOPHY (Nature-Effortless Reality), and beneath JIN SHIN JYUTSU (Cosmic Artless Art of KNOW (Help) MYSELF), but that is fodder for another article. I have tackled enough for now, Nature and Art will be left for another day.

Now I am quite comfortable with being a Physio-Philosopher. I am grateful to Mary for sparking my imagination to look within, beyond, above and through to the roots of these simple words. Thank you, Mary, for your part in bringing JIN SHIN JYUTSU, Physio-Philosophy to the light. And thank you, Philomena, for helping me become a Physio-Philosopher.

Thank you, Anita.

Thank you, Mary.

Thank you, David.

Gassho, Namaste, Blessings

Mary chose our instructors with such wisdom, and we are so blessed to have access to their thoughts. Each one is happy to share their journey with us so that we may KNOW MYSELF BE IT IS, IS.

Anita Willoughby shares part of her awareness and understanding with us in the Spring 2009, issue Number 64, of The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter. You may obtain your own personal copy at http://www.jsjinc.net.

PHYSIO-PHILOSOPHY (Nature-Effortless Reality), Part 2

There is an even deeper reality to this thing about what to call oneself, or what is one’s profession. When I was in 7th grade in a large public school, having recently graduated from a small Quaker school in New Jersey, I was asked to fill out a form. On that form was the question, “What is your father’s profession?” Well now, I knew what my father did. I had been to his office many times and spent long weekend days stuffing envelopes and helping out with fund drives. He didn’t really have a profession, he had a passion. As a matter of fact, both my parents have been passionate peace activists since the 1950s in the U.S.A. All I could come up with for profession was maybe peace promoter or even promoter of peace. (There go those Ps again.) Nothing sounded quite right, so I think I left it blank, and promptly forgot about it. After all, in 7th grade in a new overwhelming school, an almost totally new universe, did it really matter what my father did? I couldn’t even figure out what I was doing. So, a few days later, I was called down to the main office in the middle of the day. Vaguely wondering what transgression I had committed in this strange new universe, the secretary merely said, “You forgot to fill in your father’s profession.” I mumbled something about not knowing exactly what he did, but would go home and find out. At home, my father came up with “Executive Secretary,” which I clarified the next day. Thankfully, no one bothered to ask, “Executive secretary of what?”…saving me from acute embarrassment. It wasn’t very popular during that time in the U.S.A. to be pro-peace. In actuality, in addition to promoting peace around the world, he counseled people on the draft, including conscientious objectors, draft dodgers and, later, those having gone A.W.O.L. during the Vietnam War. At that time, he was Executive Secretary of C.C.C.O., which stands for Central Committee for Conscientious Objectors.

So, one can see I have always had an issue with how to fill in the blank for profession, and what to call oneself. My life work has been to answer the questions, “Who am I””…and “What am I here for?” While filling out information forms, there is usually only enough space for one word; doctor, lawyer, nurse, judge, artist and teacher. Really Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner rarely fits. My whole life I have had this issue: How do I sum up my life’s work with one word? It was only relatively recently that I began using physio-philosopher. So now we have one word with a combining form and it is all encompassing…

To be continued…

Mary chose our instructors with such wisdom, and we are so blessed to have access to their thoughts. Each one is happy to share their journey with us so that we may KNOW MYSELF BE IT IS, IS.

Anita Willoughby shares part of her awareness and understanding with us in the Spring 2009, issue Number 64, of The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter. You may obtain your own personal copy at http://www.jsjinc.net.

PHYSIO-PHILOSOPHY (Nature-Effortless Reality)

At heart, I am a philosopher. My life has been a search for the deep, underlying meaning of life. “Why are we here on planet earth?”…and “What is it we are supposed to be doing?”…are some of my favorite questions. So, imagine my delight when, in a casual conversation a few years ago, Philomena Dooley suggested that we call ourselves physio-philosophers and, when asked about one’s profession, merely say, “Oh, yes, I am a physio-philosopher.” I loved the way it sounded, even though I wasn’t really quite sure what it meant.

To my ear physio-philosopher sounded much more exotic than Jin Shin Jyutsu practitioner, which, by the way, takes even my friends years to be able to pronounce. Don’t get me wrong. I love the Jin Shin Jyutsu part, but “practitioner” just doesn’t quite go with my sense of self.

I have always loved alliteration. Only recently have I discovered why. Of course, we know that all the letters in the alphabet have a vibration. So, all words which start with the same letter have that vibration in common. The letter “P” is the 16th letter of the alphabet. The meaning of 16 is transformation (one of my favorite words), “the basis of all human activities [and the] breaking down of existing forms for new ones.” Safety Energy Lock 16 is where 3rd Depth begins. Third (3rd) Depth is the bridge into life and is the 3rd cycle of energy in the body. Third (3rd) Depth has a close relationship with Diagonal Mediator Universal Harmonizing Energy, which is born at Safety Energy Lock 3. I myself have a special affinity with 3rd depth, having been born on Thursday, 3rd Depth’s day, so to speak. Did I mention I was also born of the 3rd in the 3rd sign of the zodiac? Oh, yes, and I am a 3rd child…Love those 3s. In fairy tales it is important to make wishes 3 times, and sometimes for special emphasis we say things 3 times. The Kabbalah states, “Everything which exists in life, in nature, has a 3 fold aspect.” We know in Jin Shin Jyutsu we are comprised of 3 aspects of being – spirit, mind and body, which are activated by the breath. So, the letter “P” and 16 are transformation, which is what 3rd Depth and Jupiter energy are all about. Wow! Change, movement, expansion, nature, springtime, growth, the color green (nature’s favorite color) are all 3rd Depth, “Jupiterian” qualities.

To be continued…

In the Spring 2009, Number 64 issue of The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter, Jed Schwartz shares a story about the evolution of his awareness of and through the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu. I have been on the same journey and identify with much of Jed’s own experience and understanding…perhaps you will, too! As always, you can obtain a copy of the Main Central at http://www.jsjinc.net.

Continuing with Part 2:

A friend of mine went to see an incredible master a number of years ago who was known to the world as Daskalos. He lived in Cyprus and many people from around the world would come to see him for his wisdom and healing. My friend carried a picture of a mutual friend of ours who had breast cancer and wanted Daskalos to work on her from a distance and heal her. Many people had experienced distance healing by Daskalos over the years. I had given Jin Shin Jyutsu treatments to this woman and would often experience the lump get smaller, softer – almost disappearing at times. But it would always return. I treated her weekly for over a year, but it never went away. When Daskalos saw her picture, he said that she need the surgery. It was a karmic thing, and she needed to go through with surgery in order to balance the karma. She heard his advice, did the surgery, got more Jin Shin Jyutsu, and was fine.

From this experience and many others I realize that there is so much more going on than we are often aware of. As practitioners, our job is to be, just to be the witness, to allow the Creator to flow through us, bringing illumination and awareness to what to do, say and think. The time that it takes to change is not important in the scope of our many lives. We need to only be the best we can be at this moment. To know that God is in us and in the person we are with. That divine perfection is also present, even if it is not seen or felt. When we have pain and physical challenges, it is often difficult to retain this knowing.

I was treating a man who by my awareness is very sensitive and clairvoyant. During the treatment he turned to me and said, “You will not always see the physical changes that you are hoping for in the person you are treating. What you are doing is like planting a little seed that will bear fruit in their next life, not this one.” That made sense to me regarding what I was doing in this great mystery of life.

Over the years I can honestly say that there have been many people whom I have not seen healed from what they came for, nor freedom from their pain, nor freedom from the load that they carried.

However, I know that something is happening each time I give a session. I may not see anything outwardly, but I have more perception of the change that is invisible to the physical eye. I do not need to have the outer knowing that the person is healed. On a human scale, it is really nice to see people get well on a physical, mental and emotional level. The more that I have my inner knowing when I am working, the more I feel change and personal satisfaction. If my mind is thinking about other things like the laundry list of things I need to do later, I may miss what is going on in this now. Even when I do not feel connected during a treatment, deep inside I know something good happens. My job is to be still, to be quiet, to pray for Divine guidance and let go.

This has been a great evolution for me as a practitioner of Jin Shin Jyutsu and as a human being. When Mary would give me a treatment or when I was around while she gave someone else a treatment, she would often say, “Thank you, God.” To be detached from results is not easy. Life will at some time break us of this attachment. To be present fully is the Art. To be absent and lost is also the Art. Art evolves in us. Time is what we get stuck in.

Nothing’s Happening is an illusion. Or maybe Nothing is all there is?

“IT IS AS IT IS AND AS IT IS, IT IS”

Thank you, Jed.

Thank you, Mary.

Thank you, David.

Thank you, God.

Gassho, Namaste, Blessings

In the Spring 2009, Number 64 issue of The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter, Jed Schwartz shares a story about the evolution of his awareness of and through the Art of Jin Shin Jyutsu. I have been on the same journey and identify with much of Jed’s own experience and understanding…perhaps you will, too! As always, you can obtain a copy of the Main Central at http://www.jsjinc.net.

Do you remember your first Jin Shin Jyutsu class? My first class was in 1981, and I was sitting in front of Mary Burmeister in New York City. I did not really know anything about Jin Shin Jyutsu at that time. As Mary began to tell stories of her and others’ experiences with Jin Shin Jyutsu, I became filled with the awe and the unlimited possibilities of this practice. Each page of the textbooks had another amazing story of someone’s recovery or rapid healing from an incurable disease.

I began to think of all the people that I knew who needed help. Now there was a way for everyone to get well. I could not wait to let people know and to go to and treat everyone. I became a Jin Shin Jyutsu evangelist from the first day of class. Watching Mary as she worked on students in class and seeing for myself these incredible things happening, I became even more excited.

With this first class behind me, I began treating friends, family members, co-workers – any and everyone. The thing is, I did not see these same changes that I heard about. In fact many people did not get better from the treatment. I began to doubt myself. I knew that Jin Shin Jyutsu worked, so the reason must be me. Everyone enjoyed the treatments but I did not get those miraculous healings – where people get off the table and begin jumping up and down, praising the Lord that they could now walk or talk or fly. What was wrong with my treatments?

The first thought that began to go through my mind whenever I would start a treatment was, “If only they could have Mary treating them.”

I returned to class each year and would be recharged. Like a little innocent child I would again go out and expect a miracle with each and every person I treated.

Twenty-eight years later, I continue to hear about many amazing miracles, and I now see many myself in my practice and in classes. My viewing place of healing has changed a bit, and my understanding has grown about what is a miracle, a healing, a change. What I am expecting and looking for is now quieter, more invisible. Healing starts inside and may not see the light of day for a long time – a lifetime or many lifetimes. The outer disease may be necessary in order to grow, to see the truth of how we are actually living.

I am no longer waiting for the drama of Healing. I am listening and watching and praying for God to flow through me and through the one I am touching. I am letting go and knowing that I am not the doer, but the observer. It took a long time for Mary’s words to go into me, although I heard them from the beginning of my first class.

Things take time to develop in me and in those that come to me. I look to treat more frequently when possible, to feel more movement each time, to notice the attitude that is holding back the flow, the fear that we need to hold onto until the fear is gone.

Our experiences from past lives, the karma that we carry from those experiences, our birth family, the environment, our nations and our beliefs – these are all carried within us. How to let go and flow is the journey. Each step gets us closer to the goal. Physical healing is not the goal but a piece of the journey or a stop along the way.

To be continued…