During the 100 Day Warrior we want to give the participants an experience of what it means to be natural once again. The only way to function naturally is to have an empty mind. When the mind is empty we are not hindered by our habitual ideas, fears, concepts and expectations. This allows us to respond to the present moment in a natural way.
Because of our conditioning we have become very unnatural. It is already very unnatural that we need to create a controlled environment to feel save enough to perform some natural behavior. Sad, don’t you think? And if we glimpse our naturalness and even recognize it as our own naturalness we find it hard to perform accordingly outside the controlled environment. To start acting natural calls for bravery. We need our bravery to reclaim our naturalness; that’s both sad and true.
For a plant or stone to be natural is no problem. If you take a look at the flower on the card above you can see it grows on a rocky surface. You could say this is a daring and brave thing to do for a flower. Regardless, she does it without fear of judgment or need for approval. She has no problem being natural. But for us there is some problem, indeed a big problem. To be natural is something which we must work on. When what you do just comes out from nothingness, you have quite a new feeling. For instance, when you are hungry, to take some food is naturalness. You feel natural. When you quickly grab a handful of peanuts, just because you are afraid somebody else will take them it is not natural.
During the 100 Day Warrior we also offer martial arts classes. The philosophy behind that is the same: as a warrior you want to be able the move naturally, under any circumstances. Martial arts teach us to respond naturally to extreme circumstances. Ideally you move out of nothingness too. But just as our day-to-day inter-human behavior reflects our conditioning so does the way we use our body. You don’t have to teach a monkey, dog or fish to move naturally. But as humans, our fears, beliefs and judgments have been solidified in our bodies and limit our physical abilities.
The whole idea behind the 100 Day Warrior is not to become super human but to find back what is natural. The paradox is that being natural in an inauthentic and artificial world is highly exceptional. Being natural is so foreign to us that unlike plants and animals we need intention and practice to develop some of it. And even then we need a lot of courage to demonstrate it in real life. But I hope we will all find this courage. Because it is the only way to lasting change.
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This is episode 64 in a series of 100 blog posts that will be published daily during the 100 Day Warrior, a unique program around physical strength, inner wisdom and meaning. All posts are written by Atalwin Pilon, founder of Basic Goodness and creator of the 100 Day Warrior. For requests for motivational speaking, in-company workshops, online coaching and mindfulness training click here. If you would like to join our international community of brave and inspiring human beings or just follow this blog and receive updates, please click here or sign up on the right side of the page. Atalwin specializes in coaching smart and creative people, both groups and individuals. If you are interested in a free coaching session click here.
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