The Intuitive Body: Aikido as a Clairsentient Practice - Couverture souple

From the Introduction: How This Book Works

In this book I am presenting my approach to rediscovering the part of ourselves that is wise, kind, and capable of clear and powerful embodied action. This way of being arises out of what I call the “intuitive state,” a spontaneous, intelligent, and creative aspect of ourselves which has not been distorted by our fear and confusion.

Intuition usually arises in a nonlinear fashion. In our Western culture, the habit of sequential thought has been given a superior role in respect to the way life is viewed. In my opinion, based on living in this culture and experiencing the result of this priority, it does not work. It has not made us happy. There are millions of years of evolution in our cells. A deep store of wisdom lies within and we must look within to access it. We can use our discomfort and dissatisfaction with life to investigate other possibilities or ways of living. We can invite our intuition, our wise knowing, to govern or lead our choices toward a full embrace of life.

The first part of this book deals with becoming grounded in our bodies. Without a firm root system or foundation, intuitive perceptions cannot be focused into embodied action. The second section discusses mental perception and working with the movement and power of our thoughts. This paves the way for us to find how to create a spacious environment from which the wisdom of our intuition can arise, as discussed in the third section. The fourth part addresses the nature of embodied action: irimi, entering fully into life situations, and how to work with our perceptions during the many activities and pressures of life. The practice guides at the end of the book are provided as outlines for quick reference to the techniques described in the previous sections.

It is my hope that you will feel free to take these ideas and make them your own by adjusting them to suit your inner needs. The techniques can be used as they are or changed and integrated into your already existing practice. Each of us is a unique individual. When we are sensitive to our own personal experiences, we lend compassion and support to ourselves by being creative. If we can live in a way that promotes a little more kindness and a little less greed, we will have served ourselves and our planet beautifully.

Intuitive Body draws on the principles of the Japanese martial art aikido and meditation to present a unique method of cultivating awareness, attention, and self-acceptance. Wendy Palmer shows us through basic practice and partner exercises how we can become more aware of the body and trust its wisdom. Palmer introduces exercises from her Conscious Embodiment and Intuition Training program, connecting movement, meditation, and breathing in a daily practice which can help the process of integration, of deepening and unifying ourselves, and learning to deal with our fear and aggression.