A little worried about Morihei Ueshiba and ki altogether...

[Scotty]

Call me ignorant if you like, but I interpretted Ki as a form of focussing. Not supernatural at all, and so it doesn't contradict with Christianity. You just put your mind into a state wherein you focus entirely on what it is you intend to do. It's like breaking boards, if you don't concentrate it won't go - and taken to a higher level, if you use your Ki focus it will allow you to do things more effectively than if you weren't focussing.

[Anbu Alex]

its like the story of the samurai who had to split a helmet in front of the shogan and no one before him could do it and at one moment he basically blacked out and with extreme focus (ki) split the helmet cause he said to himself if i dont do this ima commit seppuku i think ki is focus/energy like when you have more energy doing something cause you are more focus

[parkerlineage]

People have said that ki is like energy. What if it is also like air? Who created air? Is it good or bad? We know that we need it to be able to function and you might have problems if you don't have enough air. We can't see air, but we know it is there and people are very comfortable with the idea.

I believe God created air, and I certainly believe it's good...and I find it almost amusing that you use the air argument, because that's what we Christians use to argue the existence of God. Interesting.

Thank you all for the good posts, and for not yelling at me.

I can understand the arguments about it just being an extreme case of focus - perhaps we westerners just don't have a word for that.

i'd like to see someone try to use ki on a rock, for example.

Yeah, me, too.

told them that think of when the apostsles(sp?) when they recived the holy spirit almost like a energy that completed them and gave the confidence to face prejudice

Wow...that makes a crazy amount of sense to me. Thank you.

i suspect in the future the science/medicine of ki will be understood a lot better and the whole supernatural thing surrounding it will dissapear.

I agree.

Thank you all, and keep it coming!

[cathal]

You may want to consult your spiritual advisor (e.g. priest, etc) on this topic. It must have been debated before and I'm sure they can put chat with you on that.

As for myself, so long as the power doesn't come from anger, hate etc and lead to the same then I believe it is OK.

[parkerlineage]

You may want to consult your spiritual advisor (e.g. priest, etc) on this topic. It must have been debated before and I'm sure they can put chat with you on that.

As for myself, so long as the power doesn't come from anger, hate etc and lead to the same then I believe it is OK.

That's a good idea, and an interesting philosophy with which I could possibly agree.

[Bluetulipx]

I forgot myself for a moment. I have been taken back to a memory of sitting in a pub on Capitol Hill talking to a guy from NASA about physics. The guy was nice, talked to me in even though I only had a basic understanding of the principles, but then when I moved this slightly away from the exact science, our conversation changed ... and ... when we talked about metaphysics our conversation stopped dead. LOL

Bluetulipx wrote:

Also, if you have a basic understanding of particle physics, I think that helps to describe how the energy moves around.

Alsey wrote: with respect, particle physics has nothing to do with it.

I take back my comment. I will change this to reflect Bluetulipx concepts instead:

I was basically stating (and don't forget it's only Bluetulipx concepts so not anything official!):

The universe is created by particles and particles vibrate. All things in the universe have particles. Ki could flow through particles in a similar way (concept wise only don't forget) that electro magnetics do or other things do.

So, not particle physics anymore!

[alsey]

The universe is created by particles and particles vibrate. All things in the universe have particles. Ki could flow through particles in a similar way (concept wise only don't forget) that electro magnetics do or other things do.

there is a tendancy these days for people to try and explain supernatural or seemingly supernatural phenomena with stuff like particle physics and quantum physics without actually understanding the physics. trust me, there's nothing in electromagnetic theory or particle physics that would help anyone explain ki.

[elbows_and_knees]

Why the far east contains the only cultures to discover ki is, I have no idea. There were some very fierce warriors that came from Western cultures throughout the ages, and they are just as viable as any far eastern warrior you could name. I think it has to do with their culture's perceptions of things. Whether it is true or not, who can say, but they precieve it as such.

Who said the east was the only to discover it? It's merely called different things by different groups and religions. an example of meditation from a christian aspect - prayer. look at the references in the bible to strength received through God - He is the rock, the sword the shield and through him all things are possible. Battles where few people beat thousands, david and golliath, etc.

pagan religions who draw their power from the earth... is it not all the same?

the east seems to put more focus on belief and development of self, or lessening of self. either way, focus is on the person and not on something greater than the person, as in western religions. You don't attain nirvana through belief in a god. But in christianity, belief in God is how you get to heaven...

[elbows_and_knees]

You may want to consult your spiritual advisor (e.g. priest, etc) on this topic. It must have been debated before and I'm sure they can put chat with you on that.

As for myself, so long as the power doesn't come from anger, hate etc and lead to the same then I believe it is OK.

what's wrong with power through anger? I would imagine jesus was upset when he chased the money changers from the temple. I would imagine soldiers were upset when they were in battle but had Him on their side. There is no commandment that states not to get angry, and if I'm not mistaken, nowhere in the bible does it tell you to not get angry. Anger is a natural emotion. What's important is what you do with that emotion. anger and hate are drastically different.

[elbows_and_knees]

Call me ignorant if you like, but I interpretted Ki as a form of focussing.

that's the other thing - there are so many different concepts of what ki is that nobody actually knows what it is.