The other day, I read an article about the sharp rise in the number of children unable to attend class. It stated that the primary cause of this school non-attendance is not bullying or issues with the home environment, but rather a lack of developed skills for mutual understanding through verbal communication. As I read it, I felt strongly that this is an issue that extends beyond just children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because adults have long navigated society and are fluent in Japanese, they rarely question their own communication skills. Before they know it, they are coasting through their days using nothing but simple, stock phrases. Are their true feelings really getting across? Are they successfully drawing out the feelings of others? Without considering these questions, misunderstandings gradually accumulate\u2014whether with family, friends, or colleagues\u2014eventually laying the groundwork for blame and a sense of isolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes, words spoken with no ill intent can come across as harsh to the listener. As you deepen your learning in Shinkiko<\/em>, you realize the importance of conveying things through Ki<\/em> rather than just words\u2014though it is certainly better if the message is conveyed through words as well. Ultimately, it is a matter of refining both Ki<\/em> and speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is important to note here that simply speaking “politely” is not enough. The longer you speak, the harder it becomes for the listener to stay engaged. What truly matters is the ability to craft the right words in a way that effectively conveys your message\u2014in other words, the “power of articulation.” This is not a skill that develops naturally with age; rather, it is one that must be consciously and continuously honed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is also crucial from the perspective of Ki<\/em> (energy). Negative Ki<\/em> targets the gaps that arise when words fall short and feelings go misaligned. As misunderstandings, frustrations, and unspoken words accumulate, you unwittingly attract negative Ki<\/em>. Using words carefully to narrow these gaps helps keep negative Ki<\/em> at bay and elevates your own Ki<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are things you can start doing today to hone your ability to articulate your thoughts. Even just a few minutes a day, try to cultivate the habit of digging deeper into matters by asking yourself, “What does this really mean?” or “Why is this the case?” As you keep at it, this becomes second nature, and a cycle of naturally verbalizing your thoughts in your mind begins to flow. Once that happens, you will gain the ability to speak in your own words when the time comes to address others. We practice this during our monthly Shinkiko lessons by writing down our thoughts on worksheets. The act of writing things down is a highly effective way to give shape to vague ideas. And above all, receiving Shinkiko to harmonize your Ki<\/em> (life energy) is essential; it makes it easier for words to flow naturally and allows you to be more open to receiving the words of others. I intend to continue refining myself every day, remaining mindful of both my words and my Ki<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The other day, I read an article about the sharp rise in the number of children unable to attend class. It stated that the primary cause of this school non-attendance is not bullying or issues with the home environment, but rather a lack of developed skills for mutual understanding through verbal communication. As I read … Continue reading Words open the pathways for “Ki” to flow.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-masatonakagawablog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shinkiko.com\/en-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shinkiko.com\/en-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shinkiko.com\/en-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shinkiko.com\/en-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shinkiko.com\/en-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shinkiko.com\/en-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":609,"href":"https:\/\/shinkiko.com\/en-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608\/revisions\/609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shinkiko.com\/en-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shinkiko.com\/en-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shinkiko.com\/en-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}