aikido of notre dame de namur

“The seed of the Word of God fell into rich soil, grew up, and produced a harvest.” -Gospel of Luke

morihei trained his body intensely and relentlessly both physically and spiritually. his focus and discipline were unshakeable, and he demanded excellence of himself and worked tirelessly to strengthen his ki (spirit) and kokyu (breath power). he rigorously performed misogi. “morihei stated that misogi, ‘purification of body and mind,’ was the heart of aikido; in order to practice the way of harmony properly one must:

calm the spirit and return to the Divine (chinkon-kishin)
cleanse the body and spirit by removing all malice, selfishness, and desire (misogi)
be ever-grateful for the gifts received from the universe, mother nature, your family, and your fellow human beings (kansha)”

“In settling in Iwama [during World War II] the Founder had in mind three plans to realize his ideal of a true budo. First was to establish an Aiki Shrine that would symbolize the Way of ai-ki and the spirit of aikido. Second was to construct an outdoor dojo permeated with the ki of nature where the ideal budo of take-musu [literally martial-creative] could be taught. Third was to realize his cherished dream of unifying agriculture with martial art. He sought to relate the budo training (take) that harmonizes with the protective life force (musu) to the work of farming through which the earth produces life-sustaining food.”

-Kisshomaru Ueshiba

“Your heart is full of fertile seeds, waiting to sprout.”

–Morihei Ueshiba

it takes courageous warriors willing to boldly "march into hell" full of serenity and loving-kindness in order to manifest peace.

dorothy stang represents such a peaceful warrior. "sister of notre dame de namur, dorothy stang, moved to brazil 40 years ago to help poor farmers build independent futures for their families. she was shot to death by hired gunmen on saturday, february 12, 2005, in anapu, para, a section of brazil's amazon rainforest."

her life, love and work for social justice and equality live on today through the collaborative efforts of the dorothy stang center at notre dame de namur university.

ueshiba’s return to iwama, a symbolic return to nature, and the profound spiritual events (the destruction of Hiroshima & Nagasaki), were critical events leading to the founder’s epiphany to open aikido, the way of harmony, to everyone throughout the world so all may benefit. this enlightenment represents the core foundation connecting morihei and dorothy.

the core foundation is love.

ueshiba writes, “mankind's role is to fulfill his heaven-sent purpose through a sincere heart that is in harmony with all creation and loves all things.”

dorothy stang provides an inspiring example of “fulfilling one’s heaven-sent purpose.” her life of “servant leadership” and selfless contribution lives on today with the dorothy stang center, which actively promotes and manifests “harmony with all creation” inspiring us to “love all things” represented by the logo, which is the ceiba tree, “a powerful and ubiquitous representation of the interconnectedness of life connects the work of the dorothy stang center to the sorority of organizations and individuals with missions to save mother earth, while fostering communities of equality and justice.”