More ON Ki-Work From Michael Wolff

“It is difficult to have a deep sense of who one is when continually playing the role prescribed by one’s position in the organisation”

I sure can vouch for that!

Jon, Dave Rogers here.

Excellent post. I will offer this, though: “It is difficult to’ have a deep sense of who one is when continually playing the role prescribed by one’s position in the organisation.”

This is not exactly correct. I would say it is difficult to have a deep sense of who one is no matter what the circumstances. In some ways, the difficulties and struggles posed by having to fulfill a role actually facilitate discovering that “deep sense.” The greatest challenge, I think, is convincing people that there is some “deep sense.” Discovering it is not an easy or a comfortable process. I rather suspect taking one’s first falls in aikido is not an easy or comfortable process. The most difficult belt to earn in taekwondo is the white belt, because so many people don’t make the difficult choice to begin. I would also quibble a bit on the “point” of other martial arts. Most of the traditional ones are intended to bring about that “deep sense” in individuals so that they may have greater self-control, or “inner peace,” if you prefer. It’s much less about being able to “vanquish an enemy,” except perhaps the enemy that is one’s ego. Even here, we see the intrinsic need to invoke hierarchy. ;^)

In any event, aikido is an excellent metaphor.

Andy, thanks for dropping by ! Nice to see you back. Re: the quote you picked out, I guess you could write a book about that ! Ooops, did I say “could” ? I probably meant “should”
Thanks, Dave. I agree strongly with your point that it’s difficult to have a deep sense of who one is no matter the circumstances.

At the risk of sounding a bit snippy I’ll state once more here that I don’t believe I’ve ever suggested hierarchy is going away, unnecessary or being replaced … by wirearchy, for example. I have used the “versus” word a couple of times.

What I do believe is that the interconnected, interlinked conditions, access to much information with few clicks, and so on … are creating conditions where propositions such as Michael Wolff’s “ki-work” is pertinent, useful and a beginning response to a new set of conditions … where haveing some better sense of connection to oneself is helpful. Many many people are used to knowing or understanding where they fit and how to act in the organizational chart of their life, and when that begins to change for them, around them, then they end up discovering that they need to turn to themselves and also need to be able to build trust and relationships in new ways.

I know you use Groundhog Day the movie as an informing concept for your blog … and I guess part of your view on life. Ever see Pleasantville ? No computers, no wires, no Internet, but it’s for my money the best movie I’ve seen yet about the sociological/psychological impacts of all of us interconnected.

Dave here again. I’ve seen Pleasantville, or parts of it anyway, at least once. Tobey Maguire and William Macy as I recall. People departing from their scripted roles and adding color to their lives. I liked it, but for whatever reason, it probably didn’t resonate with me. Not to say it isn’t a great movie or anything, it obviously resonated with you and I think that’s great!

Sorry if I may have hit a sore nerve on the hierarchy thing. I think there is just a touch of irony when a practitioner of aikido offers “when there are opposing points of view, the objective is to find the common point of truth,” and then misses the common point of truth in all martial arts in order to assert an essential “difference” in aikido. But maybe that’s just me. ;^)

I think I’ve helped to irritate that nerve on hierarchy. Perhaps I can ameliorate that a bit.

Hierarchy is, in itself, neither good nor bad. It is simply an aspect of how we organize our lives. When I write about hierarchy as a negative thing, I’m really writing about people’s misunderstanding, or limited understanding, of hierarchy and rank. I think if we had a better understanding of what it means and what we “mean” in it, the negative aspects of hierarchy, the unfortunate things that people do to one another to compete for rank, can be reduced.

For instance, I believe that rank is mostly determined by what is probably best termed “authority.” I believe that “authority” and “attention” are intimately linked, but they are not the same things. Yet, too often, too many of us confuse attention with authority. Exhibit A: Technorati. Exhibit B: Governor Schwarzenegger. I believe people who receive a great deal of attention believe they can act as though they have some sort of authority, yet don’t acknowledge any sense of responsibility for the exercise of that authority, nor is there often any means of imposing accountability on them. This most often leads to abuses in authority, and I think we find that in too many places.

I believe there are at least two axes along which one may be said to be “moving” in life. One is the axis of hierarchy, as our fortunes wax and wane and we rise or fall in rank. This reflects the measure of external authority, authority over others, whether that’s wealth or position. The other axis is a measure of internal authority, authority over oneself - what Mr. Wolff is describing in the mastery of ki.

To me, the most important of these is the measure of internal authority. If we were able to achieve a significant improvement in the awareness and growth of internal authority, I believe many of the worst excesses of hierarchy would be reduced, and that organizations, as hierarchical as you’d like, would be more effective. Perhaps that’s the essense of what you’re describing as “wirearchy” - a hierarchy of individuals, each of whom is maximizing the exercise of their internal authority.

Might this be the point of common truth between you and I?

The meaning of ki in Aikido is important. We should all do well I think to search for that meaning.

“The word ‘ki’ is often described as universal energy.” “In ki work, the meaning is extended a bit further to mean ‘trusted

relationship’.” (Michael Wolf)

Understanding connectedness takes awareness.

Aligning one’s own values with one’s organization values is an endless memetic dance, but major resonances, such as the “economic profit objective” occupy powerful, but regressive positions.

According to the Langenscheidt Japanese Dictionary, Ki means:

1- spirit, soul; 2- feeling; 3- intention, inclination

An organization that works on “business model(s) for profitable growth” might also consider fruition as the ki alternative to profit. Globalization arrives to propel consumption-based growth profit memes. Globalization also arrives to propel other memes: including endogenous evolution (a la Schumpeter).

Capability, authority and responsibility are intact in my sense of ki (universal life energy). Are they intact in you? Are they intact in your organization? You might use Aikido Activism to bring these into harmony, and at the same time address any/all world problems ( http://aikidoactivism.xwiki.com/ ).

*WE* might…

Excellent movie.

Excellent song.

http://www.lyricslyricsandlyrics.com/l/204043/

from Jacob Dylan and The Wallflowers (Yes, That Dylan as in Bob)

Thanks for dropping by, Reed.

I like the points you’ve made …

Understanding connectedness takes awareness.

Aligning one’s own values with one’s organization values is an endless memetic dance, but major resonances, such as the “economic profit objective” occupy powerful, but regressive positions.

I do think it’s regressive … and I like the notion of aikido activism. I have a sense that many of us in the blogosphere are practicing this to some degree … while many “pushbacks” to the regressive established order are perjhps too direct, there are more and more clever, aikido-like practices (individual and group) emerging in the blogospher, i think.

And .. Thanks, K! for dropping by. When I first read your comment, i wondered if it was comment-spam, but considered that very unlikely coming from you … and it’s really my fault, as i haven’t looked at the Dylan lyrics link (upon reflection, I have come to the point where I’m guessing you’re pointing me to lyrics from music from the movie Pleasantville ?). I’ll look at that link right after I post this.

K !

Just read the lyrics, and you’re right … couldn’t be much clearer … it often feels to me like we are all breathing tighter, with pinched faces, worried aboput what might be next, and fearful at a deep level that we will never again experience on a widespread scale the more-or-less effortful flow of being human being connecting to and with each other … except maybe here in the blogosphere from time to time.

Great lyrics. Thanks !

Dave:

1. You haven’t hit a nerve, really … since I don’t have anything really invested in being right or wrong about hierarchy (or maybe I have evrything invested in trying to call attention to some of what I know, understand or have experienced with regard to hierarchy ?
2. Your: I believe people who receive a great deal of attention believe they can act as though they have some sort of authority, yet don’t acknowledge any sense of responsibility for the exercise of that authority, nor is there often any means of imposing accountability on them. This most often leads to abuses in authority, and I think we find that in too many places.

What I do know, and I think is just unconsciously accepted by many/most people, is that there are about 50 years of built-up concepts and language creating, justifying and maintaining hierarchy in the ways we understand it … mostly to be found in organizational design and the methods/mechanisms used to establish and sustain it. And imo this is what gives rise to, and licence for, much of the autocratic behaviour we see and accept.

3. External authority and internal authority are both obviously important for us, in terms of how we live. except in rare cases, we don’t have much choice but to aqccept external authority for the first dozen or 20 years of our lives … and then, unless we accept much of what we’ve been told and fit in, we spend quite a bot of the next 20 or so years trying to come first to recognize and understand that internal authority and figure out what to do with it, or because of it.

In either case, you’r eright that we use hierarchy all the time. Shit, prioritizing your day involves making a hierarchy of what you want to get done.

That said, there are other “archies” recognized … patriarchy. matriarchy, oligarchy, and so on … why is there relatively little recognition of the possibility (I want to say “fact”) that being surrounded by organized code AND having access to interconnected interlinked exchanges of information, belief, opinion is not another set of conditions implying a new form of governance … eventually (in Transactional Analysis terms) more of an adult-to-adult relationship, in addition to a top-down imposed order and set(s) of rules.

I’m not really an “either/or” type of guy .. prefer to see the world as “both/and”, and believe that hierarchy is useful for certain things, while I prefer to interact online in a rather more “wirearchical” manner.

As for me, I’m not really sure that we disagree, other than if you want me to admit that hierarchy is the only form of effective organization/governance … then I won’t.