I have an exciting (and mildly nerve-wracking) announcement:
Today, Monday, August 31st, I’m officially launching my Ki to the City bookstore.
I’d like to sincerely thank Aiki Extensions, Kayla Feder Sensei, and Don Dickie Sensei, for their generous support in this endeavor. I’m so honored that you believed in this project enough to help me get it started.
The first physical book available is the paperback edition of Richard Moon Sensei’s, Create a Beautiful World in Three Aikido Lessons.
Until now, Create a Beautiful World has existed only as a digital work of ephemeral online wisdom afloat in the cloud. I’m proud to manifest it into an elegant, tactile vessel you can hold in your hands. Of course, you can hold a phone in your hands and read the digital version, but you know what I mean, right?
A real bona-fide book!
Richard Sensei describes the genesis of this inspired work as a seed planted fifty years ago, back when he wrote a draft titled Aikido in Three Easy Lessons. That original version was designed to help people get present, harmonize with their immediate situations, and let their natural creativity flow from a centered state. (I’m working on making that one available too!)
The complete metamorphosis into Create a Beautiful World happened rather recently, during a late-night/early-morning moment of reckoning when he sat up wondering what his art truly meant in the face of our self-inflicted global crises.
He surmised that his fifty years of training couldn’t just be about cozy self-centering; the practice had to actively extend outward to meet the heavy, collective challenges we face as a species.
He told me that it was as if the Aiki-Kami—the divine spirit of Aikido—suddenly woke him up in the middle of the night, sat him straight down in front of his computer, and channeled the book through his fingers.
Writing in that quiet space, he stripped down and condensed a half-century of somatic wisdom into three simple pillars—Feel, Breathe, and Enjoy—creating a work of art that I, myself, intend to employ as a modern-day Tao Te Ching.
When I was younger, I used to carry a physical copy of the Tao everywhere, opening it to a random page whenever I’d get stressed out, just to be reminded to breathe and realign with the universe. Now I can do the same with a random page of “Moonspeak” when things get hectic, like a somatic circuit breaker.
Joining Richard to talk about the book (and much more) is his long-time student, Kenneth Kron Sensei. Together, they lay out an incredibly evolved psychospiritual philosophy, bridging ancient wisdom with the cutting-edge technology of today.
This talk took an unexpected turn when Kenneth Sensei made another major announcement that I obviously wasn’t prepared for. One that lets us span both ends of the technological spectrum.
On one side, we’re going back almost to the stone age to publish a physical book; on the other, Kenneth Sensei is introducing a futuristic tool that carries Moon Sensei’s wisdom into the super-digital age. An AI chat-bot. (stay tuned for that, and reach out directly for updates)
(Update: here’s the link… Quantum Aikido. use KiToTheCity as the invitation code)
Both in this discussion, and in his wonderful book, Richard Moon Sensei challenges us to face the warrior’s ultimate test.
For him, true Budo is an active, volitional choice to feel the glow of life that is yourself, breathe in harmony with that aliveness, and enjoy yourself on purpose.
If you’re new to the show, and you’ve yet to hear of Richard Moon Sensei, he’s been on twice before. Here’s the links to those episodes:
First appearance
Second appearance
He also has hundreds of great videos on his youtube channel, so check that out as well!
And…
Aikido calls us to do more than just train.
For some of us, simply getting on the mat is where we are right now—and that’s important. But the deeper I’ve gotten into Aikido, the more I’ve felt that it has something to offer beyond the dojo.
That’s the main reason I started this podcast. I love Aikido, and I want to explore more of what positive effects it can have in society.
One of the organizations that has greatly supported this work is Aiki Extensions. They believe in Harmony in Action—that Aikido was meant to help heal a sick world, and that what we practice is much more than a collection of techniques.
If you have an idea or a project that takes aikido principles beyond the mat, Aiki Extensions offers seed grants that can help you get your project off the ground. I highly recommend reaching out. You can find them at www.aikiextensions.org/seed-grants.
Learn more, get connected, and build your Aiki project.
Also, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. It would help a lot!
Get full access to Ki to the City at kitothecity.substack.com/subscribe
