Grow into reconciliation

Warning: New words (neologisms) were used during the creation of this post!

Did you ever get interested in the origins of words? If we take re-concile it clearly seems to refer to the repetition of something (the prefix ‘re‘) or doing something again. So what then would ‘concile’ mean? It’s origin ‘concilium’ in latin is an assembly or a gathering… so we can say at the very least that to reconcile is to ‘regather’ a group (or a couple) of people that had previously been gathered in some way. Yes – separated at some stage of course – but it’s important to recognize that they were initially gathered, or together. So reconciliation would be the process of bringing these people back together…

Do you believe that we are one? Part of a whole? Indeed when we search for differences we will find them, but we can choose to embrace these differences or not. We can remember or not what we have in common (which greatly exceeds our differences!). One of the major aspects of reconciling is merely focusing on these commonalities and differences in a constructive sequence.

In fact, just bringing two ‘unconciled’ or ‘disconciled’ parties physically together (in the same place) is literally reconciling them! Reconciliation Process smThen, when together, if they can retrace their common roots, explore their differences (needs, perspectives, motivations etc.)  and then genuinely and openly search for mutually beneficial directions… this group or couple will veritably be in a reconciling process.

When we become conscious of the choices available to us, we often observe that we can decide to enter or not into a conflict…It really does “take two…” because conflict is literally ‘striking together’, just like inflict is ‘striking into’ and afflict is ‘getting struck’.

The choices of both physical and Verbal Aikido enable us to embrace the strikes, explore directions, and transform them into pacified outcomes. In fact this Aikido approach/philosophy follows the same steps necessary for reconciliation – embrace, explore and ‘exflict’ (i.e. come out of striking). The philosophy throughout Aikido upholds the clear intentions of:

  1. Receiving the ‘strike’ without being in ‘conflict’ or striking together (i.e. seeing it as an invitation to dance – check out the Inner Smile)
  2. Understanding the direction of the ‘striker’ by following their movement (e.g. the Irimi  movement of ‘entering’ or bringing your center closer to the other’s)
  3. Leading or being implicated in bringing the outcome to a balanced or pacified state for all involved (see Aiki or ‘balanced energy’)

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Grow into reconciliation