Ninja Power Move – How Your iPod Can Protect Your Mind
I want to share something with you that might be helpful for protecting you from the worst negative influences in your life – the ones that originate in your own head. See, in ninjutsu, there’s a mental framework we use to describe four classes of responses in the basic self-protection curriculum, based on four archetype elements. There is…
… Earth energy. This is the energy of confidence, standing your ground, neither giving way or seizing gains. You protect as an immoveable barrier to whatever seeks to harm you.
… Water energy. This is the energy of distance and time, the scientist who can coolly and calmly assess a situation, unswayed, and then act accordingly.
… Fire energy. This is the energy of inspiration, creativity, and assertiveness, taking the fight to an attacker before they even get a chance to get going.
… Wind energy. This is the energy of compassion and benevolence, like how you’d handle an aggressively drunk loved one or relative, not harming, but subduing.
Historically, these four qualities have been used in ninjutsu as general maps and guides for effective responses to self protection situations. Sometimes you need to stand your ground, sometimes you need to strategically retreat, sometimes you need to take the fight to the opponent, and sometimes you need to shut things down without doing harm.
These archetypes can be extended to more than just physical confrontation. They’re models and frameworks for handling virtually any kind of daily situation in which you need the hero qualities of confidence, calmness, creativity, or compassion.
You may be saying, okay, that’s all well and good, Chris, but how do I use this?
This is the ninja power move. My teacher’s teacher, Stephen K. Hayes, often speaks on the topics of mantras and motivation, how a mantra not only protects your mind from itself, but also that a mantra is a highly charged, highly powered, highly personal way to instantly change your frame of mind.
There’s something besides esoteric Sanskrit phrases (which work incredibly well) that can do this – the music on your playlist.
Let’s get started. I’ll talk about my personal playlist a bit, but this is something that you’ll have to do for yourself. Your music choices will be totally personalized to you. There are songs from your past that are totally unique from an emotional perspective, whether it’s a song from a first boyfriend or girlfriend date, a song you heard on the radio when someone passed away or when someone was born, a song from a first victory in competition – it’s all from your background. Don’t copy my playlist contents, since I didn’t have your background and experiences.
Start by firing up your music player of choice. I use iTunes, so I’ll make reference to iTunes from here out, but you can do this with any media player.
Set up four playlists. Earth, Water, Fire, Wind. For each of these, I want you to pick three songs from your playlist, of relatively short duration, relatively medium duration, and relatively long duration.
In the Earth playlist, comb through your own experiences, backgrounds, favorites, and preferred tunes from your present and past that emphasize the qualities of unshakeable confidence, mountain-like invincibility, command like a general, and complete lack of worry about whatever opposes you. Personally, I love John Ottman’s Superman Returns, Ronan Hardiman’s Warriors, and Kelly Clarkson’s Break Away. For me, the archetype hero who can’t be shaken is Superman. Yeah, there’s all things Kryptonite, but beyond that, good luck steering him off course.
In the Water playlist, comb through your own experiences, backgrounds, favorites, and preferred tunes from your present and past that emphasize the qualities of ocean-like calm, late evening coolness, a sense of necessary detachment, emotional reboot, the comfort that comes from superior knowledge and experience. You’re the scientist or veteran who knows all the tricks, who can step away from a heated situation and bring insight. Personally, I love the Battle Hymn of the Republic, the Imperial March of Emperor Palpatine, so cold and calculating, and the epilogue of Les Miserables.
In the Fire playlist, comb through your own experiences, backgrounds, favorites, and preferred tunes from your present and past that emphasize the qualities of amazing creativity, passionate inspiration, engagement, unstoppable momentum towards your goals, the kind of music that won’t let you sit still, that will kick you in the butt if your momentum flags. Personally, I love Eminem’s Lose Yourself, Journey’s Faithfully, Black Lab’s Mine Again.
In the Wind playlist, comb through your own experiences, backgrounds, favorites, and preferred tunes from your present and past that emphasize the qualities of compassion, of an eager willingness to make a difference, to lend a hand, to reach out and touch the hearts and souls of the people you care about, to make the world a better place, qualities of kindness, love, and service. Personally, I love Matthew Ebel’s I Will Wait For You, Garry Schyman’s Praan, and Kevin Reeves‘ Shine.
Like I said, these songs are highly personal, and likely will have different meanings to you than they do to me. For example, Journey’s Faithfully is the 2008 edition, and it’s on the Fire list not because of the song’s contents, but because of the backstory of Arnel Pineda and his unlikely rise to fame. Hearing him create music and live his passions and dreams is inspirational not because of the music, but because of how I feel when I recall his story. Your own playlist will have radically different contents than mine, and that’s okay.
Once you’ve figured out the three songs for each of the four lists, make sure they sync to whatever devices play your music, and use them specifically for times when you need the qualities of confidence, calmness, creativity, and compassion. If you’re about to head into a meeting with someone who truly needs a kind word, even if they’re a pain in the ass, load your Wind playlist and listen to one, two, or all three songs to change your mood and mind to what you need to be feeling and thinking. If you’re stuck with writer’s block, blast it away with a dose from your Fire playlist. Need a breather from over focus, a heated debate, or frustration? Wash your troubled feelings away with your Water playlist. Need to stand up for yourself when it’d be more convenient to give way? Command yourself with your Earth playlist.
The songs on your playlists can change over time, too, as you have new experiences and new emotions that map to them. Garry Schyman’s Praan is brand new to my personal Wind playlist, but it brings out in me those qualities that I associate with Wind energy very strongly, so in it goes.
Later on, as you gain more mastery of your emotions and mind, these playlists will change roles, but that’s another story entirely. For now, load up your iPod, create your personal mantras of protection and power as playlists, and change your mind when you need it most using the power of your own music.
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