{"id":57325,"date":"2016-08-22T02:26:46","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T06:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/?p=57325"},"modified":"2019-10-29T13:28:38","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T17:28:38","slug":"living-martial-art-bruce-lee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/improvisedlife.com\/2016\/08\/22\/living-martial-art-bruce-lee\/","title":{"rendered":"Living is a Martial Art (Bruce Lee)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The ever-illuminating\u00a0BrainPickings<\/a> recently published exclusive archival images\u00a0from the Bruce Lee Estate<\/a> of the small\u00a0pocket notebooks\u00a0the legendary martial artist<\/a> carried with him everywhere. He wrote down quotes, affirmations, appearances, training, philosophical ideas, even poetry. In an excerpt from his\u00a01968 pocketbook, written shortly before his 28th birthday \u2014four years before his death\u2014 he addressed seven aspects of the self, and created practices and reminders for each to make it a daily habit<\/em>. He seems to have taken\u00a0the “Daily Success Creed<\/a>” of aspirational guru Napoleon Hill <\/a>as a jumping off point for his own practices.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

WILL POWER:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Recognizing that the power of will is the supreme court over all other departments of my mind, I will exercise it daily, when I need the urge to action for any purpose; and I will form HABIT designed to bring the power of my will into action at least once daily.<\/em><\/p>\n

EMOTION:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Realizing that my emotions are both POSITIVE and negative I will form daily HABITS which will encourage the development of the POSITIVE EMOTIONS, and aid me in converting the negative emotions into some form of useful action.<\/em><\/p>\n

REASON: <\/em><\/p>\n

Recognizing that both my positive & negative emotions may be dangerous if they are not controlled and guided to desirable ends, I will submit all my desires, aims and purposes to my faculties of reason, and I will be guided by it in giving expression to these.<\/em><\/p>\n

IMAGINATION:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Recognizing the need for sound PLANS and IDEAS for the attainment of my desires, I will develop my imagination by calling upon it daily for help in the formation of my plans.<\/em><\/p>\n

MEMORY:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Recognizing the value of an alert memory, I will encourage mine to become alert by taking care to impress it clearly with all thoughts I wish to recall, and by associating those thoughts with related subjects which I may call to mind frequently.<\/em><\/p>\n

SUBCONSCIOUS MIND:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Recognizing the influence of my subconscious mind over my power of will, I shall take care to submit to it a clear and definite picture of my CLEAR PURPOSE in life and all minor purposes leading to my major purpose, and I shall keep this picture CONSTANTLY BEFORE my subconscious mind by REPEATING IT DAILY.<\/em><\/p>\n

CONSCIENCE:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Recognizing that my emotions often err in their over-enthusiasm, and my faculty of reason often is without the warmth of feeling that is necessary to enable me to combine justice with mercy in my judgments, I will encourage my conscience to guide me as to what is right & what is wrong, but I will never set aside the verdicts it renders, no matter what may be the cost of carrying them out.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

What interests us most is that Lee practiced like a martial artist in all<\/em> aspects of his life, with daily exercises for both mind and body<\/strong>. That is the true meaning of Kung fu<\/a>. \u00a0He famously said:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Be like water making its way through cracks.<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Do not be assertive,\u00a0but adjust to the object,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\nand you shall find a way through it.
\n<\/em><\/strong>
\nBe water, my friend.<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/blockquote>\n

His notebooks are evidence that even with the greatest mastery\u00a0in one aspect of one’s work or life, practice and reminders to center us on our path is an essential key to living.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Type PRACTICE into the SEARCH box at the top right of this page, and you’ll find a wide array of practices for living.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Sally
Sally Schneider<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Read more from Bruce Lee’s notebooks at\u00a0BrainPickings<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legendary martial artist Bruce Lee always carried a small notebook in which he wrote down quotes, affirmations, appearances, poetry, philosophical ideas and his personal practices for training his mind and spirit NOT just his physical skill. Take a look. <\/p>\nRead More<\/a>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":57330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8360,31,6549,89,5418,780,90],"tags":[9882,342,5900,122,9880,9287,9881,1490],"yoast_head":"\nLiving is a Martial Art (Bruce Lee) - Improvised Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Legendary martial artist Bruce Lee always carried a small notebook in which he wrote down quotes, affirmations, appearances, poetry, philosophical ideas and his personal practices for training his mind and spirit NOT just his physical skill. 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