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How to be Calm like a Samurai

The Japanese samurai were part of an elite warrior class in ancient Japan, which emphasised sharpening “the inner sword” as much as their personal weapon. It was their inner strength that would allow them to overcome impossible situations. T Researching the mindset of a Samurai is very interesting. Inner peace & being calm is what creates these famous warriors. There is big value of being able to be calm – but in the same way, it is also one of the hardest things to master. Benefits of a calm mindset is that you think clearly & you don’t make rash decisions.The samurai had answers on how to get into this state of mindset.

For warriors in particular, if you calm your own mind and discern the inner minds of others, that may be called the foremost art of war.

Shiba Yoshimasa

Shiba Yoshimasa (1350 – 1410) was a famous Samurai leader, Japanese general & Administrator during the Muromachi period.

white and black concrete building
Photo by Lucas Calloch on Unsplash

Accepting a thought, staying with the though, digesting the thought. The samurai is one of the greatest warriors. They trained in martial arts a lot and they thought about death a lot. Because of being a warrior you know how bad the future could look, and you train for life or death. Research shows that training very hard and imagining the worst that could happen are two powerful techniques for promoting calm. One who is supposed to be a warrior considers it his foremost concern to keep death in mind at all times, every day and every night, from the morning of New Year’s Day through the night of New Year’s Eve. Samurais trained relentlessly. They strongly believed you should always “be prepared” – and it keep their mind focused. Preparation reduces fear because when things get tense, you don’t have to think because your adrenaline and instincts will take over.

Study hard and all things can be accomplished. Give up, and you will amount to nothing.

Yamaoka Tesshu

Yamaoka Tesshu (1836 – 1888) is a famous samurai of the Bakumatsu period, who played an important role in the Meiji Restoration. He is also noted as the founder of the Itto Shoden Muto-ryu school of swordsmanship.

It is weird. How can being in the thought of death calm you down. Most people would actually argue that it would stress them more. Actually, “Negative Visualisation” is one of the main tools of ancient mental preparation and science backs it up. It may be hard to describe, but thinking about just how awful things can be often has the ironic effect of making you realise they’re not that bad. Here is the tricky part, “Negative Visualisation” only works if you also can be or convince yourself that you are in control of your own life and future. How to feel in control? Be prepared, have discipline and have a life purpose. I was common that a Samurai would carry a good luck charm to get help to have a feeling of luck & control.

I choose to live by choice, not by chance.

Miyamoto Musashi

Miyamoto Musashi (1584 – 1645) was a famous samurai, swordsman, philosopher, strategist and writer. He became renowned through stories of his unique double-bladed swordsmanship and undefeated record in his 61 duels. He is considered a Kensei, a sword-saint of Japan. He was the founder of the Niten Ichi-ryū, style of swordsmanship, and in his final years authored The Book of Five Rings.


https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/02/samurai/

https://alexgoik.medium.com/how-to-cultivate-a-samurai-mentality-for-the-modern-era-4cc356fa46da