3 large plungers

Today I found 3 large toilet plungers in the Aiki House. I was eating my breakfast and drinking a cup of tea whilst watching an old lecture about Zen by Alan Watts. One of my favorite authors and philosophers.

At the moment he said "you will be made a kind of janitor around the house". I paused the tape jumped up and started cleaning, seriously cleaning. I started with the daily chores, sweep the floor, do the dishes etc.. Soon I had moved onto the serious stuff. I started with the little washing room out the back.

To be honest, and not meaning any disrespect to any previous deshi, it seemed like a part of the house nobody wanted or felt needed to be cleaned (I know I didn't clean it when I was last here). It was quite a state, empty bottles, used rags, plastic bags disintegrating in my hands when I went to pick them up, dust and filth, cobwebs, rotting things.

Nemoto Sensei generally leaves deshi to their own devices, as long as you don't keep him waiting, keep the communal areas orderly and clean, it's all good. I always have in the back of my mind that Sensei may turn up at any moment, and I am in a constant state of semi-anxiety.

Oh yeah the plungers. Whilst cleaning out the laundry room I found, not 1, not 2 but three large plungers !! There is only one toilet !

"All the creatures of the world - insects, fish, birds, animals - have means of dealing with impurities. In this manner, each and every human is entrusted with the divine mission to purge the environment of filth and impurities. This is the aim of Aikido. This is what we all pray for. However empty prayers are of no avail. Make that prayer a reality" O'Sensei.

It follows then that the Aiki-house should be clean and not filthy, I have therefore made a clear intent to clean Aiki-house to the best of my ability, this is my Misogi. This house, or any house for that matter, to me, symbolizes not only the physical life of the inhabitants but also the metaphysical.

Whilst at Uni in Liverpool, my good friend and house mate Liam was the owner of the house we stayed in. He had severe constipation for a number of weeks, the doctor had told him he must eat something as he was starting to digest his own stomach lining (and pissing blood if I remember correctly).

I can't remember if he asked for my advice, but he got it anyway. "Your drains are blocked, they are putrid". I was referring to the house drains, the drains in the yard had blocked and were overflowing with effluence. "This house and you are karmicly linked, unblock those drains and yours will follow"

I think the man was booked to come around the next day anyway, but sure enough, as soon as the house drains were unblocked within a day or two his were flowing freely.

I don't know why, but I was absolutely convinced with unshakable certainty from the vast void in bottom of my spirit to the tips of my toes, that as soon as the house drains were unblocked his would too. Perhaps Liam picked up on the intensity of my belief and faith, and it had a psychosomatic effect. Or perhaps the two sets of drains were karmicly linked, or maybe a coincidence? A coincidence I was absolutely certain would happen.

I have included a little clip of the Video I was watching, it's quite funny and quite relevant to the training. Haven't had Nemoto Sensei jump out at me, or wack me with his shinai though.



Skip to 2 mins to watch the bit I am talking about.