Last weekend, Kyle Ingersoll and I had the opportunity to share with the ZLOTC (Zen Leader Off the Cushion) community — hosted by the Institute for Zen Leadership.
Their facilitation was skillful and balanced: a few quiet minutes of Sitting Meditation (Zazen), followed by conversational centering that grounded the group in shared presence. From that field, genuine connection and curiosity emerged naturally.
We arrived to demonstrate a form that has become foundational at the red level — MetaShift Community Demonstration — where a lead and supporting practitioner bring dojo presence into another community. The intention is simple: to lay down a conceptual mat, share a few core forms, and invite participation through demonstration rather than explanation.
What unfolded during the session was deeply clarifying.
Through the wisdom of the crowd and the live energy of this invitation, we were able to distill and name what had previously been one of our more intuitive, less defined practices: Martial Attitude as a Stance.
It surfaced as our signature form — the practice of staying centered and responsive when intensity, uncertainty, and opportunity converge.
Rather than resist the energy, we align with it.
Rather than protect, we participate.
Rather than control, we cohere.
That clarity emerged through the exchange — through the resonance between two practice lineages meeting in presence. It was not something we taught into existence, but something we recognized together.
This is what makes higher-level dojo practice alive.
We show up with structure, we relax completely, and we allow emergence to teach.
Each time we do, the dojo itself grows clearer, and the Living Library deepens in coherence.
Gratitude to the warm host community for the generosity, skill, and field you hold.
Your practice helped us see our own more fully.
⛩️🌿
⛩️🖥️
