Beginner's Mind of Aikido

In this 2024 conversation with Travis Glen Sebera, Susan Perry, Ph.D., a 6th-degree black belt with nearly 50 years of Aikido practice, shares how the principles of this Japanese art can be applied to everyday life situations. From workplace conflicts to facing our deepest fears, Aikido offers tools for cultivating a solid center and maintaining balance in the face of life's challenges. Perry explains, 'Aikido is an art of transformation and we can become another person. But you want to do that in a deep way so that you're not just putting on a different set of clothes and wearing a smile when you feel like a frown, but you want it to come from the core of who you are.' 

Susan Perry is the author of:


- The Hidden Power of Aikido: Transcending Conflict and Cultivating Inner Peace (Park Street Press, 2024)
- Aikido Talks, Conversations with American Aikidoists (Arete Press, 2001)
- Remembering O-Sensei, Living and training with Morihei Ueshiba (Shambhala Publications, 2002)

Interview Date: 8/23/2024        Tags: Susan Perry, Aikido, conflict resolution, personal transformation, beginner's mind, virtue ethics, Aristotle, Morihei Ueshiba, O-Sensei, martial arts, inner peace, breath work, Japanese philosophy, Personal Transformation, Philosophy, Spirituality