A Phenomenological Study of the Experience of Cultivating Love for All Beings in the Practice of Aikido

Aikido is a martial art based on a philosophy of nonviolent conflict resolution and of seeking to create harmony by extending love and protection to all beings. How some Aikido practitioners experience love for all beings was the central question explored with three participants from the San Francisco Bay area. Each participant had practiced Aikido for at least 29 years. The thesis research included a review of literature on Aikido, Shinto, Shingon Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Omotokyo, and universal love. Data were obtained through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. As determined through using Giorgi's (1985) descriptive phenomenological method, essential constituents of the participants' experiences of love for all beings included energy awareness, physical movements, and intentional embodiment of Aikido principles. The participants experienced a transformation that brought about a perceptual shift in which they ceased perceiving of themselves as separate entities and began seeing themselves and all beings as interconnected flows of energy.