A terrible thing has happened to the Spirit of the Indo-European people, particularly in its Anglo-American expression. 

Its seeds were planted centuries ago, and have steadily and bitterly been bearing its fruit in the last century. 

It began with Rene Descartes in the 1600s, and it poisons us today.

That terrible thing is the idea of division between Mind and Body, Form and Matter. 

EXHAUSTION AND ABANDONMENT 

This idea of division between Mind and Body, Form and Matter, invisibly drives people to disjointed and unfulfilled existences. It causes Spiritual chaos and confusion that is visibly destroying so many people’s bodies and souls today.

Mistakenly, many people believe that this terrible Mind-Body Division idea is the exclusive belief system of the Indo-European people throughout all of time…particularly of its Spiritual and Warrior Caste.

So much so that in common vernacular, this terrible Mind-Body Division idea is referred to as “Western”, while the idea of a Holistic Mind-Body Connection is referred to as “Eastern”!

This is a sad and terrible thing and is a great Dishonor to us. 

HOW WE LOST OUR WAY

The truth is, a Holistic Mind-Body Connection, particularly encompassing the Warrior Caste, has been the central part of our story in the Indo-European West. 

But somewhere along the way, we got lost. 

Britain’s exhaustion after WWI led them to abandon this homegrown Holistic Mind-Body Connection. And the same happened after America’s exhaustion from the Vietnam War. 

Because we have abandoned this homegrown Holistic Mind-Body Connection, we have almost utterly forgotten that it exists. 

And yet there is hope. 

The truth is, Nature abhors a Vacuum. 

And from far-flung foreign shores, friends and foes alike from the East have preserved the Cause-and-Effect responses of how a Holistic Mind-Body Connection works in a detailed way. 

KNIGHTS AND COWBOYS IN THE JUNGLE

Indian Yoga flooded into Britain after WWI, and Asiatic Martial Arts flooded into America after Vietnam. 

It is interesting to note that as each of these foreign modalities entered into the West, they were brought forth by Heroic Strongmen of the old Indo-European Traditions…a Pulp Fiction connection indeed!

Sir John Woodroffe, who brought Kundalini Yoga to the West, was a British Colonial Administrator in India who took up the practice after being psychically attacked by an Indian insurgent. He was also a mentor and close friend to the legendary Indo-European Scholar Julius Evola! 

He combined the practice with imagery from the King Arthur & the Knights of the Round Table Mythology, in a tradition later made famous in esoteric circles by the likes of Dion Fortune and Gareth Knight, ultimately taking the Esoteric nom-de-guerre, Arthur Avalon.  

Chuck Norris, as archetypal embodiment of Asiatic Martial Arts in the West, was of Irish and Cherokee descent, an Air Force Veteran, and brother to a 101st Airborne Division Hero slain by Communists in Vietnam. 

From the start, Chuck Norris Cowboys and Indians Mythology into his Asiatic Martial Arts practice, portraying GI Heroes in films like the Vietnam War epic Missing in Action and Good Guys Wear Black, and Cowboy Stars in classics like Lone Wolf McQuade and Walker Texas Ranger.

In these depictions and more, Chuck Norris embodied the best Spirituality of the old Cowboy Creeds with the body-basis of Asiatic Martial Arts that so captured the American Imagination in the 1970s, 80s, and early 90s. 

MEANS AND ENDS 

It is in the Spirit of Arthur Avalon and Chuck Norris that I examine the Esoteric Body Practices of the Orient…and return them to their Indo-European Warrior Caste Roots. 

In doing so, we can use the detailed Cause-and-Effect logic of Holistic Mind-Body Connection systems preserved in the East, and connect them back to our Knights and Cowboys Mythological Imagery and Confrontational Combat Practices. 

This is very vital to do…because a divide between West and East does indeed exist. But not in the way people think. 

This divide is not split along the lines of not Mind-Body Division vs. Holism as is commonly thought. 

Both West and East are truly Holistic at its source, and their Holistic Means are the same. Only the West has forgotten the Body practice element that makes up the Holistic Means, while in the East they have been preserved.

This is something but Arthur Avalon and Chuck Norris alike understood. 

And in their learned wisdom, they also understood that it is the Ends for which the Means are enacted that differ greatly from West to East.

And if we ourselves do not understand the difference in Ends between the West and East in which Holistic Body-based Means are employed, then we are like the man groping in the dark, not even knowing there exists light

And as Jesus Christ Himself said: 

“How dark that darkness must be.”

EAST IS EAST AND WEST IS WEST

In his book, Ninja Fighting Techniques, author Stephen K. Hayes lays out 5 different conceptual strategies for striking and grappling, based off of the 5 elements of Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and a fifth he calls Void.

The techniques displayed are over-exaggerated as is common in the Asian Fighting styles, but it is not the techniques of interest to us. It is the big picture Strategic concepts, and their symbolic connection to Indo-European Spirituality. 

Hayes himself recognizes this connection: “Knowledge of the significance of the five elements goes back to the Indian Vedic lore…the five elements classification also found its way westward, and can be seen in Greek and European counterparts,” he writes.[1]  

However, in the Asiatic Tradition, he places more emphasis on their expressions in “Buddhist secret teachings, and then Japanese Shugendo mountain asceticism and Mikkyo esoteric Japanese Buddhist interpretations.”[2] 

The differences in the Indo-European Interpretation and the Asiatic Interpretation in the 5 Elements becomes clear when we examine Aristotle’s definition vs. the go-dai definition used by Hayes.

Earth, Water, Air, and Fire are all pretty straight forward…It’s when we get to the Fifth element where we see divergence. 

Aristotle and the Greeks define the Fifth Element as Aether, denoting that they are the Forms that influence Matter, placing an emphasis on Order, Celestial Light, and Circular Motion. It is often translated into Spirit.

Meanwhile, go-dai defines the Fifth Element as “Void”, emphasizing formlessness, nothingness, Chaos. Hayes writes, “Ku (void) is that unseen quality that supports all the other elements. The spaces in the body, or spaces between objects or outer space are examples. This is related to changing dynamics of a fight, thereby confusing your attacker.”[3] 

SIR GAWAIN AND THE NINJA

It is interesting to note that the way each people group defines the highest Element reflects their belief system: the Indo-Europeans emphasize Form and Order, whereas the Asiatics emphasize Chaos and Formlessness. 

This reflects the Mythology of the Eagle and the Snake of the two peoples. 

This interesting fact shows that while there is much similarity between the beliefs underpinning both the West and the East, there are crucial and important differences. 

We must be aware of these underpinnings when we are exploring the Cause-and-Effect responses of how a Holistic Mind-Body Connection is preserved in Eastern Systems. 

Contrary to New Age thought (and even some brands of Traditionalism), not all Spiritual belief systems are interchangeable. They are not the same thing with a different veneer in a happy go-lucky, kumbaya festival of hugs. 

When the Knight of the Round Table Sir Gawain carries the Five Pointed Star on his Shield emphasizing the Five Elements, he is portraying a very different ethos than the black-clad one who bears the Ninja Star. 

Heck, Sir Gawain fights up front and Confrontational. The Ninja is as Predatory as it gets! 

The implications don’t end there, however…

SCIENCE AND THE FOG OF WAR

It is interesting to note that the go-dai definition of Ku as Void is more closely associated with Clauzewitz’ “Fog of War” concept than Aether as Celestial Form and Order in the Indo-European Tradition. 

In addition to this, the Scientific ramifications of such an interpretation are interesting: Hayes writes:

 “The very middle of the other four quadrants of physical elements is known as ku. Difficult to define outside its Eastern context, this is best described as the ‘great emptiness of formless potential’ [his emphasis]. 

“Originally translated by Western scholars as ‘ethereal substance’, this empty or void of specific form energy is today best represented by the concept of sub-atomic structure. Invisible bits of energy form atoms, which then combine to form the molecules that give base to the entire range of material things.”[4] 

ORDER AND CHAOS

It is interesting to note that if we define the Fifth Element as formless void and venerate it as such, we see Chaos as the foundation for all things in Creation, at the sub-atomic level. 

But if we define the Fifth Element as Celestial Form, an Archetype if you will, and venerate it as such, we see Order as the foundation for all things in Creation, at the sub-atomic level. 

It is also interesting to note that the Indo-European Ancient Greeks defined Aether not only scientifically, but Archetypally as well in Image form, naming it after the god of bright sky light, a symbol of beauty and strength. A far-cry from voidless nothingness. High Flying Solarian Eagle Cult indeed!

And as a follow up, Aether’s brother is the god Chaos incarnate himself! The fact that the Asiatic East venerates Chaos as the Fifth Element while the Indo-European people of the West venerates Form-based Aether speaks volumes. 

Esoterically, this is a split similar to the Judeo-Christian vs. Islam schism that goes back to the Old Testament. The Judeo-Christian tradition holds that Isaac is the heir to God’s blessings, while Islam holds that his half-brother Ishmael is the heir to God’s blessings. 

Contrary to popular New Age Syncretism, the Asiatic Eastern Tradition is not the same as the Western Tradition of the Indo-European peoples. While they share many similarities, which we will examine in due time, these similarities do not presuppose that there are no differences.

In fact, the idea that the presence of similarities pre-supposes no differences is probably the most illogical and deadly idea when dealing with any manner of Esotericism…or any other arena of life!  

For while Means may remain the same…the Ends are as disparate as Black and White, Night and Day…

Order and Chaos!

Sincerely,

Richard Barrett

04-06-2024

Written somewhere in the USA at 11:29 AM

SOURCES CITED 

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[1] Hayes, Stephen K. Ninja Fighting Techniques: A Modern Master’s Approach to Self-Defense and Avoiding Conflicts. Tuttle Publishing: Rutland, VT, 2020. Pg. 32. 

[2] Ibid. Pg. 32.

[3] Ibid. Pg. 33.

[4] Ibid. Pg. 36.

[5] Ibid. Pg. 32.