On this episode, I had the honor of sitting down with Sam Zeitlin, a remarkable thinker and Aikidoka whose life-path exemplifies the very synthesis many of us are seeking.
Sam has cultivated a fascinating, multidisciplinary practice that defies easy categorization…
She’s been practicing Aikido since 2010 in the enchanted Bay Area, mostly at City Aikido with Robert Nadeau Sensei. Simultaneously, Sam holds a PhD in cellular and molecular structure and chemistry, having spent two decades working in hard science—cell biology and cancer research, before transitioning to “tech”.
She also maintains a deep and extensive yoga practice, a path found while rehabilitating from old injuries, guided by the principle of ahimsa (do no harm to others… or yourself).
And she sings!
It’s quite amazing how the methodical world of the research lab, the quiet, inward path of yoga, and the dynamic, connective practice of Aikido—sync up masterfully into a cohesive philosophy.
There was so much to talk about, we didn’t even get to talk about music!
Sam eloquently describes how she views all these seemingly disparate fields as mutually reinforcing. For example; the commitment to falling down and getting up over and over again at the dojo almost perfectly correlates to her scientific experiment experience, where failure is literally the key to success.
(sorry I couldn’t resist writing “experiment experience”)
Ideally, the most profound breakthroughs in science require a beginner’s mind, the Socratic willingness to admit “we know nothing” and to keep searching for first principles. This combination of prudence and intellectual rigor is what makes Sam’s perspective so refreshing.
Her pursuit of a more open, fluid, and centered self—one she cultivated under the spiritual, energetic instruction of Robert Nadeau Sensei—leads to the episode’s most mind-bending discussion—a conversation that will change your relationship with physics. (Sorry, I shouldn’t assume I know anything about your relationship with physics, you might have figured all this out already. I know mine’s pretty complicated.)
While she humbly attributes the undertaking of this study (time manipulation) to her teachers, she adroitly describes the dimensional shift in consciousness achieved through the practice of Jiyu Waza. (I know it probably doesn’t need to be capitalized, but I think it’s important enough to warrant it)
It’s the ability to process and handle incoming force and energy, to slow the moment down within yourself, giving you freer space to feel where things are going.
It’s the entering into a mind-state that allows the nervous system to circumvent the instant panic of ‘fight-or-flight’.
Caught up in the oftentimes tumultuous current of “world events”, this ability to slow it all down is, quite frankly, a superpower.
In retrospect (if you listen to the episode you’ll get it) I want to retract what I said I want my superpower to be. I want to change it to the above.
Sam is one of the rare people who can seamlessly apply the geometrical and philosophical analogy of the circle and the line to the particle and the wave—and then bring it back to how we should interact with each other during stressful moments.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the episode, we didn’t get to talk as much as I wanted to about her brilliant writing, but I’m sure you’ll love it. Please do check it out here: Sam’s Blog
Thanks for listening!
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