The Bigger Picture

I have been involved in the martial arts in one way or another since I way six years old but only really got into it seriously when I was in sixth-form about 16 years old. I started at this time with Tai Chi Chuan as I had previously been interested and involved in very 'hard' martial arts (karate and wing chun).

This in itself changed my life, it opened up to me two major areas, firstly that the best martial arts don't use strength and further to this those martial arts when done by experts rely heavily on Chi, life force, Mana, Prana or whatever you want to call it. Secondly this fed into a whole world of esoteric thought. The weird and the wonderful. The main danger of the latter is that there are so many charlatans and false prophets out there preaching very outrageous doctrines.

I used the martial arts and my growing knowledge of chi to help me to sort out the good from the bad as my journey continued. It was my reference point.  I now understand where I’m going a lot better having got to a point where my interests and studies have come together - that point was really the Silva Method.

My interest in martial arts and healing naturally led me to study Shamanic traditions. These were age-old methods of transformation and healing using a variety of techniques but essentially based on the vitality of the body and it’s use to heal and on the role that a gifted individual could play in a small community.

I say gifted simply because that would be how the individuals would be chosen but in fact many of the techniques can be employed by anyone who has the capacity to embrace them, anyone who comes to study them has already made this essential leap of faith, which for me was more like a hop.

I have studied and read about many such systems in this area - Mongolian, Taoist, Hawaiian, Celtic, Norse, Native American and more. I have come to realize that I feel I have been passed little or no culture as these inherited healing methods are really seeped in traditions, the Silva Method however, has really worked for me because it has no obvious cultural influences or cultural studies integral to it’s understanding.

It does however share a lot of the basic teachings with these cultures, working with dreams and the minds natural intuitive abilities.  Western Shamanism if you like. What this has meant to me is that it has gotten down to the basics of what I have studied and shown me the power that links them all and where to go from now on.

I study Shiatsu and have already qualified as a therapist. This is a system of healing using touch and traditional Chinese medical knowledge. The system I study emphasises the natural healing properties of touch and the power of intuition - the same as Silva Method.

I see this as the basis for all healing and for me again works perfectly with Silva Method and together they have a versatility that I can take in any direction. Secondly I study Chi Kung, this is a Chinese system of exercise that emphasises the body's ability to align naturally and heal itself.

For me it is the basis for all exercise and martial arts, it works with relaxation and going with what your body tells you. The system I study also emphasises intuition in responding to attack - again two principles in alignment with the Silva Method but used for martial arts and exercise. So it is clear to me the many of the ideas taught in the Silva Method are central to a variety of aspects of life and indeed to life itself. 

Overall the Silva Method has given me the bigger picture. I now understand a number of things that were previously unclear: the inner workings of the mind; destiny; the minds influence on the body; the mind's very natural power and the interconnectivity of all of us.

Of these the most profound realisation for me was destiny. It was the most profound because it is only really something that can be understood from the inside out - there are no spectators. You can’t read about it and it was something none of my training or studies so far had touched on.

The first thing that happened was premonition dreams I have always had since I was young, that many people have, the glimpses of the future, got longer and more vivid. This was what made me first think about destiny.

I now only get these glimpses when I’m on my correct path so I know when I haven't had one for a while something needs to change. But mostly destiny is very low maintenance I have found. That's why it is called destiny. It just needs tweaking every now and then. Mine however includes daily training – my bad luck.

The main thing about destiny is that it has nothing to do with other people. This means if you only do things because it is what other people want you may miss the point. I say 'may' because their desires may coincide with your destiny or they may have some level of insight themselves.

The Silva Method has mostly simply lubricated the machinery in the parts of my brain that allow me to KNOW what is best and act correctly. It also however has given me so many tools for making decisions.

These methods allow me to make decisions in such a way that they tap into wisdom that I never thought I had. In fact many people see it as a higher power giving you the answer, whilst this is true it is just as much you wisdom as facts you memorize for a test or assessment it is just accessed differently and available to everyone.

These answers help to keep me on my right path. In Buddhist tradition one of the reasons you pray is that every decision you make has so many effects that there is no way of knowing whether even the noblest of actions will have more negative effect than positive.

I can't help but think of the poor butterfly that is only flapping its wings but is causing a hurricane on the other side of the world. So Buddhists recommend having a good intention so you can reap the karma and praying so that anyone/thing that's listening can help to ensure that the overall effect on the world is a good one.

Similar to this the Silva Method cannot be used to harm. I have made decisions, sometimes using specific exercises and sometimes just with my newly attuned brain, that have seemed to take me down a blind alley in one respect only to find that a new career opportunity or area of study opened up to me.

I have found a job that for pays well, and has enabled me to complete a number of distances learning courses as well afford to read a truly huge volume of books. I have also met a wonderful woman whilst doing this job with whom I am very happy having come from a history of not having any healthy or particularly long-term relationships.

The Silva Method has helped me see how my life panned out and how it may pan out. Since graduating from this Silva Method I have found that more and more of the things I share with my girlfriend I have seen before in my dreams.

In a nutshell, what I try to say when singing the praises of the Silva Method and its manifold influences is that I can say since starting it, my memory has improved, I have met the woman of my dreams (literally), I have gained three new qualifications, I have received a promotion and two new job roles, I have been a finalist in a poetry competition and I have surrounded myself with only people I love and can truly call friends.

Lastly and most importantly I feel I have a level of control over the uncontrollable I can speak with assurance about who I am and where I am going even if I don't know the exact route. I don't know a single 21 who can say the same thing.

(c) Trevor Hudson MGCP MSAC SMRSS CPS Dip. CK
For any feed back, please email trevor hudson_trevor@tiscali.co.uk