The Calmness

Having focused a great deal of meditation upon the concept of the void and its implementation in combat (and daily life), I have come to understand the Void mind as having no parts, but a few phases which might be described not as levels of intensity but levels of completion. Since the void is emptiness, it can not be intensified; however, it can be incompletely empty at times. I have come to call one of these more easily achieved incomplete states ‘the calmness’.
This void form is one that can be easily sustained with regular practice and is essentially the antithesis to panic. Panic is the state just before total shock, just as the calmness is the state preceding ascension to the void. This is not to be confused with the void of Buddhism, which is believed to be a state of inner peace. This is a state of total intent, so much so that one is no longer thinking about the purpose, the purpose becomes his state of being – the pursuit of the end goal is what the person then embodies.
Perhaps to the casual reader, this whole matter seems a bit extreme; however, most people in this modern age can testify to a past experience wherein they were forced to focus their mind in order to make their body perform. Cross-country runners are very familiar with this concept.
I have found that the calmness is a part of the look and the posture of the swordsman. It is a focused readiness that is a lesser version of the focus in the heat of a conflict. The calmness allows one to maintain their martial discipline constantly, without merely depending upon their trained reactions. As one becomes more powerful, one must pull away from a dependency upon reactions, as it will become increasingly more dangerous to the rest of the world.
The calmness offsets this. It allows the swordsman to see the world objectively and to watch a situation unfold as if in slow motion. Since it is not so intense as the void, it is more easily maintained and allows the practitioner the glide through his daily life as if he were watching it in a movie. It removes things like stress and boredom from the mind and allows for successive completion of one’s mundane daily tasks.
I have noticed, however, that this state is difficult to maintain in unbroken continuity all day long. It is easy to be distracted or irritated by certain stimuli, but this is resolved through practice.
As I continue to study the void mind, I will continue to take notes. This seems like a key to the resolution of apprehension and that which causes a would-be hero to hesitate. It is also the way to stay one’s hand against harmless adversaries, and stifle things like rage and fear, which can corrupt the mind during combat.