For untold millenia of human history, power was defined by the ability to move goods, services, and people. Great monuments of power, such as the pyramids of Egypt, were structural in nature and accomplished by many thousands of able hands. The power of the body, in individual and collective form, was supreme.

Recent centuries saw the transition away from structural and material power toward knowledge as the key to greatness. Such inventions as organized agriculture, gunpowder, and literacy opened up totally new ways of solving problems. Greatness was enabled by a new group of people, scholars and scientists, who could spend their lives learning more about how the world works. Greatness was acknowledged by inventions that would have been impossible without understanding - electricity, the airplane, and even spaceflight. The power of the mind, in individual and collective form, was supreme.

Now we have come to a time of unparalleled knowledge, and also unparalleled access to knowledge. Just as the ability to move a heavy rock or tree is now unremarkable - anyone can acquire the equipment to do it - the ability to know the most detailed information is becoming unremarkable. One can Google for the structure of the human genome, the design of a nuclear weapon, or the location of any business or person.

On top of the flood of knowledge is a collection of "information behaviors" that seem, at times, confusing, trivial, and even dangerous to our social fabric. We know these information behaviors as texting, social networking, instant messaging, on-line gaming, Twitter, etc. At first we thought these things were tools to be used for an existing purpose, like marketing a business. We also thought maybe they were fads or hobbies, like the yo-yo.

Many of us can sense that something else is happening, however. Information behaviors define relationships, and although the tools and behaviors involved change frequently, there is something consistent across it all.

Welcome to the Identity Age. Information behaviors are now the substrate for identity-defining activities. The new form of power is the ability to form identity relationships with others, leverage the identity bond for a purpose, and then dissipate with little to no residue. People are developing the skill to create, enjoy, and destroy identities quickly enough that identity itself becomes a tool instead of an attribute.

Watch for it to verify it. Why would people bother to be a "Fan" of something on Facebook? Why would people loudly declare their sexual preferences, giving up their own privacy? Why would people choose to radically polarize politics, paralyzing the process? It is to assert identity, to bond with others and participate in a common momentum of change at a scope beyond structural power ("doing it") and knowledge ("knowing it"). Identity is the power of being it.

Our ninja lineage has much to say about identity fluidity. In fact, much of the reason the ninja were reviled in their time is because identity fluidity was so alien and disorienting in their time. That time is coming into the mainstream now, and the ninja has centuries of practice in how to do it.

It is also true that just as the weak were dominated in the age of material power, and the uneducated were dominated in the age of knowledge, those with rigid identities, or those unaware of their own identity-forming process, will be dominated by those who can change their connections and harmony at will.

Is it losing the self and dissolving society to develop such powers? It could be, without a solid core of ethics. Witness the ever-eroding sanctity of commitment-based relationships in business, personal, and even family lives. We need the ninja lineage now more than ever to help us understand and embrace the identity power of our time, while keeping ourselves grounded in ethics and deeper truth.

There will be chaos beyond the power of strength and intelligence; in the Identity Age, align yourself with those who know how to be.

My teacher, An-Shu Stephen K. Hayes, wrote today on his blog about the ancient metaphor of the mandala, which helps us view four kinds of power in life and four roles you can play as you build your personal legend. Go read his blog,, then come back here.

In the sacred mandala, each of the four gates of the fortress are guarded by a single powerful protector character. That character is a symbol of our own potential to manifest in that form. An-Shu Hayes gives examples in the running of a professional martial arts school.

The protectors in the mandala are assisted by many attendants who take on tasks in the service of the greater vision. The attendants and helpers surround the main character and provide support because they so believe in the big vision. The main protector in turn serves the attendants by providing inspiration and a source of power.

In a professional martial arts school, these helpers are the students. Just as we have roles we play as owners of the dojo, our students naturally support us according to their interests and talents. Extending An-Shu's four roles...

1.) Cultural helpers assist the Whip-cracker by guarding the standards of behavior in the dojo. They politely insist that all students do their best to show up on time, in clean uniforms, and with good attitudes. By role-modeling correct martial arts student behavior, and occasionally making an appropriate private comment to other students, they maintain the professional atmosphere of the school from the student perspective. These senior students are invaluable in letting the Whip-cracker focus on bigger policy and business issues than policing students.

2.) Coaching helpers assist the Warrior by getting out on the mat as perfect uke, momentum building cheerleaders, and energy-raising advocates for a powerful, meaningful, and safe To-Shin Do experience. They politely insist that everyone has a good time and learns to the best of their ability. These enthusiastic students are invaluable in allowing the Warrior to display their deepest and most brilliant martial instruction.

3.) Creative helpers assist the Wonderer by contributing new ideas for classes, events, and training opportunities. They politely insist that student voices become a part of the Wonderer's musings, and contribute a fountain of new ideas for the Wonderer to consider. These insightful students are invaluable in keeping the Wonderer in touch with what students want.

4.) Community helpers assist the Welcomer to get the word out, through their contacts in the community and their ability to communicate the benefits of the training from their very personal perspective. They politely insist that all people hear about the incredible community that they enjoy. These connected students are invaluable in helping the Welcomer access new audiences and maintain the energy and momentum needed to bring new students in.

Sure, the four main characters can operate a dojo without the four attendants, but their time is split in that case between day-to-day concerns and the larger strategic battles. Assistants free up the heroic central figure to focus on the tasks that they are uniquely talented to perform. The attendants or helpers enjoy their contribution, and all benefit from the right person in the right role.

If you are looking for martial arts gear this holiday season, it is important to know you are buying from a reputable retailer. Those of us in martial arts know how difficult this is, especially on the internet. I'm not sure why it's such a pervasive problem but it's too big for me to fix.
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Mary Aitoshi

We're getting ready to head out to the Evocation weekend in Dayton, where we will study some more of the depth mind science teachings of our ninja lineage. Whenever I prepare for a trip like this, I recall that the person who comes home in a few days is a different one than the person who departs tomorrow. These teachings really change you. I've actually put a couple of major decisions in my life on hold just for a few days, knowing that the man who returns Monday is a better man, a more intelligent, fulfilled, and connected man who knows his purpose with that much more clarity. I vote for that guy to make those important decisions.

A few of my students are traveling with Mary and I. They'll change too, and our relationships will change. It can't be helped - once we are all there together at such a powerful event, reflecting on our place in the universe together, we are changed individually and collectively. A couple of my students asked me what the seminar content will involve. Although I have been studying with An-Shu Hayes for over a decade, I have little idea what the content will be, and it really doesn't matter. The content is just the form through which the lineage transmits millenia-old wisdom. My direct teacher draws his wisdom from such legends as the 32nd grandmaster of Japanese ninjutsu and the god-king of Tibet. Those living legends draw from legends of history, back into a past so deep that the details are forgotten.

All of that wisdom comes to those of us who are able to be there. There's no way around it. There is no substitute for being there. It's not particularly fair that it works that way - certainly some who should be there, who deserve to be there, have some logistical issue that prevents it. Some may be there who haven't done much to qualify themselves, or who don't know the significance. It doesn't matter - all who are there will be blessed by the insights and connections, and all who are not there won't be.

That stark reality has led me to try to have enough control over my lifestyle - time, money, friends, obligations - to be able to be there consistently. It's hard. I keep working at it.

Meanwhile, we built the Boulder Quest Center to make the world a little more fair, to give the people of Colorado easier access to this incredible lineage where millenia of history pour into the soul to make an individual and the world a better place. We also built it so that we would have a community of friends who could process and study these amazing powers together.

If you can get to Dayton (or Japan, or Tibet), more power to you. In any event, come to the dojo in your town. It's not fair, but the truth is, the magic only happens for those who can be there. Be there.

I'm starting my morning by thinking about cool things that are happening today, and one of them is the black belt class I get to teach and train in. I am so happy that our dojo is at the stage where we have black belt students. I love teaching all students, but there is a special place in my heart for the secrets I can share with black belts, and of course, they make great uke for my own training.

They say black belt is the beginning, but the beginning of what? Obviously, it really is not the beginning of what most would call martial arts training. My teacher Stephen K. Hayes talks about black belt as the beginning of personalized training.

To me that means that where I teach my colored belt students moves, I teach my black belts ideals. Although there is certainly character development and personal growth on the way to black belt, training after that becomes intensely personal. The way forward becomes increasingly related to that person's body, personality, and desires in life. The path is how to become a heroic person, an even better version of oneself.

Isn't that cool, that our lineage delivers us to heroic accomplishment and character? And yet demands that we stay true to our deepest self? That deepest hero is revealed through advanced To-Shin training. I'm amazed, privileged, and thrilled to participate in and lead training at this level. Looking forward to 5:15 pm today!