I’ve finally gotten one over resistance! I apologise for the lengthy delay on this most recent edition of the 9x, there is no excuse, but it’s quite apt given today’s topic: The Ronin State of Mind. I was recently asked: “What is this Ronin State of Mind?” And it got me thinking, how can I define this verbiage in a manner of succinctness and spirit?

To get some sort of clarity on this, we have to go back to why I began to adopt the term ‘Ronin’… I guess it was spawned after a solo trip to London last year; off the cuff, I took the plunge to go to London to see Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny perform live in London. I made the voyage by myself, and honestly, it turned out to be one of the funnest 24 hours of my life! From the concert itself, the fellow fans I met and connected with; hell, I even went out and enjoyed some North London nightlife too! It was an affirmation that, I could go and do things by myself, taking my own tool-set out in to the wilderness, and not just surviving, but flourishing in meeting, and networking with people. I think it was on the train coming back home the following day that in my sleep depraved state that I conceived that this particular foray made me feel like a wanderer (see Episode 2 for a more in-depth explanation over the nuances concerning the term ‘’Ronin’). As I began to elaborate on this sudden epiphany, I started to think of: my personality, my character traits, my interests, my life and how I live it, my relationships, my view of the world and how I act upon it; and it led me to think; I am somewhat of a weirdo, let’s face it! But I realise also, that amongst the people I am most exposed to in person; I live predominantly in my head, and as your external reality is a reflection of your internal machinations, I wanted to create a standard of values, traits, an attitude, a mind state; the #RoninStateOfMind.

As the title implies, this is an introduction to the Ronin State of Mind, and this is certainly not the definitive compilation on the subject; to the contrary, there will be many more volumes to add to this leaving and breathing body of work! The more ‘successful’ people, if you will, that I hear and read the words of, the more elite level sport that I continue to watch, it only reinforces the notion that mind-state is critical to ones navigation through life. Controlling the internal dialogue we have daily, becoming aware, and evoking, the reticular activating system (RAS), aligning our thoughts with our actions, helping and providing for others, cultivating ‘world championship’ habits and routines (another topic I will explore at a later date), callousing your mind with hard-work, understanding our relationship with all of the aspects ourselves, controlling what we consume, being creative, inspiring through actions, understanding our need for pain, being authentic, sincere, and kind; being the best version of yourself always! These are just some of the elements of what I have conveniently brought together as the Ronin State of Mind RSOM. Like the warriors of our past, there was a balance of poetry, introspection, stoicism, coming to terms with their mortality, and a spirituality that came with it. Moreover, these individuals also had to live! The idea of a hermit in a mountain somewhere was never how man was deigned to live, moreover, there is no hiding from the flaw, or sin of our species; and reclusion especially, is no means a remedy; to the contrary, it was theirs, just as it is ours, duty to live! It is my legacy that I hope that, even within the parameters of modern living, that I can embody these traits, while also living a life filled with play, truly appreciating the real spectrum of human emotion, and maybe along the way, meeting some other likeminded individuals; after all fellow humans add a spice to life that solitude can only envy.

My Twitter feed would be a better place to get a daily dose of what goes on in the RSOM as far as philosophy, anecdotes, and perspective is concerned; I can be followed at: @aragami9x, however to close this introduction to the topic, in a nutshell, I would advise you to be honest with yourself, look deep inside of yourself, extend a hand out to your shadow-self, start taking control of your inner dialogue, create habits and routines that bring structure and discipline to your life, start taking ownership of the outcomes of the decisions that you make, do physically exhausting endeavours, things that bring you to the point of tears! Be authentic; go somewhere alone, take your thoughts on a date! Free yourself from the pressures that encourage you to talk bad behind your companions back, do things that make you a person of value, take actions in life instead of procrastinating, and perhaps most importantly, practice gratitude in life. Be thankful for your loved ones, your experiences, the fact you are living, the life that surrounds you, the times that you live in and all that you have in your life.

I know these things sound cliched, however find me someone who does any number of these things and became worse off for doing it! Furthermore, it isn’t just a matter of doing these things once and expecting change; no, it is like any diet, or training regime; in the consistency and the journey where the magic creates itself…

I know I said that I would make it succinct, and after nearly 1000 words, I think it is best to end this introduction here. It is funny, as I conclude this, I know there are so many more things that are going to come to mind as far as traits are concerned; that’s the beauty I guess of having a publication, would be nice if I updated it more regularly, I hear you say! I can’t believe it has been nearly 4 weeks since I last wrote to you guys, there is no excuse, I suck, but it is only in falling, that one learns to stand; and surely there is more value in that…

To conclude, I’ll leave you with this koan (tweet) (https://twitter.com/aragami9x):

“If you value the words that come out of your mouth, then you won’t have time for small talk…”

Goodnight, and God bless you all;

Steven

#RONIN #RoninStateOfMind #OSU #Aragami