Month: January 2025

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What The Prophets Knew

Steve Rowe

The word ‘religion’ comes from the Latin ‘religare’ meaning ‘to bind’. The root of the various religions as taught by their prophets is to ‘bind’ or ‘stay bound’ to the infinite energy that formed us and to that which we return to when our body ceases to be. Politicians then overlay those teachings with dogma creating doctrine to control the masses, but those with penetrating insight can still see the common root – and that’s what humanity needs to get down to. We need to care for each other, whatever our roots. I’m long enough in the tooth to know … Continue reading What The Prophets Knew

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Emptying Hearts & Stuffing Bellies

Steve Rowe

Lao Tsu talks about a wise leader ‘emptying the hearts and stuffing the bellies of the nation’, and this has many levels of understanding. The word ‘karate’ often translated as ‘empty hand’ Funakoshi explained the ‘Kara’ part ‘empty’ as empty of (violent) intention and ‘te’ (hand) is generally understood as a term for martial art. Therefore an art of peace. Draining the chi (ki) from the heart to the belly calms the body, emotions and mind. Filling the belly is to retain and store power instead of losing it. This gives an absence of negative energies like fear and anger … Continue reading Emptying Hearts & Stuffing Bellies

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Demons Dressed As Martial Artists

Steve Rowe

Watch carefully. There are people in the martial arts world that will worm their way in to your world to try and control it to suit themselves. They will be very ‘gollomy’ and try to blow smoke up your backside calling you ‘Master’ or whatever they think will please you. They will do you ‘favours’ even when you haven’t asked for them and do anything to get in a position of power or control and get their name associated with yours. When you finally realise what they’re up to they will turn and try to use everything possible against you. … Continue reading Demons Dressed As Martial Artists

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Use Of Weapons

Steve Rowe

Weapons… It’s important to understand the difference between functional and theatrical. Using a bladed weapon, one centimetre can mean the difference between life and death. Functional is small movements, usually involving angles, footwork, sticking, slipping, curved movement and cutting, slashing, striking and stabbing to vital points often using different parts of the weapon. Theatrical comes from theatre, street performers, movies and competition and utilises the bigger more dramatic movements that look good to the audience. I like both but only practice the functional. It’s important that you know the difference between the two and understand which one you’re practicing, just … Continue reading Use Of Weapons

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Good Men Don’t Argue

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Eighty One  “Truthful words are not beautiful. Beautiful words are not truthful. Good men do not argue. Those who argue are not good. Those who know are not learned. The learned do not know.  The sage never tries to store things up. The more he does for others, the more he has. The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance. The Tao of heaven is pointed but does no harm. The Tao of the sage is work without effort.” This could be good advice for social media. As the Chinese would say, ‘don’t put legs on a snake’. Tell the … Continue reading Good Men Don’t Argue

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A Small Country

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Eighty “A small country has fewer people. Though there are machines that can work ten to a hundred times faster than man, they are not needed. The people take death seriously and do not travel far. Though they have boats and carriages, no one uses them. Though they have armor and weapons, no one displays them. Men return to the knotting of rope in place of writing. Their food is plain and good, their clothes fine but simple, their homes secure; They are happy in their ways. Though they live within sight of their neighbors, And crowing cocks and barking dogs are … Continue reading A Small Country

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A Bitter Quarrel

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Seventy Nine  “After a bitter quarrel, some resentment must remain. What can one do about it? Therefore the sage keeps his half of the bargain But does not exact his due. A man of Virtue performs his part, But a man without Virtue requires others to fulfill their obligations. The Tao of heaven is impartial. It stays with good men all the time.” This is about learning to be the better person. The Buddha said that holding on to anger is ‘like drinking poison and hoping the other person will die’. Fulfilling our part of a resolution is important but … Continue reading A Bitter Quarrel

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Water Has No Equal

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Seventy Eight  “Under heaven nothing is more soft and yielding than water. Yet for attacking the solid and strong, nothing is better; It has no equal. The weak can overcome the strong; The supple can overcome the stiff. Under heaven everyone knows this, Yet no one puts it into practice. Therefore the sage says: He who takes upon himself the humiliation of the people is fit to rule them. He who takes upon himself the country’s disasters deserves to be king of the universe. The truth often sounds paradoxical.” Here the author is saying that ‘under heaven everyone knows this’ but 2500 years … Continue reading Water Has No Equal

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Only The Man Of Tao

Steve Rowe

Explanation Of The Tao Te Ching Part Seventy Seven  “The Tao of heaven is like the bending of a bow. The high is lowered, and the low is raised. If the string is too long, it is shortened; If there is not enough, it is made longer.  The Tao of heaven is to take from those who have too much and give to those who do not have enough. Man’s way is different. He takes from those who do not have enough and give to those who already have too much. What man has more than enough and gives it to the world? Only the man of … Continue reading Only The Man Of Tao

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Energy Movement

Steve Rowe

Energy Movement We meditate, practice ‘inner work’ (neigong)and ‘energy work’ (qigong) assiduously every day for decades and get reasonably skilful at educating, alchemising and being able to raise and drain it rapidly when required. But sometimes when we’re not paying attention it can fire up and fill our head with emotion, anger, fear, anxiety, desire, empathy so fast that it takes a lot of effort to recognise, identify, resolve and drain it without it affecting us. If we haven’t educated, alchemised and trained our energy we become subject to it and it controls us. This is why we need good … Continue reading Energy Movement