Thought I’d better find myself…
Where am I?
Not in my head;
Could see my thoughts but they weren’t me.
I think therefore I am?
Nah, I am therefore I think more like;
In my body?
Not there either.
My body breathes;
Heart pumps;
Organs function;
Not me doing any of that.
My name?
Parents gave it to me;
Work, hobbies?
Just things I do.
Sits still, scratches head;
Then who the bloody hell am I?
Looks into the dogs eyes….
Ah…. there I am…
Everywhere but where I thought….
This morning’s neigong:
Don’t eat breakfast;
Drink a pint of iced water;
Find your place to stand;
Then find your balance.
Find your natural breathing rhythm;
Don’t breathe in until you would have to stop yourself;
Don’t breathe out until you would have stop yourself;
Let your body, not your mind deepen and control the breath.
Use your entire dantien to breathe;
Stomach sides and back draw the diaphragm down;
Filling the lungs with air;
Calming you down, making your mind aware and focused.
In Tai Chi the joints and fascia act together as a pump;
Expand them naturally as you breathe in;
Let them rest naturally as you breathe out:
Let the bows of arms, legs and spine work with them.
Go to the feet first to breathe in;
Open the body to expand to receive the air and energy;
Allow it to rest and soften as you breathe out;
Feel the elixir of life refresh and heal you.
Today’s Neigong
In the beginning you use physical strength to hold the 5 standing positions,
With time you feel the energy;
The yin energy in the yin postures;
And the yang energy in the yang postures.
After a while ‘neutral’ is balanced between the yin and yang;
Then you feel the balance in the other postures;
The yin in the yang;
And the yang in the yin.
Every posture has an energetic ‘stasis’;
Each energy balancing its opposite;
The muscular force is at a minimum;
As the energetic takes over.
Then you search for the stasis in every posture in the form;
The balance is the power;
Then every centimetre between the postures;
Thinking “how could I ever miss this?”…
A peace and harmony descends on your being;
A stillness beyond all stillness’s;
The curtain of life is lifted;
And the Tao is revealed.
As the wheel of the year turns;
There is a different kind of balance;
The air is not dry and warm:
And the earth is chilled and moist.
Balance brings me to the Tao;
The line down the middle of yin and yang:
The harmonies in the body:
Allow me to find the door.
Left and right in the joints:
Upper and lower connections;
Front and back of the body;
Inner to outer of limbs and body.
Inner is yin, outer is yang;
Front is yin, back is yang;
Focus on one and the other is the small circle in the symbol;
Still felt and giving ultimate balance.
Hands and feet press the same;
First physically then energetically;
The biggest step is from muscle to energy;
When in stasis, it’s perfect harmony.
Seeing Your Soul, this morning’s neigong…
When you meditate does your soul come to the front?
Like closing all the windows on your computer;
The background becomes the whole screen;
It was always there, you just didn’t see it before.
Your soul is connected to the source;
It is connected to all things;
It sees itself in the eyes others;
It is the uncarved block.
With practice, when you begin Tai Chi;
All the other ‘windows’ close;
And your soul comes to the front;
It is your place of perspective.
It knows the sound of silence;
It is your place of refuge;
A place to find balance;
Where wisdom can arise.
This is the real value of meditation;
A place of mindfulness;
The real value of Tai Chi practice;
A place to discover who you really are….
This morning’s neigong;
An old man has to be mindful;
He cannot move without thinking about it first;
Legs have to be balanced;
Care has to be taken with arthritic joints.
Every step is measured;
Every push is done with care;
Pain gives a measurement;
‘Training’ involves a higher percentage of mind.
BUT this is a good thing;
The young don’t have to think;
Their perception and perspective is flawed;
Their hormones and naïveté control them.
Many old MAists try to be young;
Making them feel old before their time;
“I can still do it” sounds so sad;
Like seeing your granny in a mini skirt.
“I am still learning” is fake;
“I now learn from my students” is fake;
You only have to watch them move;
Their 30 yrs study is 3 yrs repeated 10 times.
We are all swimming upstream;
You stop and you start going backwards;
You have to go deeper not higher;
Not accumulating, but decluttering.
The less we try to become, the more we are;
Simple is not easy;
Go deep inside;
And find your own wisdom.
This morning’s neigong:
Once again the air is different;
Every day it changes as the wheel of the year turns;
Every day the smell and taste has a difference;
Nobody else seems to notice.
I alone am still;
I feel the stasis of the universe;
I am as I am because everything else is as it is;
As everything else is moving;
I alone am still.
People rushing to work;
Taking kids to school;
Birds flying, trees and plants growing;
I feel the earth turning;
Everything balancing everything else.
But I alone am still.
