Tag: meditation

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Liar, Liar Your Pants Are On Fire

Steve Rowe

Liar, Liar Your Pants Are On Fire I’m looking for truth; I hate being manipulated; When I meditate, I discover who I am, And what I really think. Everything around me is a lie; Every lie wants to be a part of me; And take over my soul; Each one manipulates me; And tries to determine how I think. Religion is a lie. Nationality is lie. They don’t exist; They are made up by people; And yet we are expected to fight to the death over them. Money is not real; Only numbers on a spreadsheet; Yet because of it … Continue reading Liar, Liar Your Pants Are On Fire

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Putting Your Head In Your Anus

Steve Rowe

Putting Your Head In Your Anus It’s a catchy, humorous title but has a serious side to it. When you’re doing seated meditation a good point to focus on is ‘sealing your anus’ with the weight of your head. This ensures that your back is straight and your head is aligned. When you’re standing, you do the same with the arches of your feet and of course all balanced movement in Tai Chi is dependent on your skill in feeling this alignment and the arches of the feet are the first ‘pump of chi’ in the body. When standing you … Continue reading Putting Your Head In Your Anus

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Old Man On A Bench

Steve Rowe

Old Man On A Bench Made me jump. I thought he was a statue; Just sitting there staring into time; People reach that age where they become invisible; Not fitting into social norms…. He was bolt upright. Neck firmly against his collar; Back ramrod straight; Breathing imperceptibly; No wonder I thought he was made of stone.. I was transfixed. I wondered what his life had been; What had he done? What had bought him to here, now? What could he teach us? We used to revere age and experience; Now we worship youth and stupidity; Dignity is sadly a thing … Continue reading Old Man On A Bench

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My Body Is Like My Dog

Steve Rowe

  My dog is my old friend, when we were young we used to run around and wrestle and for 13 years where ever I’ve been he’s been there with me, at my feet or on my lap. Now his doddery old legs barely carry him and his arthritis and old injuries are a constant nag and need medication but our intertwined lives means that we are still the best of friends and know each others thoughts and emotions. My body is my oldest friend, for 68 years it’s carried me through 50 years of martial arts and every sensual … Continue reading My Body Is Like My Dog

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Why Are You Ignoring Your Oldest Friend?

Steve Rowe

Why are you ignoring your oldest friend? It’s always been there with you, holding you up in the hardest of times, crying and laughing with you, always supporting you from the ground up – and yet you steadfastly ignore it! It talks to you all the time, tells you when it wants to exercise, rest, eat, drink, and yet you treat it rudely. Well STOP IT! And start paying attention. Your dog doesn’t speak your language and yet you understand everything he says, when he wants attention, feeding, drink, walkies, you treat him well and love him. You body does … Continue reading Why Are You Ignoring Your Oldest Friend?

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Meditation, Sleep and Dying

Steve Rowe

When you can’t sleep, or you’re sick and terrified of dying it’s because you can’t let go. Going to sleep is like dying, you stop thinking and drift in a state of just being and if you can do this through meditation practice, you sleep deeply and restoratively. Similarly when you are sick and death is inevitable, you drift in to that state of just being and returning to the source of all things dying peacefully. See how the two are connected? When you meditate you loose the shackles and burdens of life, resting in that beautiful place of refuge … Continue reading Meditation, Sleep and Dying

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Intensity In Meditation

Steve Rowe

  I teach that for mindfulness, meditation and Martial Arts, the mind needs to be aware, focused, sensitive and intense. The right kind of intensity is a key factor and often misunderstood. You cannot be half hearted. The enemies of the mind are apathy and distraction, to avoid them the mind must be intensely focused and that requires the right kind of effort. To me, after posture and breathing are correct, it’s like getting into an elevator and dropping instantly 100 floors down. This is both my meditation and fighting mind, it cannot be disrupted. Sometimes it feels like I’m … Continue reading Intensity In Meditation

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2 Triples For Happiness

Steve Rowe

2 Triples For Happiness Anicca – Dukka – Anatta Today wisdom and happiness comes in 2 triples, the first is Anicca, Dukka, and Anatta, the triple gem of existence. Impermanence We all know this, but much of our suffering comes from not accepting it. Everything rises and falls without cease, therefore we need to be able to fully engage, to love, enjoy and then at the right time let go. To be able to do this we need to remind ourselves in daily meditation that all things will pass and just knowing this will broaden our perspective enough to give … Continue reading 2 Triples For Happiness

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Making Sense Of The Universe With Kata/Form

Steve Rowe

“As Above – So Below” In ritual magic you affect the macrocosm by understanding and changing the microcosm. If you want to really understand kata/form and what was in the mind of the originators and you have enough knowledge – try inventing your own. Why would you invent one? It would have to improve the understanding and standard of the practitioner. Do you want to categorise an entire training system into one form? Maybe there are specific ideas and principles that you want to put together and train in one sequence? Very quickly you will begin to understand the problems … Continue reading Making Sense Of The Universe With Kata/Form

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Find Your Own Martial Art

Steve Rowe

Been training for a while and feel dissatisfied? Feel like you’re not learning the right things? The martial arts not meeting your expectations? Meditate – ask yourself what you really want from your training, I don’t mean all the usual blanket answers but what do YOU want? What are YOUR individual expectations? This can lead to quite a few surprises because you’ve probably been taking on other people’s expectations without realising it and that’s why you have to go deep to discover what it is you REALLY need from your efforts. Look at what you’re doing – having realised fully … Continue reading Find Your Own Martial Art