Tag: philosophy

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Tai Chi Does Me

Steve Rowe

My morning training sessionI think I’ll work on this or thatThe moment I drop into ‘the zone’Everything changesTai Chi does meInsight and wisdom arisesWay beyond what normal me could think ofIt’s wordless, full of understandingsThat would be impossible to describeI’m in awe of what comes throughThis morning it showed me the yinHow all the yang outward techniquesHad had an inward yin expressionStrikes gouges and pushes outwardHad strangles, chokes, throws and pulls on the insideBoth could co-exist at the same timeAnd be trained at the same timeLike in the yin/yang symbolWhile one was being expressedThe potential for the other always existedHow … Continue reading Tai Chi Does Me

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Leave People Alone

Steve Rowe

Leave People Alone Sort yourself out firstBalance yourselfDevelop your internal locus of powerIf other people want helpThey’ll askThen you decide what help you can giveSo that they can also develop their powerDon’t enable their negativity You might think that you can helpFamily, friends and those closestAre the most likely to not want itBecause they know you in a different wayUnrequested help is negativeAnd will be seen as pressureThey will see it as abuseYou can offer politely onceThen leave them alone It’s hard to watch those you love sufferBut it’s their lifeTheir pathThe best help is detachmentAnd just be there if … Continue reading Leave People Alone

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Absent Students

Steve Rowe

Any long term martial arts teacher knows this. When someone says “I won’t be there because….. “ whatever follows doesn’t matter. They’re not going to be there. I remember saying “it’s okay, I’m always happy to see and teach you, but when you’re not here, I never think about you.” The student looked hurt. The thing is, if we get upset when people don’t attend sessions, we’d be upset all the time. To be happy when they’re here, but not think about them when they’re not, keeps a good relationship and keeps the teacher sane. In the 70’s martial arts … Continue reading Absent Students

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The Assisted Dying Bill

Steve Rowe

I’m glad the assisted dying bill went through today, but it’s still nowhere near enough. Everybody has the ability to take their own life, it’s just how messy and successful it’s going to be. When ministers are arguing that it’s wrong for people to do it because they feel like they’re burden to others I’d say that that’s the main reason and the culprits for that are the government. Benefits and pensions are nowhere near enough to support sick and disabled people. When they need care someone has to pay for it and it’s often the family that can’t afford … Continue reading The Assisted Dying Bill

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I Used To Be Enlightened But I Forgot…

Steve Rowe

Around 40 years ago I was giving a talk to an astrology group about the idea of reincarnation. I suggested that natal charts were astronomical configurations that were ‘nets’. When someone died all their unresolved karmic issues went with them and the soul travelled through the universe until it was caught in one of these configurations that brought them back into a body to resolve them. Thus reincarnation until there were no issues left. Afterwards one of the attendees came up to me and said “you know, I used to be enlightened, but I forgot” and I understood what she … Continue reading I Used To Be Enlightened But I Forgot…

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How Often Do You Die?

Steve Rowe

How many times do you die?Every time you exhale it’s a deathEvery time you inhale it’s a lifeEvery time you fall asleepIt’s a deathEvery time you wake upIt’s a lifeEvery time you’re mindlessIt’s a deathEvery time you’re mindfulIt’s a lifeEvery time you dieIt’s a deathEvery time you’re bornIt’s a life Live simplyStay close to natureMeditate deeplyBe gentle and kindSpeak truthListen to your heartBe competentHelp othersHave a soft frontAnd a strong backBy Steve Rowe Continue reading How Often Do You Die?

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Wealth Is A Sickness

Steve Rowe

Why do people worship the wealthy? How could any decent person flaunt their their wealth while others starve and suffer? How can any decent person look up to them or aspire to do the same? Both sides of that coin are sick. There is a limit to the things that this planet can produce and it’s designed to create balance, humans are supposed to have intelligence and humanity and share that produce with each other and any other being that inhabits it’s environment. Until we diagnose and recognise that hoarding is a sickness we can’t deal with it. If we … Continue reading Wealth Is A Sickness

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Learning How Yo Learn

Steve Rowe

Learning how to learn is important. First we need to allow our perspective to broaden, otherwise the filter we’re using to absorb knowledge is muddied by our past. Second, we need to work on our ‘beginner’s mind’ so that we can accept what we’re being taught, practice it sufficiently without bias, before testing and challenging it to ensure that it’s viable. Third, we mustn’t be scared to walk our own path because fashions and fads amuse the stupid and lead them astray but penetrating the underlying principles, ideas and truths in an art requires an unfettered, strong, individual mind. Fourth, … Continue reading Learning How Yo Learn

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Let Go Of Letting Go

Steve Rowe

You know I have an unusual mind. Every day on here I see everyone expounding the merits of positivity, happiness and joy and I really don’t get it. We also don’t want sadness, anger, unhappiness, anxiety or depression. It’s better to have an absence of all of these. The irony is that it doesn’t leave a vacuum, it gives an incredible sense of peace. The process is one of continuously letting go of all of those emotions until you reach a deep abiding peace with both yourself and the rest of the world. Let go, then keep letting go until … Continue reading Let Go Of Letting Go

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A Conference With My Body

Steve Rowe

A conference with my body. Before I train I monitor my mental, physical and emotional state to present my case to my body on how I’m going to train during the day. My body has its own intelligence that I know I can rely on. As I start moving it immediately starts communicating in its own instinctive language that is my first (not second) language and directs the format. Some days it’s purely health, calming body, emotions and mind and when all excessive tension is gone, it opens, stretches, closes, compresses, twists and releases driving the energy through open channels. … Continue reading A Conference With My Body