Listen for the silence; Find the stillness; Wait until it arrives; Profound and all permeating; It was always there; Behind the noise; Behind the movement; Just waiting to be found; The true perspective. Continue reading The True Perspective
This morning’s neigong: The self doesn’t want to die; But if you wait long enough it will; It will use fear and anxiety; Distraction and apathy; Anything to prevent truth. But the truth is that it is an illusion; There is no self; When you wait long enough; It falls away; The veil of illusion drops. The universe is joined up; There is no separation; All eyes have the same energy looking out; When you realise this; You will never feel lonely or isolated again. Continue reading Lose Yourself
This morning’s neigong: Don’t look for it…. It cannot be seen; Don’t try to find that deep state: Don’t think, instead just be present. Feelings don’t require words; Let them come and go; Just watch whatever comes; Thoughts, feelings – nothing stays. Let go, let go, let go… Just ‘be’; Be yin, be yang, be neutral; Be totally in the present. Nature’s wordless speech; Can be experienced in this state; On this late summer overcast day; Natures freshness has begun turning in on itself. Soon enough it will hibernate to heal; The earth, wind, rain and sun nourish us … Continue reading Nature’s Way
Fasting Diet & Buddhism Meditation in the bath in the mornings, rather than listening to a ‘lifestyle guru’ I like to play a ‘Dhamma Talk’ by one of the Buddhist Ajahn’s from the informative website of Amaravati Monastery. This morning it was Ajahn Metta and just labelled ‘Dhamma Talk’. Her voice was very quiet and was difficult to hear above my abolutery splashing sounds, but I laid still to listen to see whether to change it – and am I glad that I didn’t! She was discussing fasting and diet and how the ‘switch off’ for religous fasting was easier … Continue reading Fasting Diet & Buddhism
The Present Is A Present You cannot get into the future. You cannot get into the past. You cannot get out of the present. Therefore time as we know it doesn’t really exist. There is only the present. The present does not pass through time; Time passes through the present. It’s important to understand this; Guilt from what you think is the past, taints the present; Worrying about what you think is the future also taints the present; There is only the present. It is all one. It’s called the ‘present’ because that is what it is; A gift for … Continue reading The Present Is A Present
3 Ways To Practice Tai Chi Monk Style Always begin with Monk style… Neigong, Qigong, the Yang Chen Fu form and basic push hands drills. Practice like a monk in the temple gardens, with no ‘martial’ applications in mind, get rid of violence, aggression, fear and anger by clearing your mind, making it aware, focused, sensitive, intense and bringing it to a state of peace and stillness. Do this by working on your posture and breathing, this will bring forth these qualities of mind. Be gentle, soft, circular, continuous and let the mind be at ease. Until you can practice … Continue reading 3 Ways To Practice Tai Chi
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
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
It’s common knowledge that I don’t like bullies in the martial arts in life or social media. When people go on about ‘standards’ and ‘McDojo’s” in the arts my first thought is ‘people in glass houses’… They are usually the people who should be putting their own house in order! We may not like what some people teach, but if they’re not breaking any laws we don’t have the right to bully, slander or libel them. What we do need to do is everything in our power to raise the standards of the arts generally in whatever area we … Continue reading Martial Arts Bullies
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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