Tag: Tai Chi

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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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Being A Good Student

Steve Rowe

We often talk about what makes a good Instructor and what makes a good club, but what happens when we turn that on it’s head and ask what makes a good student? The one thing that I discovered was that if I knew how to be a good student I could get far more out of my Instructors than anybody else and that as an Instructor I am far more inclined to teach a good student thoroughly than a bad one. The inescapable facts are that many Instructors don’t get to choose their students, sometimes they teach because they feel … Continue reading Being A Good Student

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Buddha Was A Proper Geezer

Steve Rowe

Translation by me…. Buddha was a proper geezer. As a youngster he was a great martial artist. Despite being a prince he became (in current slang parlance) ‘woke’. The word ‘Buddha’ means ‘one who is awake’. He left his wife and child (making sure they were cared for) and went ‘walkabout’ to find himself. Buddha is not a god. He is not a son of god. He is not immortal. He was not a prophet. He became a master of logic. He was (in slang terms) a ‘proper geezer’. When he found himself he put it in simple logical terms. … Continue reading Buddha Was A Proper Geezer

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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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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

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The ‘Empty Force’ Of Tai Chi

Steve Rowe

  ‘Empty force’ sounds nebulous and difficult to understand, but it isn’t. The body is a spring, when the posture is correct and the joints unlocked, when the soft tissue carries no unnecessary tension – the compression and release of a combination of the joints, including the spine, bodycore and soft tissue is a skill that can be trained in a multitude of ways. The first level of skill is to unlock the body and keep it unlocked, start with good posture and then unlock the ankles, knees, hips, back and chest with the mantra ‘soften and connect’ when you … Continue reading The ‘Empty Force’ Of Tai Chi

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Direct Knowledge Is Different

Steve Rowe

  I used to get my knowledge and wisdom from others at lectures, in books and lecture tapes.  I would meditate for ages on the wisdom of the Buddha, Lao Tsu, Ajhan’s Chah and Sumedho, Alan Watts, Kahil Gibran and many others, I studied Buddhism, Zen, Chan, Taoism, Wicca, Paganism, Ritual Magik, Spiritualism and all their associated arts, but when the breakthrough occurred, I stopped. No longer did I need to refer to others, because I was able to look inside and find my own ‘wisdom mind’. When I sat or stood still, I could access the part of me … Continue reading Direct Knowledge Is Different

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If I die tonight

Steve Rowe

Dedicated to my good friend the late Graham Wednes. If I die tonight will the universe stop? If I return to the Tao it will be like a wave returning to the sea; No more ‘being human’ and only ‘sensing’ the infinite; From whence I came, I will return and be it once more. My ‘place of refuge’ becomes my home again. In the infinite, all time exists all of the time, the theatre of life exists because the pot is stirred; When stirred, one plays off against the other in a binary fashion, simple appears complicated as the picture … Continue reading If I die tonight

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Teaching Older People

Steve Rowe

  Many of us these days teach people in their 70’s and above and it’s important for us to understand that even if their memory and body is breaking down, they are still a senior citizen and should command respect. Don’t talk to them like they are a child, don’t get frustrated with them, be courteous, polite and break technique down until you find that which they are comfortable with. They deserve dignity, they have often served their country, bought up families and paid their dues. Don’t put your ambitions and expectations on them, often they only want to stay … Continue reading Teaching Older People