Wednesday, October 29, 2003
Zen tea ceremony
My other half got me a text on the Japanese Zen tea ceremony. This is something that has intrigued me for some time so I look forward to flicking through the pages.
Monday, October 27, 2003
Round form wudang
Round form is cool, it feels much more flowing than the yang style forms - perhaps an indication I was doing those incorrectly. I do strongly recommend Dan's book though. A very good read although I should state it doesn't cover the round form.
commuting
I spent the last week commuting to and from london. Typically only a 40/50 minute journey each way but it certainly was enough to change me. I found that I became very competitive about getting a seat on the train, to the point of almost getting one in front of an elderly gentleman walking with the aid of a walking stick. Madness, I'm 27 and reasonable young and fit, I don't need a seat but the mentality of the crowd almost seemed to be survival of the fittest, first come first served.
It took me a day I think to lose my sense of chivalry and a few moments to snap back to my senses and not follow the crowd and try to do what I thought was right, even in this small way. I don't know when I lost my sense of perspective, probably when someone jumped ahead in a queue. A seat isn't very important though. What a difference to those journeys it would have been if only half those travelling were more polite and less worried about getting where they were going (in a seat).
It took me a day I think to lose my sense of chivalry and a few moments to snap back to my senses and not follow the crowd and try to do what I thought was right, even in this small way. I don't know when I lost my sense of perspective, probably when someone jumped ahead in a queue. A seat isn't very important though. What a difference to those journeys it would have been if only half those travelling were more polite and less worried about getting where they were going (in a seat).
Friday, October 24, 2003
Dead like me
Just thought i'd pop a quick post up about Dead like me. A great show that looks at all bits of life from the point of view of someone who's died. Odd idea, but a different point of view often leads to simple insights.
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
been a while since posting
much there has been to do. missed last weeks wudang lesson but hope to go to the 2 hour one in carshalton tomorrow. that reminds me - better get my bits together for that.
Thursday, October 16, 2003
Who am I if my knowledge of right and wrong comes elsewhere?
This is an odd question that popped into my mind a while ago. Where does freedom of thought and expression and personal choice come in where one believes that one can enter a state of mind which dictates right from wrong?
I think however that this is an immature view of something I do not yet understand. Most of the processes around achieving enlightenment etc. seem to be about clearing out the old impure (for want of a better word) thoughts so that one can think clearly from ones core/true being. Thus, one is less influenced by fear and adverse experiences of the past and one can observe now with clear eyes. In such a state I imagine it is quite obvious what must or should be done - its only fear and self delusion that hides this or prevents us from taking that path.
Could one interpretation of the tao in this context be used to mean that which is our true being? hmm...
I think however that this is an immature view of something I do not yet understand. Most of the processes around achieving enlightenment etc. seem to be about clearing out the old impure (for want of a better word) thoughts so that one can think clearly from ones core/true being. Thus, one is less influenced by fear and adverse experiences of the past and one can observe now with clear eyes. In such a state I imagine it is quite obvious what must or should be done - its only fear and self delusion that hides this or prevents us from taking that path.
Could one interpretation of the tao in this context be used to mean that which is our true being? hmm...
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
The Force and the Tao
"You will know (the good from the bad) when you are calm, at peace. Passive. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense, never for attack." - Yoda
Could almost be a quote from the tao te ching eh? Its an interesting idea and consistent with Lao Tzu's writing, if we are calm and aware then we will know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. Wonder if Mr. Lucas ever read it. hmm...
looking forward to episode III...
Could almost be a quote from the tao te ching eh? Its an interesting idea and consistent with Lao Tzu's writing, if we are calm and aware then we will know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad. Wonder if Mr. Lucas ever read it. hmm...
looking forward to episode III...
Saturday, October 11, 2003
backs, gardening, squatting and tai chi
just having a break from a spot of gardening. well, potting more like. putting small pot plants in a big pot in other words. odd exercise it is. Both the pots and the plants were on the floor and I was squatting down to do my work and found out a few things. The most interesting for me was a theory of how i hurt my back a while ago and a knowledge that it was still injured. As I was squatting down I was getting uncomfortable after a while and shifting around here and there. I found that I would stretch the tendons in the bottom of my feet in certain positions as I lifted my heel but still had my weight on that foot. I also cut off the circulation to my feet here and there by having my leg bent such that my hamstring muscle rested on my calf muscle. Anyhow I shifted around and eventually stood up and bent down to carry on. My instinct was to support my back by placing my right arm on my right thigh and twist down with my left hand to reach the plants etc. This was apparently bad. Conciously I know this to be true but I guess its a habit I have gotten into. Oddly if I take a wide stance and squat down (horse riding stance), bending my back forwards rather than twisting it is quite strong and this is how I completed my work.
twisting seems like it should be easier and it is for a while, ones back doesn't get as tired. Clearly though it has done me harm. Aligning the body properly however was ok, and even though the injury is still there (it let me know when I twisted) by moving properly it didn't affect me and I made it no worse. I feel like i'm stating the obvious - move properly, look after yourself, twisting your back while moving heavy stuff is bad. It is obvious and yet I had this little habit that I resorted to as I felt a bit tired. I think this goes along the lines of "the path is obvious but it is easier not to follow it".
twisting seems like it should be easier and it is for a while, ones back doesn't get as tired. Clearly though it has done me harm. Aligning the body properly however was ok, and even though the injury is still there (it let me know when I twisted) by moving properly it didn't affect me and I made it no worse. I feel like i'm stating the obvious - move properly, look after yourself, twisting your back while moving heavy stuff is bad. It is obvious and yet I had this little habit that I resorted to as I felt a bit tired. I think this goes along the lines of "the path is obvious but it is easier not to follow it".
3rd wudang lesson
Its still proving interesting and challenging. The section on the taichi classics at the taichichuan site is a darned interesting read. I've yet to compare it with the translations that I have but its free and a good guide to taoism and one on one combat.
The art of war and war craft III
well, i was hoping to write a bit using the art of war to analyse a game I am currently playing but time has eluded me. should get time over the weekend tho, so look out for that.
Monday, October 06, 2003
where and what is wudang?
After joining this club I had started to grow concerned that I was learning a small family style. The book I got (see below) states that the wudang style was created by the author and was his form. This is a little worrying as if anything happens where my current teacher is unavailable I won't complete learning this form. I figured I would try to find out a little more and a google search later pointed me to a few interesting sites. In particular taichichuan.co.uk is an excellent resource and has some interesting discussions on the tai chi classics (a series of texts concerning the practice of tai chi) - neat site. Looks like there are plenty of instructors nationwide and around london so my concern is eased.
Saturday, October 04, 2003
A bad student
Its late and I'm off to bed soon but thought I'd write a little something. The t'ai chi class today was cool. I had underestimated the teacher and it seems he is quite capable of chucking me about. I still feel that this is a good oppurtunity, the focus in the class is a good balance of form and theory and two person training. As I have already said, this is just what I need. I am pondering taking up more classes in the same school - time and money allowing.
fingers crossed.
Oh, the title - yes, I am a bad student. A student who believes he already knows a great deal on the subject can be very hard to teach.
fingers crossed.
Oh, the title - yes, I am a bad student. A student who believes he already knows a great deal on the subject can be very hard to teach.
Thursday, October 02, 2003
From reiki to christianity
Ok, did some thinking on the bus this morning about taoist rituals and teaching methods, reiki and possible links to early christianity. To get into this I feel I need to get on paper some of my thoughts that I haven't got round to yet, i.e. I need to write a few essays before getting to the point of my thinking this morning.
I was particularly thinking about my experience with Reiki and how this has deepened my understanding of some of the more esoteric references in taoist literature (and slightly frustrated me). I was introduced to reiki a while ago, one of the t'ai chi students in newhaven had previously practiced it and this was where I heard the name. On and off for a few years I read a little bit here and a little there on the subject and earlier this year came accross this site. Reiki is essentially an energy healing technique from Japan and is only decades old rather than the centuries or millenia of the other arts and practices I have discussed here.
I don't have time to discuss the art in great detail, and arguably I am not qualified to do so. However, there are two bits of interest to me here:
Firstly, it is transmitted not by words but by ritual. The theory goes that a master can give the knowledge to a student and that knowledge and understanding will unfold in the student. The message is passed as energy (as far as my understanding goes) and inserted into the unconcious. Now if we accept that this is possible then this makes sense of a great deal of the taoist practices. Unfortunately this means to get a truely deep understanding of taoist practices I must find a willing teacher/master at some point in my life.
Secondly, the way Usui discovered the art is most interesting. He spent many years in search of a quick way to attain the healing ability accredited to monks who spent many decades in meditation. He like me believed that there was some method by which a person could heal another through touch or some action, and had observed enlightened individuals doing this. After many years he felt that he had failed and went into the wilderness to meditate, intending not to eat and not to come back - an honourable act in those days. After some days he recounts a feeling of a great energy like a ball of light descending into him and feeling his body infused with energy. When he came back from his journey he found that he had discovered what he was looking and could heal people.
I will not go into the full history here as 1. I don't know it and 2. the thingy in my temple is telling me i have sat here too long already, but this event reminds me of a number of similar ones that happened with holy people of the Christian tradition, where God or the Holy Spirit appears as a ball of light and the individual is imbued with special powers or enlightened as a result. Here I betray to you my view that the stories of the tao, of the holy spirit and god all talk about the same phenomenon. This got me thinking about the early christian traditions. There is a point when Jesus becomes aware he will die and calls together his disciples for a last supper. If I were aware that I was about to die and knew of a method to pass on my knowledge and part of myself to my students then I would do just that. If Jesus' power to heal was similar to that of these enlightened people then is this what the last supper did, the wording seems to suggest it? In this way, through repeating this ritual as Christians do so this same energy and knowledge could be passed through the church, providing the person performing the ritual was in line from the early christians or a holy person. The act of blessing and the laying of hands are also acts that occur in all three traditions.
In my youth I turned my back because I did not find the answers there and felt hypocritical repeating the dogma each mass. Could then the christian tradition and the sunday mass which I left behind be a mechanism for passing this knowledge of God in both words and something else? Is this where my mum found the power to heal herself?
Amusing and ironic it will be if my path takes me back to my origins, but in keeping with the nature of things. One cannot see the forest until one leaves it and wanders up a nearby hill.
I think my current path is valid and that the taoist writings and traditions whilst often cryptic feel for me closer to the truth at this time. An odd observation I made on the bus this morning that I wanted to share.
search google for reiki
I was particularly thinking about my experience with Reiki and how this has deepened my understanding of some of the more esoteric references in taoist literature (and slightly frustrated me). I was introduced to reiki a while ago, one of the t'ai chi students in newhaven had previously practiced it and this was where I heard the name. On and off for a few years I read a little bit here and a little there on the subject and earlier this year came accross this site. Reiki is essentially an energy healing technique from Japan and is only decades old rather than the centuries or millenia of the other arts and practices I have discussed here.
I don't have time to discuss the art in great detail, and arguably I am not qualified to do so. However, there are two bits of interest to me here:
- The method by which the art is transmitted
- The way in which the first practitioner acquired this ability
Firstly, it is transmitted not by words but by ritual. The theory goes that a master can give the knowledge to a student and that knowledge and understanding will unfold in the student. The message is passed as energy (as far as my understanding goes) and inserted into the unconcious. Now if we accept that this is possible then this makes sense of a great deal of the taoist practices. Unfortunately this means to get a truely deep understanding of taoist practices I must find a willing teacher/master at some point in my life.
Secondly, the way Usui discovered the art is most interesting. He spent many years in search of a quick way to attain the healing ability accredited to monks who spent many decades in meditation. He like me believed that there was some method by which a person could heal another through touch or some action, and had observed enlightened individuals doing this. After many years he felt that he had failed and went into the wilderness to meditate, intending not to eat and not to come back - an honourable act in those days. After some days he recounts a feeling of a great energy like a ball of light descending into him and feeling his body infused with energy. When he came back from his journey he found that he had discovered what he was looking and could heal people.
I will not go into the full history here as 1. I don't know it and 2. the thingy in my temple is telling me i have sat here too long already, but this event reminds me of a number of similar ones that happened with holy people of the Christian tradition, where God or the Holy Spirit appears as a ball of light and the individual is imbued with special powers or enlightened as a result. Here I betray to you my view that the stories of the tao, of the holy spirit and god all talk about the same phenomenon. This got me thinking about the early christian traditions. There is a point when Jesus becomes aware he will die and calls together his disciples for a last supper. If I were aware that I was about to die and knew of a method to pass on my knowledge and part of myself to my students then I would do just that. If Jesus' power to heal was similar to that of these enlightened people then is this what the last supper did, the wording seems to suggest it? In this way, through repeating this ritual as Christians do so this same energy and knowledge could be passed through the church, providing the person performing the ritual was in line from the early christians or a holy person. The act of blessing and the laying of hands are also acts that occur in all three traditions.
In my youth I turned my back because I did not find the answers there and felt hypocritical repeating the dogma each mass. Could then the christian tradition and the sunday mass which I left behind be a mechanism for passing this knowledge of God in both words and something else? Is this where my mum found the power to heal herself?
Amusing and ironic it will be if my path takes me back to my origins, but in keeping with the nature of things. One cannot see the forest until one leaves it and wanders up a nearby hill.
I think my current path is valid and that the taoist writings and traditions whilst often cryptic feel for me closer to the truth at this time. An odd observation I made on the bus this morning that I wanted to share.
search google for reiki
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Opening my head
One of the books i am currently reading is Bruce Frantzis' Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body:... (see the blatant advert below for other titles). I'm finding this to be a very interesting book and it is from here that I am taking most of the guidelines for studying my body and my energy system. I guess I should come clean here. I do believe that there exists something, which the taoists typically refer to as chi, that is capable of healing the body and giving it great vitality. I personally would like to live as long as possible so if there are techniques around for cultivating this energy then it would be in my favour to try them out. This in itself is partly why I have chosen this path.
So, I have made the assumption that there's something to this chi malarky and that chi gung or nei gung can help us develop an awareness of it and control it. I have read a number of books on chi gung and have a few that refer to nei gung, but I feel that this one is the best for me at this time.
One of the key first steps I have come accross is practicing knowing the difference between what one is feeling and what one isn't. I can visualise raising my hand, quite accurately "feeling" the associated sensations - but this is very different to actually moving it and feeling my true hand. If one is looking to study ones body and become more aware of it, then it is important to distinguish real feelings as opposed to things put there by your mind. An important point this one and one that I think applies to all things, see/feel/hear what is really there, not what you want to... A difficult thing I think.
I am currently trying to focus on specific points in my body and become aware of them and their current state - this is an exercise a little way into the book so if you're going to try read up first, such things can be oddly dangerous. According to the book one starts at the top and work down, trying to feel blockages and places where things aren't flowing easily. I have found what I think is quite a significant one near my left temple (not got very far yet). The sensation feels quite real, although I admit my inexperience may be misleading me here. What I can feel is an almost physical pressure, one that grows as I grow tired or spend to much time in front of the screen and diminishes as I relax and particularly if I spend a little time meditating on it. So, I feel that I am taking my first steps (in spite of being at this t'ai chi and chi gung thing for over a decade now) in to my body. I can sense many points around my head that are mentioned and feel this one blockage, others may exist that I am simply not aware of.
I must admit that now I can sense this thing - what ever it is, I am more and more aware of it as time passes (I noticed it about a week ago). If I hadn't read about what I might find I would be quite scared I think, what with tales of mobile phone related harm and all.
I'll continue and write here how I get on.
So, I have made the assumption that there's something to this chi malarky and that chi gung or nei gung can help us develop an awareness of it and control it. I have read a number of books on chi gung and have a few that refer to nei gung, but I feel that this one is the best for me at this time.
One of the key first steps I have come accross is practicing knowing the difference between what one is feeling and what one isn't. I can visualise raising my hand, quite accurately "feeling" the associated sensations - but this is very different to actually moving it and feeling my true hand. If one is looking to study ones body and become more aware of it, then it is important to distinguish real feelings as opposed to things put there by your mind. An important point this one and one that I think applies to all things, see/feel/hear what is really there, not what you want to... A difficult thing I think.
I am currently trying to focus on specific points in my body and become aware of them and their current state - this is an exercise a little way into the book so if you're going to try read up first, such things can be oddly dangerous. According to the book one starts at the top and work down, trying to feel blockages and places where things aren't flowing easily. I have found what I think is quite a significant one near my left temple (not got very far yet). The sensation feels quite real, although I admit my inexperience may be misleading me here. What I can feel is an almost physical pressure, one that grows as I grow tired or spend to much time in front of the screen and diminishes as I relax and particularly if I spend a little time meditating on it. So, I feel that I am taking my first steps (in spite of being at this t'ai chi and chi gung thing for over a decade now) in to my body. I can sense many points around my head that are mentioned and feel this one blockage, others may exist that I am simply not aware of.
I must admit that now I can sense this thing - what ever it is, I am more and more aware of it as time passes (I noticed it about a week ago). If I hadn't read about what I might find I would be quite scared I think, what with tales of mobile phone related harm and all.
I'll continue and write here how I get on.
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