The Left and the Right

As I begin teaching myself the left hand form, after all these years, I find that I am still a beginner.

The Time Traveler

In order to teach, the teacher appears and demonstrates, but then must leave in order for the student to inhabit the body and copy the mirror image of the teacher’s form from memory. This is necessary because, like the proverbial time traveler, it seems that I cannot inhabit the same time and space twice at the same time. That is, I cannot meet myself.

It seems that the student is required both to carry the memory of the teachers’ performance, and to actively translate that performance into one’s own moves. This feels entirely new to the student. This is a truly miraculous exhibition of one’s ability to concentrate and to hold the memory of the complex movements clearly in one’s mind, performing them, as it were, from that memory, clearly held, at the same time.

Like anything new, this gets easier with practice. But it seems incredibly difficult at the start, and requires some faith in the process to even begin.

Enough, or More?

If you ask people “What do you want?”, Some would say “I want enough to have a good life.”. Others would always say “More.” no matter how much they have.

The Dalai Lama told us that we should always be satisfied with our material wealth, and never be satisfied with our spiritual growth.

A Letter about Terrorism (Paris)

November 15^th, 2015

Hey D,

Not much I can say about Paris. There are crazy people everywhere, and my way to make things better is to just try to be, and help others to be, more sane. This hopefully balances things a little more.

There is already more than enough hatred and anger in the world, and I hope that if we can reduce that, things will get better.

 The details beyond that are up to each individual to see their own part. Some may see opportunity to actively fight terrorism and they should do that. For most of us, in our everyday life we may be able to fight the causes of such extremism by creating good will and a better future for all without the need to destroy lives, which seems a terrible waste.

I have recently read 'Dance of the Furies', by Michael S. Neiberg, about Europe and the outbreak of World War I. It consists of the first hand accounts, letters, and diaries of ordinary people who wrote about what was happening then. It seems that in every country, including Germany, most of the people were convinced by the powerful that they were being attacked and threatened by others, and had no recourse but to fight.

 I see some scary parallels today. These terrorists obviously believe lies about us. Certainly there are more humane options than terrorism and maybe perhaps there is a way to help all people to see more of the humanity in others and to see these other options.

It's certainly not easy or always even possible. Many may never even want to give up their anger and hatred. But much progress has been made in places like Ireland, for example, where many thought things could never change.

These are just musings about possibilities, and maybe very unrealistic, but the alternatives might be very bleak.

Best Wishes to All,

Daniel

Following the Energy

One of my students recently asked me about the difference between my form and Carol’s. This led to an exposition of Mr. Chow’s form, which was different from most other Wu style teachers in some very beautiful ways. 

Dr. Wu, Dr. Young, and Mrs. Chow’s form is very similar. It may be described as sparse, or minimalist, with the fingers of one hand touching the inside wrist of the other hand often when the hands were together, as in, for instance, Grasping the bird’s tail. 

Mr. Chow would often appear to be holding a ball of energy within his hands as his hands moved in vertical and horizontal circles. My form, although not as much “Holding the ball” as Mr. Chow's, often follows the “Circles of energy”, and shares some of the circular components that I learned from Mr. Chow. 

My hypothesis is that the sparser, more minimalist form favored, (or al least most often shown) by other teachers, would lend itself to self defense applications, while the Circles within circles, following the energy approach might lead one in the direction of the cultivation of Chi energy and the healing aspects of the form. 

Mr. Chow was never known to participate in Push Hands or to teach it. He did, however, sometimes offer a healing treatment (Described in an earlier post, “Healing with Chi”), when requested.

              To be Continued, including: 

Circles and the circular nature of Healing Energy, 

Further explication of the Tsunami Analogy presented in an earlier post, The Calling, in the section ‘Some thoughts on conscious evolution’, and

A more technical description of the circular, ‘holding the ball’  style of the form.

Cultivating Openness

As I grow older, I find myself less fearful of experimenting with using my life to express values in which I believe. Sometimes these behaviors might make me appear less conventional and perhaps less than perfect in my expression of these ideals, but one has to start someplace. If one doesn’t at least try, then these skills would have no stage upon which to be perfected. 

The key ingredient for this activity to proceed is a faith that my intention is good. Even if the execution is improper, inappropriate, or, at worst, counter productive, the attempt, however poor, will eventually lead to progress. It is this strategy that has allowed me to proceed in many endeavors that I would not have attempted in my earlier years. Indeed, it is still difficult for me sometimes to “wear my heart on my sleeve” and express myself in ways which are sometimes misconstrued. In order to proceed, sometimes a less than perfect attempt needs to be acceptable. 

Example

I believe that people are beautiful, and that there shouldn’t be anything wrong with telling them this. Reminding them that they should feel good about themselves, that there is much that they have to give to the world, and that they are appreciated for what they are, is very powerful medicine that the world needs more of. However, some skill is needed to discriminate when this information can be expressed without being misconstrued and perceived to be a precursor to an attempt to manipulate or “sell” something, as it is often used in, say, the advertising to which we are constantly subjected in the media. 

Ram Das (Richard Alpert), in Be Here Now, once said “If you wear shoes, the whole world is covered in shoe leather.” 

The Shadow

Carl Jung’s archetype of the shadow, used to denote unconscious mechanisms by which powerful sources of behavior can originate, may be a useful way to describe some components which can come into play when we attempt to engage in interpersonal interactions. Even with the best of intentions, when I offer praise, encouragement, or aid to people, sometimes they might mistake this, my attempt to share my passion for life, as a manipulative energy.  In this case, a very functional protective process may mistake praise for shoe leather.

Using the shadow within us to generate passion, a good use of a very powerful energy source, may often be read in this way. There is a fine line, the razor’s edge, here, which sometimes requires both courage and integrity to walk well.

Changes

This summer seems to have brought much in the way of old doors closing and new ones either opening, or at least presenting new possibilities. Several of my long time mentors and associates have moved away and begun a new phase in their paths. My own situation has been very interesting, and seems to offer much in the way of opportunities for new growth.

My long time friend and co-teacher of T’ai Chi has left Miami to go on the road in a Great Adventure. My long time friend and psychology mentor has also moved up-state to begin a new phase on his path. My wife has left her previous employment to begin a different and more flexible lifestyle which will hopefully allow for many new career possibilities. I look forward to a year of creative growth and the development of new skills and talents as I also move forward, hopefully towards the maturation of wisdom possible with the accumulation of years.

Frank Lloyd Wright, as he moved into his seventies, produced some of his finest work, including his residential masterpiece, Falling Waters. As I approach my sixty eighth year many changes abound. I look forward hopefully, to a path including increasing community and spiritual values, and opportunities to contribute whatever I may have to offer.

Blessings to All,

Daniel

Drive All Blames Into One

Drive All Blames Into One

Be Grateful to Everyone

(Jamgon Kontrul, from the Direct Path to Enlightenment)

When we first attempt to understand how we have come to a situation, the first thing we often do is to blame someone or something for our problem. It seems only natural that there must be a reason for our discomfort, and of course it isn’t our fault. Something outside of ourselves must be the reason. 

The problem with this kind of thinking is that it can be endless. Once we have the answer to this mental pre-occupation, we move on to the next one, and so on. This process may often lead us to living with an endless chain of expectations – “If only I didn’t have this ---- in my way, I could be happy.”

Agreed, this might be an accurate assessment of the situation, and the assigning of blame might be valid, but the path on which we then find ourselves may not allow us to grow past our difficulties. This is particularly true for the most pressing and unsolvable situations of the human condition. Health problems, both ours and those of our loved ones, old age and death, the existential angst inherent in that which is by nature unsolvable, all lead us to perhaps embrace alternative solutions. 

The Buddhist response presented here is to re-assess our tendency to blame, and to instead, to accept that whatever the current situation is, it is workable and contains everything we need to proceed towards our next step.

Our form benefits immediately from the attention available when we are not distracted by our preoccupation with blame, whether that blame is valid or not. Our lives may become far more workable when we begin to attend to what is actually right in front of us. 

It may be possible to find Gratefulness and Joy is within our reach, within our personal space, as we take responsibility, not for the external conditions, but rather, for our own internal state, our state of consciousness. 

This is not a statement about the nature of the world, or reality. It is merely a practical strategy which allows us to move forward when we find ourselves in situations where there are no easy answers.

Again, these musings might not be meaningful to all who read them, but are presented for those who might find them useful at this point in their lives. Each month I try to present teachings from many different traditions which may help us all move forward.

 Some of these might not be for everyone. Please take what is useful to you, and if you find the meaning somewhat obtuse in some of my ramblings, I hope that you will find other parts which are more to your liking.

Best Wishes Always,

Daniel

Personal Space

 We often conceive of our personal space as ending at our skin. When we practice our form, at a certain point it can be beneficial to enlarge our sphere of awareness to encompass the space in which we are practicing. When we practice indoors this may be envisioned as the walls of the room. We align our bodies naturally to the four walls. Outdoors we can similarly use the horizon to align our position with the compass directions. As we use this connection to the area beyond our skin we may find resources beyond the personal and begin to operate within a larger meaningful dimension. 

Reference points

As our attention expands beyond our reach, useful reference points allow a much greater ability to attend to proper angles of feet, arms and legs, etc.. This immensely aids the accuracy of the form as one moves through the directions. 

Mr. Chow would talk about the “standards” as he instructed new students. These included the importance of the angles of the feet and the angles of the arms and legs, both in relation to the horizontal and in relation to the front and sides of the body. He would demonstrate their importance by placing a dime on the floor at his feet, then do the entire form and end exactly where he had started. He said that this was a result of adhering to the standards.

As I teach I often find that when the hips are not turned sufficiently in the turns, the following moves are made more difficult or impossible to do correctly. When this happens, usually one twists the shoulders to make up for the lack of range of motion, and this is often an extra movement which throws off the balance and creates unnecessary tension. It is not good T’ai Chi.

 If the hips come out of a turn facing a wall or cardinal direction, then it is much easier to observe that the angles of the feet are pointed either straight ahead or at 45 or 90 degrees with respect to the facing direction. If the hips are also facing the same direction then putting the arm or leg (or both) out at 45 degrees and then moving them horizontally is facilitated. If the hips are not in the correct position then what would be a simple movement is complicated by the necessity of shifting the hip orientation at the same time, creating a situation in which the balance is often impaired. 

First Example

(The following is extremely technical and probably not clear to those not already familiar with the form.)

Examples of this are often seen just after “Carry tiger to mountain and cross hands”(movement ends facing wall, or cardinal direction - S). The next movement is a 45 degree turn called “Left side brush knee and twist step” (movement ends facing corner, or half way between cardinal directions –SE), a variation of the walk with an added 45 degree turn to the left. 

The movement which follows, Right side brush knee and twist step”, is a 180 degree turn combined with a weight shift entirely from the left foot to the right foot.(ends facing corner – NW.) If, (due to lack of flexibility, movement not perfected yet, …) the hips are not turned the full 180 degrees, so one is not facing opposite the starting corner, then the hip position will not allow the necessary range of leg movement for accurate presentation of the form.

 This can either create balance/tension dysfunctions, or a mis-alignment in space which creates problems related to not being in the correct position for the following moves. 

Second and Third Examples

This hip position accuracy is even more important, and a sloppyness here more detrimental to balance in the following moves. After the third round hand, both before the second “Snake creeps down”, in the horizontal kick just before the sccond “Attack the tiger”, and after the second “Snake creeps down”, in the “Turn around and kick horizontally” which precedes the final sequences of the form, when the hands perform a figure eight while balanced on the left foot. (Again, almost impossible to describe verbally without demonstrating, unless already familiar with this part of the form – sorry…)

Expanding Personal Space

When we begin, our personal space may be seen as that which is within our skin. As we practice and become capable within the reach of our hands and feet, our perception of personal space naturally expands to encompass this sphere. Physical and emotional self defense applications may become obvious at this point. Next we may start to become more aware of our surroundings, expanding what we notice as far as we can see. Inside this is often the room we are in. Outside, our view may extend to the horizon, and we may notice the clouds and the weather, etc.

Some Speculative Possibilities

We may enter a realm of serious growth as we allow the acceptance of all we see or can conceive to be part of our space. 

We take care of what we consider ours. 

As we relax and no longer feel threatened by our environment, we may gain the ability to be more aware of and to work within this larger space. Our focused awareness may evolve into what the Buddhist meditation texts refer to as panoramic awareness. 

Our form at this point may gain an elegant simplicity and spontaneity, and may also create feelings of joy and peace…

Attention

The progression of the study of T’ai Chi eventually leads us into the realm of Meditation, or the cultivation of attention. When we begin to practice, our minds tend to attend to physical details which often are verbal in nature, such as “Put the feet here”, or “Move like this, slowly and evenly”. We create a list of instructions which we can follow, and then we have a starting place from which to begin. This is a step forward from not knowing where to start, but later it can become a crutch
.

As we progress in our cultivation of the ability to practice, we may find that in order to really attend to the immediate situation, non-verbal qualities such as the direct perception of our balance and our state of relaxation become far more relevant as the focus of our attention. We may at this point find that focusing on our mental list takes us away from focusing on the immediate internal and external environment. 

This quality of attention, that when it is processing in a verbal fashion it cannot be in two places at once, leads us to the cultivation of an awareness of the present moment and all its’ detail without the now “extra movements” which our verbal descriptive processes have become. This is the realm of meditation. 

At this point we might benefit from a look at the nature of our attention. Examples of a linearly focused attention abound. It seems obvious that we can’t attend to texting and driving at the same time. If we look at one thing, we must stop looking at something else. When we look at our mental list we aren’t able to attend as well to our doing of the form. When I read my music’s words and chords I can’t really ”be present” and attend to the quality of my performance. I can’t be in two places at one time. 

One possible way around this is the non focused, raw attention that is cultivated through meditation. The power of really being in the present moment, in all its’ clarity and free of the descriptive filters, opinions (I like this, I don’t like that, etc.) and old tapes that we may play to ourselves can be immense. 

This clutter of “extra movements” is often not relevant to our immediate situation, and often detracts from our ability to deal with what is right in front of us. The undivided meditative attention created by our T’ai Chi practice includes both the question and the answer. By focusing on the larger system as a whole all is included. 

Although all this may seem highly theoretical and perhaps extremely philosophical, my intention is to describe a very practical and useful model. The above discourse may lead us to consider how the attention might grow as our form evolves. 

Our awareness of what we are may expand as we learn to attend first to what is within our skin, then to what is within our physical reach, and on to what is within the reach of our sight, our thoughts, and our connections to our world. 

We tend to take care of what is ours, and as our conception of personal space expands and evolves, we gain access to an ever larger playing field.

The Calling

“I have just realized more about what I wish to do with music. The songs that call to me are stories and prayers. I start to see myself as a storyteller, a spiritual jongleur who carries the history, passions, and hopes of humanity, and reminds us of those things which bring us to life.” 

 -Early morning musing, Sept. 2014

Some Thoughts On Conscious Evolution

The tsunami wave can travel thousands of miles, while the water in the wave only moves a few feet. Energy can travel through the body in a similar way. A group of people scattered over the world can carry an idea to fruition. 

Reincarnation can also be seen in a very practical, common sense, way through this mechanism. Our personalities, like the water, do not have to travel far for our energy to traverse great spans through time and space.

 One might gain an understanding of separate systems working together, whether they consist of groups of people, body parts, or components of a machine such as a car or truck, with electrical, fuel, and exhaust systems all synchronized and participating in the execution of a common task.  One might also see this in the functioning of computers, electronic, biological (the brain), or societal. The energies of the larger meta-system may far transcend that of the separate components, and yet they are available to those participating in the larger tasks. 

Concepts such as conscious evolution make sense when viewed in such a framework. (Miraculous healing might be explained or facilitated by this mechanism). Systems, body parts, beings, or groups of beings, all have the potential to manifest qualities which become more than a simple sum of the parts out of which they are formed, as participation in the larger task can grant access to the energies available to the larger organism. 

Roll modeling this process through the actions of our lives may bring immense benefits, as others recognize the enhanced quality of life which becomes available to those participating in cooperation. Darwinism and survival of the fittest, or unconscious evolution, can be seen as a primitive precursor of these mechanisms of conscious evolution. 

The advantages of cooperation engender a catalyst style process, where one molecule can transform an entire organism through roll modeling instead of brute force. As one offers something which feels better and enhances the quality of life, much energy is donated by those wishing the obvious benefits of  “A piece of the action”. These processes can also be described as the creation and growth of compassion.

Great Compassion

The appreciation and acceptance of others is the key without which none of this process will work. This is the concept of the Garudas, which guard this energy process from misuse.

Om Tat Sat Om. By Holiness in life, guard the precious gem of gems.      -Agni yoga mantra

“You don’t have to push the car, all you have to do is turn the key in the ignition.”

Blessings to All,

Daniel

Working Together

As the form is perfected, this sends the message of all parts working together, relaxing, moving together, etc., to our larger mind, and we become more at peace (one) with all around us. 

As our insecurities drop away, we begin to be able to access help from all around us. This is free energy that is walled off by our fears. As these fears drop away, this energy – of all the parts of the larger organism of which we are a part (our community, etc.) becomes available to us.

Static and Moving Balance

As our practice evolves, the principle of balance in motion can assume a more prominent place in our practical understanding of T’ai Chi. 

This also generalizes beyond the physical  form, and may be applied to the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual realms of activity. Very practical aspects of this may be witnessed in the evolution of our reactions to the stressors brought to us in the events of our modern lives. 

By sharing this balance, one may extend it’s benefits to others, and thus extend compassion, even in situations when there are no easy answers or advice to be given. Sometimes sharing a calm, centered silence may engender powerful healing energy much needed in our world today.

Steering the Ship

We have a choice which way we steer our ship, the ship which is us. If we are out at sea, and see a hurricane in one direction, and a tropical island with beautiful beaches in the sun in another direction, we have the ability to choose. If I choose to watch the constant drama of tragedies presented by the media for ratings, I can make myself depressed by things that are not here and now. 

Information is good, but getting lost in emotional tear-jerkers is not. As the computer people say, “Garbage in, garbage out”. Doing something to alleviate suffering is good, wallowing in “Oh, poor …..” is neither healthy nor productive. What we choose to take in sets our course, and we choose our direction when we choose what we attend to. 

There is a Sufi story about a wise Sufi teacher who had many followers. A selfish competitor who lived across town wished to steal his students to take advantage of them. His plot was to leave poisoned fruit in the Sufi’s house. He went there and left a poisoned apple on the table. A week later, he went back and left a poisoned peach. After a few weeks, when nothing happened, he went to the Sufi’s house and asked, “What happened?” “How come you are still here?” The Sufi replied “I don’t just eat anything that I find laying around my house” (Thanks to Indries Shah for his wisdom and his many compilations of wonderful and humorous traditional teaching stories.)

Namaste

Automatic Connections

Early in our development, we learn by what Gurdjieff called Associative Thinking. We connect, or associate, events, movements, experiences, which are/were in temporal proximity to each other. 

“Each time I raise my arms I tense my shoulders”, or, “Every time I take a step I tense up”, were at one time products of necessity, but later in our development they have become the residue of earlier stages, the no longer functional baggage which we still carry because it once worked well for us. 

When we first learned to walk, we fell forward and put a foot out to catch ourselves from falling. We tensed many muscles to protect ourselves from a fall. As we learn to relax and move forward from our center in balance, these once functional tensions now inhibit the working of all our parts together which is necessary for this relaxed movement in balance.

These tensions are required as long as the extra movements that disturb our balance are present. The problem can be viewed in terms of tension or of extra movement, as they are two sides of the same coin. As we eliminate the extra movements, the related tensions move from the realm of the functional to the realm of dysfunctional extra baggage; no longer needed but still there.

These old habits are, by this time, very strongly fixed in our movement patterns. We have been doing them regularly and reinforcing them for many, many years. 

The process of changing them is facilitated by slowing down, paying attention, and, of course, practice. We can do this most easily by starting with parts of the form that we are more familiar with, so that our attention isn’t totally taken up with remembering the form. Being in the moment and paying attention to our balance and state of relaxation then becomes a practical possibility. While we are still looking at a list of steps in our head this is much more difficult, if not impossible, and this means that we first need to do our homework. We need to practice until we have some non verbal attention available.

When this level is achieved and we are able to work with breaking these unnecessary automatic connections (Every time I do this, I also do that), this same associative function may then be applied by our brains, unconscious minds, etc., to other parts of our psyche for our benefit. As we learn that “Every time I raise my arms I don’t have to tense my shoulders”, for instance, our larger mind may find other applications for this principle, such as “Every time someone yells at me I don’t have to get upset”, or “Every time I feel threatened I don’t have to react automatically. I might possibly consider other options”. 

The quality of life may be enhanced in many subtle ways as this evolution and growth proceeds out of our practice. 

Blessings and Very Best Wishes,

Daniel

Forgetting the Words

Last night at open mike night I forgot everything, and played guitar and sang very much in the moment. It wasn’t my best performance. When I finished, I told my friend who ran the audio board that I’d give myself a ‘C’ for effort. Earlier, I had told another friend, who had forgotten the words to his song, about forgetting the moves in T’ai Chi, and how, although we often think that we have messed up, this can be perceived instead as a step forward. Allow me to explain.

When, in class, a student forgot where they were in the form, Mr. Chow would say, “Doesn’t matter. Just keep going.” As the years went by, I noticed that this sometimes happened to everyone, even the Chows. What at first seems to be a mistake can sometimes actually be a sign of real progress on the meditative path

.

When we first learn something new, often we make a mental list of the steps of the process, and then, while we practice, we refer to this list in our mind as we perform the new activity. Of course, we then congratulate ourselves on our new ability, and feel pride that we have attained something. 

At a higher level, once the lesson is actually practiced enough times, we no longer need to refer to our “list”, or participate in the internal “chatter” that often accompanies this referring process, all of which are actually extra, un-necessary movements, and which can interfere with the elegant simplicity of the performance. 

In terms of awareness, the perfect performance would require our entire attention. Any other brain/attention activity is a distraction, and lessens the quality of the activity. So when we stop thinking and become totally immersed in our activity, it is as though we are riding the bicycle for the first time without training wheels. Although we might fall or forget the words, the quality of the performance, whether one is making music, doing T’ai Chi, or pouring tea, may attain a much more immediate quality and clarity in which the true value of the activity is at last present.

Right brain and left brain activity can be considered here. The left, analytical side is often used to break up a process into manageable sized pieces, but sometimes an appreciation of the whole event can be integral to and necessary for the occurrence of direct, unfiltered perception. This quality can be associated with right brain, or more properly, the whole brain activity that we may experience when we are totally immersed in the moment. This is not a bad thing. What is lost is insignificant compared to the clarity which allows the event to really move us, to really rock.

As we grow older and our memory abilities may lessen, this may be balanced by the growth of our awareness, compassion, and attention. This Wisdom may then replace the cleverness which was valued in our earlier years. It is equally precious and can become what we now have to offer as we move from the role of the one with a strong back to that of elder of the community.

Namaste