Compassion

             “People should be nice to each other.”  - Jerry Garcia

I was recently watching a television show in which a woman has some wisdom, and two suitors. 

Sometimes I find life’s lessons in some very unexpected places. As the Sufi saying goes, “Seek knowledge even in China”. (This is from a time when China took many years of travel to visit, and little about it was known). 

My thoughts these days sometimes compare the experiences that life puts in front of me to a chess game, in that careful contemplation and consideration might lead one to a better possible outcome. 

The suitors in this case were both handsome and intelligent, and did not seem to exhibit anger, harmfulness, deceit, or lack of good taste, and both exhibited some human frailties. 

One of them, in the course of his life, recently exhibited in his decisions examples of compassion. 

The other seemed to exhibit much achievement in many areas, and had lived through many adventures, but had not so far evidenced examples of compassion for others.

The question that presents itself is, which would she choose?

As in the story of the two wolves that reside in each of us, one is gentle, friendly, and caring, and the other is aggressive, selfish, and sometimes mean. 

When the child asks the elder which one would win the battle that takes place within each of us, the elder responds: “The one that we feed.”.

In life situations, we don’t always know which one will win, but I’m rooting for the one with compassion. 

We feed it by practicing things like generosity, both to strengthen that habit in ourselves and to be a role model for others.

The reason that this works is that when our actions (and not just our words) foster and nurture the world around us they add meaning and some joy to our lives. 

This creates something that others seek and want a part of, and sometimes brings us support and nurture from some unexpected places.

That is, It’s a Blessing, both for ourselves and others.

Namaste,

Daniel

Back to the Basics

 Many people around me these days seem to be a bit overloaded. 

To put it simply, we seem to have a lot on our plates of things that we need to deal with. 

These requests and demands for our time, money, energy, and attention are multiplied as the increased connections that are presented with the growth of electronic and social media inputs rises exponentially.

Perhaps what is needed in order to not be inundated by this seeming tidal wave is a return to the basics. For me, this might begin with food, shelter, and the connection to others that makes everything worthwhile. 

This might be called attention, or love, or meaning. It might not be what others request or demand, but that which we find is important to us when we look inside ourselves. 

As this holiday season is upon us, I wish to remind us all to take a moment to contemplate what we and the world around us really need, and not to become lost in the plethora of perhaps impossible demands that we are presented with each day. 

That which is really important to us will arise and can be attended to. 

Much, or at least some things are not, or can be left to others. 

Look in your hearts and pick some basic things you can do that fulfill you and your basic needs, both materially and spiritually. 

Seek a path that promotes contentment and at least some joy. 

The world needs this as much as you. Seek Balance.

Blessings to All, 

Daniel

Generalizing the Principles to Everyday Activities

 Moving from the center might begin with T’ai Chi for some of us. 

When I swim or when I walk, this Year’s lesson seems to be how to turn the hip to power each kick when swimming, and to power each step when I walk. 

In so doing, I use more muscles and move faster and more efficiently. This works in the water and on the land. 

It also accrues immense health benefits by increasing the blood circulation through the body’s core. 

Because I am using new and more muscles, making these changes in the way that I move is taking time. 

Often the new movement seems to kick in toward the end of my walk or swim. 

It takes some effort and tires me to use more muscles, and after a little while I find that I have to go back to the easier, slower way of moving to rest and catch my breath. 

As I get used to the new way I can sustain it for longer periods of time. Soon, as I become more fit and healthier, moving more from my center will become the natural way that I move.

It is from this generalization of the T’ai Chi principles into our normal everyday movements that accounts of longevity and increasing ability may originate. 

This comes not from anything magical or extra - ordinary. It is just another common sense example of the “Use it or lose it” principle, as applied to normal aging.

Each year, as one progresses and pays attention, new lessons will hopefully appear.

Namaste,

Daniel

Useful Tips from Chess

It has been proposed here in many ways that the answer to how we might move forward in our pursuits lies in the application of more attention to what ever tasks we might find on our path. 

Today I wish to present some practical tips about how we might begin to apply our attention, where we might start. 

I hope these ideas can be useful precepts not just for chess, but also for the acquisition of skills in T’ai Chi and many other areas. 

These tips are about how to start. 

Each time that we are presented with a choice, when it’s our move in chess, or in other pursuits such as T’ai Chi, what can we do to generate a focus from which to begin? 

How can we, without delay, immediately get started? 

(How can we, as W. C. Fields once said, “Grab the bull by the tail and face the issue?”)

“When you find a good move, keep looking for a better one.”

-Emanuel Lasker (World chess champion, 1894-1921)

Anna Cramling, a Youtube chess blogger whose parents are both Grand Masters, has said that when she was young, her parents said “When it’s your turn, look for three things: All the checks, all the captures, and all the attacks you can make.” 

For me, this was a real eye opener. 

It gave me something to focus my attention on to immediately see what I could do next.

In more general terms this becomes, to look for opportunities to win (check), to gain advantage (capture), and to move forward (attack). 

Using these tips to improve a skill such as T’ai Chi, or to more efficiently study, for instance, in many other pursuits or tasks, might be very useful, profitable, or advantageous!

When asked how many moves ahead he could see in his mind, Jose Raul Capablanca (World chess champion,1921-1927) is said to have stated “Only one, the best one.”

I am slowly, after not having played chess since the 1960s, (When I was in school), re-connecting. 

I am enjoying Youtube videos, starting to play some chess robots (AIs) on the computer (to warm up and not make an enormous number of obvious blunders), and am looking forward to playing “over the board” games with local people soon. 

I’m having a great time, and enjoying each part of the process!

Namaste, Daniel

Frames of Reference

 When I was much younger and in high school and college, I used to play chess. 

I recently found my way to some Youtube blogs about the current world of chess. 

After many, many years, I found that I could still follow and understand the games that were played.

Even after all this time had passed since then, my memory of the game rules and strategy had not been lost. But the way that the game was played had changed and perhaps evolved. 

I found that I had some catching up to do.

One of the changes that I noticed was that many players in parks, clubs, and even on line, were using digital clocks and playing five minute games! 

They all used a system of recording the games that lent itself to the digital age.

The system they were using to record their games, which was beginning but not in favor when I had played before, was now prevalent, and the only system of chess notation that was accepted by the national and international organizations or accepted at tournaments. 

The new system, named algebraic notation, that uses the same names of the squares for both sides, or players, makes a lot more sense in the digital age. 

When I played in the 1960’s I never used a clock, and games, at least for me, were much slower.

If we recorded our games, we used a descriptive system of notation in which each side described the board as beginning from their own side. 

(This system is used in the excellent TV series ‘The Queen’s Gambit’.) 

White started from their side, counting the board spaces from one to eight, with eight being the far side of the board. Black did the same, beginning from their side. 

As in the Bibical story of the ‘Tower of Babel’, they both spoke different languages! 

In more recent times we now use the system of algebraic notation to describe the board spaces, with both players counting from the White side, beginning with ‘One’, and counting toward ‘Eight’ on Black’s side. 

Moving laterally across the board, the rows are labeled with letters (algebraic style), from ‘a’ on White’s left, to ‘h’ on White’s right.

The most important part of this change (of notation system) is that both players, on opposite sides of the board, are now speaking the same language!

In a digital age, this certainly allows for a much simpler way for a person or a machine to logically follow each game. 

Also, the use of the clock, while not actually changing the game itself, both quantifies and objectivises  the time parameter as well.

The possibilities engendered by all of this, as one might say, boggles the mind! 

It suggests the taking of a larger, more encompassing and more quantifiable view in which both sides might become part of a larger whole, and might even suggest solutions that allow both sides of any conflict to at least see, and maybe start to empathize with the opposite side, in new, perhaps more accomodating and less polarized ways.

Although one player might start on this path in order to gain advantage, the insidious Trojan Horse embedded within the process might also engender a recognition of the similarities shared by both sides, and perhaps cultivate some appreciation of one’s opponent that might foster a decrease of the polarization. 

The seeds of a perception of commonality might grow into something positive.

Shifting into the language of T’ai Chi, the lessening of tension between parts of the larger perceived organism might help both sides to more effectively present their case to the opposite side.

My apologies if the above discourse seems somewhat obtuse. 

These are somewhat challenging and difficult ideas for me to put into words. 

My intention is to perhaps provide insight into how we might be able to work with views diametrically opposed to our own by finding some kind of common ground. 

Blessings to All,

Daniel

Simplicity

 Sometimes persistence pays off.

 Last night, even though the skies were not cooperating, I decided to break out the telescope and go to the park to offer the public an opportunity to dabble in astronomy. 

I was also taking the opportunity myself to get out and see what the world might have in store for me. After a month of rainy or cloudy unsuitable Saturday nights for astronomy, I was ready to go.

The skies were dry but about two thirds covered with clouds. The Moon was out. Three of us had brought out telescopes, and Barb had brought out her large binoculars and tripod. Doug’s telescope was a relative of my own, and shared some of the same features. 

As we set up, I complained that the more experienced among us seemed to unpack and set up their scopes in just a few minutes, while I had only been able to reduce my set-up time from thirty to about fifteen or twenty minutes. This was multiplied by four, since I was breaking down the set-up at home to pack, loading the car, setting up at the park, then taking it all down to take home, and then setting it out at home to let the dew dry off before putting it away.

I would be still setting up my tripod when others were all set up and ready to go. Doug pointed out that our tripods were similar, and said that while I was attaching the shelf (which was also making the tripod more rigid and stable), with thumb screws each time, a time consuming and labor-intensive task, he had just left the screws attached and facing down in his shelf, and used them as pins, placing the shelf between his tripod legs in one easy movement! 

WOW!

Just like T’ai Chi! 

A simple easy movement had replaced a complicated and much less efficient movement!

By persisting and showing up, I had moved forward in my practice! 

A family with kids showed up, and the kids were delighted that we were there! Later, a group with a new telescope arrived, and we were off and running, enjoying the Moon even with less than perfect skies! 

The thirty percent of the sky that was free of clouds later gave us not only the Moon, but also much of the summer triangle. The stories and experiences that we shared were delightful and rejuvinating. 

A good time was had by all!

Peace, Daniel

The Principles

 Every few years I like to survey what the internet has available currently about T’ai Chi. Recently I did a search on Youtube for Taichi. 

The results gave me a mix of many different styles, forms and exercises. From these, I became aware of some common threads that ran through many of the various presentations by many different high level instructors.

It seemed obvious to me that all of these examples shared certain principles that were relevant regardless of the particular style or form. 

It occurred to me that these common core principles might be useful to students of the many various and seemingly different styles, and help one’s understanding grow to a higher level, no matter which form or practice one studied.

Particularly, some examples of Relaxation and Balance and an Awareness of Ergonomic Positioning throughout the movements may deserve our attention. 

Relaxation is very noticeable even for beginners, in the relaxed shoulders, which stay relaxed even through the various movements.

Balance: Whether practiced fast or slow, balance is that which allows relaxation, and relaxation is that which allows the Chi to flow. The various body parts are connected through relaxed movements. Tense muscles are needed when one is out of balance, to support that which is out of balance (so we don’t fall),  and these tensions block the flow of energy between the parts.

Tension is an energy block that keeps the parts from working together, and inhibits the flow of Chi. The word Chi is used here as a product of all the parts working together, and is a physical rather than philosophical concept. (Perhaps this idea might aid one in understanding what Chi is and how it might work, in Western terms.)

Ergonomic Positioning: An example of this might be the best way to describe this principle. If the elbows fold Down instead of out to the sides when bent, they hang from the body instead of needing to be supported by muscle tension. This both saves energy, and allows the Chi to flow through the relaxed body parts.

One may observe these principles in any part/parts of the body, but the arms might be a simpler place to start, as they aren’t supporting our weight, as is the case with the legs.

Another principle is Moving from the Center, but as the various forms evolve, this is often internalized, and is often not so obvious to casual observation.

Dr. Lam’s excellent and delightful videos, as well as videos of the Chows, and other high level expositions of T’ai Chi, all clearly exhibit these core principles, regardless of which style they demonstrate.

Well, enough for now. I hope that these are useful to you all!

Daniel

The Summer Triangle

 I live in the city, where the stars that are visible in the night sky are often few and far between. The city’s lights and sky conditions many times conspire to make even the most obvious constellations difficult to recognize. 

Last year, when I attempted to reconnect with the stars for the first time in many years, after learning the winter constellations around Orion, the spring rainy season’s clouds doused my plans to continue learning the annual terrain of the skies. 

This year the weather seems to have brought more challenging conditions to see much beyond the planets of our solar system, but with persistence I have found that there is still a lot to be seen. 

In the early hours of the morning there are sometimes only three bright stars to be seen overhead. These are three first magnitude stars that can be seen, when the clouds allow, even when it is difficult or impossible to see the Big Dipper or the North Star (Polaris) without binoculars. 

These stars, known as the Summer Triangle, rise in the East earlier and earlier as the year progresses. 

By late summer they will be high in the sky in the early evenings. The brightest is Vega, in the constellation Lyrae. The Southermost, in the constellation Aquila, is Altair. The dimmest one is Deneb, marking the tail of Cygnus the Swan, and also the top of what is known as the Northern Cross. 

With binoculars I can see a lot of stars in this area. At five am lately, I have seen this triangle for the last month. 

There is a delightful book, Robert Burnham Jr’s Celestial Handbook, from the 1970s, that not only has astronomical and physical information about the stars and constellations and deep sky objects of interest, but also, of great value, has wonderful legends, myths, and stories, both recent and ancient, from various cultures, nationalities, and traditions all over the world.

For instance, from China, a classic tale enjoyed by Confucious in his time, of the love between a Weaving Girl (Vega), and a Herd Boy, (Altair), who were kept apart by a river (The Milky Way). They could only meet every seven years, by crossing a bridge made of birds. 

Wow! What a story!

I sometimes think about how the cultural heritage of our world’s various stories might transcend all our differences and perhaps bring us all together. 

Perhaps this might help us to see each other’s common humanity, and enable us to work together to create solutions to the cancers that divide us. 

Like T’ai Chi, this might help us all, as parts of one greater whole, to work together toward a less polarized world.

Very Best Wishes to All,

Daniel

Persistance

 “If a fool were to persist in his folly, he would become wise.”

- William Blake

Sometimes attention is the key to solving a problem. One may increase the quantity of attention in more than one way. Through practice, we may hone our attention to be sharper, stronger, or more intense. It has been said that “Practice makes perfect.”. 

Another way, for those of us who might lack the innate skills or abilities granted to some,  is to increase the attention by spending more time looking at a situation, in order to allow some perhaps less obvious solutions to present themselves. 

For example, we take the case of two students studying for a math test. One student studies the example problems, or the rules and axioms, or perhaps just discusses the rules or problems in a group study session for about fifteen minutes. 

Another student does this studying for maybe three hours. It seems to be just common sense that the student that studies longer will probably do better. In this case, if one does the math, the one that puts in twelve times the time and studies for three hours, will probably do better than the student that studies for only fifteen minutes.

This can be done by practicing, or by meditating or reading, or by any other method of giving a situation our attention.

When we practice or think about or read about our T’ai Chi practice regularly and by doing this, attend to it, how can it not improve? 

This may be applied to almost any type of endeavor. It is applicable to learning or becoming more proficient in both learning and, perhaps even more valuable, in the gaining or acquiring of wisdom, as the above William Blake quote suggests. 

One might attend to the concepts of balance and and centering. Practicing movement and attention  through T’ai Chi or learning a musical instrument might generalize not just the specific tasks, but also might strengthen both the physical and attention muscles and help one to understand the larger perspective, from which wisdom may arise. 

Don’t say, “I can’t do that!”. Instead, perhaps one might say, “I can’t do that yet!”.

Put in the time and you won’t waste your dime.

The Light within me honors the light within you (Namaste),

Daniel.

Food for Thought: Countering Negativity

 The Yin/Yang Symbol

Picture a Yin/Yang sign, a circle divided by an “S” shaped line, one side dark, and the other side light. The middle of the widest part of the dark side contains a small light colored spot, and the middle of the widest part of the light side contains a similar dark spot. 

Within this circle we have a microcosm of any system. Perhaps we may also have a solution to many of the difficulties we may encounter in real world situations. If the small spots are perhaps viewed as eyes, and the two sides as separate entities, then it seems each side might have the ability to see the other, even if they don’t agree.

If we look to the entire symbol, containing both sides, and each with a bit of the other within it as a single larger entity, then this suggests that a possible solution exists to resolve the differences between sides and perhaps come to a mutually advantageous cooperative state, making available the energies of both sides to each other and thus doubling the energy of the larger organism, or entity.

This might sound very theoretical, abstract or philosophical, but in practice might be used as a blueprint for the construction of some effective and very productive cooperative ventures that might replace prior stalled efforts.

The Dialectic

In philosophy, dialectic reasoning combines a thesis with its’ antithesis to create something new, a synthesis.

Ecology: Each behavior serves a function

From psychology we learn that each behavior provides some benefit, real or imagined. Sooner or later, without this reward, the behavior may atrophy or be replaced by a more productive, or ecological one. 

Behaviors may grow or die out according to this precept of Ecology.

Thoughts that can Help

“Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.” - Lao Tsu

“Success is the ability to move from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

                                                                   - Winston Churchill

Lately I have been watching two areas of endeavor that might benefit from some possible synthesis acceptable to both sides.These are in the highly polarized arenas of American politics and world politics. 

Surely both sides in each of these conflicts would appreciate a way out that would provide some benefit to all concerned.

This would begin by finding some common ground, and by letting go of some past history and grudges on both sides. 

Without suggesting some obvious answers that haven’t worked for both sides yet, I can only offer here some strategies and beginnings that might lead toward some new possibilities, and importantly, to give Hope for a better future for All. 

(To be continued…)

Peace, Health and Simplicity,

Daniel

Astronomy - Balance in the Universe, and our part in it

 Last Saturday night I found myself bringing my telescope to a park South of Miami where the Southern Cross Astronomical Society, weather allowing, offers stargazing opportunities to the public on most Saturday evenings. 

Several families brought their kids. 

We had five telescopes and some binoculars available. 

What a treat to share views of Jupiter with its Galilean moons, close up views of our Moon, the Seven Sisters,  and the Great Nebula in Orion, to name just some of the celestial parade. 

Present were kids and adults of all ages, many who were seeing these sights “Close up” for the first time through the telescopes. 

During this viewing we shared our joy and passion for various subjects, including how the Earth was turning and moving, how the telescopes worked, the mythology of the various stars and constellations, celestial navigation, finding our way around the sky, and how to get started, even without a lot of equipment or skies clear of light pollution, clouds, etc.. 

It’s amazing what fun can be had with some inexpensive binoculars (optional) and a free VR (Virtual Reality) phone app that gives one an ‘easy to use’ map of what’s out and visible each night.

Later in the evening were many delightful conversations with what turned out to be many diverse and interesting characters who spontaneously presented numerous unique and mind opening opportunities for us all. 

What a Treat! A mix of old and new friendships that seemed to encourage and foster a joy and excitement that might transcend, for a while, the more mundane course of our daily lives. 

The event seemed to bring us more fully into the present, and created an opportunity for us all to rise to the occasion and shine, and to be at our best. A Good time was had by All!

“I would like to be learning something new, and growing, the day that I die.”

- David Crosby, Dan Rather interview, The Big Interview, CSN.

Best to All,

Daniel