Thought for the Day: Slip Out of Your Thoughts

"....time began for human beings when we slipped out of the present infinite moment, when we went into shame, rage, remorse, grief, sadness, anger, jealousy, greed, and we slipped into the future through our fear, projecting into something that it has not occurred yet. Everything but being here present now. And our minds function in such a way as to pull us away from ourselves. The thoughts do only that.

So, in my dream, we will recover the aspect of the real human being, where we are all infinitely present and that consciousness is what guides us to put together whatever the new is. And that will require, as one of the first steps, to slip out of thought. I know this is possible because by age six, I could sit for hours with no thought coming through my head, but still have awareness. In fact, in Aleut country, we consider thoughts as dumbing us down. And the words that come from these thoughts dumb us down. The true intelligence of the real human being is the entire embodiment of the human being with thoughts not interfering but supporting that which comes from that awareness. And that, I know, we are going to do."

This quote comes from Aleut community leader Larry Merculieff.  He was the first Alaska Native person to serve as Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Commerce and Economic Development. He chaired the Indigenous Knowledge sessions of the Global Summit of Indigenous Peoples on Climate Change. Co-author of Aleut Wisdom: Stories of an Aleut, Merculieff is a Senior Advisor to the World Wilderness Congress.

Gratitude from Shih Fu Catherine

Ni hao dear Body Balance students and colleagues,

There's just no way to adequately express my gratitude for all your well wishes, meditations, visits, phone calls, and help in the wake of my recent accident. I understand that Shih Fu has kept you updated on the whole story and my progress in healing.

Despite some worry and fear about undergoing such a big operation, on the day of my surgery, I awoke feeling buoyed up in a huge safety net of well wishes and love, confident that everything was going to be perfect. And it truly was!  I was laughing and joking with my doctors and nurses all the way into the operating room. I remember nothing from the 2 hour procedure and went home that day feeling amazingly OK.

Of course there have been tough days.  I have a new respect for western pain medications, although I'm also using homeopathic remedies, supplements, ice and deep breathing to deal with the pain. Let me say that all through this experience, from the moment I slipped off the roof right up to now, I'm doing fine. My broken ankle is healing well. I maintain my spirits with plenty of rest, fresh food, and daily contact with the practice. 

Notice I didn't say practice, because, let me tell you, it is not possible to perform a weight shift when your healing depends on keeping weight off one of your legs! But I can imagine that weight shift. And so far, I've been able to practice mentally while laying down. (Try it yourself sometime!)

Did you know that Qi Gong works pretty well at any angle? Lying down flat; lying down with leg and head propped on pillows; sitting in a recliner chair; even balancing on one leg while using crutches.

Let me exclaim here about the power of Section Three! That's where I first learned to really balance on one leg.  And that skill has come in very handy in the last month of using crutches full time.  Every time I wobble or slip, I find new ways to root through my right foot. More about this in another blog...

I'm about ready to try some kind of seated practice, of Qi Gong, if not Tai Chi.  I'll have plenty of time to refine that practice before I bring it to the studio, because I've just been given another 5 weeks in a cast with no weight-bearing on my left leg.

Xie xie to my students for continue to practice diligently in my absence from our weekly classes.  And to Shih Fu Eileen for stepping in to seamlessly keep the flow going.  I'm sure Chris Hooley has stepped up to an even higher level of transmission in this time of opportunity. And to all the teachers at Body Balance who are filling in and taking on the extra load while I take the necessary time to heal.

I am gaining the strength and stamina to return. It won't be too much longer, although I can't make promises or give a date.  One day soon, you'll here me clump-clumping up the back stairs and you'll see my bright purple, knee-high cast and know I have returned.

For now, I yield to my body's need to heal. I use the principles of our practice on a daily, hourly basis to uphold my spirits.  I have faith that all is already well.







 

Your Brain on Bliss

(Shih Fu Catherine here, returning to the blog after a brief time exploring the depths of rest and relaxation that come with physical injury.  I look forward to the day in the near future, when I am strong enough to return to the studio and practice with my community.)

From Yes! magazine comes an article about the benefits of meditation, written by a self-described "novice." 

The article outlines a January 2011 study, published in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, that suggests that meditating for just 30 minutes a day for eight weeks can increase the density of gray matter in brain regions associated with memory, stress, and empathy.

The researchers tracked 16 people who were participating in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, the training program developed more than 30 years ago by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

These folks were not Buddhist monks and had little prior experience with any mindfulness practice. They were average Joes and Janes like you and me who reported spending 30 minutes or less per day actually meditating.

Interesting, isn't it, that the Yang Style Long Form, when practiced appropriately takes about 20 minutes or more to perform.  If you include a brief standing meditation at the beginning and then close with another brief moment of conscious connection, that puts your practice right about at 30 minutes.

And don't discount the added, cumulative benefits that come from those moments throughout the day when you stop your busy life to take a deep, conscious breath. That's when you turn your mind intent, yi, inward, and focus on the act of breathing in and out as a way to align your awareness and feel rooted in the midst of the daily chaos.

I don't know how many hours I've spent practicing Tai Chi, Qi Gong or the other meditative practices I've learned throughout my life.  It's not necessary to catalog those statistics.  You don't have to beat yourself up because you haven't found a way to practice every single day.  Practice as often as you can. Practice wherever and whenever you can.  Get to know the little signals from your body and your mind that encourage you toward practice.  Don't resist. Make time to practice for your own health and for everyone around you.

These practices are a deep well of peace and tranquility that you can return to often. Practice has teaches you how to create a nice big empty vessel, one that you can dip down into that well. Drink deeply. Quench your thirst.

Let yourself be motivated and inspired by the accumulating evidence that this practice is good medicine.

Tao Te Ching Online

While it is honorable to ponder words on paper, the Tao Te Ching is also available online.
Tao Te Ching Online
This translation is by Steven Mitchell.

Read about Shaolin Kung Fu Masters in National Geographic Magazine

Published: March 2011

Shaolin Kung Fu

Battle for the Soul of Kung Fu

In the shadow of China’s legendary Shaolin Temple, a kung fu master’s disciples confront the changing world of martial arts.

By Peter Gwin

Photograph by Fritz Hoffmann

Kung Fu Fighting

Watch as writer Peter Gwin and photographer Fritz Hoffmann receive a quick lesson in the martial arts from a Shaolin monk.

 

Ancient Arts for Modern Students

A Google search reveals somewhat more than 10,000 Qi Gong and Tai Chi videos online.

(Any student of the Tao Te Ching is smiling right about now since Lao Tzu mentions "the ten thousand things" over and over in his book.)

You can watch Qi Gong on PBS and Tai Chi on YouTube. If you recall that at Body Balance we practice Yang Style Long Form Tai Chi, you might even be able to sort through the search results and view performance, demo and instructional videos of our form.

The question arises: can you learn the ancient arts from a video?

Traditional teachers might say no for a few reasons:

• Your Shih Fu transmits not only the form itself, but also the lineage. Learning from a certified teacher means that s/he takes personal responsibility for the accuracy of the form, its applications and the preparations that help a student gain full knowledge of the practice and its healing benefits. 
• These ancient arts are transmitted from person to person. If Shih Fu demonstrates Brush Knee, you can see how s/he gathers energy and moves through the center using the hand to ward off a low kick.  The video may show a front view or back view. But even a video can cover all the angles.
• You can't ask questions of the Shih Fu performing in a video. You might post a comment, but you can't share your insights through a conversation with your colleagues at the studio. Transmission seems to be most effective in person.

Traditional teachers working with modern students might say yes for a few reasons:

•  A video might be useful as a refresher for home practice for media-savvy students who  are actively learning a form from a Shih Fu.
• Video may be a useful way to record a form so that its knowledge will reside in more than one mind. (Practitioners of ancient arts and languages are debating this point around the world right now.)
• Video may be a useful teaching tool for providing instant feedback to students on their performance of forms and their understanding of the principles of Tai Chi.
• It seems be alright to post short portions of a form, such as competition or performance forms, without making the entire set available.

While you are unlikely to be able to buy a Body Balance Tai Chi DVD any time soon, don't be too surprised if your modern teachers use modern methods to transmit these ancient arts.

Keeping practicing!
Shih Fu Catherine 

Xie Xie to Shaolin Monks and everyone at Body Balance Academy

Xie xie (thank you) to Master Shi Yong Yao, Master Shi Chung Jun, Master Shi Chung Chiang, Shih Fu Eileen Hancock and everyone who helped in any way to create a wonderfully energetic and successful weekend of Kung Fu, Qi Gong and Tai Chi performances and seminars.

Special thanks to students who performed so gracefully and powerfully in the Saturday night show:

Adonijah Bouba Camara
Shaolien Chen-Graf
Kailash Cain
Isaiah and Iley O'Connell
Kiala Lujan
Nathaniel Welch
Neona Welch
Kaia Smith
Romain Telles
Chandra Moore
Shih Fu Jean Kono
Raymond Smith
Shih Fu Catherine Stifter
Tina Heck
Mattias Schossig
Chris Hooley
Larissa Gilbert

Thanks to Grace Wong for translation throughout the event.

And many thanks for music, lights, sound and photography:
Bill Douglass, David Lovere, Moussa Camara, Immanuel Alston, Brahm Catron
If you are a member of Facebook, view David Lovere's Photo Album of the event.

A very special thank you for all around management genius to Summer Lujan.

Apologies for leaving out any mention of people who helped in other ways. We thank you too.