Gnomes at Home

Ms. Sancy Liu

S&Z Evergreen Creation Ltd

Room 609, Lankun Building ,213 Min Kang Road, Bao’an District, Shenzhen, China,518000

E-mail: sales@evergreencreation.com

Tel: 86-755-83156852

Fax: 86-755-83198526

Website: www.giftwaresuppliers.com

Press the Heavens with Two Hands

Hi,
 

I discovered your web page on Eight Section Brocade—what an amazing resource! Thank you for putting it together.

I'm a beginning/intermediate qi gong student, mostly practicing at home. I've learned this form from various teachers and as a result, I've gotten rather confused. So the information here is helpful. One sticking point I've had is regarding the breathing on the first exercise, since some teachers have told me to inhale up and others have told me to exhale up. Can you explain what the difference is? I noticed as I was scanning your page that you mention something about one being the Buddhist method and the other being the Daoist method. What's the difference to the one practicing?
 

Also, is there one resource you'd recommend for the Eight Section Brocade? (like one book or one dvd or one teacher...)
 

Thanks so much!

Kristi
___________________________

Kristi,

Best wishes with your practice of the Eight Section Brocade Qigong Form.  May you enjoy good health and uplifting vitality.

The first movement in this set is "Pressing the Heavens with Two Hands."  Arms press upward and forward.  When I practice this movement I spread my feet a bit wider, toes out 45 degrees.  As my arms come down in semi-circular arc on either side, I exhale.  As my arms come down to my legs I squat within my training zone, then my hands come together between my legs, I turn my palms up, and as I inhale I slowly draw my hands up close to my body up to my forehead.  Turning my palms out, press both arms upward into the Heavens.  At the end of the press relax, begin to exhale as your arms circle back down to your legs.  Inhale moving up, exhale moving down.   If you are doing deeper squats with longer holds, probably better to exhale as you push up from a squat.  Sometimes, I like to inhale until my hands turn at my forehead, then exhale as I press the arms up and out, inhale at the peak of the upward stretch, exhale going down.  I prefer relaxing my abdomen on the inhale, and gently tightening the abdomen on the exhale.  Eight repetitions for each movement is recommended.  Some players like to come up on their toes as they press up and out.  There are many breathing methods in Chinese Qigong and Indian Yoga, and some methods are used by Buddhists and Taoists in spiritual practices including chanting.  Breathe (inhaling/exhaling) in any way comfortable to you to allow you to complete eight repetitions of "Pressing the Heavens with Two Hands." 
Yin, Exhale, Lowering, Emptying, Downward, Squatting, Tightening Abdomen
Yang, Inhale, Rising, Filling, Upward, Standing, Relaxing Abdomen 

Unfortunately, I can't suggest the best resource because I cannot afford to purchase them and spend time comparing them. 

Cheers,
Mike

Portland Oregon Trip

Karen and I took a trip up to Portland, Oregon.  We left Red Bluff on Tuesday, 11/22, at 6:30 am.  We returned to Red Bluff on Sunday, 4 pm, on 11/27.  Portland is 470 miles from our home in Red Bluff.  

Our children and their families all live in Portland.  

We enjoy visiting a metropolitan area like Portland.  


We live in a rural area in the sunny North Sacramento Valley in Northern California, seven miles south of Red Bluff, California.  

Visiting with and learning more about how your children and grandchildren are developing and changing is a pleasure for both Karen and I.  

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 42

Dao De Jing by Laozi, Chapter 42

Transformations of the Tao, Reason's Modifications,  Avoid Violence, Unnatural Death, One Produces Many,  道化 

"The Dao produced One; One produced Two;
Two produced Three; Three produced All things.
All things leave behind them the Obscurity (out of which they have come), and go forward to embrace the Brightness (into which they have emerged), while they are harmonised by the Breath of Vacancy.
What men dislike is to be orphans, to have little virtue, to be as carriages without naves; and yet these are the designations which kings and princes use for themselves.
So it is that some things are increased by being diminished, and others are diminished by being increased.
What other men (thus) teach, I also teach.
The violent and strong do not die their natural death.
I will make this the basis of my teaching."
-   Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 42

"The Way gave birth to unity,
Unity gave birth to duality,
Duality gave birth to trinity,
Trinity gave birth to the myriad creatures.
The myriad creatures bear yin on their backs and embrace yang in their bosoms.
They neutralize these vapors
and thereby achieve harmony.
That which all under heaven hate most
Is to be orphaned, destitute, and hapless.
Yet kings and dukes call themselves thus.
Things may be diminished by being increased, increased by being diminished.
Therefore,
That which people teach,
After deliberation, I also teach people.
Therefore,
"The tyrant does not die a natural death."
I take this as my mentor."
-   Translated by Victor Mair, Chapter 42

"Dao sprouted as one.
One sprouted into two.
Two sprouted into three.
Three sprouted into all the living things in the universe.
All living things suffer through darkness and embrace the light.
In the middle, life's energy finds a way to act from the harmony of both.
A person's stance might be to really hate being "alone, isolated and One Without Grain".
Yet the nobility choose to call themselves by that title.
A living thing may be damaged by increase; or may profit by decrease.
Therefore, if a person realizes that their attitude can teach others,
In the evening they will consider and discuss things, teaching each other.
Therefore those who are aggressive and violent will die incomplete.
I'll take these lessons as though they came from my father."
-   Translated by Nina Correa, 2005, Chapter 42  

"The way begets the one
The one begets the two
The two beget the three
The three beget the myriad beings
The myriad beings carry the shadow and embrace the light
Mixing the breaths with harmonious action
People have their reasons to truly dislike being
“Orphaned & friendless, without worth”
Yet sovereign & duke take (these) as titles
Since beings may sometimes lose something, and yet benefit
May sometimes gain something, and yet be diminished
What someone else has taught
I too come to teach:
Those who are forceful & hostile
do not meet their (natural) ends
I will regard (this) as a premise of the teaching."
-   Translated by Bradford Hatcher, 2005, Chapter 42  

"The Tao gives birth to the One.
The One gives birth to two.
Two gives birth to three.
And three gives birth to the ten thousand things.
The ten thousand things have their backs in the shadow
while they embrace the light.
Harmony is achieved by blending
the breaths of these two forces.
People dislike the words "alone," "helpless," "worthless,"
yet this is how Princes describe them selves.
So it is that sometimes a thing is increased
by being diminished and
diminished by being increased.
What others teach I also teach:
"A violent person will not die a natural death."
I shall make this the basis of my teaching."
-   Translated by Tolbert McCarroll, 1982, Chapter 42  

"The principle is not a thing. Call it zero.
The principle in action is the unity of creation. This unity is a single whole. Call it one.
Creation consists of pairs of opposites or polarities. Call these polarities two.
These polarities become creative when they interact. Their interaction is the third element. Call it three.
For example, a man and a woman are two. Their interaction, or intercourse, the third element makes babies. That is creative. That is how all creativity occurs.
The wise leader knows about pairs of opposites and their interactions. The leader knows how to be creative.
In order to lead, the leader learns to follow. In order to prosper, the leader learns to live simply. In both cases, it is the interaction that is creative.
Leading without following is sterile. Trying to become rich by accumulating more and more is a full-time career and not free at all.
Being one-sided always produces unexpected and paradoxical results. Being well-defended will not protect you; it will diminish your life and eventually kill you.
Exceptions to these examples of traditional wisdom are very hard to find."
-   Translated by John Heider, 1985, Chapter 42  



"Tao gives birth to One,
One gives birth to Two,
The Two gives birth to Three,
The Three gives birth to all universal things.
All universal things shoulder the Yin and embrace the Yang.
The Yin and Yang mingle and mix with each other to beget the harmony.
People distain the orphaned, widowed and worthless,
Yet they are the name by which rulers called themselves.
Therefore all things may increase when diminished,
And they may diminish when increased.
What people teach is "get rid of weakness and become strong,"
But what I teach is "get rid of the strong to become weak.
The violent and forceful do not die a natural death,"
I will begin my teaching just from this saying."
-  Translated by He Xuezhi, Chapter 42


"When the Principle has emitted its virtue, the latter begins to evolve according to two alternating modalities.
This evolution produces (or condenses) the median air (tenuous matter).
From tenuous matter, under the influence of the two modalities yin and yang, all sentient beings are produced.
Coming out from the yin (from strength) they pass to the yang (to the act), through the influence of the two modalities on matter.
What men dislike is being alone, unique, incapable, (in obscurity and abasement), and yet emperors and princes are designated by these terms, (which imply humility without debasement).
Beings diminish themselves by wanting to augment themselves, and they are augmented through diminishing themselves."
-   Translated by Derek Bryce, 1999, Chapter 42  
  
"Nature first begets one thing.
The one thing begets another.
The two produce a third.
In this way, all things are begotten.
Why? Because all things are impregnated by two alternating tendencies, the tendency towards completion and the tendency towards initiation, which acting together, complement each other.
Most men dislike to be considered of no account, lowly, unworthy.
Yet intelligent leaders call themselves thus.
For people are admired for their humility and despised for their pride.
There are many other ways of illustrating what I am teaching: "Extremists reach untimely ends."
This saying may be taken as a good example."
-   Translated by Archie J. Bahm, Chapter 42   

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index 

Chapter 42 of the Dao De Jing by Lao Tzu

Index of Translators of the Tao Te Ching

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practice 

Chapter 40   Avoiding Activity, Existence from Non-Existence, By Contraries Proceeds, Movement of Tao,  去用  

Chapter 41   Sameness and Difference, Hearing of the Tao, Hidden and Nameless Tao, The Unreality of Appearance, Path of Contraries and Opposites, Bringing to Completion, Laughing it Off,  同異   

Chapter 42   Transformations of the Tao, Reason's Modifications,  Avoid Violence, Unnatural Death, One Produces Many,  道化    

 

Chapter 43   At One with the Tao, The Function of the Universal,  偏用 

 

 

Learning from DVD or Videos

"Whereas a form-instruction video is no substitute for a qualified teacher, those who live far from any teacher are still better off learning from a video than if they had no instruction at all. For those who have a teacher, a video can augment and accelerate the learning process. Finally, those who have had prior instruction in internal arts should be able to attain a substantial benefit from a video.

One method of learning a form from a video is to repeatedly do the entire form or blocks of the form along with the video. However, this method is not efficient because there is insufficient opportunity to reinforce each movement. A better way is to refrain from doing movement while watching the video. Rather, it is good to choose a small block of material, watch it a few times. Then, without any major physical action, visualize the sequence of movements as clearly as possible. Next, go back to the beginning of that block of material, and view and visualize it again a few times. Only after clear and complete visualization is achieved should the movements be attempted physically.

At first it will seem extremely difficult to work this way. With persistence, however, it is possible to achieve a level of visualization so intense that the imagined movements are almost as vivid as those seen on a TV screen. The dividends of the process of visualization are twofold: (1) By subduing the physical aspects of movement (e.g., balance, coordination, kinetic sense, timing), you can completely focus the mind on the details of the movement. (2) By cultivating the ability to visualize and mentally encompass complex details, you become increasingly able to observe and learn new movements quickly, especially in situations where it is not feasible to move while observing (e.g., dreams, teacher showing movements while the class watches). Referring to the dimension of self-defense, the more you can observe and mentally encompass the movements of the opponent, the greater the advantage achieved."
- Robert Chuckrow, The Tai Chi Book, YMAA Publication Center, Boston, MA, 1998, pp. 119–120

Refer to my suggestions and remarks about learning the Standard 24 Taijiquan Form using DVDs, videos, and books.

Digital Video Editor Needed

I own a digital video camcorder.  It is the Canon Vixia HF R21 model. 

I need to choose a good video editor.  I purchased Adobe Premiere Elements 10, but could not get it to install on my computer.  I purchased Corel Video Pro Studio 4, but it has not arrived yet.  Time will tell. 

Happy Thanksgiving

"How wonderful it would be if we could help our children and grandchildren to learn thanksgiving at an early age. Thanksgiving opens the doors.  It changes a child's personality.  A child is resentful, negative—or thankful.  Thankful children want to give, they radiate happiness, they draw people."
-   Sir John Templeton

T   hanks for time to be together, turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H  for harvest stored away, home, and hearth, and holiday.
A  for autumn's frosty art, and abundance in the heart.
N  for neighbors, and November, nice things, new things to remember.
K  for kitchen, kettles' croon, kith and kin expected soon.
S  for sizzles, sights, and sounds, and something special that about.
    That spells THANKS for joy in living and a jolly good Thanksgiving.             
-   Aileen Fisher, All in a Word  

"To educate yourself for the feeling of gratitude means to take nothing for granted, but to always seek out and value the kind that will stand behind the action.  Nothing that is done for you is a matter of course.  Everything originates in a will for the good, which is directed at you.  Train yourself never to put off the word or action for the expression of gratitude."
-  Albert Schweitzer 

November: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Chores 

Cheerfulness, Gratitude: Quotes, Poems, Sayings

Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons

Moving Towards Having No Edges

"Case: 
Jui-yen asked Yen-t'ou, "What is the fundamental constant principle?"
Yen-t'ou said, "Moving."
Jui-yen said, "When moving, what then?"
Yen-t'ou said, "You don't see the fundamental constant principle?"
Jui-yen stood there thinking.
Yen-t'ou said, "If you agree, you are not yet free of sense and matter; if you don't agree, you'll be forever sunk in birth-and-death."

Verse:
The round pearl has no hollows,
The great raw gem isn't polished.
What is esteemed by people of the Way is having no edges.
Removing the road of agreement, sense and matter are empty:
The free body, resting on nothing, stands out unique and alive."
-  Jui-yen (Zuigan, Song Am) was a Chinese Zen Master who lived from 800-900 CE. 
   Found in The Roaring Stream: A New Zen Reader, Edited by Nelson Foster and Jack Shoemaker, p. 182

Magic Pearl Qigong

Cloud Hands Blog

Most of my Internet publishing is done at the Spirit of Gardening Website, the Cloud Hands Taijiquan Website, the Valley Spirit Qigong Website, Ways of Walking website, Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practice website, the Meditation and Yoga websites, and the One Old Druid's Final Journey website.  Most of my many webpages are organized and listed in the right side bar of this Cloud Hands Blog.  I do have an alphabetical index to most of my internal arts webpages at Green Way.  

A few of the webpages of mine are served to over 20,000 readers a month during some months of the year.  The Cloud Hands blog is currently served to less that 2,500 readers each month.  Therefore, I focus more on developing and improving webpages, and put far less effort into writing for this blog.  Nearly everything you read in this blog is found in one or more of my webpages.   

I try to post something to the Cloud Hands Blog every day.  When pressed for time, I sometimes repeat a previous post and just change the title of the post.  Most of the posts function as pointers to my more detailed webpages on the same or related subjects.  

Most of my web publishing from October 2011 until February 2012 will be focused on my study of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, and on the Magic Pearl Qigong.  

My wife, Karen, and I no longer make any posts to the Our Paths in the Valley blog.  This change will help us reduce expenses for Typepad and save time.  Maintaining just one blog is sufficient for our purposes in 2012.

Nearly all individual bloggers and web publishers that I know earn no significant income from their web publishing.  The same is true for us, therefore more of our time and effort is spent as employees at our regular part-time jobs.   

This is the week for Thanksgiving Celebrations in America.  

Happy Thanksgiving!  

Mike

T'ai Chi Ch'uan Cane and Walking Stick Practices

The only martial arts weapon that I practice with is a cane.  I practice all the Taijiquan sword and broadsword forms that I know with a cane.  


Every time I take a walk I carry my cane with me.  Using various cane strikes and stretches while walking is an excellent way to exercise the upper torso.

I use an Instructor's Walking Cane, 40" (103 cm) long and 1" (2.54 cm) in diameter, from Cane Masters.  This cane weights 1lb, 2 oz (510 gm).  This beautiful martial arts combat cane is made of pure hickory heartwood, has multiple notches at three key gripping points, has a rounded hooked horn, and has a rubber covered tip.  I also own the same Instructor's Walking Cane made of oak - a gift from my children.   

Cane Research Project at Valley Spirit Taijiquan

Self-Defense Arts and Fitness Exercises Using a Cane, Walking Stick, or Short Wooden Staff
All documents were created by Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.
Published by Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Taijiquan, Red Bluff, California, 2009-2011

Way of the Short Staff. Comprehensive bibliography of books, media, links, and resources. Includes research on cane, short staff, walking stick, jo, etc..

These documents normally include a list of the movement names in the specific cane or short staff form, and the final direction to face for each named movement sequence. Some documents provide detailed descriptions for each of the movement sequences. All documents include some commentary, notes, and a bibliography of books, media, and links. Many of these documents are in Adobe PDF read/print only format. The documentation of this research is an ongoing project of mine in 2009-2012; consequently, many documents are still incomplete. Over time, I intend to provide for each movement: 1) the martial technique used, 2) direction of technique application, and 3) the final leg stance. All of these forms can be practiced with a cane or walking staff under 40" long.

Bodhidharma's Shaolin Cane (Damo Cane, Shaolin Damo Kung Fu Cane). As taught by Master Shi Deyang. 21 movements in 3 sections. List of names and directions.

Cane Research Project and Blog Notes from Michael Garofalo, Valley Spirit Taijiquan.

Cloud Hands Taijiquan Bibliographies, Instructions, Guides, and Research in Taijiquan and Qigong.

Chen Taijiquan Broadsword Form. As taught by Grandmaster Chen Zenglei. 23 Postures/Movements. Practice with cane. List of Names.

Chen Shen-Pu's Taijiquan Short Staff. Created by Grandmaster Chen Shen-Pu, and taught by Shifu Jiang Jian-ye.. 74 movements. List of Names.

Eight Immortals Taijiquan Cane, Routine One, Yang Style of Taijiquan. As taught by Master Jesse Tsao. 36 movements in 10 lessons. List of Names.

Eight Immortals Taijiquan Cane, Routine Two, Chen Style of Taijiquan. As taught by Master Jess Tsao. 36 movements in 10 lessons. List of Names.

How I Use Instructional DVD's to Learn Cane Forms

Martial Arts Techniques for the Cane and Short Staff. Lists, Notes, and Commentary.

Northern Energy Taiji Cane (Beifang Qi Taiji Zhang). As taught by Sensei James Bouchard. 24 movements. List of names and descriptions.

Shaolin Cane. As taught by Shifu Ted Mancuso. List of the names of the movements, and detailed descriptions in 16 Lessons.

Standard Simplified Yang Style Sword Form. 32 movements. Detailed descriptions. Practice with a cane.

Tchoung Ta-Tchen Cane. Created by Grandmaster Tchoung Ta-Tchen. 33 Movements. List of Names.

Thunder Stick Cane Form developed by Chen Pan-Ling and as taught by Chen Yun-Ching. 24 Movements. List of Names.

Way of the Short Staff. Comprehensive bibliography of books, media, links, and resources. Includes research on cane, short staff, walking stick, jo, etc..

Way of the Staff. Comprehensive bibliography of books, media, links, and resources. Includes research on the staff, bo, gun, quarterstaff, pole, etc..

Wudang Tiger Tail Short Staff . As taught by Shifu Jiang Jian-ye. 48 movements in this Wudang Mountain Taoist sort staff form. List of names.

Yang Family Tai Chi Short Staff by Xu Minshan. As taught by Shifu Jiang Jian-ye. 104 postures. List of names.

Personal Transformation Principles

We sometimes feel the need for dramatic changes in our lifestyle for a a variety of good reasons including a dissatisfaction with the results of previous actions and habits. We want to change our character, behaviors, habits, thinking, or values so as to effect a "Transformation."

I recently reread a book by Baron Baptiste, a influential and popular yoga master, titled "40 Days to Personal Revolution: A Breakthrough Program to Radically Change Your Body and Awaken the Sacred Within Your Soul' (Fireside, Simon and Schuster, 2004). Yogi Baptiste gives an explanation of a plan for personal transformation, and includes his views on the guiding principles (Laws) for such significant changes: 

"The Twelve Laws of Transformation

1. Seek the Truth
2. Be Willing to Come Apart
3. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
4. Commit to Growth
5. Shift Your Vision
6. Drop What You Know
7. Relax with What Is
8. Remove the Rocks
9. Don't Rush the Process
10. Be True to Yourself
11. Be Still and Know
12. Understand that the Whole is the Goal"
- Baron Baptist, 40 Days to Personal Revolution, 2004, pp. 5-45.

Over the years, I have also collected many quotations regarding the power of the will in human action. Willpower is a key component of successful personal transformation. The will is very much like a muscle: with exercise it gets stronger, it needs time for rest and recuperation, it needs to be feed properly with behavioral and mental nutrients, it needs some stretching and flexibility work, and needs to be cross-trained to develop full and responsive power.

I think some of the guiding techniques for personal change include:

1. A realistic and truthful assessment of our physical, mental, emotional, and social
self-potential and possibilities.
(Baptiste: 11, 10, 1, 5)

2. A clearly articulated vision and goals for the future.
(Baptiste: 12,5)

3. A detailed action plan, objectives and timetable needed to accomplish the goals.
(Baptiste: 12, 5, 1)

4. A wholehearted commitment to and belief in the action plan.
(Baptitste: 4, 2)

5. Direct efforts on a daily basis to fulfill the action plan.
(Baptiste: 4, 11, 10)

6. Having patience, steadfastness, determination, courage, and flexibility.
(Baptiste: 7, 9)

7. Acknowledging and breaking through one's inner resistance to change, abandoning
or tearing away from one's past actions.
(Baptiste: 2, 3, 6, 8)

8. The regular review, evaluation, and realistic assessment of progress on a weekly
and monthly basis.
(Baptiste: 1, 3, 8)

We also need to take advantage of techniques to manage the unconscious and well as conscious forces that comprise our inner life. Try exploring techniques such as visualization, repeated affirmations, guided meditations, rituals, art, hypnosis, neuro-linguistic programming, music, etc. 

Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons 

Planting Blubs

In our area, this is the time of the year for planting bulbs, corms, and tubers for late winter and spring blossoms.  

We plant a lot of onions and garlic.  We also have a large garden with many iris and narcissus plants.  

“Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacred
flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages.
Greek men would often plant an iris on the graves of their beloved
women as a tribute to the goddess Iris, whose duty it was to
take the souls of women to the Elysian fields."
- Hana No Monogatari: The Stories of Flowers

School of the Seasons


“The Iris flower is the flower of wisdom. Iris flowers are the emblem of France. Iris Flowers are associated with twenty fifth wedding anniversary. These Iris Flowers grow in the temperate, sub-arctic and warm climatic zones. They are poetry by themselves. There is numerous folk loree on Iris Flowers. It is believed to this day that “pothos” or passion is the son of “Iris” and “Zephyros”. The story unfolds that when the west wind passed through alluring “Iris”, it symbolized the vividness of passion. In Greek, “Iris” meant both a flower and rainbow. Iris Flowers are often termed as eyes of heaven.”
- Iris Flowers  


Green Way Wisdom - Flowers

Pulling Onions: Quips and Sayings of an Old Gardener

November Chores in the Garden

Bear Frolic Qigong

I have practiced various versions of the Five Animal Frolics Qigong for a number of years.  There are many different versions of the Animal Frolics.  In the winter months I practice the Bear Frolic a bit more often.

The exercise set is considered to be Daoyin, or what is now called Qigong (Chi Kung). In this context, the word "Dao" means to guide, lead, show the way, slowly, inch by inch. The word "Yin" means to pull out, draw out, or stretch. So Daoyin are mind-body exercises that show us how to draw out the potential for diseases and restore an integrated or balanced state of well-being in body and mind.

Many people credit the famous Chinese physician, Hua Tuo (110-207 CE), with developing a popular Daoyin animal frolics set which consists of exercises based on the deer, crane, monkey, tiger, and bear. Hua Tuo's best student, Wu Pu, lived to be over 100, and wrote that Hua Tuo told him:

"Man's body must have exercise, but it should never be done to the point of exhaustion. By moving about briskly, digestion is improved, the blood vessels are opened, and illnesses are prevented. It is like a used doorstep which never rots. As far as Tao Yin (bending and stretching exercises) is concerned, we have the bear's neck, the crane's twist, and swaying the waist and moving the joints to promote long life. Now I have created the art called the Frolics of the Five Animals: the Tiger, the Deer, the Bear, the Monkey, and the Crane. It eliminates sickness, benefits the legs, and is also a form of Tao Yin. If you feel out of sorts, just practice one of my Frolics. A gentle sweat will exude, the complexion will become rosy; the body will feel light and you will want to eat."

 "In addition to the key points of Qigong exercise, the Frolics of the Five Animals require attention to the following points:
1.  Integration of Form and Mind
2.  Flexible and Circular Movement 
3.  Slow and Fast Movement  [The Bear's movement is slow and steady.]
4.  Heaviness, Stability and Subtlety 
5.  Softness and Toughness  
6.  Order of the Frolics  [The Bear movement is done first in the series: bear, deer, tiger, monkey, and crane.] 
7.  Coordination of Movements with Respiration 
8.  Three-way Stability 
9.  Preparation  
10.  Conscientiousness 
11.  Perseverance in Practice  
-   Jiao Guorui, Qigong Essentials for Health Promotion, 1988, pp. 193-195.  This is one of the earliest good English language texts on Qigong practices.   

Be sure to take a look at:

Bear Frolic.  UTube Video, 2:08 Min.  Performed by Anson Rathbone, 2007.  As taught by Deguang at NESA's Medical Qigong Class.  

Seldom Just One

The Many Create and Elevate The One

“Simplifying our relations to things sometimes allows us to live
more complex intellectual and emotional lives.
Repetition and diversification are Nature’s formulas.
Simplifying and simplicity are never simple matters.
The empty garden is already full.
The simplest garden is never simple.
It takes four seasons to know one year.
Complexity is closer to the Truth.
Diversity, multiplicity, relations, combinations, mixtures, complexity -
rarely just one process or one thing.
Never just One: fruit, a hoe, the moving Sun.”
- Michael P. Garofalo, Pulling Onions





Photo by Karen Garofalo taken in downtown Red Bluff, CA, November 2008.


“An agricultural adage says the tiny animals that live below the
surface of a healthy pasture weigh more than the cows grazing
above it. In a catalogue selling composting equipment I read
that two handfuls of healthy soil contain more living organisms
than there are people on the earth. What these beings are and
what they can be doing is difficult to even begin to comprehend,
but it helps to realize that even thought they are many,
they work as one.”
- Carol Williams, Bringing a Garden to Life, 1998

Green Way Wisdom - Complexity

Walking in the Harmony of the Unborn

Ways of Walking: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Quotations, Notes.
A website by Michael P. Garofalo. 

Walking Meditation

"A person's heart and mind are in chaos.
Concentration on one thing makes the mind pure.
If one aspires to reach the Tao,
one should practice walking in a circle."
- Taoist Canon

"I was the world in which I walked."
-   Wallace Stevens, Tea at the Palaz of Hoon

"Allow walking to occupy a place of stature equal with all the other important activities in your life.  As difficult as that might seem, here's how to do it.  Make it a practice.  That's right.  Turn your walking into a vehicle for personal growth as well as for fitness.  This will add a higher level of integrity and intention to your approach because you will find that it is a way to deepen and upgrade your relationship to your body.  Instead of merely giving your legs and a good workout, you'll be practicing to relax more, to breathe better, to expand your vision, to open up your range of motion, to increase your energy, to feel and sense your body.  The list is exciting - and endless.  With all of this to look forward to, your walking program will take its place alongside everything in your life you value most, and you'll be amazed at how easy it is to schedule time for something you really love to do."
-  Katherine Dreyer, Chi Walking, p. 56 

Caloric Expenditures Per Mile by Walking  

Ba Gua Zhang: Circle Walking Internal Martial Arts 

"When you walking along naturally, you're walking in the harmony of the Unborn."
-   Bankei (1622-1693)

"Above all do not lose your desire to walk. Everyday I walk myself into a state of well being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. But by sitting still, and the more one sits still, the closer one comes to feeling ill...if one keeps on walking everything will be alright."
- Soren Kierkegaard

Walking Quotations

Playing Around

T'ai Chi Ch'uan is for me, among other things, a way of playing. Playing to lift my spirits, playing to meet a challenge, playing for delight, playing to show off, playing for exercise, playing for no reason at all.

"We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing."
- Charles Schaefer

"The true object of all human life is play.
Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground."
- G. K. Chesterton

"It is a happy talent to know how to play."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

Index to the Cloud Hands Website

Sitting Quietly

"The first level of stillness is about being with yourself in order to know yourself. This is accomplished by being wide awake and aware as you deliberately relax into yourself. The idea is to consciously enter into a state wherein you temporarily suspend everything you think you know about who you are, including anything you have ever been taught, and simply be attentive to what's going on right there where you are. You practice being quiet, both physically and mentally, as you pay attention to the sensations in your body, the various thoughts in your mind, and your current experience of being conscious and alive. You practice simple body-mind awareness, being conscious of the moment you are now in, and thereby experience with clarity the energy of you. You consciously experience yourself as you actually are. In this way you open yourself to a new, truer, less distorted experience of you and the world."
- Erich Schiffmann, Yoga: The Spirit and Practice of Moving Into Stillness, 1996, p. 7. 


"Sit quietly
focus and forget
rest with the great achievement.
The ancient child asks
"what is the great achievement?"
It is beyond description in any language
it can only be felt intuitively
it can only be expressed intuitively. 
Engage a loose, alert, and aware
body, mind, and sound
then look into the formless
and perceive no thing.
See yourself as a sphere
small at first
growing to encompass
the vastness of infinite space. 
Sit quietly
focus and forget then
in a state of ease and rest
secure the truth of the great achievement.
Employing the truth will not exhaust its power
when it seems exhausted it is really abundant
and while human art will die at the hands of utility
the great achievement is beyond being useful.
Great straightness is curved and crooked
great intelligence is raw and silly
great words are simple and naturally awkward. 
Engaged movement drives out the frozen cold
mindful stillness subdues the frenzied heart.
Sit quietly
focusing
forgetting
summon order from the void
that guides the ordering of the universe."
-  Tao Te Ching, Chapter 45, Translated by John Bright-Fey, 2006

"There are many matters and many circumstances in which consciousness is undesirable and silence is golden, so that secrecy can be used as a marker to tell us that we are approaching the holy."
-  Gregory Bateson, Angels Fear


"You are sitting on the earth and you realize that this earth deserves you and you deserve this earth.  You are there - fully, personally, genuinely."
-  Chogyam Trungpa

"Teach us to care and not to care.
Teach us to sit still."
-  T.S. Eliot

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices
Standing Meditation


Quiet in the Garden


Sitting in the Garden

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 45

Dao De Jing by Laozi
Chapter 45

"Perfection cannot be attained,
but it can be noticed.
If you pay full attention
to what seems flawed and ordinary
you will notice the perfection
hiding beneath appearances.
If you pay full attention to each other
you will notice how perfectly
you are each becoming who you really are.
By seeing the perfection in what is
you allow the creation
of what is not."
-   Translated by William Martin, 1999, Chapter 45 

"What is most perfect seems imperfect,
But using it doesn't use it up.
What is most full seems empty,
But using it doesn't wear it down.
Great straightness seems crooked;
Great skill seems clumsy;
Great eloquence seems hesitant.
Movement conquers cold,
But stillness conquers heat.
Clearness and serenity
Are beneath-heaven's norm."
-   Translated by Herrymon Maurer, 1985, Chapter 45   

"Esteem lightly your greatest accomplishment, your patience will not fail.
Reckon your great fullness to be emptiness, your strength will not become exhausted.
Count your rectitude as foolishness,
Know your cleverness to be stupidity,
Recognize your eloquence to be stammering words,
And you will find that
As movement overcomes cold, and as stillness overcomes heat, even so, he who knows the true secret of tranquility
Will become a pattern for all mankind."
-   Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 45 

  

"True perfection seems flawed
Yet its usefulness is never exhausted.
True fulfillment seems empty
Yet its usefulness is infinite.
True straightness seems crooked,
Great skill appears easy,
Great eloquence sounds awkward.
Cold overcomes heat.
Tranquility conquers agitation.
Purity and stillness is the universal ideal."
-   Translated by John R. Mabry, Chapter 45 

"Great perfection appears defective,
but its usefulness is not diminished.
Great fullness appears empty,
but its usefulness is not impaired.
Great straightness seems crooked,
Great cleverness seems clumsy,
Great triumph seems awkward.
Bustling about vanquishes cold,
Standing still vanquishes heat.
Pure and still, one can put things right everywhere under heaven."
-   Translated by Victor Mair, Chapter 45  

"The greatest accomplishments seem imperfect,
yet their usefulness is not diminished.
The greatest fullness seems empty,
yet it will be inexhaustible.
The greatest straightness seems crooked.
The most valued skill seems like clumsiness.
The greatest speech seems full of stammers.
Movement overcomes the cold,
and stillness overcomes the heat.
That which is pure and still is the universal ideal."
-   Translated by John H. McDonald, Chapter 45 

  

"The greatest attainment is as though incomplete, but its utility remains unimpaired.
The greatest fullness is as a void; but its utility is inexhaustible.
The greatest uprightness is as crookedness; the greatest cleverness as clumsiness; the greatest eloquence as reticence.
Motion overcomes cold; stillness conquers heat.
Purity and stillness are the world’s standards."
-   Translated by C. Spurgeon Medhurst, 1905, Chapter 45  

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index 

Chapter 45 of the Dao De Jing by Lao Tzu

Index of Translators of the Tao Te Ching

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practice 

Chapter 41   Sameness and Difference, Hearing of the Tao, Hidden and Nameless Tao, The Unreality of Appearance, Path of Contraries and Opposites, Bringing to Completion, Laughing it Off,  同異 

 

Chapter 42   Transformations of the Tao, Reason's Modifications,  Avoid Violence, Unnatural Death, One Produces Many,  道化   

 

Chapter 43   At One with the Tao, Quiet, Softness, Flexibility, Emptiness, The Function of the Universal, No Expectations, Not Acting, Overcoming the Impossible, Wordless Teaching,  偏用 

 

Chapter 44   Sufficiency, Cautions, Setting Up Precepts,  立戒

Chapter 45   Changes, Opposites, Contraries, Tranquility, Great or Overflowing Virtue, Stillness, The Virtue of Greatness, Great Accomplishment,  洪德    

 

A Brown Leaf Falling

As I played with the Yang Long Form, each of my steps crunched leaves under my feet. As I reached down to pick up the needle from the bottom of the sea, I picked up a few leaves from the graying autumn grass. As I crossed hands in the horse stance, a fig leaf fell on my fingers.

"despite fascination
do not be concerned
that form is emptiness
and emptiness is form
It is All
a brown falling leaf
no different
from
anything
else."
- Michael McClure

"Last day of October,
dead leaves dropping--
form is emptiness.
First day of November,
ditch completely dry--
emptiness is form.
- Michael Garofalo, Above the Fog

Poetry by Mike Garofalo

Cloud Hands Taijiquan

Soaring

"For years, I've practiced ritual.
It's dead now.
For years, I've practiced meditation.
It's dull now.
Finally, there is only soaring
Like an ectoplasmic ribbon
Floating over the sea.

When one is mature spiritually, one no longer needs the structure
of ritual or formal meditations. This is not to say that structure was
unnecessary, for without it one could not stand at this vantage point.
But once one attains a level where one has completely internalized the
lessons of structure, one can freely improvise in fresh and valid forms.

In spirituality, one can soar, free of ordinary restrictions.
Imagine yourself on a high cliff overlooking the ocean. Slowly your body
elongates like a ribbon. Longer and longer, undulating up into the sky.
Before you is the limitless vastness of the ocean and sky. You feel
drawn forward, and you can glide and soar over that expanse like a
ribbon. That is spiritual freedom.

Autumn is about to pass into winter. Spring is on the other side,
just as spiritual soaring is on the other side of stiff ritual.
Devotions have their own seasons. When you first learn them, they are
magical. Then they yield their harvest and wither. On the other side of
the withering is a new spring and a new spiritual vista. Wherever you
are in your spiritual years, cooperate with the cycle of the seasons,
until you emerge like a dragon, soaring in the sky."

365 Tao: Daily Meditations
By Deng Ming-Dao

November 10, Day 314




"What a joy it is to feel the soft, springy earth under my feet once more, to follow grassy roads that lead to ferny brooks where I can bathe my fingers in a cataract of rippling notes, or to clamber over a stone wall into green fields that tumble and roll and climb in riotous gladness!"
-  Helen Keller  

A Peaceful Place

"The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that you encounter."

"One does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train."
The Art of Peace by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) 

"This practice is part of an ancient Chinese health system of exercises. One of the first references found about this type of exercise is in the Huang-Ti Nei Ching (Classics of Medicine by the Yellow Emperor, 2690-2590 B.C. E.) which is, by the way, probably one of the oldest books in the medical field. This posture, practiced and transmitted secretly in martial arts circles, has been openly shown to the public since the last century. Wang Xiang Zhai, a very famous martial arts master of that period in China, made of this technique the base of a new martial art that he called I Chuan (Mind Boxing). He used to say, "The immobility is the mother of any movement or technique."
- Victoria Windholtz, Standing Like a Tree
T'ai Chi: The International Magazine of T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Volume 19, No. 6, December, 2005, pp. 6-9.


Zhan Zhuang: Standing Like A Tree. Rooting Deeply Into Tranquility, Power and Vitality. A Chinese Meditation and Qigong Discipline. Bibliography, Links, Resources, Practices, Quotations, Notes.

Energy (Qi), Vitality (Jing), and Spirit (Shen)

Vitality, Energy, Spirit (Jing, Qi, Shen)

The kindly old man, Shou, a Taoist Saint, holds the Sacred Peach, a dragon staff, and a gourd filled with the Longevity Elixir. The flying bats and crane are frequently used symbols of longevity.

All Taijiquan and Qigong players will hear and/or read at some time about self-cultivation of vitality (Jing), energy (Qi), and Spirit (Shen).

Members of Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Taoism, Northern or Southern Branches, emphasize various health practices, inner alchemy (Neidan), internal arts, rituals, recitations, and meditation techniques to transform oneself when on the spiritual path.

Ripening Peaches: Daoist Studies and Practices

The Peaches of Immortality

My Daoist Reading List I recommend books by Livia Kohn and Yang Jwing-Ming, and translations by Thomas Cleary.

Tai Chi Chuan and Improving Your Health

"The University of Queensland, Australia, has released an exciting study for anyone looking to lose weight.  Researchers found that the gentle, yet powerful, exercise known as tai chi helps with obesity and excess weight, in a number of ways.  The scientists discovered that tai chi:

• Improves body mass index (BMI–an indicator for healthy weight);
• Reduces the amount of abdominal fat and overall waist measurements;
• Improves blood sugar balance–a critical element for maintaining a healthy weight or to lose weight;
• Reduces high blood pressure;
• Significantly reduces depression; and
• Improves the body’s use of insulin (insulin resistance)–a significant factor for weight gain and diabetes, among other serious health conditions.
• 
  

Founded in China thousands of years ago, tai chi is a graceful set of gentle movements designed to improve the flow of chi–energy–throughout the body, promoting health and healing.  This form of exercise is suitable for most people, including those suffering from injuries and illness.

This exciting new research proves the effectiveness of an ancient mind-body healing practice that has been in use for thousands of years in China."

Tai Chi to Loose Weight and Reduce Depression:  http://www.care2.com/greenliving/tai-chi-diet-depression.html

Tai Chi Chuan:  http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/index.htm

Qigong:  http://www.egreenway.com/qigong/index.htm

Walking:  http://www.egreenway.com/walking/index.htm