End of Year Reflections

"Here are some suggestions to get you started in mulling over the past year:

What did I learn (skills, knowledge, awareness, etc.)
What did I accomplish?  A list of my wins and achievements.
What would I have done differently? Why?
What did I complete or release? What still feels incomplete to me?
What were the most significant events of the year past? List the top three.
What did I do right? What do I feel especially good about? What was my greatest contribution?
What were the fun things I did? What were the not-so-fun?
What were my biggest challenges/roadblocks/difficulties?
How am I different this year than last?
For what am I particularly grateful?

Another Suggestion: Consider listing all the things in your life of which you’d like to let go—anything you no longer want. Give thanks for what they've brought you in terms of learning and usefulness and then burn the list. It's a symbolic gesture to help you release the old and be open to the new. The next step is to list what you do want—experiences, knowledge, material things, relationships, healings, whatever.…"
-  By Michael E. Angier

Spanish Language Translations of the Tao Te Ching

Starting in January, 2014, I will be adding Spanish language translations of the Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) to my chapter webpages of this classic book.

My Daodejing webpages for each of the 81 Chapters will include up to 16 English language translations, Chinese characters and Wade-Giles and Pinyin transliterations, and one or two Spanish language translations.  I work on this project a little each day, and I am now working on Chapters 20-25. 

One project of mine for 2014-2015 is to translate into Spanish all 81 chapters of the Isabella Mears 1916 English language version of the Daodejing. 

Spanish Language Translations of the Dao De King: A Bibliography

Index of English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching

Concordance to the Dao De Jing

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

Tao Te Ching  Chapter Number Index Standard Traditional Chapter Arrangement of the Daodejing Chapter Order in Wang Bi's Daodejing Commentary in 246 CE Chart by Mike Garofalo
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70
71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80
81

Returning to Red Bluff

Karen and I visited with our children and their families in Portland from Saturday, December 21st until Friday, December 27th.  A time for Christmas celebrations together.  Karen and I really enjoyed visiting with everyone, and it was emotionally hard for us to leave this time. 

Back in Red Bluff today.  It is still very dry, so we have to water all our plants today.  I started on many home chores, and the pond clean up and dead trees removal project by the west pond.

I am enjoying reading the book Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom  By John O'Donohue (1956-2008).  New York, Harper Collins, 1997.  Recommended reading, 234 pages.  ISBN: 006092943X.  VSCL. I purchased this book at Powell's Bookstore in Portland.  

Dao De Jing by Laozi, Chapter 81

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 81

"Real words are not vain,
Vain words not real;
And since those who argue prove nothing
A sensible man does not argue.
A sensible man is wiser than he knows,
While a fool knows more than is wise.
Therefore a sensible man does not devise resources:
The greater his use to others
The greater their use to him,
The more he yields to others
The more they yield to him.
The way of life cleaves without cutting:
Which, without need to say,
Should be man's way."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, Chapter 81   

"Faithful words may not be beautiful,
Beautiful words may not be faithful.
Those who love do not quarrel,
Those who quarrel do not love.
Those who know are not learned,
Those who are learned do not know.
The riches of the self-controlled man are in the Inner Life.
When he spends for others, he has more for himself.
When he gives to others, he has much more for himself.
Heavenly Tao blesses all and hurts no one.
The way of the self-controlled man is to act and not to fight."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 81   

"No one likes the honest truth,
And all fine talk falls short of it. Real words are never used to seduce you,
And those that do are no good. The one who really knows, knows without books,
The so-called learned know nothing. The sage holds nothing of himself back-
He uses all he has for you, and that is his reward.
He gives all he is and that is why he's rich.
And the Tao of Heaven feeds everything, and harms nothing
And the sage's Tao completes it, without doing anything."
-  Translated by Kwok, Palmer and Ramsey, Chapter 81   

"Truth has no need for fine words;
Fine words may not be true words.
The man of Tao does not try to convince by argument:
He who argues is not a man of Tao.
Wisdom does not consist in knowing everything;
The know-alls do not know the Tao.
The Sage does not hoard. The more he spends himself for others, the more he enriches himself.
The more he fives, the more he gains.
For the Tao of Heaven penetrates all things but harms none.
This, too, is the Tao of the Sage, who acts without contending."
-  Translated by Herman Ould, 1946, Chapter 81     

Chapter 81 of the Dao De Jing by Laozi: Text and Commentaries
 

Index of English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices
 
Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching

 

Taijiquan Standard 24 Movement Form

The first Taijiquan form I learned in 1986 was the Standard 24 Movement T'ai Chi Ch'uan Form in the Yang Style of T'ai Chi Ch'uan.  At that time there were no books or instructional videotapes on this popular form.  Since that time, nearly 25 years have passed.  Now there are dozens of books and instructional DVDs and webpages on the subject of the 24 Form. 

Mike Garofalo 'Playing the Pipa'

My webpage on the Standard 24 Taijiquan Form has been the most popular webpage on the Cloud Hands Website for many years. In the sidebar of this blog, you will find a quick index to this webpage.

Standard Simplified Taijiquan 24 Form.  Research by Michael P. Garofalo, M.S. This webpage includes a detailed bibliography of books, media, links, online videos, articles, and resources.  It provides a list of the 24 movement names in English, Chinese, French, German and Spanish, with citations for sources of the movement names.  It provides detailed descriptions of each movement with black and white line illustrations and  photographs.  It includes relevant quotations, notes, performance times, section breakdowns, basic Tai Chi principles, and strategies for learning the form.  The Peking (Bejing) Chinese National orthodox standard simplified 24 movement T'ai Chi Ch'uan form, created in 1956, is the most popular form practiced all around the world.  This form uses the Yang Style of Taijiquan.  Published by Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Taijiquan, Red Bluff, California:  Webpage URL:  http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/short.htm.  File size: 269 Kb. 

This webpage provides many good suggestions for a person learning this form on their own if there is no Tai Chi class in their area. 

The best book that I have seen on the subject is:

The Yang Taiji 24 Step Short Form: A Step by Step Guide for All Levels
By James Drewe  London, Singing Dragon Press, 2011.  382 pages, black and white photographs, charts, detailed descriptions, training tips.
 

I give information on many other fine books by other good authors on the 24 Form in my webpage: Cheng Zhao, Foen Tjoeng Lie, Eric Chaline, Le Deyin, etc.. 

My students tell me that their favorite instructional DVD on the 24 Form is:

Tai Chi - The 24 Forms
By Dr. Paul Lam


I have taught this lovely Tai Chi form to hundreds of people since 2000.  Everyone tells me how much they enjoy learning and practicing this gentle form.

I also teach and enjoy playing the Chen Style Taijiquan 18 Movement Form created by Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei. Actually, in the last year, I prefer practicing the Chen 18 Form more.  

Merry Christmas

May everyone enjoy a pleasant Christmas holiday!

Best wishes for a happy, healthy, and productive New Year!


Yuletide, Winter Solstice, Christmas: Poems, Quotes, Sayings, Lore

Winter: Quotes, Sayings, Poems, Lore

Love in Full Effect

"Here I go, I’m on my way
With my Love glasses on
Here I go, I’m on my way
I see more clearly and I feel strong

More, More, More, More
There’s got to be so much more to this life
My heart is racing just to know what it is like
More than I could expect
Anticipate or imagine
I’m willing to believe
Amazing things are still happening

I’m going to live the rich life
The full and blessed life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
I’m going to live the good life
Beautiful and glorious life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim

Here I go again on my mission to give it all
Give it all, give, give it all, all
Cause I’m aware that what I share
Will come back good measure
Pressed down, shaken together and running over

Life is whatever I receive it to be
Why not jump over doubt and dive into belief?
More than I could expect
Anticipate or imagine
I’m willing to believe
Amazing things are still happening

I’m going to live the rich life
The full and blessed life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
I’m going to live the good life
Beautiful and glorious life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim

No eye has seen nor ear has heard
My faith is breathing only because
I hear these words
Exceeding and abundantly
More than we could even ask or think
Surpassing all human understanding
I’ve been given this amazing peace
This amazing peace

I’m going to live the rich life
The full and blessed life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim
I’m going to live the good life
Beautiful and glorious life
So if you all know what I mean
Put your hands up and declare with me
Love In full effect, L'Chaim"

The Song "Life" by Beckah Shae
Lyrics by Jonathan Shocklee and Rebecca Wilson
Download MP3 "Life" from Amazon

Sacred Circle

I've put together a webpage on the subject of Sacred Circles.

This webpage provides links, bibliographic citations, resources, quotations, notes, and comments on medicine wheels, henges, labyrinths, neopagan sacred circles, holy circles, the symbolism and myths about circles and spheres, the four elements, and related topics.




This webpage includes information and photographs of our sacred circle garden.

Those folks who walk the circle in labyrinths, walking meditation or baguazhang might find some of the information in sacred circles to be of interest to them.

Only Three Things Remain

"When you die, only three things will remain of you, since you will abandon all material things on the threshold of the Otherworld: what you have taught to others, what you have created with your hands, and how much love you have spread. So learn more and more in order to teach wise, long-lasting values. Work more and more to leave the world things of great beauty. And love people around you for the Light of Love heals everything."
- François Bourillon
Triads: Wisdom Sayings of the Celts, Druids, and Neopagans

Yuletide Cheer

Best wishes for a happy Winter holiday season to everyone. 

Yuletide, Winter Solstice, Christmas: Poems, Quotes, Sayings, Lore

Winter: Quotes, Sayings, Poems, Lore

"Winter is the season dominated by bare soil: the whole gardening cycle begins with the care and preparation of the earth during winter so that it will feed plants the following year.  One of the things I enjoy about digging (and there are lots of things I enjoy about it) is the smell of the earth that is released by the spade cutting in and lifting clods that have been buried for a year.  Not only does the soil itself have a real scent, but the roots of the crop or plant - even weed - that has been growing there will also contribute to the mix, creating something new out of the vague remnants of last season's garden.
-  Monty Don, The Sensuous Garden, 1997

Daodejing Concordance

Concordance to the Tao Te Ching

English Language Versions of the Tao Te Ching - Translator's Index

Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Chapter Index to the Tao Te Ching

Taoism: A Bibliography

Daodejing  Chapter Number Index Standard Traditional Chapter Arrangement of the Tao Te Ching Chapter Order in Wang Bi's Daodejing Commentary in 246 CE Chart by Mike Garofalo
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70
71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80
81

The Surface of Things

"I live so much in my habitual thoughts that I forget there is any outside to the globe, and am surprised when I behold it as now--yonder hills and river in the moonlight, the monsters. Yet it is salutary to deal with the surface of things. What are these rivers and hills, these hieroglyphics which my eyes behold? There is something invigorating in this air, which I am peculiarly sensible is a real wind, blowing from over the surface of a planet. I look out at my eyes. I come to my window, and I feel and breathe the fresh air. It is a fact equally glorious with the most inward experience. Why have we ever slandered the outward?"
-  Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), Journal Vol. 4, 1852

Spirituality and Nature

 

A scene along the Sacramento River near Red Bluff, California.  Volcano cones in the distance.  The area north of Red Bluff is forested with oaks.  Our area is considered to be the beginning of the Cascade Mountain range, starting with Mt. Lassen. 

Zhan Zhuang

Standing Training Postures

"Zhan Zhuang: What Really Happens When We Stand?"
By Mark Cohen
Qi: Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness, Volume 23, No. 4, Winter, 2013-2014, pp.36-44.

Inside Zhan Zhuang: First Edition  By Mark Cohen.  MSC Creative Enterprises, 2013.  258 pages.  ISBN: 978-0988317888.

Standing Meditation

Cutting Edge of the Mind

"The hand is the cutting edge of the mind."
-  Jacob Bronowski

"The mind has exactly the same power as the hands: not merely to grasp the world, but to change it."
-  Colin Wilson 

"By rubbing up against the world, I define myself to myself."
-  Deane Juhan

"The upper limb is the lightning rod to the soul."
-  Robert Markison

"A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb."
-  Mike Garofalo

“We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever we touch.”
-  Lewis Thomas 

Hands On 
Fingers, Hands, Touching, Feeling, Somatics
Quotations, Bibliography, Links, Reflections

Sapless Woody Shards of Centuries of Seasons

"The smell of the sea hugged the fog in the redwood trees,
All cool and dank, dimly lit and rank with green,
And in shadowed limbs the Stellar jays jabbered free,
And me, standing silently, an alien in this enchanted scene.

From behind the mossy grey stumps
the sounds of footsteps crunching fronds of ferns
caught my suddenly wary mind ...
What?

"Hello, old friend," said Chang San Feng.
"Master Chang, what a surprise," said I.
Master Chang sat on a stump, smiled, and said,

"Can you hear the Blue Dragon singing in the decaying tree;
Or is it the White Tiger roaring in the wilderness of your bright white skull?
No matter!  The answer is in the questioning; don't you Chan men see?

In the red ball flesh of this decaying tree
Sapless woody shards of centuries of seasons
Nourish the new roots of mindfulness sprouting. 
Yes, Yes, but how can it be?
The up-surging waves of life sprout forth from the decaying tree,
As sure as sunrise rolling over the deep black sea. 
Coming, coming, endlessly coming; waves of Chi. 

Tan Qian's raven roosts for 10,000 moons
     in the withered branches of the rotting tree;
     then, one day, the weathered tree falls,
     nobody hearing, soundlessly crashing
     on the forest floor, on some unknown noon. 

Over and over, over and over, life bringing death, death bringing life,
Beyond even the miraculous memories of an old Xian like me;
Watching, watching, sequestered from the strife,
Turning my soul away sometimes because I cannot bear to see. 

Even minds may die, but Mind is always free
Bounding beyond, beyond, far beyond you and me;
Somehow finding the Possibility Keys
And unlocking the Door out of the Voids of Eternities."

Master Chang somehow, someway,
slowly disappeared into the red brown heart of the decaying tree.

Then the squawk of the jay
opened my mind's eye to the new day -
Namaste."

-  Michael P. Garofalo
   Meetings with Master Chang San Feng   
   Remembering Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, California

Burning Time

During the gardening year, as we prune, weed, and remove plants, I place them in a large pile in our field.  On the right day in Winter, we burn this pile.  The earth should be moist after a rainfall.  The day should not be windy.  It should be on a legal burn day in Tehama County. 

After the pile is burned, we use the ash as fertilizer around the property. 

Yesterday, Saturday, the time was right for burning the pile.

I walked around the pile with a shovel and rake, and kept an eye on the progress of the burn. 

My new dog, Bruno, and I sat around at a safe distance from the burning pile and kept a safety watch on the burning pile.  My last dog, Rowdy, passed away about two years ago. 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 1

Dao De Jing by Laozi
Chapter 1

"The Dao that can be understood cannot be the primal, or cosmic, Dao.
An idea that can be expressed in words cannot be the infinite idea.
This ineffable Dao was the source of all spirit and matter,
And being expressed was the mother of all created things.  
Therefore not to desire the things of sense is to know the freedom of spirituality.
To desire is to learn the limitation of matter.
These two things spirit and matter, so different in nature, have the same origin.
This unity of origin is the mystery of mysteries, but it is the gateway to spirituality."
-  Translated by Dwight Goddard and Henri Borel, 1919, Chapter 1
 
"Tao that can be expressed is not Everlasting Tao.
The name that can be named is not the Everlasting Name.
The Name, in its inner aspect, is Life-Spring of Heaven and Earth.
The Name, in its outer aspect, is Mother of all created things.
Therefore:
To perceive the mystery of Life, desire always to reach the innermost.
To perceive the limitations of things, desire always to posses them.
These two aspects of Life are One.
In their out-come they become different in Name but in their depth they are One.
In a depth, still deeper yet, is the Door of many mysteries."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 1  

"A Tao that can be Tao-ed is not lasting Tao. 
A name that can be named is not lasting name. 
Name-less — the beginning of Heaven and Earth. 
Named — the mother of all things. 
So, we must be always without desires to see the mystery.
If we always have desires we will see its limits. 
These two are the same; once there is out-going, then there is difference of name. 
As the same they are called obscure.
The obscure of the obscure is the gate of all mysteries."
-  Translated by P. J. Maclagan, 1898, Chapter 1 

"The Tao which can be expressed is not the unchanging Tao; the name which can be named is not the unchanging name.
The nameless is the beginning of the Heaven Earth; the mother of all things is the nameable.
Thus, while the eternal non-being leads toward the fathomless, the eternal being conduct to the boundary.
Although these two have been differently named they come from the same.
As the same they may be described as the abysmal.
The abyss of the abysmal is the gate of all mystery."
-  Translated by C. Spurgeon Medhurst, 1905, Chapter 1  

"The Tao that can be expressed is not the true Tao
The name that can be defined is not the true name
Non-existence is called the antecedent of heaven and earth;
Existence is the mother of all things.
From eternal non-existence, therefore, we serenely observe the mysterious beginnning of the universe;
From eternal existence we clearly see the apparent distinctions.
These two are the same in source and become different when manifested.
This sameness is called profundity. Infinite profundity is the gate whence comes the beginning of all parts of the universe."
-  Translated by Ch'u Ta-Kao, 1904, Chapter 1 
  
The way that may be traversed is not the Eternal Way.
The name which can be uttered is not the Eternal Name. 
Without name — Heaven and Earth (Nature) at the beginning were called the mother of all things.
Thus it always is that he who is without passion can grasp the inner essence, while he who is blinded by passion can only apprehend the outer form.
These two have really the same issue, and differ only in name.
Together they are spoken of as the First Cause.
The cause of the First Cause itself is the gateway of the Essential."
-  Translated by T.W. Kingsmill, 1899, Chapter 1 

"The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao.
The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name. 
Conceived of as having no name, it is the Originator of heaven and earth;
Conceived of as having a name, it is the Mother of all things.  
Always without desire we must be found,
If its deep mystery we would sound;
But if desire always within us be,
Its outer fringe is all that we shall see.  
Under these two aspects, it is really the same;
But as development takes place, it receives the different names.
Together we call them the Mystery.
Where the Mystery is the deepest is the gate of all that is subtle and wonderful."
-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 1 

"The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named is not the eternal name
The nameless is the origin of Heaven and Earth
The named is the mother of myriad things
Thus, constantly without desire, one observes its essence
Constantly with desire, one observes its manifestations
These two emerge together but differ in name
The unity is said to be the mystery
Mystery of mysteries, the door to all wonders"
-  Translated by Derek Linn, 2006, Chapter 1    

Tao Te Ching Concordance

Tao Te Ching  Chapter Number Index Standard Traditional Chapter Arrangement of the Daodejing Chapter Order in Wang Bi's Daodejing Commentary in 246 CE Chart by Mike Garofalo
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70
71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80
81

Cool Nights and Comforts

We don't have severe winter weather in Northern California like they do in other parts of America.  Our typical Red Bluff winter days are 54F high and 37F low.  The past few weeks have been an exception, with nighttime lows around 25F. 

Karen and I typically don't heat our home from 8pm to 5 am, to reduce propane fuel consumption and save money.  On cold days, we heat about 5 hours during the day up to 62F.  Instead, we just wear more clothing and add afghans or blankets.

In the evening, after work, I go to the gym in town, lift weights, and then teach a yoga class.  Then I come home, eat a small dinner, and retire to my study for reading and resting.  

One small bedroom in our home is used as our library, study room, altar room, and meditation room.  In the photos below, am I reading a new book, The Yoga of Sound.

I am cozy and warm under a couple of afghans and a blanket.  Living the life of luxury!  I am so fortunate. 

Yes, boring, hohum, so what.  This is what I do, night after night.  I chuckled about the scene.   

Signing off from California ....

Mike

Animal Frolics Exercises

Eight Animals' Frolics Chi Kung Exercises A webpage by Michael P. Garofalo
Five Animal Frolics Qigong (Wu Qin Xi)
Valley Spirit Qigong in Red Bluff, California

""Breathing in and out in various manners, spitting out the old and taking in the new, walking like a bear and stretching their neck like a bird to achieve longevity - this is what such practitioners of Daoyin, cultivators of the body and all those searching for long life like Ancestor Peng, enjoy."
-   Chuang-tzu, circa 300 BCE. (1)

 

There was a feudal lord, the Marquis of Dai (King Ma), who lived around 160 BCE during the Western Han Dynasty.  When the Marquis of Dai, his wife, and his son died, there were many objects placed in their family tomb as part of funeral rites and customs.  In 1973, archeologists in China excavated the family tomb of the Dai family on the outskirts of the city of Changsha in Hunan Province.  In the son's tomb they discovered a lacquered box containing medical manuals, documents, and a silk scroll on which were drawn 44 humans in various poses or postures.  Under each pose was a caption with the name of an animal or the name of a disease that the posture might help prevent or cure.  The chart or diagram (Tu) on this scroll shows Daoyin (Guiding/Leading Energy and Stretching/Pulling Out) exercises or poses.  A number of the postures shown on this Daoyin Tu closely resemble some in the Eight Section Brocade and in the Five Animal Frolics (i.e., the bear, monkey, and bird).  (2)

Improved artistic rendition of the Daoyin Tu, circa 160 BCE.

Another medical manuscript with Daoyin methods, the Yinshu (Stretch Book), dated at 186 BCE, related to the Daoyin Tu, describes 100 exercises, and gives advice on seasonal health regimens, hygiene, diet, disease prevention, sleep, and sexual behavior. (2)   We have ample evidence that Chinese physicians, and the aristocratic and wealthy classes of ancient Chinese society, had access to therapeutic and holistic exercise and massage methods (Daoyin) well before the advent of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE)."

Eight Animals' Frolics Chi Kung Exercises Introduction to Animal Frolics by Michael P. Garofalo