Just Walk

"Walking meditation means to enjoy walking without any intention to arrive. We don't need to arrive anywhere.  We just walk. We enjoy walking. That means walking is already stopping, and that needs some training.  Usually in our daily life we walk because we want to go somewhere. Walking is only a means to an end, and that is why we do not enjoy every step we take. Walking meditation is different. Walking is only for walking. You enjoy every step you take. So this is a kind of revolution in walking. You allow yourself to enjoy every step you take.
The Zen master Ling Chi said that the miracle is not to walk on burning charcoal or in the thin air or on the water; the miracle is just to walk on earth. You breathe in. You become aware of the fact that you are alive. You are still alive and you are walking on this beautiful planet. That is already performing a miracle. The greatest of all miracles is to be alive. We have to awaken ourselves to the truth that we are here, alive. We are here making steps on this beautiful planet. This is already performing a miracle.  But we have to be here in order for the miracle to be possible. We have to bring ourselves back to the here and the now."
-  Thich Nhat Hanh, Resting in the River

Walking Meditation:  Quotes, Bibliography, Links, Information, Methods 
Compiled by Mike Garofalo.


"Walking meditation is walking in full awareness of breath, body and everything the senses present.  It is not an aerobic exercise - though it would be a fine lead-in to aerobic walking.  Rather, walking meditation is done slowly and consciously, with each step fully feeling the earth.  During this precious time, body and mind come together, joined in the present moment.  Although the benefits of walking meditation will deepen over time, even from the start, you can experience some measure of the relaxation, balance and quiet energy that builds through this practice."
-  Ginny Whitelaw, Body Learning, p. 55.   

"Research conducted at Harvard Medical School’s Mind/Body Medical Institute has found that focused walking meditations are highly effective for reducing anxiety and producing  what’s called the “relaxation response.”
-  Borgess Health    

The Ways of Walking  Compiled by Mide Garofalo.

 

 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 73

Daodejing, Laozi
Chapter 73


"He whose boldness appears in his daring to do wrong, in defiance of the laws is put to death;
He whose boldness appears in his not daring to do so lives on.
Of these two cases the one appears to be advantageous, and the other to be injurious.
When Heaven's anger smites a man,
Who the cause shall truly scan?
On this account the sage feels a difficulty as to what to do in the former case.
It is the way of Heaven not to strive, and yet it skillfully overcomes;
Not to speak, and yet it is skilful in obtaining a reply;
Does not call, and yet men come to it of themselves.
Its demonstrations are quiet, and yet its plans are skilful and effective.
The meshes of the net of Heaven are large; far apart, but letting nothing escape."
-  Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 73 


"Courage, if carried to daring, leads to death;
Courage, if not carried to daring, leads to life.
Either of these two things is sometimes beneficial, sometimes harmful.
"Why is it by heaven rejected,
Who has the reason detected?"
Therefore the holy man also regards it as difficult.
The Heavenly Reason strives not, but it is sure to conquer.
It speaks not, but it is sure to respond.
It summons not, but it comes of itself.
It works patiently, but is sure in its designs.
Heaven's net is vast, so vast.
It is wide-meshed, but it loses nothing."
-  Translated by D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 73 



"He who is brave in daring will be killed.
He who is brave in not daring will live.
Of these two, one is advantageous and one is harmful.
Who knows why Heaven dislikes what it dislikes?
Even the sage considers it a difficult question.
The Way of Heaven does not compete, and yet is skillfully achieves victory.
It does not speak, and yet it skillfully responds to things.
It comes to you without your invitation.
It is not anxious about things and yet it plans well.
Heaven's net is indeed vast.
Though its meshes are wide, it misses nothing."
-  Translated by Chan Wing-Tsit, 1963, Chapter 73  


"A brave man who dares to, will kill;
A brave man who dares not, spares life;
And from them both come good and ill;
"God hates some folks, but who knows why?"
The Wise Man hesitates there too:
God's Way is bound to conquer all
But not by strife does it proceed.
Not by words does God get answers:
He calls them not and all things come.
Master plans unfold but slowly,
Like God's wide net enclosing all:
Its mesh is coarse but none are lost."
-  Translated by Raymond Blakney, 1955, Chapter 73  


勇於敢則殺.
勇於不敢則活.
此兩者或利或害.
天之所惡孰知其故.
是以聖人猶難之.
天之道不爭而善勝.
不言而善應.
不召而自來.
繟然而善謀.
天網恢恢.
踈而不失.
-  Chinese characters, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 73  



yung yü kan tsê sha.
yung yü pu kan tsê huo.
tz'u liang chê huo li huo hai.
t'ien chih so wu shu chih ch'i ku.
shih yi shêng jên yu nan chih.
t'ien chih tao pu chêng erh shan shêng. 
pu yen erh shan ying. 
pu chao erh tzu lai. 
ch'an jan erh shan mou.
t'ien wang k'uei k'uei. 
shu erh pu shih. 
-  Wade-Giles Transliteration, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 73



"One who’s fearless in being brave will be killed.
One who’s fearless in being cautious remains alive.
One of these is useful, the other harmful.
Heaven disdains what it disdains
Who knows the reasons why?
Even the wise find these things difficult.
The way of heaven
Overcomes easily without contention,
Replies though it does not speak,
Invites though it does not summon,
Obeys the laws though it seems free.
The net of heaven is vast.
The mesh is wide
But nothing slips through."
-  Translated by A. S. Kline, 2003, Chapter 73 


"He who is brave in daring will meet an unnatural death.
He who is brave in gentleness will be preserved.
Of these two kinds of bravery, one is beneficial, while the other proves harmful.
The subtle truth of the universe does not support those who are brave in daring,
yet there are still many people who do not understand such apparent truth.
So, even the one who integrates his being with the subtle essence of the universe,
dares not make light of the subtle law of life.
The subtle Way of the universe gave birth to a world of peace and order.
It responds to the order and harmony of all beings and things without needing to talk to them.
Without your summoning it, it comes to you.
Without scheming, its plan is perfect.
Vast is the subtle energy network of the universe.
Sparsely meshed it is, yet nothing can slip through it!"
-  Translated by Hua-Ching Ni, 1995, Chapter 73    


"El valiente que se arriesga, muere.
El valiente que no se arriesga, vive.
De estos dos, el primero es perjudicial
mientras que el último es favorable.
Quién conoce la causa de lo que el Cielo aborrece?
Por lo tanto, con más razón el sabio lo encuentra difícil.

El Tao del Cielo,
sin luchar, es bueno venciendo,
sin hablar, es bueno respondiendo,
sin ser llamado, viene por sí solo,
sin prisa, es bueno planeando.
La red del Cielo es vasta,
ampliamente extendida, de nada carece."
-  Translated by Álex Ferrara, 2003, Capítulo 73  


"He whose courage is expressed in daring will soon meet death.
He whose courage is shown in self-restraint will be preserved.
There are, then, two kinds of courage; the one is injurious and the other of advantage.
But who is to say why one of them should incur the judgment of Heaven?
That is why the Sage finds it difficult to act.
The celestial Tao does not strive, and yet overcomes everything.
It does not speak, yet is skilful in replying.
It does not call, yet things come to it readily.
It is quiet in its methods, yet its plans are thoroughly effective.
The net of Heaven has large meshes, and yet nothing escapes it!"
-  Translated by Walter Gorn Old, 1904, Chapter 73



A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes over 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Chapter 73, Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Chapter and Thematic Index (Concordance) to the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

English Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Spanish Language Daodejing Translators' Source Index

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Selected Reading List

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey  


 

Crane Frolics Chi Kung Exercises

6.  The Crane Opens and Closes Its Wings

Begin in the basic Crane stance with the hands at the waist.  The legs are separated with a shoulder's width.  Stretch the fingers open.  Inhale as you lift both hands up the center of the body, fingers pointing forward, arms about 24" apart.

As the hands reach the neck begin to move both hands to the side, upwards, and backwards.  Spread the arms as far apart as you can and to either side of the body as you lift both arms high above the head.  Draw the arms up and back as you gently bend backwards.

At the same time as the arms are lifted up and back, try to lift both heels off the ground, and come up on your toes.  Look up at the sky with your head drawn back. 
As you begin to exhale, gently draw the arms forward and down, straighten the back, look forward, and move the arms down to the waist.  

Repeat for 4 to 8 repetitions in a gentle, slow, calm, deliberate, and smooth manner. 
This movement is found in the Wild Goose Qigong (Dayan Chi Kung) routine.  Refer to "Wild Goose Qigong" by Hong-Chao Zhang, pp.20-21.  

Back-bending while standing with the arms lifted above the head and with the hands touching is a commonly used hatha yoga posture called Anyvittasana.   
This exercise is a hyperextension of the back, stretching of the latissimus dorsi muscles of sides of the upper back, a stretching of the upper rectus abdominis, engaging the pectoralis major, and a tensing of the trapezius muscles in the upper back and neck. 
This movement opens and fills with Qi (Chi, Energy) the Middle Dan Tien (i.e., 中丹田, Zhong Dantian, middle elixir fields, cauldron) of the esoteric body system explained in Chinese Qigong (Yoga); or, analogously, opens the Heart Chakra (Anhata) of Hatha Yoga.  Exercise of this area in the front of the body helps heal disturbed emotions, calms the spirit, strengthens the heart and lungs, and opens the Heart-Soul to the grace of light energy. 
The wide-spread arms held up high help establish a feeling of opening up, freeing oneself, and uplifting one's mood and spirit.  

You often see this ritual body posture in Christian revival meetings as a kind of "Saying Hallelujah" posture.

If the movement was done forcefully and with power and quickly it would be the flapping of the wings of a powerful bird like a Crane or wild Goose or for a human bodybuilder the performance of incline dumbbell flys. 

         
 


Crane Frolic Qigong Exercise Set

Eight Animals Frolics Mind/Body Fitness Practices (Chi Kung) by Mike Garofalo
 
The webpages for the eight specific animals will also have photographs of me or others doing these exercises.  There are also five, eight or twelve animals in Shaolin Kung Fu, Ba Gua Zhang, Taijiquan, and Xing Yi Quan.  Movements or postures called a "crane" or "hawk" or "rooster" are found in most of these mind-body internal arts.   

Chinese exercises recommended for improving fitness, maintaining good health, overcoming diseases, increasing energy and vitality, contributing to good mental health, and improving one's chances for longevity have a very long documented history going back to as early as 160 BCE in the Daoyin Tu.    

Good Mental Health Traits

Traits and Behaviors of Mental Heath

"Although no group of authorities fully agree on a definition of the term mental health, it seems seems to include several traits and behaviors that are frequently endorsed by leading theorists and therapists (e.g., Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Karen Horney, Erich Fromm, Rudolf Dreikurs, Fritz Perls, Abraham Maslow, Marie Jahoda, Carol Rodgers, Rollo May, Albert Ellis, etc.).  These include such traits as self-interest, self-direction, social interest, tolerance, acceptance of ambiguity and uncertainty, flexibility, acceptance of social reality, commitment, risk taking, self-acceptance, rationality and scientific thinking.  Not all mentally healthy individuals possess the highest degree of these traits at all times, but when people seriously lack them or when they have extreme opposing behaviors, we often consider them to be at least somewhat emotionally disturbed.  

Self Interest:  Emotionally healthy people are primarily true to themselves and do not subjugate themselves or unduly sacrifice themselves for others.  Realizing that if they do not primarily take care of themselves no one else will, they tend to put themselves first, a few selected others a close second, and the rest of the world not too far behind.

Self-Direction:  Mentally healthy people largely assume responsibility for their own lives, enjoy the independence of mainly working out their own problems, and, while at times wanting or preferring the help of others, do not think that they absolutely must have such support for their effectiveness and well-being.  
 
Social Interest:  Emotionally and mentally healthy people are normally gregarious and decide to try to live happily in a social group.  Because they want to live successfully with others, and usually to relate intimately to a few of these selected others, they work at feeling and displaying a considerable degree of social interest and interpersonal competence.  
 
Tolerance:  Emotionally healthy people tend to give other humans the right to be wrong.  While disliking or abhorring other's behavior, they refuse to condemn them as total persons for performing poor behavior.  They fully accept the fact that all humans seem to be remarkably fallible; they refrain from unrealistically demanding and commanding that any of them be perfect; and they desist from damning people in toto when they err.  

Acceptance of Ambiguity and Uncertainty:  Emotionally mature individuals accept the fact that, as far as has yet been discovered, we live in a world of probability and chance, where there are not, and probably ever will be, absolute necessities or complete certainties.  Living in such a world is not only tolerable but, in terms of adventure, learning and striving, can even be very exciting and pleasurable.  

Flexibility:  Emotionally sound people are intellectually flexible, tend to be open to change at all times, and are prone to take an unbigoted (or at least less bigoted) view of the infinitely varied people, ideas, and things in the world around them.  They can be firm and passionate in their thoughts and feelings, and they comfortably look at new evidence and often revise their notions of "reality" to conform with this evidence. 

Acceptance of Social Reality:  Emotionally healthy people, it almost goes without saying, accept was is going on in the world.  This means several important things: (1) they have a reasonably good perception of social reality and do not see things that do not exist and do not refuse to see things that do; (2) they find various aspects of life, in accordance with their own goals and inclination, "good" and certain aspects "bad" ─ but they accept both these aspects, without exaggerating the "good" ones and without denying or whining about the "bad" ones; (3) they do their best to work at changing those aspects of life they view as "bad," to accept those they cannot change, and to acknowledge the difference between the two. 

Commitment:  Emotionally healthy and happy people are usually absorbed in something outside of themselves, whether this be people, things, or ideas.  They seem to live better lives when they have at least one major creative interest, as well as some outstanding human involvement, which they make very important to themselves and around which the structure a good part of their lives.

Risk Taking:  Emotionally sound people are able to take risks.  They ask themselves what they would really like to do in life, and then try to do it, even though they have to risk defeat or failure.  They are reasonably adventurous (though not foolhardy); are will to try almost anything once, if only to see how they like it; and look forward to different or unusual breaks in their usual routines.  

Self-Acceptance:  People who are emotionally healthy are usually glad to be alive and to accept themselves as "deserving" of continued life and happiness just because they exist and because they have some present or future potential to enjoy themselves.  They fully or unconditionally accept themselves.  They try to perform competently in their affairs and win the approval and love of others; but they do so for enjoyment and not for ego gratification or self-deification.  

Rationality and Scientific Thinking:  Emotionally stable people are reasonably objective, rational, and scientific.  They not only construct reasonable and empirically substantiated theories relating to what goes on in the surrounding world (and with their fellow creatures who inhabit this world), but they are also able to supply the rules of logic and of the scientific method to their own lives and their interpersonal relationships. "

-  Albert Ellis, Ph.D.  The Albert Ellis Reader: A Guide to Well-Being Using Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, 1998, pp. 235-252.  Based on the 1962 essay titled "The Case Against Religion: A Psychotherapist's View."  


How to Live the Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

A Falling Leaf

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

Poetry by Mike Garofalo

Cloud Hands Taijiquan

Months and Seasons Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Verses, Lore, Myths, Holidays Celebrations, Folklore, Reading, Links, Quotations Information, Weather, Gardening Chores Compiled by Mike Garofalo
Winter	Spring	Summer	Fall
January	April	July	October
February	May	August	November
March	June	September	December

We Are Better Satisfied in Particulars

"Science and psychoanalysis apart, the most profound development in thought since Nietzsche, as far as we are concerned, is the phenomenological approach to the world.  Mallarmé sought "words without wrinkles," Baudelaire cherished his minutes heureuses and Valéry his "small worlds of order," as we have seen: Checkhov concentrated on the "concrete individual" and preferred "small scale and practical answers," Gide though the "systematizing is denaturing, distorting and impoverishing."  For Oliver Wendell Holmes, "all the pleasure of life is in general ideas, but all the use of life is in specific solutions."  Wallace Stevens considered that we are "better satisfied in particulars."  Thomas Nagel put it in this way: "Particulars things can have a noncompetitive completeness which is transparent to all aspects of the self.  This also helps to explain what the experience of great beauty tends to unify the self: the object engages us immediately and totally in a way that makes distinctions among points of view irrelevant."  Or, as Robert Nozick, who counseled us to make ourselves "vehicles" for beauty, said: "this is what poets and artists bring us―the immense and unsuspected reality of a small thing.  Everything has its own patient entityhood."  George Levine call for "a profound attention to the details of this world."  
-  Peter Watson, "The Age of Atheists: How We Have Sought to Live Since the Death of God," p.536

"The idea of one overbearing truth is exhausted."  
- Thomas Mann, translated by James Wood  

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind."
-  Albert Einstein

"To study the self is to forget the self.  To forget the self is to be enlightened by the ten thousand things."
-  Zen Master Dogen

"The more we understand individual things, the more we understand God."
-  Benedict De Spinoza

"God is in the details."
-  Mies Van Der Rohe

"After appreciating and understanding thousands of the details, a common variety God is really superfluous."
-  Mike Garofalo

"Caress the detail, the divine detail." 
-  Vladimir Nabokov

"Details are all there are."
-  Maezumi Roshi

"We think in generalities, but we live in details."
-  W.H. Auden

Gardening and Spirituality

Gardening and Religion

Observations: The Senses

Mutually Reinforcing Interdependence

"You should meditate often on the connection of all things in the universe and their relationship to each other.  In a way all things are interwoven and therefore have a family feeling for each other: one thing follows another in due order through the tension of movement, the common spirit inspiring them, and the unity of all being."
Marcus Aurelius, 160 CE, Meditations, Book Six, C 75, Translated by Martin Hammond

Stoics

Epircureans 

Interdependence and the Web of Life


 "How can we fret and stew sub specie aeternitatis - under the calm gaze of ancient Tao? The salt of the sea is in our blood; the calcium of the rocks is in our bones; the genes of ten thousand generations of stalwart progenitors are in our cells. The sun shines and we smile. The winds rage and we bend before them. The blossoms open and we rejoice.  Earth is our long home."
-  Stewart W. Holmes  


"A spiritual sensibility encourages us to see ourselves as part of the fundamental unity of all being.  If the thrust of the market ethos has been to foster a competitive individualism, a major thrust of many traditional religious and spiritual sensibilities has been to help us see our connection with all other human beings."
-  Michael Lerner  


"We are seeking another basic outlook: the world as an organization.  This would profoundly change the categories of our thinking and influence our practical attitudes.  We must envision the biosphere as a whole with mutually reinforcing or mutually destructive interdependencies."
-  Ludwig Von Bertalanffy  

Medicine Ball Exercises

Martial Arts, physical culture, and Qigong enthusiasts can benefit from using a medicine ball when doing exercises.  There are many routines developed by Taijiquan and Qigong masters using a medicine ball.   Qigong Ball exercisers can get into a calm mode, mellow their mood, and go with the Flow. 

Medicine Ball Training and Exercises: Bibliography, Links, Resources .  Prepared by Mike Garofalo.  A general introduction to the use of medicine balls in exercise programs. 

I developed my own medicine ball routine called: Magic Pearl Qigong. 

Magic Pearl Qigong, Part I, Movements 1-8 .   Instructions, Bibliography, Links, Handouts, Resources, Mythological Associations, Lore.  Prepared by Mike Garofalo. 

The Magic Pearl Qigong can be a very vigorous physical culture routine if you increase the weight of the ball, lower the stances, and increase the number of repetitions of each movement.  Serious Qigong Ball enthusiasts use a very light wooden ball, move slowly, stay relaxed, sink, play.

In addition, upper body strength and athletic fitness is also be improved by practicing longer Taijiquan Forms using weapons like the saber, sword, cane, and staff.

Tai Chi Ball Qigong: for Health and Martial Arts.  By Yang Jwing-Ming and David Grantham.  Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, YMAA Publication Center, 2010.  Index, glossary, bibliography, appendices, 301 pages.  ISBN: 1594391998.  The best book on the subject.  Linked to the two instructional DVDs listed below.  VSCL.

Taji Ball Qigong Course.   By Yang, Jwing-Ming, Ph.D.  Courses 1 and 2.  YMAA Publication Center, 2006.  180 minutes.  1 DVD, NTSC.  Directed by Yang Jwing-Ming and David Silver.   ASIN:B000EHT3DY.   VSCL. 

    "Deepen Your Tai Chi Training with Taiji Ball Qigong. Taiji Ball training is common practice in both external and internal martial arts in China. It can strengthen the torso, condition the muscles, and increase physical power by using the mind to lead the Qi. In Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan), Taiji Ball Qigong training was once a major training tool to enhance Pushing Hands ability. However, due to its secrecy, fewer and fewer people have learned it. Today the art of Taiji Ball training is almost unknown. In Course 1, Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming teaches fundamental Taiji Ball breathing techniques, and 16 basic patterns of stationary and moving Taiji Ball Circling, both Vertical and Horizontal. Breathing patterns demonstrated: Wuji breathing Yongquan breathing Laogong breathing Four Gates breathing Taiji Grand Circulation breathing Course 2 focuses on 16 basic patterns of stationary and moving Taiji Ball Rotating, both Vertical and Horizontal. Dr. Yang offers detailed instruction as students demonstrate in the classroom, accompanied by an easy-to-follow demonstration of each pattern shown in a lush outdoor setting, with beautiful classical Chinese music. Regular Qigong practice accelerates the health benefits of Taiji. You'll enjoy reduced stress, a stronger immune system, and a deeper awareness of breath and body coordination. This authoritative guide can be used with any style of Taijiquan, and it is a great way for anyone to energize the body, raise the spirit, and deepen your understanding of Qigong and Taiji. DVD features: Over 100 Chapter Markers . Narration: English and French. Multi-Language Menus and Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish. Over 1 hour of additional DVD-only content. Hidden DVD-Outtakes bloopers Segment. Interactive YMAA Product catalog with Previews of All Other YMAA Video Titles."   

 

       

Taji Ball Qigong Course.   By Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming.  Courses 3 and 4.  YMAA Publication Center, 2007.  200 minutes.  1 DVD, NTSC.   ASIN:B000NVRONM.   Featuring: Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming, Ramel Rones, Aaron Damus, Kathy Yang, Ben Warner and Richard Krupp.  Directed by David Silver.  MGC.  "Deepen Your Taiji with Taiji Ball Qigong. Taiji Ball training can strengthen the torso, condition the muscles, and teach the practitioner to use the mind to lead the Qi. In Taijiquan, Taiji Ball training was once a major training tool to enhance Pushing Hands ability, but it is rarely taught in modern times. This multi-language DVD by Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming contains two complete video courses, and builds upon the foundation taught in the Taiji Ball Qigong Courses 1 & 2 DVD. Dr. Yang offers you detailed instruction as you follow along with a YMAA class lesson. In Course 3, Dr Yang teaches 16 patterns of Taiji Ball Wrap-Coiling, both Vertical and Horizontal. Course 4 focuses on solo and partner applications, which help to develop coiling and neutralizing taiji skills. You will learn several Self-practice exercises: Flying Dragon Plays with the Ball. Taiji Ball Along the Edge. and 2-person Taiji Ball partner drills. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES: Over 100 Scene Selections. Narration: English. Multi-Language Menus and Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish. Interactive YMAA Product catalog with Previews of All Other YMAA Video Titles."   VSCL.  

 

Cottonwood Leaves Blown Away in Due Season

"Have you ever noticed a tree standing naked against the sky,
How beautiful it is?
All its branches are outlined, and in its nakedness
There is a poem, there is a song.
Every leaf is gone and it is waiting for the spring.
When the spring comes, it again fills the tree with
The music of many leaves,
Which in due season fall and are blown away.
And this is the way of life."
-   Krishnamurti


Trees: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore

Standing Meditation

One Old Daoist Druid's Final Journey

The Spirit of Gardening

October: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore 


"Larger and finer meanings are read into the older legends of the plants, and the universality of certain myths is expressed in the concurrence of ideas in the  beginnings of the great religions.   One of the first figures in the leading cosmologies is a tree of life guarded by a serpent.  In the Judaic faith this was the tree in the garden of Eden; the Scandinavians made it an ash, Ygdrasil;  Christians usually specify the tree as an apple, Hindus as a soma, Persians as a homa, Cambodians as a talok; this early tree is the vine of Bacchus, the snake-entwined caduceus of Mercury, the twining creeper of the Eddas, the bohidruma of Buddha, the fig of Isaiah, the tree of Aesculapius with the serpent around his trunk." 
-   Charles M. Skinner, Myths and Legends of Flowers, Trees, Fruits and Plants, 1911    


"Because they are primeval, because they outlive us, because they are fixed, trees seem to emanate a sense of permanence.  And though rooted in earth, they seem to touch the sky.  For these reasons it is natural to feel we might learn wisdom from them, to haunt about them with the idea that if we could only read their silent riddle rightly we should learn some secret vital to our own lives; or even, more specifically, some secret vital to our real, our lasting and spiritual existence."
-  Kim Taplin,  Tongues in Trees, 1989, p. 14.     


I have been staying at home the last four days, no other employment duties.  I cleaned up our Sacred Circle Garden.  This involved pruning and raking and pickup.  Also, I had to replace three rotting posts inside the inner sacred circle.  Tammi, Karen, and I have all done painting at our home these days.  I completely redesigned the compost bin and moved partially composed materials into it.  A general outdoor cleanup.  We cleaned up, fertilized, roto-tilled, and then planted our winter garden crop.  The back porch is now clean with seating for 10.  Doing some serious standing meditation practices.  Reading and research on Stoicism and Hedonism.  Took a week off from strength training at the gym.

 

A Path to Personal Growth

Twelve Gateways to Personal Growth

"1.  Preparation: Stairway to the Soul 
2.  Discover Your Worth: Opening to Life 
3.  Reclaim Your Will: The Power to Change 
4.  Energize Your Body: A Foundation for Life 
5.  Manage Your Money: Sufficiency and Spiritual Practice 
6.  Tame Your Mind: Inner Peace and Simple Reality 
7.  Trust Your Intuition: Accessing Inner Guidance 
8.  Accept Your Emotions: The Center of the Cyclone 
9.  Face Your Fears: Living as Peaceful Warriors 
10.  Illuminate Your Shadow: Cultivating Compassion and Authenticity 
11.  Embrace Your Sexuality: Celebrating Life 
12.  Awaken Your Heart: The Healing Power of Love 
13.  Serve Your World: Completing the Circle of Life"

-  Dan Millman
   Everyday Enlightenment: The Twelve Gateways to Personal Growth, 1999  


How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

Aging Well

Pulling Onions Again

Stupidity and shallowness are increasingly popular. 
When Death grins at you, grin back; when death beckons you, run away.
Thankfully, we can imagine nearly everything─ which helps prevent boredom. 
A garden is a Romantic's parádeisos.
It's over when it ends.
Act on your knowledge first, your common sense second, and your best guess third.
Wear a variety of masks; acting is essential to coping.
A garden is a feeling.
Acknowledging that you might die today has stopped few from trying to stay alive to 80.
Dreams are our imagination at play while we sleep. 
You can train yourself to eliminate bad habits and useless thoughts; for example, stop attending any more church services starting today.
Seventy percent of "good luck" is following reasonable plans and working diligently; the rest is often beneficial circumstances outside of your control.No garden lasts for long - neither will you. 
Shade, in the summer, is as precious as a glass of water.  Fear may keep some stupid people in line, but virtue for virtue's sake attracts the allegiance and support of most intelligent people. 
The most important Master to seek and follow is Self-Mastery.  
There is no 'i' in "team," but there is an 'm' in me, my, and mine.  
Sometimes it is best to walk away and never walk back. 
Exercise is a way of making the unconscious body very conscious. 
A wise gardener knows when to stop. 
Gardens are demanding pets. 
Unclench your fist to give a hand. 
The little choices day after day are the biggest issue. 
Gardening is but one battle against Chaos. 
When life gives you onions, you ain't making lemonade. 
Many friendships are sustained by a mutual hatred of another person or group.
What you see depends on when you look. 
Beauty is the Mistress, the gardener her slave. 
One's "true self" is changing and elusive. 
A little of this and a little of that, and some exceptions - these are the facts. 
Does a plum tree with no fruit have Buddha Nature?  Whack! 
-  Mike Garofalo


Pulling Onions by Mike Garofalo
Over 866 random quips, one-liners, sayings, and "insights" from an old gardener.

"An Onion Garden,"  a concrete poem by Mike Garofalo

Gym Time: Dave Draper's Insights

"The time I spend in the gym is devoted to getting the job done to the best of my ability. That means determining the path I should travel, commencing the workout without wasting time, warming up and getting up to speed proficiently, seeking muscle overload within the majority of dedicated sets, always assessing risk and injury, and maintaining form, focus and pace. Nothing amazing, just forward motion.

This is how one builds muscle and might, assuming, of course, smart eating and rest are concurrent. Within the tight parameters of this training system, there is efficiency, discipline, attention, care, assurance, patience and order. And none of these would fly without a clear goal in mind, and a strong commitment to it. More essential requirements.

Being a mature musclebuilder, I can chew gum and lift weights at the same time (I admittedly must be ever vigilant, however, lest I chip a tooth on a five-pound plate). This heady advantage allows me to observe my surroundings, the people and equipment hard at work (or not) to my left and right. I observe and I wonder, neither of which is a mindless daydream or a glazed gaze. They're unusually stimulating acts of the mind and soul, which no doubt raise my metabolism much the same as mild aerobics. I wonder intensely."

I really enjoy reading Dave Draper's weekly short essays about life in the gym, bodybuilding, and aging gracefully with power.  

Visit his Bodybuilding, Weight Training, Nutrition Guidelines from Mr. Universe Dave Draper.

Dave Draper (1942-) offers a brief and interesting free weekly email newsletter.

For more information on strength training and bodybuilding for persons over fifty, check out my webpage on the subject.   


Brother Iron, Sister Steel: A Bodybuilder's Book  By Dave Draper.  OnTarget Publications, 2001, 337 pages.  I've read my copy a number of times over the years. 

Qigong Exercises with a Short Staff

I enjoy practicing the following cane exercise form:

Taiji Yangsheng Zhang: Taiji Stick Qigong (Chinese Health Qigong)  By the Chinese Health Qigong Association.  Singing Dragon, 2014.  96 pages.  1 instructional DVD.  ISBN: 978-1848191945.  Brief history, warmup and cane handling, ten movement form.  VSCL. 
"A set of exciting and unusual Taiji Stick qigong exercises is presented in this accessible introduction. Embodying the concepts of taiji, the movements emphasize the harmony of yin and yang, man and nature. Appropriate for all levels of experience and for all age groups, this new set of easy-to-learn exercises distils the essence of traditional stick practice, guides body movements and the movement of the stick, and coordinates directed breathing and imagination. The book provides step-by-step, fully-illustrated instruction, and includes an account of the origins of the movements and guidance for practice. An accompanying DVD features a video demonstrating the form and additional information on its history and origins, and a CD provides options for verbal instructions to lead the practitioner through the exercises, or music to accompany them. The book is an authoritative resource that will help students and practitioners of taiji, qigong, martial arts and Chinese medicine perfect and deepen their practice. It is also an excellent practical introduction for anyone with an interest in the ancient health and martial practices of China. 
The Chinese Health Qigong Association is dedicated to the popularization of and research into Health Qigong, and is a group member of the All-China Sports Federation. Its aim is to promote and carry forward the Chinese traditional culture of health promotion and facilitate the communication between Western and Eastern Cultures."


The movements of the Taiji Yangsheng Zhang form are as follows:
Initial Stance and Opening
1.  Boatman Rows with an Oar  (Shao Gong Yao Lu)  
2.  Boat Rows Slowly  (Qing Zhou Huan Xing) 
3.  Wind Kisses the Lotus Leaves  (Feng Bai He Ye) 
4.  Boatman Tows a Boat  (Chuan Fu Bei Qian) 
5.  Iron Stick Calms the Sea  (Shen Zhen Ding Hai) 
6.  Golden Dragon Wags Its Tai  (Jin Long Jiao Wei) 
7.  Search for Treasure in the Sea  (Tan Hai Xun Bao) 
8.  Qi Returns to the Dantian  (Qi Gui Dan Tian) 
Closing and Ending Stance




"The Taiji Stick Health Preservation exercises embodies the concept of harmony between yin and yang, man and nature.  All the movements involved are soft and slow, and easy to practice.  This is not a "martial art," per se, and the stick is not wielded like a weapon. 
In practicing with the Taiji Stick, we should twist, turn, bend, and stretch around the waist as a center, and move our spine accordingly.
In practicing with the Taiji Stick, we need to relax our waist and hips, and keep the body upright and comfortable, adjusting the movement of the waist in harmony with the use of the stick.  If we lift the stick, we need to sink the waist and lower the qi down to the Dantian (lower belly); and if we lower the stick, we need to straighten the waist and pull up the qi to the Baihui acupoint [top of the head].  If we rotate the stick in a circle, our waist becomes the anchor, moving our body and arms.  All this illustrates the pivotal role of the waist." p. 6.  

Tai Chi Chuan Cane

Way of the Short Staff

Staff Weapons

Taijiquan Practices

Cloud Hands Blog Usage Report

The Cloud Hands Blog has now served up over 600,000 page views of my regular blog posts to readers from around the world.  

By February of 2015, this blog had served up 500,000 posts.  By July of 2014, it had served up a total of 400,000 page views.

I have made over 2,230 posts to this Cloud Hands Blog.  My first post to the Cloud Hands Blog was made on October 26, 2005.

There were 14,179 page views of the Cloud Hands Blog in the last month, and over 530 page views yesterday.  There are now 101 persons that follow this blog by email. 

I have had some positive feedback and awards for the Cloud Hands Blog. 


Thank you very much to all those persons that have read the posts to this blog.  


Last year, I added a Translate button at the top of the right sidebar so that non-English readers can read the post in the language of their choice, albeit within the limitations of automatic machine translations.

I use Blogger for a number of reasons.  First, blogging provides a permanent record of one's written contributions with backup files.  Second, your posts can be indexed in a variety of ways.  Third, it provides a useful and flexible structure for linking to other related websites and blogs.  Fourth, people can subscribe to your posts via an email blog aggregator.  Fifth, your posts and content links are added automatically and immediately to the Google and Bing indexes.  Sixth, you can display photos, graphics, and UTube embeds in your blog.  Seventh, web publishers can use their blog to create a alternative front-end index to their other websites and webpages.  Eight, it serves as my readily available online notebook. 

The nice aspect of any Blogger blog is the fact that all posts are thoroughly indexed by topics shown in the lower right side bar.  The blog has a search box at the top left hand corner of the blog that provides full access to all past posts.  Also, there are links in the right sidebar to other blogs and webpages by others that are worth exploring and reading.

My Cloud Hands Blog is primarily a online vehicle for referring people to my hundreds of webpages with specific, extensive, and focused content on subjects of interest to me, and updating my readers on the webpages I am currently creating or improving.  Links in each post point to relevant material in my webpages on a particular subject. A partial index to my many webpages can be found at Green Way Research. 

I have been creating webpages at the Spirit of Gardening website since 1999.  Over 32 million webpages were served to people all around the world from the Spirit of Gardening website from 1999-2015.  I use BlueHost for hosting my webpages. 

I have been creating webpages at Green Way Research since 2001.  Each year over 1.5 million webpages are served up from the Cloud Hands website which includes Cloud Hands Taijiquan, Valley Spirit Qigong, Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices, A Philosopher's Notebooks, The Good Life, and One Old Druid's Final Journey. 
 

Over 4,400 persons have written to me since 2000 to tell me how these hundreds of webpages have provided them with enjoyment, inspiration, information, and insights; or, to ask me questions.  

My main webpage efforts in 2015 had been weekly work on the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu.  By June of 2015, I completed adding over 25 English language translations for each Chapter, 3 Spanish language translations for each of the 81 chapters of the Daodejing, and indexing by Spanish language terms for all the Chapters.  Each Friday, I submit a post on the Daodejing to the Cloud Hands Blog.

In 2016,, my reading, research, and writing will be focused on on Stoicism, Hellenistic philosophy, embodied cognition, pragmatism, metaphors, fitness practices, self-help, and the senses. I focus on a more limited set of topics on this blog, and seldom comment on current events.

My wife, Karen, and I are very active gardeners.  Therefore, I post on this subject quite often. 

Hopefully, posts to this blog will benefit my readers in some positive way, lead to discovering other mind-body fitness options they might explore, and providing a little insight on topics of mutual interest.

Yes, I do repeat previous blog posts.  Few busy people have the time to post original material each day unless the blog is a steady source of income for them. Since I am 70 years of age, semi-retired, and still work two part-time jobs for 30 hours total each week, actively garden, and exercise six days a week, my time available for original creative writing is somewhat limited. 

Recent Feedback and Kudos from my Readers:

"Michael Garofalo has a variety of superior online directories, and his catalogues of poems (including his own) and his writing are worth perusing.  Of special note are his webpages on Daoism and the Tao Te Ching."
-  Gerald A. Sharp, Chi Flow, 2015

"Mr. Michael P. Garofalo has done excellent research and comparisons of the various translations of each verse of the Tao Te Ching.   Thanks to him, we can easily see how various scholars translated the verses; for example, look at Verse 6."
-  Tao by Matsumoto

"I love your blog and look forward to the notification in my inbox that you've published another post. It is a centre of quiet and sanity in my stressful life and helps draw me back to my centre. It is better than any pill that my doctor prescribes. Many thanks, Anne.
-  Anne, Just an Old Fashioned Girl Blog, 9/20/2015

"Hi Mike, I really enjoyed your website!"
-  Shifu Elaine Waters, Colorado, 9/15/2015

"Dear friend, your site is a nice trove of information."
-  Shifu Careaga, Jiang Hu Wulin Group, 9/12/2015

"Hi Mike, thank you very much for the very useful information on swinging arms Qigong."
-  Brother Promise, Plum Village Org, France, 7/27/2015

"I found your web pages which are nearly perfect, totally helpful like an encyclopedia, and well thought out.  Congratulations, and thank you for giving us the opportunity of using them."
-  Selma Erdal, Istanbul, Turkey, 7/12/2015

"I started doing Tai Chi 2 years ago and discovered your website about a year ago.  Thank you so much for creating and/or organizing the information available there.  It has been invaluable as a resource in helping me advance my Tai Chi practice. I am especially grateful for the detail instructions on the 24 and 108 hand forms, the 32 sword form and the various fan forms."
-  Ingrid Chin, 6/23/2015 

"I have been reading your work for a while and think very highly of it. I am working upon Master Chen's request on a book on Tai Chi but my writing pales in comparison to yours."
-  Robert G. Downey, Madison, Florida, 2/25/2015

"I was looking for some materials concerning Taijiquan and Qigong, and quite naturally I found your websites, which seem to be the most elaborate (and even in some way "scientific") to be found on the internet.  There can be no doubt that I admire you for this large amount of work which you put in those subjects - which is, of course, an huge amount of life, too."
-  Hanjo Lehmann, M.D., Berlin, Germany, 2/19/2015

"Just a note of appreciation for all the time you spent on your website for the 32 step sword form.  I'm just starting to learn the form and know I will be referring to your work a lot.  Thank you so much for sharing your expertise."
-  Kristina Endo, 2/15/2015

"I recently began studying with Dr. Ming Wu (wuhealing.com) in West Hartford, CT. Being directionally challenged, I researched guides to the Traditional Yang Style Long Form and Short Form.  Your clarity of organization, together with the directions for each movement has been an essential learning tool.  I have been taking handwritten notes to adapt your form to his teaching, detailing the differences in direction and movement from class and from Dr. Wu's videos on his website. My next step is to review the descriptions in detail with Dr. Wu.  Your pairing of the visual image of the compass with the movements has been invaluable.  I adapted the wuhealing logo into a compass as a visual guide."
-  Lynn Mangini, 12/23/2014 

"I happened to stumble on to your webpage on the Taiji Jian Form, then continued to surf through the many links on it.  I immediately noticed a marked difference between your website pages, and that of others which I have chanced upon in the past. You took the trouble to reference every source that you quoted, and did so in a very systematic and user-friendly manner.  Plus, it was done in a proper manner.  In compliance with academic standards.  These details drove me to investigate further... and then, I suddenly noticed that your website was recently updated in September 2015, and yet, your earlier webpages dated way back a over decade ago. Your collective knowledge of academic referencing standards, plus website design best practices, plus in depth and obvious passion for Taiji, is just simply astounding!These skills are rarely seen in combination.  Don't worry 'm not a salesperson or anything. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate your work.  Thank you for sharing your Taiji knowledge freely online, and in such a professional manner.  I am impressed."

-  Roz Hussin, October 7, 2015 

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

Best wishes for good health, contentment, and peace,
Mike Garofalo