Dancing with the Dao

The Fireplace Records, Chapter 45

Dancing with the Dao

In a short lecture by Alan Watts, titled "Walking on the Wheel," he contrasts those who favor listening to music with those who favor dancing to music.  Both are enjoyable, beneficial, pleasurable, and healthy. 

Some Christians and Platonic disciplinarians are disdainful of music, dancing, plays, jokes, games of chance, literature, etc. They contend that such arts corrupt the soul, lead one into vice, overindulge the senses, are sinful, encourage laziness, and take us away from the contemplation of the Divine. Secular pleasures are rejected, puritan attitudes prevail, and contempt for worldly pastimes are demanded.  

My wife told me her Church of Christ fundamentalist parents would not allow any Christmas celebrations, not allow her to go to movies or dances, favored only church hymns, would not allow any musical instruments in church services, and condemned secular cultural pastimes.  Probably, Islamic parents do the same these days.

Most people ignore the ascetic and disciplinary path to salvation and to  the magical after-life.  They enjoy both listening to music, playing music, and dancing to a variety of musical types.

A person with a more passive, quiet, contemplative nature enjoys relaxing and listening to music.  They settle into stillness and auditory indulgence.  These folks also might favor silent still meditation, standing meditation, yin yoga, and Qi Gong practices.

I enjoy dancing, tai chi chuan, and walking while listening to music. I enjoy playing the harmonica.  Doing and making with my body-mind has provided me with a lifetime of pleasures and enjoyment.

Comments, Sources, Observations, Koans, Poems, Quips:

Dance, laugh, sing, and smile your way to vibrant health.

The Dao enjoys Dancing.

The Five Senses

Soma-Aesthetics

Music

Tai Chi Chuan Dancing

Yoga Stillness

Standing Meditation Stillness

636 Riddles, Jokes, Witticisms, Humor

Refer to my Cloud Hands Blog Posts on the topic of Koans/Stories. 

Subject Index to 1,975 Zen Buddhist Koans

Zen Buddhist Koans: Indexes, Bibliography, Commentary, Information

The Daodejing by Laozi

Pulling Onions  Over 1,043 One-line Sayings, Quips, Maxims, Humor

Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans

The Fireplace Records (Blog Version) By Michael P. Garofalo

You Can't Dance and Stay Uptight

Dancing in the Moonlight
By King Harvest
1972

"We get it almost every night
When that moon gets big and bright
It's supernatural delight
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Everybody here is out of sight
They don't bark and they don't bite
They keep things loose, they keep things light
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

We like our fun and we never fight
You can't dance and stay uptight
It's supernatural delight
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight"

Taijiquan Fan

There are many T'ai Chi Ch'uan exercise forms which make use of a fan.   Most are shorter forms, under 25 movements, but some, like the famous Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Form have over 50 movements.  Most are done slowly and softly, but some include vigorous and fast movements.  The majority favor the Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan.  

Tai Chi Fan: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Notes, Lore, Quotations. Research by Mike Garofalo.  I welcome any comments, suggestions, additions, or ideas regarding this webpage.

One of the most popular Tai Chi Fan forms was created by Professor Li Deyin (1938-).  It has 52 movements.  I includes slow and gentle movements in the first half of the form, then the second half is much more vigorous.  This Tai Chi Fan form is for athletic and intermediate Tai Chi students. 

Here are some instructional resources for learning the Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Form.   

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan. Routine 1, created by Grandmaster Li Deyin (1938-). Instructional DVD, 65 minutes, by Master Jesse Tsao. Tai Chi Healthways, San Diego, California. "The most popular Tai Chi Fan form ever practiced in China. The routine was created by Grandmaster Li Deyin, Jesse Tsao's teacher since 1978. There are 52 movements in the whole routine based on the characteristic Tai Chi posture with the fan's artistic and martial functions. Master Tsao presents demonstrations at the beginning and end. He teaches step-by-step in slow motion, in English. There are plenty of repetitions of movements in both front and back view. It is a good reference for home study, or a resource for instructor's teaching preparation." Cost: 35.00 US. Demonstration.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Instructional DVD by Professor Li Deyin. Narration in English. "A fan routine, created by Professor Li, which combines the gracefulness, centrality and continuity of Taiji with the power, speed and fierceness of Wushu. It is designed as an addition to the exercises for health, and has received massive interest and support throughout the world. In this DVD, Professor Li provides in-depth teaching with Mrs. Fang Mishou performing detail demonstration." Vendor 1. Cost: $35.00 US. 

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. List of 52 movement names, directions, instructions, and notes by Mike Garofalo.

I compiled the following list of UTube demonstrations of this Tai Chi fan form a couple of years ago.  Some of the videos may no longer exist.  

Tai Chi Kung Fun Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 4:02 min. Lady in white on a stage in Japan. My favorite! "First Form of the Xiyangmei Taiji Kungfu Shan (Taiji Shan). Recorded in Tokyo, Japan when the group headed by Li Deyin went to give an exhibition in 2006." 

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 3:59 min. Three performers in white outfits.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 3:59 min. Demonstrated by Patty Lee. Lady in a yellow outfit in a field with a backdrop of mountains.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 4:02 min. Lady in black practicing in a dance studio. What is the song used in many of these videos (by Jackie Chan)??

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 3:42. A group of Master Fay Li Yip's students performing outdoors.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 3:53 min. A group in black outfits performs outdoors in Madrid, Spain. Some members need more group practice.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video, 5:57 min. Two ladies in red outfits perform outdoors in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. 中國太極功夫扇

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. UTube Video Subject Search.

You Can't Dance and Stay Uptight

Dancing in the Moonlight
By King Harvest
1972

"We get it almost every night
When that moon gets big and bright
It's supernatural delight
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Everybody here is out of sight
They don't bark and they don't bite
They keep things loose, they keep things light
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

We like our fun and we never fight
You can't dance and stay uptight
It's supernatural delight
Everybody was dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight

Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feeling warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody's dancing in the moonlight"

Death Comes and Whispers to You

"Under the harvest moon,
When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers."
-  Carl Sandburg, Under the Harvest Moon

"In that open field
If you do not come too close, if you do not come too close,
On a summer midnight, you can hear the music
Of the weak pipe and the little drum
And see them dancing around the bonfire
The association of man and woman
In daunsinge, signifying matrimonie—
A dignified and commodiois sacrament.
Two and two, necessarye coniunction,
Holding eche other by the hand or the arm
Whiche betokeneth concorde. Round and round the fire
Leaping through the flames, or joined in circles,
Rustically solemn or in rustic laughter
Lifting heavy feet in clumsy shoes,
Earth feet, loam feet, lifted in country mirth
Mirth of those long since under earth
Nourishing the corn. Keeping time,
Keeping the rhythm in their dancing
As in their living in the living seasons
The time of the seasons and the constellations
The time of milking and the time of harvest
The time of the coupling of man and woman
And that of beasts. Feet rising and falling.
Eating and drinking. Dung and death.
Dawn points, and another day
Prepares for heat and silence. Out at sea the dawn wind
Wrinkles and slides. I am here
Or there, or elsewhere. In my beginning."
-   T. S. Eliot,  Four Quartets, East Coker No. 2, 1, 1940 

Autumnal Equinox in Red Bluff California, North Sacramento Valley, California, U.S.A. is on
Wednesday, September 23, 2015.  

Full Moon, September 27, 2015

Autumn Equinox Celebrations, Mabon

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

  

Hot Stuff

The late Donna Summer brings us back to the disco days of bad girls and Saturday night fevers.  One of the great Queens of Disco!  Hot Stuff!!  

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Form

There are many T'ai Chi Ch'uan exercise forms which make use of a fan.   Most are shorter forms, under 25 movements, but some, like the famous Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Form have over 50 movements.  Most are done slowly and softly, but some include vigorous and fast movements.  The majority favor the Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan.  

Tai Chi Fan: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Notes, Lore, Quotations. Research by Mike Garofalo.  I welcome any comments, suggestions, additions, or ideas regarding this webpage. One of the most popular Tai Chi Fan forms was created by Professor Li Deyin (1938-).  It has 52 movements.  I includes slow and gentle movements in the first half of the form, then the second half is much more vigorous.  This Tai Chi Fan form is for athletic and intermediate Tai Chi students. 

Here are some instructional resources for learning the Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Form.  

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan. Routine 1, created by Grandmaster Li Deyin (1938-). Instructional DVD, 65 minutes, by Master Jesse Tsao. Tai Chi Healthways, San Diego, California. "The most popular Tai Chi Fan form ever practiced in China. The routine was created by Grandmaster Li Deyin, Jesse Tsao's teacher since 1978. There are 52 movements in the whole routine based on the characteristic Tai Chi posture with the fan's artistic and martial functions. Master Tsao presents demonstrations at the beginning and end. He teaches step-by-step in slow motion, in English. There are plenty of repetitions of movements in both front and back view. It is a good reference for home study, or a resource for instructor's teaching preparation." Cost: 35.00 US. Demonstration.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Instructional DVD by Professor Li Deyin. Narration in English. "A fan routine, created by Professor Li, which combines the gracefulness, centrality and continuity of Taiji with the power, speed and fierceness of Wushu. It is designed as an addition to the exercises for health, and has received massive interest and support throughout the world. In this DVD, Professor Li provides in-depth teaching with Mrs. Fang Mishou performing detail demonstration." Vendor 1. Cost: $35.00 US.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. List of 52 movement names, directions, instructions, and notes by Mike Garofalo.

Tai Chi Fan

There are many T'ai Chi Ch'uan exercise forms which make use of a fan.   Most are shorter forms, under 25 movements, but some, like the famous Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Form have over 50 movements.  Most are done slowly and softly, but some include vigorous and fast movements.  The majority favor the Yang Style of Tai Chi Chuan.  

Tai Chi Fan: Bibliography, Links, Resources, Notes, Lore, Quotations. Research by Mike Garofalo.  I welcome any comments, suggestions, additions, or ideas regarding this webpage.

One of the most popular Tai Chi Fan forms was created by Professor Li Deyin (1938-).  It has 52 movements.  I includes slow and gentle movements in the first half of the form, then the second half is much more vigorous.  This Tai Chi Fan form is for athletic and intermediate Tai Chi students. 

Here are some instructional resources for learning the Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Form.  

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan. Routine 1, created by Grandmaster Li Deyin (1938-). Instructional DVD, 65 minutes, by Master Jesse Tsao. Tai Chi Healthways, San Diego, California. "The most popular Tai Chi Fan form ever practiced in China. The routine was created by Grandmaster Li Deyin, Jesse Tsao's teacher since 1978. There are 52 movements in the whole routine based on the characteristic Tai Chi posture with the fan's artistic and martial functions. Master Tsao presents demonstrations at the beginning and end. He teaches step-by-step in slow motion, in English. There are plenty of repetitions of movements in both front and back view. It is a good reference for home study, or a resource for instructor's teaching preparation." Cost: 35.00 US. Demonstration.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan Instructional DVD by Professor Li Deyin. Narration in English. "A fan routine, created by Professor Li, which combines the gracefulness, centrality and continuity of Taiji with the power, speed and fierceness of Wushu. It is designed as an addition to the exercises for health, and has received massive interest and support throughout the world. In this DVD, Professor Li provides in-depth teaching with Mrs. Fang Mishou performing detail demonstration." Vendor 1. Cost: $35.00 US.

Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan, Form 1. List of 52 movement names, directions, instructions, and notes by Mike Garofalo.

Dancing with Emptiness

"Of what is the body made?  It is made of emptiness and rhythm.  At the ultimate heart of the body, at the heart of the world, there is no solidity.  Once again, there is only the dance."
-   George Leonard

Six Illusions About the Body
By Larry Dossey, M.D.
1.  The body is solid.
2.  The body is stable.
3.  The body is individuated.
4.  The body belongs to the Earth.
5.  The body is stationary.
6.  The body is mindless.

"We are but whirlpools in a river of ever-flowing water.  We are not stuff that abides, put patterns that perpetuate themselves."
-  Norbet Weiner, 1950

"Improved perception of our somatic feelings not only gives us greater knowledge of ourselves but also enables greater somatic skill, facility, and range of movement that can afford our sensory organs greater scope in giving us knowledge of the world.  Besides augmenting our own possibilities of pleasure , such improved somatic functioning and awareness  can give us greater power in performing virtuous acts for the benefit of others, since all action somehow depends on the efficacy of our bodily instrument."
-  Richard Shusterman, Body Consciousness, 2008, p. 126.

Awakening Somatic Intelligence: The Art and Practice of Embodied Mindfulness.  By Risa F. Kaparo, Ph.D..  North Atlantic Books, 2012.  408 pages.  ISBN: 978-1583944172.  VSCL. 

Awareness Through Movement; Health Exercises for Personal Growth.  Easy to Do Health Exercises to Improve Your Posture, Vision, Imagination and Personal Awareness.  By Moshe Feldenkrais.  San Francisco, Harper Collins, 1972, 1977.  173 pages.  ISBN: 0062503227.  VSCL.     

Body Consciousness: A Philosophy of Mindfulness and Somaesthetics.  By Richard Shusterman.  New York, Cambridge University Press, 2008.  Index, bibliography, 239 pages.  ISBN: 9780521858908.  VSCL. 

Soma, Body, Somatics, Somatic Psychology and Philosophy: Quotations, Bibliography, Notes

Dubstep Dance: Set Fire

Marquese "Non-Stop" Scott does a new Dubstep Dance called "Set Fire."  Tai Chi Chuan dancers might pick up a few new moves from Marquese ...

Dancing Puts a Smile on Your Face

Here are some young, trim, and athletic ladies doing a nice dance routine - Gangnam Style.  Great exercise.  Lots of hip movement.  Lovely long hair.  "Hey, sexy lady!"  Ah, to be young and full of provocative liveliness ...

Training to Be the Best

Performing a Taijiquan routine or dance routine really well requires hundreds of hours of practice, physical conditioning, and guidance from a teacher.

John Travolta trained hard to perfect this dance routine, for a specific single performance. 





This Chen Taijiquan player trained hard to perfect his Cannon Fist II routine, and is still practicing, enjoying and benefiting from his practice. 





Paty Lee trained hard to perfect her Tai Chi Kung Fu Fan form performance.  A lifetime of pleasure and recreation will be hers.   





Train, practice, train, practice, learn, listen, train, practice, improve, perfect, practice.

Equinox Moonlight Shadows

"Under the harvest moon,
When the soft silver
Drips shimmering
Over the garden nights,
Death, the gray mocker,
Comes and whispers to you
As a beautiful friend
Who remembers."
-  Carl Sandburg, Under the Harvest Moon

 

"In that open field
If you do not come too close, if you do not come too close,
On a summer midnight, you can hear the music
Of the weak pipe and the little drum
And see them dancing around the bonfire
The association of man and woman
In daunsinge, signifying matrimonie—
A dignified and commodiois sacrament.
Two and two, necessarye coniunction,
Holding eche other by the hand or the arm
Whiche betokeneth concorde. Round and round the fire
Leaping through the flames, or joined in circles,
Rustically solemn or in rustic laughter
Lifting heavy feet in clumsy shoes,
Earth feet, loam feet, lifted in country mirth
Mirth of those long since under earth
Nourishing the corn. Keeping time,
Keeping the rhythm in their dancing
As in their living in the living seasons
The time of the seasons and the constellations
The time of milking and the time of harvest
The time of the coupling of man and woman
And that of beasts. Feet rising and falling.
Eating and drinking. Dung and death.
Dawn points, and another day
Prepares for heat and silence. Out at sea the dawn wind
Wrinkles and slides. I am here
Or there, or elsewhere. In my beginning."
-   T. S. Eliot,  Four Quartets, East Coker No. 2, 1, 1940

 

 

September Equinox in Redding, California, U.S.A. is on
Sunday, September 22, 2013 at 1:44 PM PDT

 

Full Moon, September 19, 2013

Autumn Equinox Celebrations, Mabon

 

 

Set Fire Dubstep Dancing

Marquese "Non-Stop" Scott does a new Dubstep Dance called "Set Fire."  Tai Chi Chuan dancers might pick up a few new moves from Marquese ...

Get Moving

Whop ... Whop ... Whop ... Whop

Gangnam Style

Burn Baby Burn

Tapas, one of the yoga Niyamas, is often translated as a kind of heat or fire that burns away impurities.  It refers to a inner energy, a passion, dedicated daily effort, guts, the power to work for good, a burning spark that inspires real effort, work, a fire in the belly, sweat, and hard physical practice.

Here is one of my favorite high energy songs for dancing, walking, spin cycling, rowing, treadmill work:  

Disco Inferno by the Traamps from 1976.
Lyrics

Here is the MP3 long disco dance version of Disco Inferno (10:57 min) from Amazon.  

"Baby baby burn
Burn'n, burn'n, burn'n ...
I wonder if you can understand what I'm talking about
I'm not talking about burning down a building
It's coming from the soul
Just can stop
Soul Fire
When my spark gets hot
Burning in my soul
Just can't stop
When my spark gets hot
Don't you rescue me
Just can't stop
Let my spirit burn free
When my spark gets hot ..."

You Should Be Dancing

A two year old boy shows us his dancing skills.  This video brought a nice big smile on to my face.  

Fun:  http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3982562047737