Green Wizard Returns

"I first met Chang San-Feng above the forest,
near the clear spring,
when gathering clouds darkened the day,
and Mt. Shasta was silent.

His long beard was black as emptiness,
ear lobes to his shoulders,
holding obsidian in his hand,
pointing to the sun,
eyes staring into infinity,
his long body clothed in silence.

We exchanged "hellos"
smiled and bowed,
a barbarian and an Immortal,
both panting from the climb,
laughing,
ten-thousand echoes
between our rocky minds.

After billions upon billions of heartbeats past
(for he must have been 888 years old),
I was so bold
as to ask the ancient one
for the sacred mantra of yore.
He lifted his whisk,
and brushed my face,
I could not speak,
my lips were stone,
ideas stopped -
I was alone."
- Michael P. Garofalo, Meetings with Master Chang San-Feng

Mike Garofalo sometimes writes under the pen names of "The Green Wizard" or "Gushen Moon"


Is Mike really a wizard? Hah! Come, come, my dear friends. He, like like his lanky and legendary mentor, Grand Master Chang San Feng, just likes to keep on walking, gardening, dancing at dawn, playing taijiquan, creating, enjoying scholarly pursuits, Internetting, encouraging peaceful productivity, standing under the Gushen Moon, and letting others bang his brass wizard's hat.


"Standing at the Mysterious Pass
Centered in the Eternal Now,
Balanced in Body and Open in Mind,
Rooted into the Sacred Space,
Motionless as the Golden Mountain,
Fingers around the Primeval Sphere.
Dragons and Tigers are still dreaming -
Ready for Rebirth.

I breathe in, the World Breathes Out.
The Gate of Space opens;
Heaven moves and Yang is born.
The hands move out, embracing the One.
The mind settles and is clear.
The Dragon Howls,
Ravens fill the Vast Cauldron,
Mind forms melt like mercury,
Spirit rises in the Clouds of Eternity.
Yin appears like the moon at dusk.

I breathe out, the World Breathes In.
The Doors of Emptiness close;
Earth quiets and Yin is born.
The hands move in, entering the One.
The body settles and becomes whole.
The Tiger Roars,
The Great Ox is nourished by the Valley Spirit,
Substances spark from flaming furnaces,
Essence roots in the Watery Flesh.
Yang appears like the sun at dawn.

Dragons and Tigers
Transformed within the Mysterious Pass -
Chanting and Purring.
Awakened,
Peaceful,
Free."

- Michael P. Garofalo, Opening at the Mysterious Pass





Blog Search Terms: Green Wizard, Taoism, Poetry, Qigong, Druids.

The Spirit of Gardening

Cloud Hands: Taijiquan and Qigong

The Green Wizard Opens the Door

One Taoist Druid's Journey - The Green Wizard's Notebooks