Find the Center Within

"Thirty spokes join together in the hub.
It is because of what is not there that the cart is useful.
Clay is formed into a vessel.
It is because of its emptiness that the vessel is useful.
Cut doors and windows to make a room.
It is because of its emptiness that the room is useful.
Therefore, what is present is used for profit.
But it is in absence that there is usefulness."

- Tao Te Ching, #11
Translated by Charles Muller

Eight Elements West

The Eight Elements West

1. Consistent Exercise
Energize through safe, results-oriented exercise.

2. Body Alignment
Promote proper posture, spinal strength with flexibility, and body awareness.

3. Natural Nutrition
Implement sound eating practices for life.

4. Sound Mind
Embrace life obstacles with self-awareness, reflection, imagination and creativity.

5. Relaxation and Centering
Cultivate and calm the bodymind connection everyday.

6. Community and Environment
Surround yourself with trusted friends and family. Be kind to the Earth.

7. Individual Action
Time is precious. Let change begin now, with you.

8. Heart of the Human Spirit
Transform life through your heart, where true strength resides.


I'm always looking for ideas and information about models that use
eight components. Take a look at my collection of information about
the Chinese Trigrams model.

Balance One on One and One to Many

I recommend that you take a look at Nick Waller's blog, Dynamic Balancing Tai Chi. I think he provides many brief insightful observations, suggestions, and good advice.

"Plan your walk such that you have plenty of time to wander, to drift, to explore. Find avenues that are away from the bustle and the noise. Places of quiet and calm. Relish the solitude, the integrity of being alone yet united with all things. Feel your place in the world. Enjoy the easy rhythm of your stride. Let your body loosen as you walk. Feel the ground. Be whole."

"There are many aspects of the tai chi practice that cannot be conveyed on-line, via DVD/video or a book. We have no intention of illustrating form on-line, teaching gravity strikes or attempting to explain neigong in detail. If you want to understand these things, you will need to take lessons. This is not a commercial decision. It is a functional one. Tai chi requires direct transmission."
- Nick Waller

I disagree somewhat with Nick, because I think books, webpages and DVD/videos are an excellent resource for learning about Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong forms, concepts, history, and practices. There are some aspects for these mind-body arts that require "direct transmission" from a qualified teacher, push hands and two person sparring forms require group work, and the synergy of group practice is invaluable. However, there are articulate contemporary masters who have written extensively about these subjects and produced high quality instructional media, and I believe you can learn a great deal from them. Many people do not have a Tai Chi Chuan or Qigong teacher who teaches in their town. They should start their practice today by using instructional media and books. Use all means available to learn and enhance your practice.

Pushing is Not Pushing

"The body is like a floating cloud.
In push-hands the hands are not needed.
The whole body is a hand
and the hand is not a hand."
- Cheng Man Ching

"The body is like the surfaces of the sea.
In push-hands the hands are needed,
The whole body is needed,
The hands are waves at the shoreline of the sea.

When the hand is not a hand, what can it be?
When the body is like a floating cloud, rising from the sea,
Its hands are gone, its feet are freed,
With nothing to touch, to push, to pull, to flee.

Clouds can become a screaming hurricane,
The Sea a roaring tsunami.
A single finger on the Buddha's hand
Can inspire millions to clap, hands free."
- Mike Garofalo

What the heck am I talking about? Why are our observations or suggestions so flacky, imprecise, New Agey, enigmatic, unclear, quasi-poetic, meaningless, paradoxical ... ? The tendency for Tai Chi and Qigong players to utter these paradoxical remarks reflects the thoughts of many of the Zen (Buddhist-Taoist) believers and students who practiced these mind-body arts. Both Yang Jwing-Ming and Wong Kiew-Kit have a number of books that discuss this topic.

The "themes" here include: the small is significant, the small is part of the larger whole, think in terms of the complex factors, interdependence and interrelationships.

Child of the Universe

"This pure mind, which is the source of all things, shines forever with the radiance of its own perfection. But most people are not aware of it, and think that mind is just the faculty that sees, hears, feels, and knows. Blinded by their own sight, hearing, feeling, and knowing, they don't perceive the radiance of the source. If they could eliminate all conceptual thinking, this source would appear, like the sun rising through the empty sky and illuminating the whole universe. Therefore, you students of the Tao who seek to understand through seeing, hearing, feeling, and knowing, when your perceptions are cut off, your way to mind will be cut off and you will find nowhere to enter. Just realize that although mind is manifested in these perceptions, it is neither part of them nor separate from them. You shouldn't try to analyze these perceptions, or think about them at all; but you shouldn't seek the one mind apart from them. Don't hold on to them or leave them behind or dwell in them or reject them. Above, below, and all around you, all things spontaneously exist, because there is nowhere outside the Buddha mind."
- Huang Po, circa 830, translated by Stephen Mitchell

"Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul."
- Max Ehrmann

Tai Chi Chuan - Yang Style

"Sink the shoulders and drop the elbows; contain the chest and pull up the back; the qi sinks to dantian; an intangible energy lifts up the crown of the head; loosen the waist and kua; distinguish empty and full; upper and lower follow one another; use mind intent, not strength; inner and outer are united; intention and qi interact; seek stillness in movement; movement and stillness are united; and proceed evenly from posture to posture. These thirteen points must be attended to in each and every movement. One cannot neglect the concept of these thirteen points within any of the postures. I hope that students will be cautiously attentive, and test and verify these in their practice."
- Yang Chengfu (1883-1936), "The Essence and Applications of Taijiquan" translated by Louis Swaim

Yang Tai Chi Chuan Long 108 Hand Form
Bibliography, Links, Quotations, Resources, Notes, Instructions
Lists of Movements in 3 Parts in .htm an .pdf formats
Researched by Mike Garofalo

Heart of a Warrior

“A pure budo comes with the unification of technique, body and heart. The budo, which will manifest itself, does not depend upon the technique, but rather upon the heart of the practitioner.

Budo is the path of the warrior. Combined with the spirit of heaven and earth in your heart, you can fulfill your life's destiny with unconditional love for everything.

Aiki seeks to skillfully strike down the ego and inherent insincerity in battling an enemy. Aiki is the path of forgiveness and enlightenment.

The goal… is not perfection of a step or skill, but rather improving one's character according to the rules of nature.”
- Aikikai Foundation

Taijiquan: Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Lessons, Notes
Research by Mike Garofalo

Spirit of Gardening

"I have come to terms with the future. From this day onward I will walk easy on the earth. Plant trees. Kill no living things. Live in harmony with all creatures. I will restore the earth where I am. Use no more of its resources than I need. And listen, listen to what it is telling me. "
- M. J. Slim Hooey

For optimal health, we need body and spirit, exercise (ming) and meditation, awareness of the inner world and the outer. In other words, health requires balance and moderation. The goal of qigong may be summarized as xing ming shuang xiu, "spirit and body equally refined and cultivated." Cultivate your whole being, as you would cultivate a garden - with attention, care, and even love."
- Ken Cohen, Essential Qigong, 2005, p. 2

 

The Spirit of Gardening Website

 

 

"This is Cindy from Garden Site Awards. You probably didn't know, but one of your website visitors nominated your website for our "Best Garden Website Award" last week. We get over 150 nominations each week but only a couple websites are given our award. After reviewing your site, The Spirit of Gardening, we've decided you deserve this month's Best Garden Website Award. Congratulations!! Keep up the great work on your website! You have some excellent content already on it and I'm sure it will only get better."
- Cindy Meadows, 12/6/06

 

Other reviews and awards for the Spirit of Gardening Website.

 

 

Since the Spirit of Gardening website went online on January 1, 1999, it has served up over 10,000,000 webpages (excluding graphics) to readers around the world.

Quotes for Gardeners - Index

Word Press has a module, ShortStat, which provides daily usage information. Currently, the Green Way Blog is requested, on the average, by 600 persons each day. Since the Green Way Blog started in August, 2005, there have been 223,000 requests to read this blog.
Green Way Blog by Mike Garofalo

Toughen Up! Tai Chi'ers

Johanna Zorya makes an enthusiastic and hard-hitting case for putting the Quan back in Taiji. She asks for us to drop down and give her 20 push ups, really do some fighting, toss out all the wimpy Qigong fluff and pointless choreography of forms ... it's time for us to get tougher. We need to return to our roots of iron inside cotton. We need to float like a butterfly (be in better shape for moving with speed) and sting like a bee (smack the suckers to the wall). No more of this New Age genteel softness, dancing with fans, grasping sparrow's tails like Audubon Society bird lovers, or limp wristed old fogies brushing lint off the knees of our floppy pants. She is fighting mad about the topic and uses the full frontal fighter's rhetoric to slap our weak, soft, overly relaxed minds around the debate room.

If fighting interests you then the first step is to engage in a rigorous and daily physical training program that will improve your fitness and conditioning. I would recommend that Tai Chi Chuan players use conventional strength training techniques (weightlifting) to get stronger, conventional cardio-vascular training techniques (walking, running, cycling, rope skipping, fast martial forms, stepping, etc.)to increase endurance and speed, and a variety of techniques for increasing flexibility (yoga, mat exercises, stretching, pilates, etc.). They need to eat properly, get adequate rest, and keep a positive mental attitude. Real fighters must be tough, and be able to fight on when in pain or injured and when they are very tired. Real fighters must have considerable aggressiveness, some meanness, and a willingness to hurt their opponent. Fighters need quickness, fast reflexes, speed, and enough aerobic capacity to move quickly even when tired. Finally, fighters need to learn techniques of fighting - both offensive and defensive techniques, by sparring with other martial artists. If you train hard to fight, you will be in great condition and highly fit, even if you never fight.

I don't think that Tai Chi as practiced by most people would be useful or effective in real fighting situations. However, our real opponent nowadays, an actual opponent that hurts, maims, and kills millions of people, is unrelenting stress. "Fighting" stress requires learning new skills. Tai Chi, even without the Chuan, combined with other types of exercise, can help some of us "fight" stress. Real fighting or extremely complex and long forms, however, might increase stress for many people; and, therefore, they probably should be avoided by people "fighting" stress. Choose your battles wisely.

As for regular full speed fighting and getting hurt ... for me, at 61, this is not high on my agenda. However, practicing Tai Chi as a fighting art, and thinking of having a fighting opponent while practicing, and pushing hands and sparring a bit every once in a while, does greatly enhance the value of my practice. I also think hitting bags is great fun and useful for developing some fighting skills. I add a kick boxing class once a week to pump up the jam.

On the whole, I agree many of the points of Johanna Zorya.

Put up your dukes, Johanna, let's mix it up! Yeah!! ;-)

Johanna's background includes in Chen Tai Chi Chuan and the practice of silk reeling.

Qigong Tip #52

Qigong Practice: Lessons, Tips, Suggestions
Reminders and Ideas for Qigong Practice
By Mike Garofalo


Use the power of intention, mental concentration, and visualization to move the five elemental energies. Qigong theory says that "Yi Leads Qi", or the mind/intent directs the vital energies.



If you look at the Chinese character for Qigong, it consists of three components (characters, radicals, signs). As shown above, the blue colored character stands for air, steam, rising vapors. The brown colored character stands for a pot of cooking rice or grain. The green character stands for skills or techniques or knowledge acquired through long term effort, disciplined work, determined practice, e.g., being a skilled and creative chef.

The rice represents earth, the cooking pot is made of metal, the heat to cook the rice is fire, the rice is cooked in water, and the steam is hot rising air. The five elements are represented: earth, metal, fire, water, and air. For us to live we must use the energies of the five elements in order to survive, prosper, and work. These energies or elements are the foundation for life. This vital energy, Qi or Chi (the blue and brown characters above), is sometimes taken to be only Air (breathing), and in many other cases, as all five energies in some combination. We often think with analogies and metaphors (e.g., imagine the implications of rice cooking), and a delightful vagueness gives us opportunities for creative thinking.

So, in our Qigong practice, we are circulating, storing, building, releasing, and utilizing Qi. The fire or heat of our determined efforts, the regular and controlled breathing and exchange of air, the sweat that pours from our skin from our practice and the blood that flows in our veins in our inner water world, and the deliberate stretching and moving of the muscles and joints of our bodies (earth and metal) are all contributors to Yi Leading Qi, mental efforts to understand and use energies, determined work (Gong) resulting in energy (Qi) management.

The understanding of energy and energy systems is a core concept of modern science. We have used our minds to enable us to theorize, experiment, and artfully apply (technology) this knowledge to improve our lives. Qigong is also a mind-body technology: use it wisely, apply it diligently, understand it better.

Decide and Act to Power Up with Qigong!

So, get out and cook some rice .... yummy!

Pulling Onions

"Impatience may be justified, but err on the side of patience.
A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb.
Springtime flows in our veins.
Making a living is different from making a life.
A poverty of vision is not the only limitation.
Better to lend a helping hand than just to point a finger.
To garden is to open your heart to the sky.
Gardening provides a mutually beneficial nurturing of both garden and gardener.
Minding the mind, massaging the muscles, grokking the garden.
It is already together because we can't think any other way.
Complexity is closer to the truth.
Absolutes squirm beneath realities."
- Mike Garofalo, Pulling Onions

Green Way Wisdom - Pulling Onions
Over 585 gardening aphorisms, quips, sayings, and punchlines by yours truly.

Tai Chi Chuan - Yang Style

I added some new resources and links to my webpages on Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan, both the 24 and 108 forms. There are increasing numbers of video clips online about Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong.

Encouraging Words

Two books I have really enjoyed reading this month, and would heartily recommend to you are:

Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind. By Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1999. Index, bibliography, source notes, 306 pages. ISBN: 0471392162. "Exercises from the world's religions to cultivate kindness, love, joy, peace, vision, wisdom and generosity." Clearly written, full of insight, and overflowing with heart felt encouragement.

Daoism and Chinese Culture. By Livia Kohn. Magdalena, NM, Three Pines Press, 2001. Index, chronology, notes, 228 pages. ISBN: 1931483000. "Livia Kohn is a world-renowned scholar of Daoism and professor of Religion and East Asian Studies at Boston University." This book provides a balanced and through introduction to Daoism and its literary, communal, and self-cultivation dimensions, both past and present.

I'm now reading "Daoist Body Cultivation." edited by Livia Kohn.

"It is not merely enthusiasm that erodes when practice declines. Your body and mind can go out of tune. You are no longer a vessel of insight. The cardinal can sing; the wind can move the ironwood trees delicately; a child can ask a wise question -- and where is your center? How can you respond? It is time to put yourself back in tune, to be ready for experiences that make life fulfilling. Take up the advice for beginners. Put your zazen pad somewhere between your bathroom and your kitchen. Sit down there in the morning after you use the bathroom and before you cook breakfast. You are sitting with everyone in the world. If you sit only briefly, you will have at least settled your day."
- Robert Aitken, Encouraging Words

Quotations about Willpower

Qigong - Wild Goose (Dayan)

Wild Goose Qigong
Wild Goose (Dayan) Qigong
Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Resources, Notes, List of Movements
By Mike Garofalo
157Kb, 1/14/2007

A good resource is:

Wild Goose Qigong. Instructional videotapes by Dr. Hu, Bing-Kun.
Three Geese Productions.

Workshops by Dr. Hu in California

What We Could Be

"And the more you become aware of the unknown self - if you become aware of it - the more you realize that it is inseparably connected with everything else that is."
- Alan Watts

"Do (Tao in Chinese), the Way, is the method, the teaching that enables you to understand perfectly the nature of your own mind and self. It is the way … that leads you to discover your own original nature, to awaken from the numbness of the sleeping ego (the little self, the limited "me") and accede to higher, fuller personhood.”
- Taisen Deshimaru

"The secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life, and in elevating them to art."
- William Morris

"Each of us literally chooses, by his way of attending to things, what sort of a universe he shall appear to himself to inhabit."
- William James

Valley Spirit Journal - January 2007