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

Laying Down PVC Pipelines

Busy with laying down PVC pipe in the trenches I dug on Wednesday.  I'm using 3/4" PVC pipe. 
The solar pump I will be using in the new well delivers only a 1.5 gallon to 2 gallon flow per minute, so I don't need a 1" pipe from the well to the two ponds.
It was cool and breezy this morning.  The smoke from the fires has diminished the past two days as the fires are brought under control by firefighters.  We have seen fire trucks and firefighters from cities and counties all over the state in Red Bluff lately.  We could actually seen the souther Cascade mountains this morning for the first time in weeks.

Being a native born Californian, a United States citizen, a veteran of the United States Air Force, and a retired employee of Los Angeles County ... I'm proud of being an American.  I believe we have worked hard to create a productive, peaceful, free, and just society in California.  Happy Fourth of July to everyone. 


  

Water Well Casing Head

I spent a couple of hours leveling the ground around the new well, and filling up the deep holes and deep tire tracks.  It was still a muddy mess in the area. 
The static water level of this well is 46 feet below the surface of the earth. 

Drilling a Well

Three men and three large and specialized trucks from Grade Drilling in Cottonwood worked today at our home.  They dug a 126' water well.  They arrived at 6 am and left at 2 pm.  I watched the entire process.  Fascinating!! 

Emotions of Power

The Ten Emotions of Power

1. Love and Warmth
2. Appreciation and Gratitude
3. Curiosity
4. Excitement and Passion
5. Determination
6. Flexibility
7. Confidence
8. Cheerfulness
9. Vitality
10. Contribution

- Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within, 1991, p. 264

Livestyle Advice for Wise Person

"There can be no transforming of darkness into light and of apathy into movement without emotions."
- Carl Jung

Springtime Quotations, Poems and Sayings

Months and Seasons Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore, Myths, Holidays, Celebrations, Links, Celebrations, Facts, Resources, Gardening Chores
Winter	Spring	Summer	Autumn
January	April	July	October
February	May	August	November
March	June	September	December

Time for Resting

After months of discomfort and tenderness in my abdomen, I decided to have surgery to repair the problem. On May 8th, Dr. Robert Taylor repaired my umbilical hernia at St. Elizabeth's Out-Patient Surgery Center in Red Bluff.

So, for the next few weeks, I'm on the mend ... lots of reading, writing, resting, listening to music, and gentle indoor activities. No lifting. No teaching yoga. No serious gardening. No vigorous martial arts. No CUESD work.

Hopefully, by this Thursday, I will be watering the garden, walking, and doing easy Taijiquan.

I've been working lately on The Ways of Walking website, the Sun Tajiquan 73 Competition Form, and the webpages on May and June.

The Practice of Walking

"Gongfu is an ancient Chinese term describing work, devotion, and effort that has been successfully applied over a substantial period of time, resulting in a degree of mastery in a specific field. Although the term is synonymous in the West with martial arts (though it is most often rendered as Kung Fu), it is equally applicable to calligraphy, painting, music, or other areas of endeavor."
- Andy James

There is a difference between "a practice" and "to practice." Those of us who played competitive sports sometimes were not enthused about a going "to a practice." Practice meant repeating fitness and skills drills, listening to yelling coaches, pushing ourselves to new physical limits, competing with others, doing extra pushups for inattention, etc. Having a practice, a long-term fitness avocation, a mind-body engagement, a spiritual gong-fu, a ritual for well-being, an engaging and enriching pastime, a self-determined commitment to good healthy activites, a non-competitive and non-judgmental path to inner and outward growth ... now this kind of practice enriches both body, mind and spirit for a lifetime.

"Allow walking to occupy a place of stature equal with all the other important activities in your life. As difficult as that might seem, here's how to do it. Make it a practice. That's right. Turn your walking into a vehicle for personal growth as well as for fitness. This will add a higher level of integrity and intention to your approach because you will find that it is a way to deepen and upgrade your relationship to your body. Instead of merely giving your legs a good workout, you'll be practicing to relax more, to breathe better, to expand your vision, to open up your range of motion, to increase your energy, to feel and sense your body. The list is exciting - and endless. With all of this to look forward to, your walking program will take its place alongside everything in your life you value most, and you'll be amazed at how easy it is to schedule time for something you really love to do."
- Katherine Dreyer, Chi Walking, p. 56

Chi Walking: The Find Mindful Steps for Lifelong Health and Energy. By Danny Dreyer and Katherine Dreyer. New York, Simon and Shuster, Fireside Books, 2006. Index, 258 pages. ISBN: 0743267206.

Sun Style Taijiquan Traditional Sword Form

Sun Lu Tang's Internal Martial Arts: Xingyiquan, Baguaquan, and Taijiquan.

Here are two works in progress:

Sun Style Taijiquan Sword Form. Being developmed now. It will include an introduction, information on the history of the traditional Sun Taijiquan Sword form, a detailed bibliography, extensive links, references to video resources, a large collection of quotations about Sun Taijiquan, recommendations on the best media resources on the topic, and suggestions for learning the Sun Taijiquan Sword Form. A detailed list of the names of each of the movements will be provided, with source references, and the movement names will be given in English, Chinese, Chinese characters, French, German, and Spanish. This webpage will include detailed descriptions for each of the movements with black and white photographs illustrating each movement sequence along with commentary and comparisons. Many additional nomenclature lists and section study charts in the PDF format, photographs and graphics will be provided. This webpage will be the most detailed and complete document on the subject of the traditional Sun Taijiquan Sword Form available on the WWW. Expected completion date: September 20, 2008.


Sun Style of T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Standard Competition 73 Movements Form. Research by Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.. Webpage: 450Kb, July 2008. This webpage includes an introduction, information on the history of the Sun Taijiquan forms, a detailed bibliography, extensive links, references to video resources, a large collection of quotations about Sun Taijiquan, recommendations on the best media resources on the topic, and suggestions for learning the 73 competition Sun Taijiquan form. A detailed comparative list of the names of each of the 73 movements is provided, with source references, and the movement names are given in English, Chinese, Chinese characters, French, German, and Spanish. This webpage includes detailed descriptions of each of the 73 movements with black and white illustrations for each movement sequence along with commentary and comparisons. Many additional nomenclature lists and section study charts in the PDF format, photographs and graphics are also provided - over 1 MB of information. This webpage is the most detailed and complete document on the subject of the Sun Taijiquan Competition 73 Form available on the Internet. This document was published by Green Way Research, Valley Spirit Taijiquan, Red Bluff, California, 2008. URL: http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/sun73.htm.

Rhythm of Thinking

"The rhythm of walking generates a kind of rhythm of thinking, and the passage through a landscape echoes or stimulates the passage through a series of thoughts. The creates an odd consonance between internal and external passage, one that suggests that the mind is also a landscape of sorts and that walking is one way to traverse it. A new thought often seems like a feature of the landscape that was there all along, as though thinking were traveling rather than making."
- Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust: A History of Walking

"Thoughts come clearly while one walks."
- Thomas Mann

Ways of Walking

Walking Quotations

Memory Improvement Techniques

Tamin Ansary gives us 12 Memory Tricks:

1. Pay Attention

2. Understand

3. Repeat and Apply

4. Group Items Together

5. Create Meaningfulness

6. Look for Patterns

7. Visualize

8. Connect with Humor

9. Connect it with Song, Melody, Rhymes

10. Associate with Something You Know Well

11. Link Learning to Environment

12. Relax

Five Animal Frolics

"The Bear is a great winter exercise. Slow, ponderous, but very strong, it warms the body, strengthens the spleen, and builds vitality. The Bear's twisting waist movements massage and invigorate the kidneys. The Bear is an excellent preventive against osteoporosis, as it is known to fortify the bones."
- John Du Cane, Power Qigong

The Five Animal Frolics Qigong: Bibliography, Links, Quotes, Resources, Lessons. By Mike Garofalo. This is a very old Chinese exercise system for fitness, good health, and longevity supposedly developed by the Chinese physician Hua Tuo (110-207 CE). In the Wu Qin Xi, the Five Animal Frolics, the five animals are the bear, tiger, monkey, deer, and crane.

Making beneficial exercises interesting and enjoyable has always been a challenge to creative people. Hua Tuois one of the famous physicians of the Han Dynasty. In The History of the Later Han, Hua Tuo wrote:

"Man's body must have exercise, but it should never be done to the point of exhaustion. By moving about briskly, digestion is improved, the blood vessels are opened, and illnesses are prevented. It is like a used doorstep which never rots. As far as Tao Yin (bending and stretching exercises) is concerned, we have the bear's neck, the crane's twist, and swaying the waist and moving the joints to promote long life. Now I have created the art called the Frolics of the Five Animals: the Tiger, the Deer, the Bear, the Monkey, and the Crane. It eliminates sickness, benefits the legs, and is also a form of Tao Yin. If you feel out of sorts, just practice one of my Frolics. A gentle sweat will exude, the complexion will become rosy; the body will feel light and you will want to eat."
- From: Drawing Silk: A Training Manual for T'ai Chi, p. 6.

I have registered to attend a Five Animal Frolics weekend workshop by Kenneth Cohen on September 13 and 14, 2008, in Sacramento, California. I got an email from karonga which said,

"You will learn China's oldest healing exercise (qigong) system: The Five Animal Frolics, based on the movements of the Crane, Bear, Monkey, Deer, and Tiger. The Five Animal Frolics are a gentle and highly enjoyable way to improve energy and well-being. With regular practice, you develop a deep sense of harmony with nature.
In this intensive seminar, you will learn the Crane and Bear Frolics, approximately 20 postures and movement patterns. The Crane develops balance, relaxation, and inner stillness; complemented by the bear for strength, rootedness, and healing presence. You will also learn the basic movements of the monkey, for agility; Deer, for beauty & grace; and the Tiger, for strength.
Cost: $275 per person, to be paid by June 30, 2008. Make check payable to Fair Oaks Personal Power Center. Send payment to, Fair Oaks Personal Power center, P.O BOX 669, Fair Oaks, California 95628. We will mail you the detail information of location after June 30, 2008."

Mike Garofalo's Class Schedule Changes

Class Schedule
Yoga, Tai Chi Chuan, and Qigong Indoor Classes
Instructor: Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.

Class Schedule Changes for this week:
Major Changes!!!

Mike Garofalo will not be teaching any Yoga classes or any Taijiquan classes at the Tehama Family Fitness Center from April 22, 2008 until June 17, 2008. Mike needs to have some abdominal surgery in early May. He will return to TFFC to begin teaching again, assuming a speedy and full recovery, on June 17th, Tuesday.

Ginger Olds, Program Coordinator at TFFC, will try to find a substitute yoga and taijiquan teacher during the time that Mike is out for the surgery. Call TFFC with any questions: 530-528-8656.


Location: Tehama Family Fitness Center (TFFC)
2487 South Main Street
Red Bluff, California 96080
530-528-8656

Classes Taught by Mike Garofalo:

Yoga Tuesdays, 5:30 - 6:45 p.m.

Yoga Wednesdays, 5:30 - 6:15 p.m.

Tai Chi Chuan Wednesdays, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Yoga Thursdays, 5:30 - 6:45 p.m.

Tai Chi Chuan Saturdays, 9:30 - 11 a.m.

Yoga Saturdays, 11 - 12:15 a.m.


Instructions, Lessons, Information, and Resources for Mike's Classes:

Yoga: Hatha and Vinyasa Style of Yoga

Standard 24 Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan) Form in the Yang Style

Yang Family Taijiquan Long 108 Form

Taijiquan Sword Standard 32 Sword Form

Cloud Hands Website

Kevin Weaver's Taijiquan Classes at TFFC


Blog Notes on my Class Schedule

Changes or Cancellations of Mike's Classes at TFFC



Other Taijiquan or Qigong Classes that Mike Teaches

Private Taijiquan or Qigong Lessons from Mike Garofalo

Ba Duan Jin Qigong

Eight Pieces of Brocade Qigong:
Instructions, Bibliography, Links, Quotations, History
By Mike Garofalo
324Kb, 85 pages, April 22, 2008

This webpage provides information about the history and purpose of this popular Chi Kung practice. Detailed descriptions are provided for each of the eight movements; including information on movement variations, health benefits, qigong meaning, and cautions. The document includes the most extensive bibliography, link guide, and comments on Ba Duan Jin Qigong resources available anywhere. Some animated graphics are provided in linked files. This document is updated as new information is discovered. This qigong set is the most popular set practiced around the world, and is also known as: Baduanjin, Pa Tuan Jin, Eight Silken Treasures, Ba Duan Jin, Pal Dan Gum, Ba Duan Gin, Pa Tin Kam, Otto Pezzi di Tesoro, Acht Delen Brokaat, Les Huit Exercices del la Soie, Eight Silken Treasures, Brocade Qigong, Wudang Brocade Qigong, Brocade soft qigong (Rou Gong), Eight Treasures inner qigong (Nei Gong), Silk Treasures Qigong, and the first eight Buddha Lohan Hands.

Taijiquan - Sun Style

Ocean Hou's Sun Style 73 Competition Taiji Form Demonstration.
UTube, 5:01 min, color. A Master level performance by Ocean Hou. A very nice soundtrack with renaissance style music. The performance in a beautiful titled patio of a public garden. This is the best online video of a performance of the Sun 73 form.

Sun Style Tai Chi Chuan, 73 Movements Competition Form, List of Movements: 1-73
(PDF, 133 Kb, 4 Pages) Each of the 73 movements are numbered and the name is given in English, Chinese, and the Chinese Characters for the name.

The Competition Routine of Sun Style Taijiquan.
Zhong Shan, Chief Editor. Wu Don, Executive Editor. Li Wei, Editor of English Version. Published in Beijing, China, 2003. 151 pages. ISBN: 7537720851. A detailed study of the Sun Taijiquan 73 standard competition form. Book comes with a VCD, color, 50 minutes. The accompanying VCD ISRC: CN-C20-02-0040-O/V-G8. I could not find identification of the performer or instructor on the VCD. There is no English narration on the VCD, just music.

Sun Taijiquan: Standard Competition 73 Movements Form.
Research by Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.. Webpage: 350Kb, May 2008. This webpage includes an introduction, information on the Sun Taijiquan form, a large collection of quotations about Sun Taijiquan, a detailed bibliography, extensive links, references to video resources, and suggestions for learning the 73 competition Sun form. A detailed comparative list of the names of each of the 73 movements is provided, with source references, and the movement names are given in English, Pinyin Chinese, Chinese characters, French, German, and Spanish. A detailed description of each of the 73 movements with black and white illustrations for each movement sequence is provided along with instructions, commentary and general comments. This is the most detailed and complete webpage on the subject available on the Internet.