A Morning Prayer

"In the morning, everything is new.
 The day's blank slate lies before me,
 ready for my writing.
 May it be words of beauty I write.
 May it be deeds of grace I do.
 May it be thoughts of joy I think.
 All the Holy Ones, Listen;
 this is what I pray.
 Great Spirits of the Four Realms,
 Holy Ones of the Realms of Minds,
 Kindreds of Yore,
 as I go through the day,
 keep my eyes open wide.
 May I not miss beauty.
 May I not miss joy.
 May I not miss wonder.
 Keep me awake and aware of the world.
 It is my privilege to perform my morning prayers.
 It is my honor to do what should be done.
 As I rise with the morning, fog lifting slowly from my mind,
 I pray not to forget these truths.
 Awen."
 -  Ceisiwr Serith, Book of Pagan Prayer, p. 126

Bench Press Contest

I exercise, lift weights, socialize, and teach yoga and Taijiquan at the Tehama Family Fitness Center (TFFC) in Red Bluff, California.  I've been a member of this gym for 12 years. 

At 6 pm tonight, the TFFC hosted the annual Bench Press Contest.  Men and women, in three different weight classes, participated in the contest.

All lifters participating ranged in ages from 15 to 40.  I wished that they had an over 60 age class for lifters. 

CJ won the competition with a lift of 405 pounds and he pressed his bodyweight 32 times.  Wow!!

I plan to enter the competition next year.  Why?  1.  To contribute to the scholarship charity.   2.  Set a goal for myself.  3.  Be the oldest person in the competition at 68 years of age.  4.  Lift 260 pounds in the bench press.  5.  Encourage other older persons to participate.  5.  Have fun. 

Taijiquan Sword Form

32 Sword Form, Simplified, Yang Style, Taijiquan Jian.
Webpage by Michael P. Garofalo. 

This popular webpage includes a comprehensive bibliography, scores of links to webpages; an extensive listing of the names and name variations for each movement in English, Chinese, French, German, and Spanish; a detailed analysis of each posture and movement sequence with explanations and numbered illustrations and detailed instructions; selected quotations; comments on 20 Taijiquan sword techniques; a comprehensive media bibliography; a chart of performance times; recommendations for starting to learn this form at home one your own with instructional DVDs, books and practice methods; and, a comparison of the 32 and 55 sword forms in the Yang style. 

This is the standard, simplified, orthodox, 1957, 32 Taiji Sword Form, in the Yang Style of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. 

© Michael P. Garofalo, Valley Spirit Taijiquan, Green Way Research, Red Bluff, California, October 2, 2011.  235Kb+. 

32 Taijiquan Simplified Sword Form

20 T'ai Chi Ch'uan Sword Techniques

55 Classical Yang Taiji Sword

Cloud Hands Taijiquan



 

The Wild Horse Jumps Over the Mountain Stream 

90 Days to Make A Change

"You should prepare to follow the program for 90 days.  Why?  Because behavioral research indicates that it takes 90 days to prepare for change, build a new behavior, become confident in the face of high-risk triggers, and move past the likelihood of relapse.  Brain research also suggests that it takes a few months of practicing a new behavior to create permanent change."
-  John C. Norcorss, Ph.D., Changeology, p. 7  


Six Keys to Bodybuilding Success
1.  "Set realistic goals― short and long term.
2.  Plan an orderly and thorough routine to train the entire body.
3.  Make a commitment to stick to your routine for four to six weeks to realize the changes and benefits, develop perseverance and create a habit.
4.  Establish enthusiasm for your training, the driving force to perform successfully.
5.  Ease into an appropriate training program with a wholesome, thoughtful nutritional plan: proper foods, amounts and order of consumption.
6.  Be confident from the beginning that the application of these sound principles will produce the desired results."
-  Dave Draper, Brother Iron Sister Steel, p. 33

  "In traditional Taoist practices, the teachers speak about the need to do this exercise routine for a minimum of 100 days before any benefits become noticeable, and before you decide to stop doing the exercise.  The cultivation of the "Dan Tien" or "Field of Elixir", like the cultivation of any garden or field, requires work (Kung) over an extended period of time before the crop grows to harvest size.  The long term cultivation of the "Field of Elixir" or "Orchard of Elixir" demands that we continue these qigong  exercises for many years to assure longevity and to aim towards attaining the special powers of a chen-jen or "realized being."  The ancients Taoists said,  

"Only after a hundred days of concentrated work is the light real;
Only then is it the fire of spirit.
To set up the Foundation requires a hundred days."
-   The Secret of the Golden Flower, Translated by Thomas Cleary, p. 17, 49."

-  Eight Section Brocade Chi Kung  A webpage by Mike Garofalo   
 
Willpower: Quotes, Notes, Sayings
 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 28

Dao De Jing, Laozi
Chapter 28

"Who knows his manhood's strength,
Yet still his female feebleness maintains;
As to one channel flow the many drains,
All come to him, yea, all beneath the sky.
Thus he the constant excellence retains;
The simple child again, free from all stains.
Who knows how white attracts,
Yet always keeps himself within black's shade,
The pattern of humility displayed,
Displayed in view of all beneath the sky;
He in the unchanging excellence arrayed,
Endless return to man's first state has made.
Who knows how glory shines,
Yet loves disgrace, nor e'er for it is pale;
Behold his presence in a spacious vale,
To which men come from all beneath the sky.
The unchanging excellence completes its tale;
The simple infant man in him we hail.
The unwrought material, when divided and distributed, forms vessels.
The sage, when employed, becomes the Head of all the Officers of government.
In his greatest regulations he employs no violent measures."
-   Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 28  

"Who his manhood shows
And his womanhood knows
Becomes the empire's river.
Is he the empire's river,
He will from virtue never deviate,
And home he turneth to a child's estate.
Who his brightness shows
And his blackness knows
Becomes the empire's model.
Is he the empire's model,
Of virtue ne'er shall he be destitute,
And home he turneth to the absolute.
Who knows his fame
And guards his shame
Becomes the empire's valley.
Is he the empire's valley,
For e'er his virtue will sufficient be,
And home he turneth to simplicity."
Simplicity, when scattered, becomes a vessel of usefulness.
The holy man, by using it, becomes the chief leader;
And truly, a great principle will never do harm."
-   Translated by Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 28 

"He who is aware of the Male
But keeps to the Female
Becomes the ravine of the world.
Being the ravine of the world,
He has the original character (teh) which is not cut up.
And returns again to the (innocence of the) babe.

He who is conscious of the white (bright)
But keeps to the black (dark)
Becomes the model for the world.
Being the model for the world,
He has the eternal power which never errs,
And returns again to the Primordial Nothingness.

He who is familiar with honor and glory
But keeps to obscurity
Becomes the valley of the world.
Being the valley of the world,
He has an eternal power which always suffices,
And returns again to the natural integrity of uncarved wood.

Break up this uncarved wood
And it is shaped into vessel
In the hands of the Sage
They become the officials and magistrates.
Therefore the great ruler does not cut up."  
-  Translated by Lin Yutang, 1948, Chapter 28 

"He who, conscious of manly strength, guards a womanly weakness, becomes the channel of the whole Empire to which all minor streams converge.
Being thus the channel of the whole Empire, the cardinal virtues will never depart from him, and he will revert to a condition of childlike innocence.
He who, conscious of light, keeps in obscurity, will become a model for the whole Empire.
Being a model for the whole Empire, the cardinal virtues will never fail him, and he will revert to the Unconditioned.
He who, conscious of his glory, guards humility, will become the valley of the whole Empire.
Being the valley of the Empire, he will revert to his original simplicity.
When this simplicity is distributed, the man becomes a thing of utility to the State.
The Sage employs men of this simplicity, and advances them to high rank; therefore his administration is on a grand scale, and never comes to an end."
-   Translated by Frederick Balfour, 1884, Chapter 28 

 

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index  

Chapter 28 of the Dao De Jing by Laozi: Text and Commentaries  

Index of English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching 

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices  

Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching

 

 

Playing to Improve the Brain

"Play certainly seems to facilitate an animal's ability to move in a more deftly coordinated and responsive way.  Chasing, tumbling, and scrambling about are a requisite part of strengthening muscles, honing eye-limb coordination, and laying down essential synaptic pathways to the brain.  Limb and eye-limb movements are coordinated in the cerebellum, and the number of cerebellar synapes is significantly influences by behavior.  Not surprisingly, there is a relationship between play and synaptic growth.  ...  Physical skills, such as those involved in hunting or defense, stem at least in part from the complex behaviors learned and practiced during play.  Most young mammals play with objects, an activity which, among other things, teaches them how to catch prey and how to explore the physical world.  Many species― including our own, nonhuman primates, rats, and those in the mustelid family― show a preference for complex and novel play rather than simple object manipulation."
-  Kay Redfield Jamison M.D., Exuberance, p.51

Fingers, Hands, Touching, Feeling, Somatics, Haptics: Quotations, Bibliography, Notes

Jamison, Kay Redfield, M.D.  Exuberance: The Passion for Life.  Vintage, 2005.  Detailed notes, index, 416 pages.  ISBN: 9780375701481.  VSCL.  

 

Naming the 24 Taijiquan Forms

Dear Michael:

"A friend of mine asked me to help translate Tai Chi 24 Forms into Cantonese dialect. Your web page of 24 Forms was introduced to me for reference. I am amazed at the number of translations for each movement.

I have come to realize the difficult task of getting to the real essence of translation. Inappropriate or incompetent translation makes the concepts ambiguous or misleading (with all the funny Chinese phrases of naming things.) Though in all honesty, each source tries to fit the bill, rarely do they come across the original design/intent of the moves in a comprehensive way.

Usually most Western sources just cannot read the Chinese words, lesser still the Chinese way of thinking. The Chinese side usually don’t know English well enough to get the essence across with poor diction.

But I must say that I am no expert. Only that I have observed some errors, and thought I should mention it to contribute to common understanding. I only do so as you welcome suggestions from others. (I am a native Chinese speaker.)

Here are the examples:

#3   白鵝亮翅 Word to word: White| Goose| Flash| Wing

Most Tai Chi schools use White Crane Spreads Its Wings. If this is the case, then the Chinese phrase should be白鶴亮翅. 鶴 = Crane.

白鶴亮翅  Bai He Liang Chi  [Mandarin]

————————————————————————————————

# 8   拦雀尾右 : Lan Que Wei You : Grasp the Bird's Tail Right

拦 means ‘To block’, not ‘grasp’. This I believe is a typo, as it has the same sound as 揽.

So is should be揽雀尾[右]  Lan Que Wei (You) [Mandarin] (Notice I put a bracket around the word右,RIGHT; for better illustration.)

————————————————————————————————

#16   下势 : Xia Shi : Snake (?) Creeps Down

下势  Word to word:  Low| Inertia, dynamic force, or tendency, etc.

There is no mentioning of any animal’s name. I would be interested to know how this translation came about. Or, it is taken as an English slang?

Ok, that is all. I am struggling with my own thinking on this tough translation project. I admire your zest of life reflected in your web pages.

All the best."
Phil


**********************************

Phil,

I have often been perplexed about the translations or interpolations of the "names" of the movements in various Taijiquan forms.  The reference sources I have studied vary somewhat.  

I'm sure that a Cantonese vs a Mandarin starting point would reveal different results.  Then, again, an English, Spanish, or French version would provide additional interesting interpolations. 

As for my qualifications, I am fluent in only in the English language.  The only other language I use in my daily life is Spanish. 

Considering the worldwide popularity of the Standard Simplified 24 T'ai Chi Ch'uan 1956 form, I thought that some effort should be made to show the range of given names for each of the movement forms in the 24 Form, and I tried to do so on my Taijiquan 24 Form webpage. 

I welcome your comments and suggestions.  I would be willing to integrate them into my webpage if you send them to me, link to your webpage on the subject, or publish your final document as a separate webpage.     

Best Wishes,

Mike Garofalo 

Changing Your Behaviors

Top 10 Mistakes in Behavior Change
 

1.  "Relying on willpower for long-term change
2.  Attempting big leaps instead of baby steps
3.  Ignoring how environment shapes behavior
4.  Trying to stop old behaviors instead of creating new ones
5.  Blaming failures on lack of motivation

6.  Underestimating the power of triggers 

7.  Believing that information leads to action 
8.  Focusing on abstract goals instead of concrete behaviors

9.  Seeking to change a behavior forever, not for a short time
10. Assuming that behavior change is difficult.”
-  Stanford University, Persuasive Tech Lab

“1) Psych: Getting Ready
2) Prep: Planning Before Leaping
3) Perspire: Taking Action;
4) Persevere: Managing Slips;
5) Persist: Maintaining Change.”

-  Changeology: 5 Steps to Realizing Your Goals and Resolutions  By John C. Norcross.  Contributors: Kristin Loberg and Jonathon Norcross.  Simon and Schuster, 2012.  272 pages.  ISBN: 978-1451657616.  VSCL.  
 
"Willpower stands at the edge of three realms: compulsions, habits, and novel adaptations.
Willpower is amoral.
Willpower is another name for intentions and useful habits."
-  Michael Garofalo, Pulling Onions
 

Willpower: Quotes, Sayings

March, Master of Winds

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze."
-  William Wordsworth, Daffodils


"Ere frost-flower and snow-blossom faded and fell,
       and the splendor of winter had passed out of sight,
The ways of the woodlands were fairer and stranger
       than dreams that fulfill us in sleep with delight;
The breath of the mouths of the winds had hardened on tree-tops
       and branches that glittered and swayed
Such wonders and glories of blossom like snow
       or of frost that outlightens all flowers till it fade
That the sea was not lovelier than here was the land,
       nor the night than the day, nor the day than the night,
Nor the winter sublimer with storm than the spring:
       such mirth had the madness and might in thee made,
March, master of winds, bright minstrel and marshal of storms
        that enkindle the season they smite."
-  Algernon C. Swinburne, March: An Ode

March: Quotations, Poems, Sayings, Lore

The Spirit of Gardening

A Changing of the Cars

We have driven our 2002 Chrysler Town and County Minivan over 165,000 miles.  We decided to "retire" this reliable vehicle, and donate it to the charity Cars for Breast Cancer.  This maroon minivan had 6 cylinders, and got about 27 mpg highway.  We purchased this vehicle used in 2005 when it had 32,000 miles on the odometer.  

We just purchased a 2008 Chrysler 300 Sedan with 36,000 miles on the odometer.  This blue sedan has 6 cylinders, and gets around 26 mpg highway.  I am hoping we can get the same good service from this Chrysler as my Chrysler minivan, e.g., 2013-2021.

We also drive a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire Sedan, 4 cyclinder, with 140,000 miles on the odometer.  This car gets around 32 mpg highway.  When this Pontiac needs to be retired we plan to purchase a small, 4 cylinder sedan that gets closer to 40 mpg.

Also, I'm on the lookout for a used 175cc motorcycle.  I drove a motorcycle for 12 years in urban areas. This type of motorcycle can get up to 80 mpg. 

Karen's round trip commute to work is 16 miles (5 days a week) and mine is 30 miles (2 or 3 days a week).  We don't camp as much as in the past or engage in outdoor sports, so the need for a van or SUV has diminished.  Having a reliable automobile is a necessity for us folks living in a rural area.  

I found that using Cars.com in our search for a used vehicle was helpful. 

Months and Seasons

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

  

Dao De Jing, Laozi, Chapter 29

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 29

"If any one should wish to get the kingdom for himself, and to effect this by what he does, I see that he will not succeed.
The kingdom is a spirit-like thing, and cannot be got by active doing.
He who would so win it destroys it; he who would hold it in his grasp loses it.
The course and nature of things is such that
What was in front is now behind;
What warmed anon we freezing find.
Strength is of weakness oft the spoil;
The store in ruins mocks our toil.
Hence the sage puts away excessive effort, extravagance, and easy indulgence."
-   Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 29 

"When one desires to take in hand the empire and make it, I see him not succeed.
The empire is a divine vessel which cannot be made.
One who makes it, mars it.
One who takes it, loses it.
And it is said of beings:
Some are obsequious, others move boldly,
Some breathe warmly, others coldly,
Some are strong and others weak,
Some rise proudly, others sneak.
Therefore the holy man abandons excess, he abandons extravagance, he abandons indulgence."
-   Translated by Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 29   

"As for those who would take the whole world
To tinker as they see fit,
I observe that they never succeed:
For the world is a sacred vessel
Not to be altered by man.
The tinker will spoil it;
Usurpers will lose it.
For indeed there are things
That must move ahead,
While others must lag;
And some that feel hot,
While others feel cold;
And some that are strong,
While others are weak;
And vigorous ones,
While others worn out.
So the Wise Man discards
Extreme inclinations
To make sweeping judgments,
Or to a life of excess."
-   Translated by Raymond B. Blakney, Chapter 29  

"The external world is fragile,
and he who meddles with its natural way,
risks causing damage to himself.
He who tries to grasp it,
thereby loses it.
It is natural for things to change,
sometimes being ahead, sometimes behind.
There are times when even breathing
may be difficult,
whereas its natural state is easy.
Sometimes one is strong,
and sometimes weak,
sometimes healthy,
and sometimes sick,
sometimes is first,
and at other times behind.
The sage does not try
to change the world by force,
for he knows that force results in force.
He avoids extremes and excesses,
and does not become complacent."
-   Translated by Stan Rosenthal, Chapter 29

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu: Introduction, Bibliography, Commentary, Chapter Index  

Chapter 29 of the Dao De Jing by Laozi: Text and Commentaries  

Index of English Language Translators of the Tao Te Ching 

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices  

Chapter and Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching

Defining Myself to Myself

"The hand is the cutting edge of the mind."
-  Jacob Bronowski

"The mind has exactly the same power as the hands: not merely to grasp the world, but to change it."
-  Colin Wilson 

"By rubbing up against the world, I define myself to myself."
-  Deane Juhan

"The upper limb is the lightning rod to the soul."
-  Robert Markison

"A callused palm and dirty fingernails precede a Green Thumb."
-  Mike Garofalo

“We leave traces of ourselves wherever we go, on whatever we touch.”
-  Lewis Thomas 

Hands On 
Fingers, Hands, Touching, Feeling, Somatics
Quotations, Bibliography, Links, Reflections

March Gardening

March Gardening Chores in Red Bluff

Browsing and ordering from seed and garden catalogs. 
Planting potted trees and shrubs.  
Placing cold sensitive potted plants in protected areas or indoors.
Pruning and mulching dormant trees and vines. 
Repairing and sharpening tools.
Fertilizing with 16-16-16 or manure. 
Planting seeds in containers in the greenhouse. 
Planting some vegetable starts in the ground.
Watering as needed.
Removing deadwood from trees and shrubs. 
Moving bulbs. 
Raking up fallen twigs and branches.
Weeding around the base of small trees and shrubs.
Mowing and weeding as needed.
Cleaning and repairing drip irrigation lines. 
Making up To Do lists. 
Spring Cleaning inside the house. 
Spraying dormant trees and shrubs. 
Painting fences and art objects as needed. 
Bringing spring flowers indoors to enjoy. 
Developing Spring Resolutions for personal improvements. 
Fixing up lawn mowers and other power tools for outdoor work.   

Red Bluff, North Sacramento Valley, California, USA

USDA Zone 9

March: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Lore

A Fist in Your Face

"Most primate hands are long of palm and finger, short of thumb, and suited for climbing. Human hands have short palms, short fingers and long thumbs, which are not. These proportions do, though, make it possible to grip things in two ways that other apes’ hands cannot manage well. One is by using what is known as a precision grip, in which an object is held between the pads of the finger tips (especially the first and second fingers) and the pad of the thumb. The other is by means of a power grip, in which all the fingers and the thumb are wrapped around what is being grasped. These two grips are crucial to Homo sapiens’s characteristic tool-crafting skills, and it has thus long been thought that the widespread use of tools by humanity’s ancestors was the driving force behind the modern hand’s proportions.  In a study just published in the Journal of Experimental Biology (12/2012) by Michael Morgan and David Carrier of the University of Utah has shown that the exact geometry of the hand is probably the result of its destructive rather than its constructive power.  Most natural weapons are obvious: teeth, claws, antlers, horns. But the hand becomes a weapon only when it turns into a fist.  “There may, however, be only one set of skeletal proportions that allows the hand to function both as a mechanism for precise manipulation and as a club for striking,” the researchers write. “Ultimately, the evolutionary significance of the human hand may lie in its remarkable ability to serve two seemingly incompatible, but intrinsically human, functions."
-  Making a Fist of It
 
Even better than a fist alone is a fist holding a cane staff weapon.  

Photo of Mike starting on a long hike
Patrick's Point State Park, Northern California Coastline
June 2011

Hands On 
Fingers, Hands, Touching, Feeling, Somatics
Quotations, Bibliography, Links, Reflections