Fly Free Like a Cloud

"In life, seek no heaven;

In death, fear no hell.

Enter the woods without disturbing a blade of grass;

Enter the water without making waves.

Meet the enlightened one on the street;

Do not greet him with words nor silence.

For so long, like a bird in a cage;

Now fly free like a cloud in the blue sky.

Hold the hoe with empty hands;

Ride the ox by standing on your own feet."
-  Master Zenrin, Translated by David Brazier  

Honor the Good Fathers

A day to say "Thank You" to all the good fathers in our lives, our communities, our nation, the world.  Their hard work, generosity, kindness, courage, and steadfastness have helped us all lead better lives.  The good men who have supported, nurtured, raised, and properly educated their children (their own offspring or children they have adopted) are very important in our lives.  These good fathers (past, present, and future) deserve respect and praise. 

For those men who have been poor, bad, absent, or evil "fathers" we shake our heads with disapproval and disdain.  They squandered their opportunity and left the challenge to other women and men to do good towards their children and our communities.  Their irresponsibility is so shameful. 


So, to all these good men, "Happy Father's Day!"  
You deserve the praise. 
Three Cheers to You All !!! 

My own father, Michael J. Garofalo (1916-1997) provided well for his family, was very hard working, and was very reliable.  He stressed giving a full effort as a worker, fulfilling one's duties, obedience, and respect.  He was a hard taskmaster at times, but I learned a lot from living with him.  He was a decent man, and a fine grandfather. 
After he retired as the Chief Piping Engineer at the Fluor Corporation, he and my mom enjoyed traveling in their trailer in the Southwest.  

My father-in-law, Delmer Eubanks (1912-2002) was a good father, grand-father, and great-grand-father.  He was a decent man and friend of many.

The above family portrait was taken around 1987.
Yes, being a good father and grandfather is important to me.


Lifestyle Advice from Wise Persons

Tai Chi Classes in the North Sacramento Valley

T'ai Chi Ch'uan (Taijiquan, Tai Chi) Classes in the North Sacramento Valley
Instructor: Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.

Indoor Taijiquan Practice and Classes in the Evening
Tehama Family Fitness Center, Red Bluff, California
Tuesday 6:35 - 7:35 pm
Thursday 6:35 - 7:35 pm

Outdoor Taijiquan Practice and Classes in the Early Morning
Valley Spirit Center
Location: 23005 Kilkenny Lane, Red Bluff, California
Phone:  530-200-3546

Outdoor T'ai Chi Ch'uan Practice in June and July of 2013 
Monday    5:00 am - 6:30 am
Tuesday   5:00 am - 6:30 am
Friday      5:00 am - 6:30 am
Saturday  5:00 am - 6:30 am
Sunday    5:00 am - 6:30 am



Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan, Tai Chi):  Yang Style of T'ai Chi Ch'uan 

Yang Style Taijiquan 24 Movements Short Form

Yang Style Taijiquan Traditional 108 Movements Long Form

Chen Style Taijiquan 18 Movements Short Form  
 


Qigong (Chi Kung): Eight Section Brocade, Temple, Dragon, Animal Frolics

Cane (Staff)

Walking


Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan) Class Webpage

Cloud Hands T'ai Chi Ch'uan Website 


Nearby communities:  Red Bluff, Anderson, Cottonwood, Corning, Los Molinos,
Gerber, Tehama, Rancho Tehama, Chico, Redding. 

The Nature of Mind

"A monk asked Zen master Yunju Daoying, "What is the one Dharma?"
Yunju said, "What are the ten thousand Dharmas?"
The monk said, "I don't understand how to comprehend this."
Yunju said, "The one Dharma is your own mind.  The ten thousand dharmas are your fundamental nature.  Are they one thing or two?"
The monk bowed.
Yunju showed the monk a poem that said:

The single Dharma is the essence of all dharmas,
The myriad dharmas penetrate the one Dharma.
"Mind-only: and "nature-only,"
Don't say they're different or the same."

"Zen's Chinese Heritage: The Masters and Their Teachings" by Andy Ferguson, Wisdom Publications, 2000, p. 212.

Complexity

My home altar helps me to focus on the many Elements of Nature that enable me to explore the complex realms of Mind/Spirit.

Adoration of Silence

"Seek silence.
Gladden in silence.
Adore silence.

As one progresses on the path, one seeks silence more and more.
It will be a great comfort, a tremendous source of solace and peace.

Once you find deep solitude and calm, there will be a great gladness in your heart.
Here finally is the place where you need neither defense nor offense -- the place where you can truly be open.
There will be bliss, wonder, the awe of attaining something pure and sacred.

After that, you will feel adoration of silence.
This is the peace that seems to elude so many.
This is the beauty of Tao."
-  Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao Daily Meditations

Hearing and Silence

Meditation

Crane Animal Frolic Qigong, Exercise #5

5.  The Wise Crane Listens to the Healing Sound for the Heart  
The use of one of the Six Healing Sounds is a common practice in Daoyin (Qigong) practice.  The Daoist healing sound He is use to heal the heart and small intenstine, and is associated with the summer months.  The Crane Frolic is intended to heal the heart, calm the mind, draw out a serene spirit, and be a summertime favorite.   
 
I use the technique described by Daniel Reid as follows:

"Start in a relaxed Horse stance.  Bring your hands slightly forward so that he palms are facing each other at thigh level.  Focus attention on the point between the eyebrows [Upper Tan Tian] and on the point midway between the nipples [Middle Dan Tian], in order to open up these vital energy centers, then shift attention to the centers of the palms and the tips of the little fingers.  Commence inhalation and, as you begin to raise your hands up and out to the sides, turn the palms so that they face towards the back, and extend the little fingers outwards as far as possible to activate the heart meridian.  When your breath is full and the hands reach shoulder level, commence exhalation through the mouth, aspirating the syllable her in the top of the throat (He is pronounced as 'her' but without the final 'r', with mouth open, tip of tongue pressed against lower teeth, and syllable aspirating in the top of the throat on exhalation.), while slowly lowering the hands back down the sides with little fingers relaxed.  Visualize hot Fire energy streaming up and out of the heart with exhalation.  When the breath is empty and your hands are back down in the front, pause to relax, then begin the next cycle on the next inhalation."
-  Daniel Reid, "The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing," 1995, p.223 

 

Don't strain when breathing on the inhale or exhale.  Some recommend and demonstrate a fairly loud sounding of the healing sound, while others recommend a very soft or nearly silent sounding of the healing sound.  I favor a soft, gentle, and quiet but audible sounding of the healing sound on the exhale.  Experiment!  Try!  What works for you?  What do you feel comfortable with doing? 

Why Have We Slandered the Outward

"I live so much in my habitual thoughts that I forget there is any outside to the globe, and am surprised when I behold it as now--yonder hills and river in the moonlight, the monsters. Yet it is salutary to deal with the surface of things. What are these rivers and hills, these hieroglyphics which my eyes behold? There is something invigorating in this air, which I am peculiarly sensible is a real wind, blowing from over the surface of a planet. I look out at my eyes. I come to my window, and I feel and breathe the fresh air. It is a fact equally glorious with the most inward experience. Why have we ever slandered the outward?"
-  Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), Journal Vol. 4, 1852

Spirituality and Nature

 

Dao De Jing, Laozi, Chapter 19

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Chapter 19

"If we could renounce our sageness and discard our wisdom, it would be better for the people a hundredfold.
If we could renounce our benevolence and discard our righteousness, the people would again become filial and kindly.
If we could renounce our artful contrivances and discard our scheming for gain, there would be no thieves nor robbers.
Those three methods of government
Thought olden ways in elegance did fail
And made these names their want of worth to veil;
But simple views,
And courses plain and true
Would selfish ends and many lusts eschew." 
-   Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 19 


"Abandon your saintliness; put away your prudence; and the people will gain a hundredfold!
Abandon your benevolence; put away your justice; and the people will return to filial piety and paternal devotion.
Abandon smartness; give up greed; and thieves and robbers will no longer exist.
These are three things for which culture is insufficient.
Therefore it is said:
'Hold fast to that which will endure,
Show thyself simple,
Preserve thee pure,
And lessen self with desires fewer."
-  Translated by D. T. Suzuki and Paul Carus, 1913, Chapter 19   


"If the people renounce self-control and reject wisdom,
Let them gain simplicity and purity
If the people renounce duty to man and reject right conduct,
Let them return to filial piety deep, deep in the heart.
If they renounce skill and leave off search for profit,
Let them rob and by violence take possession of spiritual life.
These three things do not help our progress.
Therefore now let us seek
To perceive simplicity,
To conserve beauty in the heart,
To curb selfishness and to have few desires."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 19 

"When Sages are rejected as rulers, and the services of the wise are discarded, the people's wealth will increase a hundredfold; for their hearts will all be set on covetousness.
When benevolence and rectitude in government are abjured, such will be the height of disorder that the people will revert to their natural qualities of filial piety and compassion by sheer force of reaction.
When ingenuities of luxury and eagerness for gain are renounced, there will be no more robbers— for there will be no accumulations of wealth to be worth stealing.
These three propositions show that mere externals are insufficient for good government, and therefore each man should be ordered to confine himself to performing his own special work in life."
-  Translated by Frederic Henry Balfour, 1884, Chapter 19

"Rid of formalized wisdom and learning
People would be a hundredfold happier,
Rid of conventionalized duty and honor
People would find their families dear,
Rid of legalized profiteering
People would have no thieves to fear.
These methods of life have failed, all three,
Here is the way, it seems to me:
Set people free,
As deep in their hearts they would like to be,
From private greeds
And wanton needs."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 19  

 

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

Chapter 19 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

Crane Animal Frolic Chi Kung, Exercise #4

4.  The Sandhill Crane Glides Down to Land Along the Platte River    

Step forward with the right leg.  Place the weight evenly into the right foot.  Gradually lift the arms to the side and slightly backward, palms facing down.  Gradually lift the left leg into the air, and point the left toe.  Balance on the right foot.  Lift the head slightly and look forward.  Inhale as you lift the left leg and lift both arms up.  Hold in the upward position for a few moments.  Then, exhale as you draw the left leg back down to the floor, and draw both arms down to the sides of the thighs.  As you exhale, imagine yourself as a Crane gliding downward, lowering and angling your wings to slow your descent, getting your feet ready to land on the muddy ground by the riverbank of the Platte River.   
With our breathing in we lift to flight.  With our breathing out we prepare to land on the riverbank.   
Repeat the same movement to the opposite side: left leg on ground, right leg lifted, arms out to the side and back.  Alternate back and forth from side to side. 
I prefer moving forward as I shift from side to side.  However, if room does not permit, then step back with both feet into the Crane Stance before stepping out to the opposite side.  
 


Hatha yoga practitioners know a variation of this movement as "Warrior Three" (Virabhadrasana III) or "Balancing Stick."  In the yoga version, both arms are extended forward as far as possible with the palms touching.  The extended position, balancing on one leg, is held for 20 to 30 seconds (B.K. S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 1966, p.74).  The Crane Frolic method is more like a Vinyasa or Flowing style of yoga, coordinated more with breathing pace without extended holding in a static isometric posture for longer periods of time.   
 
Over 500,000 Sandhill Cranes migrate to the Platte River in Nebraska from Canada each year.  
 
We do see many gaggles of Canadian Geese in the winter months that migrate from as far as Alaska to the warmer climate and muddy rice fields of the North Sacramento Valley in California.  However, I've never seen any cranes migrate to our area.  

Animal Frolics Chi Kung

Crane Animal Frolics Chi Kung

Valley Spirit Qigong 

Mike Garofalo's Qigong and Yoga Classes in Red Bluff

 
 

Tai Chi Class in Red Bluff, California

T'ai Chi Ch'uan (Taijiquan, Tai Chi) Class
Yang and Chen Styles of Taijiquan

Location: Tehama Family Fitness Center
2498 South Main Street, Red Bluff, California, 530-528-8656

Time of the Tai Chi Class:
Tuesday Evening 6:35 - 7:35 pm
Thursday Evening 6:35 - 7:35 pm

Instructor:  Mike Garofalo

Full Tai Chi Class Outline and Information

Focus On:

Yang Style Standard Simplified 24 Movements Form

Yang Style Traditional 108 Movements Form

Chen Style 18 Movements Form of Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei


The class textbook for Beginning Tai Chi will be:

The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi: 12 Weeks to a Healthy Body, Strong Heart, and Sharp Mind.  By Peter M. Wayne, Ph.D., and Mark L. Fuerst.  Shambhala Press, 2013.  240 pages.  A Harvard Health Publication.  This is our "textbook" for beginning Tai Chi students.

June Gardening Chores

June Gardening Chores in Red Bluff, California, USDA Zone 9

Watering on a regular basis in the early morning hours.
Mowing lawns.
Weeding around vegetables and shrubs.
Wearing a hat and long sleeved shirts. 
Maintenance on lawn mowing equipment.
Enjoying vegetables and fruits.
Thinning out excess fruit on trees.
Mulching with straw.
Training vines on support structures, and pruning vigorous grape vines.
Relaxing in the shade.
Enjoying annuals in bloom.
Turning and watering the compost pile. 
Removing spent roses. 
Reading, resting, and meditating in the shade. 
Sipping cool water and tea.   
Deep soaking trees and shrubs. 
Painting and other maintenance as needed. 
Keeping tender potted plants in the afternoon shade. 
Planting annuals.

June: Quotes, Poems, Lore, Sayings

Summer Solstice

Calm Mind, Kind Heart, Being Present

"Empty your mind of all thoughts. Let your heart be at peace.
Watch the turmoil of things, but contemplate their return.
Each separate being in the universe returns to the common source.
Returning to the source is serenity.

If you don't realize the source, you stumble in confusion and sorrow.
When you realize where you come from,
you naturally become tolerant,
disinterested, amused,
kindhearted as a grandmother,
dignified as a king.

Immersed in the wonder of the Tao,
you can deal with whatever life brings you,
and when death comes, you are ready."
-  Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 16, Translated by Stephen Mitchell

The Three Step Practice

"First, come into the present. Flash on what’s happening with you right now. Be fully aware of your body, its energetic quality. Be aware of your thoughts and emotions.

Next, feel your heart, literally placing your hand on your chest if you find that helpful. This is a way of accepting yourself just as you are in that moment, a way of saying, “This is my experience right now, and it’s okay.”

Then go into the next moment without any agenda."
-  Pema Chodron, 2012

Lifestyle Adivce From Wise Persons

The Good Life 

The Camino Doesn't Belong to You

"If you want to know if your brain is flabby, feel your legs." 
-  Bruce Barton  

"To find new things, take the path you took yesterday."
-   John Burroughs

"If the Camino doesn’t live up to your expectations, it’s your fault – not the Camino. The Camino is what it is, what it always has been.  The Camino is unchanging – only pilgrims change.  The Camino doesn’t belong to you. Not everyone will have the same experience on the Camino.  Don’t try to walk someone else’s Camino. Walk your own Camino."
-  Amawalker, Expectations

The Ways of Walking 

Walking: Quotes, Poems, Sayings, Facts, Lore

Walking Meditation

Walking in a Sacred Circle Garden

Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Chapter 20

Dao De Jing, Laozi
Chapter 20 

"Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles.
Is there a difference between yes and no?
Is there a difference between good and evil?
Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!
Other people are contented, enjoying the sacrificial feast of the ox.
In spring some go to the park, and climb the terrace,
But I alone am drifting, not knowing where I am.
Like a newborn babe before it learns to smile,
I am alone, without a place to go.
Others have more than they need, but I alone have nothing.
I am a fool. Oh, yes! I am confused.
Others are clear and bright,
But I alone am dim and weak.
Others are sharp and clever,
But I alone am dull and stupid.
Oh, I drift like the waves of the sea,
Without direction, like the restless wind.
Everyone else is busy,
But I alone am aimless and depressed.
I am different.
I am nourished by the great mother."
-  Translated by Gia-fu Feng and Jane English, 1989, Chapter 20   

"Renounce learning, it brings loss to the Inner Life.
How slight the difference between Yes and Yea!
How great the difference between Good and Evil!
That which men fear is indeed to be feared.
When men give themselves up to disorder it never stops.
Many men rejoice and rejoice over a supply of good food, over being in a high and exalted position.
I am calm, I do not feel the slightest emotion, like a new-born child which cannot yet smile at its mother, without attachment to anything, returning always to the Inner Life.
Many men have superfluous possessions.
I have nothing that I value; I desire that my heart be completely subdued, emptied to emptiness.
Men of wealth are in the daylight of prosperity.
I am in the dark.
Men of wealth are endowed with penetration.
I appear confused and ignorant.
Suddenly I am, as it were, on a vast sea, floating on the sea of Inner Life which is boundless.
Many men are full of ability.
I appear to be stupid and rustic.
Thus I am different from other men.
But I revere the Mother, Sustainer of all beings."
-  Translated by Isabella Mears, 1916, Chapter 20 

"When we renounce learning we have no troubles.
The (ready) 'yes,' and (flattering) 'yea;'
Small is the difference they display.
But mark their issues, good and ill;
What space the gulf between shall fill? 
What all men fear is indeed to be feared;
But how wide and without end is the range of questions asking to be discussed!
The multitude of men look satisfied and pleased; as if enjoying a full banquet, as if mounted on a tower in spring.
I alone seem listless and still, my desires having as yet given no indication of their presence.
I am like an infant which has not yet smiled.
I look dejected and forlorn, as if I had no home to go to.
The multitude of men all have enough and to spare.
I alone seem to have lost everything.
My mind is that of a stupid man;
I am in a state of chaos.
Ordinary men look bright and intelligent, while I alone seem to be benighted.
They look full of discrimination, while I alone am dull and confused.
I seem to be carried about as on the sea, drifting as if I had nowhere to rest.
All men have their spheres of action, while I alone seem dull and incapable, like a rude borderer.
Thus I alone am different from other men, but I value the nursing-mother Dao."
-   Translated by James Legge, 1891, Chapter 20   

"Leave off fine learning! End the nuisance
Of saying yes to this and perhaps to that,
Distinctions with how little difference!
Categorical this, categorical that,
What slightest use are they!
If one man leads, another must follow,
How silly that is and how false!
Yet conventional men lead an easy life
With all their days feast days,
A constant spring visit to the Tall Tower,
While I am a simpleton, a do-nothing,
Not big enough yet to raise a hand,
Not grown enough to smile,
A homeless, worthless waif.
Men of the world have a surplus of goods,
While I am left out, owning nothing.
What a booby I must be
Not to know my way round,
What a fool!
The average man is so crisp and so confident
That I ought to be miserable
Going on and on like the sea,
Drifting nowhere.
All these people are making their mark in the world,
While I, pig-headed, awkward,
Different from the rest,
Am only a glorious infant still nursing at the breast."
-  Translated by Witter Bynner, 1944, Chapter 20

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

Chapter 20 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

Crane Frolic Chi Kung Exercise #6

6.  The Crane Opens and Closes Its Wings

Begin in the basic Crane stance with the hands at the waist.  The legs are separated with a shoulder's width.  Stretch the fingers open.  Inhale as you lift both hands up the center of the body, fingers pointing forward, arms about 24" apart.
As the hands reach the neck begin to move both hands to the side, upwards, and backwards.  Spread the arms as far apart as you can and to either side of the body as you lift both arms high above the head.  Draw the arms up and back as you gently bend backwards.
At the same time as the arms are lifted up and back, try to lift both heels off the ground, and come up on your toes.  Look up at the sky with your head drawn back. 
As you begin to exhale, gently draw the arms forward and down, straighten the back, look forward, and move the arms down to the waist. 
Repeat for 4 to 8 repetitions in a gentle, slow, calm, deliberate, and smooth manner. 
This movement is found in the Wild Goose Qigong (Dayan Chi Kung) routine.  Refer to "Wild Goose Qigong" by Hong-Chao Zhang, pp.20-21. 
Back-bending while standing with the arms lifted above the head and with the hands touching is a commonly used hatha yoga posture called Anyvittasana.   
This exercise is a hyperextension of the back, stretching of the latissimus dorsi muscles of sides of the upper back, a stretching of the upper rectus abdominis, engaging the pectoralis major, and a tensing of the trapezius muscles in the upper back and neck. 
This movement opens and fills with Qi (Chi, Energy) the Middle Dan Tien (i.e., 中丹田, Zhong Dantian, middle elixir fields, cauldron) of the esoteric body system explained in Chinese Qigong (Yoga); or, analogously, opens the Heart Chakra (Anhata) of Hatha Yoga.  Exercise of this area in the front of the body helps heal disturbed emotions, calms the spirit, strengthens the heart and lungs, and opens the Heart-Soul to the grace of light energy. 
The wide-spread arms held up high help establish a feeling of opening up, freeing oneself, and uplifting one's mood and spirit. 
You often see this ritual body posture in Christian revival meetings as a kind of "Saying Hallelujah" posture.
If the movement was done forcefully and with power and quickly it would be the flapping of the wings of a powerful bird like a Crane or wild Goose or for a human bodybuilder the performance of incline dumbbell flys. 

         
 


Crane Frolic Qigong Exercise Set

Eight Animals Frolics Mind/Body Fitness Practices (Chi Kung) by Mike Garofalo
 
The webpages for the eight specific animals will also have photographs of me or others doing these exercises.  There are also five, eight or twelve animals in Shaolin Kung Fu, Ba Gua Zhang, Taijiquan, and Xing Yi Quan.  Movements or postures called a "crane" or "hawk" or "rooster" are found in most of these mind-body internal arts.   

Chinese exercises recommended for improving fitness, maintaining good health, overcoming diseases, increasing energy and vitality, contributing to good mental health, and improving one's chances for longevity have a very long documented history going back to as early as 160 BCE in the Daoyin Tu.