Lately ... Misc.

Lately, we have been busy with Springtime gardening projects, reading, ordinary household chores making a house a dwelling, exercise, playing.  

I've been spending a lot of time reading about time, process philosophy, and intellectual history (1700-).  Today, I'm reading Time and Free Will (1910, English) by Henri Bergson. 

I have read books and thought about the subjects of ["process philosophy" (time, history, chronology, the present, seasons, experiences, aging, actions, viewpoints/systems, the future, causality, options, bodily motions, etc.)] since my early teenage years.  I majored in Philosophy at California State University at Los Angeles, and was awarded a B. A. in 1967; and, I worked at the City of Commerce Library from 1963-1969.  I keep a hypertext notebook on process philosophy and interrelated topics.  

Process-Relational Philosophy: An Introduction to Alfred North Whitehead.  By C. Robert Mesle.  Templeton Press, 2008, index, suggested reading, 123 pages.  An introductory and supportive guide and introduction to a process philosopher's viewpoints.  One appeal in support of various process theories/systems/suggestions is our own living experience as organic beings, living human beings, and our experiences in and of temporal phenomena, volitions, the ongoing flow of time itself, consciousness of, thinking.  I enjoyed reading this book and was positively influenced by Mesle's style and presentation.  VSCL. 

My right shoulder has damaged cartilage and tendons from arthritic growths and 75 years of usage.  The damage causes low grade pain, weakness, and restricted range of movement in my right arm.  Also, I have tendonitis in my right bicep from an injury in March.  Since I am right handed, I have had to learn to use my left arm and left hand more.  These problems are ongoing, increasing, and require many adjustments to my daily routine to minimize pain and get by with daily tasks.  The past two weeks I have rested my arm a lot to assist with healing and recovery.  Sitting and reading are two ways [two sufficient causes?] of resting your right arm and shoulder.  

Our west side sunny garden in Vancouver in May

My backyard view from my sitting chair.

My trusty electric screwdriver ... no more hammering.

Afternoon nap after gardening work.
Bruno, our dog, follows me at lot.

Taijiquan, Archery, Games, Reading, Smoking, Drinking Area
The northeast side of our yard.

Stairway to Failure

Ten Steps You Can Take to Guarantee Failure

"1. Make your goals vague.
2. Make your goals difficult to visualize.
3. Think and speak negatively about your goals.
4. Avoid planning incremental steps.
5. Don't Do - Talk.
6. Wait until you are motivated.
7. Don't set a date.
8. List why it's impossible.
9. Don't research your goal.
10. Think of anything except your goal."
-  Achieve It: Ten Steps You Can Take to Guarantee Failure


Will Power: Quotes, Sayings

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons

Post from 2016

The Future Does Not Exist?

   "Whitehead's Process and Reality is a very tough book, so as a graduate student thirty years ago, I took a break and walked over to Lake Michigan, trying to understand what "process" was all about.  The weather was gray and the lake, choppy.  "What is the alternative?" I asked myself.  What if the world were not in process?  Would Lake Michigan somehow be sitting there waveless in the future, waiting for waves to break on it?  Suddenly, the world jolted, as if it had been ajar and unexpectedly dropped into place with a snap.

      The future does not exist.  There is no future Lake Michigan waiting for water to fill it or waves to lap at its shores.  The future does not exist, the future is not actual.  I looked at the world around me with wide amazed eyes.  My eyes did not exist in the future.  The sidewalk did not exist in the future.  The foot that I was going to set down on the sidewalk in a moment did not exist yet.  Only the foot in the present existed.  I practically skipped home, watching the sidewalk and my feet (and my watching itself) become.  At Morry's Deli, I looked in the window (becoming) and watched the pastrami becoming, and the people becoming.

      When I returned to my third-floor apartment, I looked down into the yard next door and had a sense of vertigo.  Time is like falling, I thought.  We are always on the verge of falling forward into nothingness; but, in each moment the world becomes anew, and the creative advance continues.

     How could I explain this to my wife?"

 -  C. Robert Mesle, Process-Relational Philosophy, 2008, p.5

  

Awe, Wonder, Befuddlement

Process Philosophy

Spirituality, Gardening, Time

"I am the dust in the sunlight, I am the ball of the sun . . .
I am the mist of morning, the breath of evening . . . .
I am the spark in the stone, the gleam of gold in the metal . . . .
The rose and the nightingale drunk with its fragrance.
I am the chain of being, the circle of the spheres,
The scale of creation, the rise and the fall.
I am what is and is not . . .
I am the soul in all."
- Rumi

"I think this is what hooks one to gardening:
it is the closest one can come to being present at creation."

-  Phyllis Theroux

Fecund, Powerful Beyond Measure

"Ask of Her, the mighty Mother.
Her reply puts this other
Question: What is Spring?-
Growth in every thing -

Flesh and fleece, fur and feather,
Grass and green world all together,
Star-eyed strawberry breasted
Throstle above Her nested

Cluster of bugle blue eggs thin
Forms and warms the life within,
And bird and blossom swell
In sod or sheath or shell."
-  Gerard Manly Hopkins, The May Magnificant, 1888 

"The festival of Floralia began around the year 258 BCE. Pagan Romans celebrated for six days, from April 27th to May 3rd, honouring their Goddess of Spring and of Flowers, Flora. Flora, known as Chloris to the Greeks, was a beautiful and serene Goddess, the Queen of Spring. She was married to Zephyrus, the west wind, and her temple is in Aventine.  Floralia was a time a great merriment and rejoicing in ancient Rome. During the festival, Romans would cast off their habitual white robes for more colourful garments, especially green ones. They would also deck themselves and everything around them in flowers then engage in all sorts of activities. There would be feasting, singing, dancing, and gaming. Offerings of milk and honey were made to the goddess Flora. Goats and hares meant to symbolize fertility were let loose in gardens and fields as protectors in Flora's honour. Singing filled the air and dancers stomped the ground to awaken nature and bring it back to life.  Ancient roman prostitutes in particular enjoyed this festival as they considered Flora their patron goddess. So Floralia was especially important to them. They participated in many events, from performing naked in the theatre to gladiatorial feats.  With the occupation of Rome in many countries of the western world at the time, especially in Britain and continental Europe, the festival of Floralia spread, with each country adding its own special touches to the festivities. And finally, Floralia became May Day. Many countries choose a May Queen to preside over the day's activities and children dance around the Maypole. Some collect flowers on May Eve for the next day and some couples even make love in their garden to ensure fertility. One belief that has been passed on is that one should wash one's face with the dew from May Day morn to obtain lasting beauty."
-  Linda Cassleman, Floralia  

The Month of May: Quotes, Saying, Poetry, Lore

"The force of Spring -
dancing,
forever moving,
mysterious,
fecund,
powerful beyond measure."
-  Michael Garofalo, Cuttings

Repost from 2016.

Moral Value of Flowers

"Who can estimate the elevating and refining influences and moral value of flowers with all their graceful forms, bewitching shades and combinations of colors and exquisitely varied perfumes? These silent influences are unconsciously felt even by those who do not appreciate them consciously and thus with better and still better fruits, nuts, grains, vegetables and flowers, will the earth be transformed, man's thought refined, and turned from the base destructive forces into nobler production. One which will lift him to high planes of action toward the happy day when the Creator of all this beautiful work is more acknowledged and loved, and where man shall offer his brother man, not bullets and bayonets, but richer grains, better fruit and fairer flowers from the bounty of this earth."
- Father George Schoener (1864 -1941)
  "The Importance and Fundamental Principles of Plant Breeding"


Flowers: Quotes, Sayings, Poems, Lore: http://www.gardendigest.com/flowers.htm

Chen Tai Chi Chuan Short 18 Form

 

Chen's Taichi for Health and Wellness.  By Grandmaster Chen Zenglei.  White Bench Publications, Toronto, Canada, 2010, 94 pages.  Warmup exercises, and detailed instructions with some photographs for the Chen 18 Short Form.  Jack Yan is a collaborator.  I like this book quite a bit.  $24.00 in 2/2021. VSCL.  

Chen Taijiquan Short 18 Form of Grandmaster Chen Zenglei.  By Michael P. Garofalo.  Bibliography, links, resources, notes, quotes.  

Chen Style Taijiquan Short 18 Form.  Performance by Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei.  UTube, color, 3:38 Minutes, 2007. 

The Chen Style Taijiquan for Life Enhancement.  Written by Chen Zhenglei and translated by Xu Hailing.  Zhongzhou Classic Publishing House, Zhengzhou, China, 2002.  Text in English and Chinese.  ISBN: 7534821819.  149 pages.  "Describes the principles of Chen style for life enhancement, basic training, Taiji Skills for Preserving Energy and the 18 Forms of the Chen Style. Many photos of Chen Zhenglei doing Exercises and forms. Chen Zhenglei is one of the top Chen stylists in China. Paperback, 149 pages, 5 1/2' by 8'. -  Wayfarer Publications   "It covers the content of the health exercise silk reeling video, and is a useful reference,  giving more detail, especially on theory."  This is a very expensive out of print book, not worth $150.00.  I purchased back in 2004 for $25.00.  VSCL   

Essence of Traditional Chen Style 18 Posture Short Form.  Instructional DVD by Shifu Jiang Jian-ye.  Color, 87 Minutes.  Capital District Tai Chi and Kung Fu Association of New York, 1997.  "Cheng Zheng Lei (the 19th generation of the Chen Family) created this form from the old style of Chen first and second routines.  It includes "silk reeling," fa jin (releasing energy), and balance.  This short form is a good introduction for beginners or for those with little Chen style experience."  "A good introductory Chen form that includes silk reeling and fajing movements as well as other characteristics of the Chen first and second routines. Chen Zhenglei, one of today's top Chen stylists, created the form. There is a demonstration of the entire form followed by step-by-step teaching in slow motion with 2-4 views, from the front, back and side. There are front and back demonstrations of each segment (5 to 7 moves each.)  At the end of the teaching there are demonstrations, front and back. There are also excerpts from other Chen forms." - Wayfarer Publications.  CDTKA.  VSCL.  I use a Cboy V-Zon portable DVD player and this DVD works fine because of the way it is organized.     

 

Chen Style Taijiquan
Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's Short 18 Movements Tai Chi Hand Form, 2001
List of 18 Movements

 

1.     Beginning Posture of Taiji    (Taiji Chu Shi) 

2.     Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds the Mortar   (Jin Gang Dao Dui) 

3.     Lazily Tying One's Coat   (Lan Zha Yi)   

4.     Six Sealing and Four Closing   (Liu Feng Si Bi)    

5.     Single Whip   (Dan Bian)  

6.     White Crane Spreads Its Wings   (Bai E Liang Chi) 

7.     Walk Diagonally   (Xie Xing)    

8.     Brush Knee   (Lou Xi) 

9.     Stepping to Both Sides   (Ao Bu)    

10.   Cover Hands and Strike with Fist   (Yan Shou Gong Quan)    

11.   High Pat on the Horse   (Gao Tan Ma)   

12.   Kick with the Left Heel    (Zuo Deng Yi Gen) 

13.   Jade Maiden Working Her Loom   (Yu Nu Chuan Suo)    

14.   Cloud Hands   (Yun Shou)     

15.   Turn Body with Double Lotus Kick    (Zhuan Shen Shuang Bai Lian) 

16.   Cannon Fist Over the Head   (Dan Tou Pao)    

17.   Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds the Mortar   (Jin Gang Dao Dui)    

18.   Closing Posture of Taiji   (Taiji Shou Shi)      

 

List of Movements in Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's Short 18 Form  (1 Page, PDF)  English Only 

Process Philosophy

Process Philosophy   A hypertext notebook by Michael Garofalo including quotes, bibliography, links, notes, research, and related information.  

My summer reading list includes books on process philosophy by Nicholas Rescher, Alfred North Whitehead, Robert Mesle, Hank Keeton, and Elizabeth Kraus.  

"Philosophers who appeal to process rather than substance include Heraclitus, Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Henri Bergson, Martin Heidegger, Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, Alfred North Whitehead, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Thomas Nail, Alfred Korzybski, R. G. Collingwood, Alan Watts, Robert M. Pirsig, Roberto Mangabeira Unger, Charles Hartshorne, Arran Gare, Nicholas Rescher, Colin Wilson, Tim Ingold, Bruno Latour, and Gilles Deleuze. In physics, Ilya Prigogine distinguishes between the "physics of being" and the "physics of becoming". Process philosophy covers not just scientific intuitions and experiences, but can be used as a conceptual bridge to facilitate discussions among religion, philosophy, and science."  -  Process Philosophy - Wikipedia     

Process Philosophy - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Whitehead, Alfred North  (1861-1947)

Wikipedia     Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy  

Whitehead, Alfred North.  Science and the Modern World.  1926, 218 pages.  Kindle Version, VSCL . 

Whitehead, Alfred North.  Process and Reality.  Gifford Lectures delivered in the University of Edinburgh during the Session 1927-1928.  Published in 1929.  Free Press, 1979, 413 pages.  VSCL. 

Whitehead:  Keeton, Hank.  Dao De Jing: A Process Perspective.  By Yu Fu and Hank Keeton.  Susanna Mennicke, Designer.  Seeing Tao Pub., 2019, 296 pages.  VSCL. 

Whitehead:  Process-Relational Philosophy: An Introduction to Alfred North Whitehead.  By C. Robert Mesle.  TFP, 2008, 136 pages.  VSCL. 

Whitehead:  Process Philosophy: A Survey of Basic Issues.  By Nicholas Rescher.  University of Pittsburgh, 2000, 152 pages. 

Whitehead: Emptiness and Becoming: Integhrating Madhyamika Buddhism and Process Philosophy.  By Peter Paul Kakol.  D. K. Printworld, 2009, 432 pages. 

Whitehead:  Process Metaphysics: An Introduction to Process Philosophy.  By Nicholas Rescher.  SUNY, 1996, 240 pages. 
 

Whitehead:  Process Philosophy and Political Liberalism: Rawls, Whitehead, Hartshorne.  By Daniel A. Dombrowski.  Edinburgh University Press, 2019, 224 pages. 

Whitehead:  The Metaphysics of Experience: A Companion to Whitehead's Process and Reality.  By Elizabeth Kraus.  Fordham University Press, 2018, 256 pages.  Kindle, VSCL. 

Learning Chen Taijiquan, Week Two

Old Frame (Lao Jia), First Form (Yi Lu)
Chen Style T'ai Chi Ch'uan, 74 Movement Hand Form

Learning the Chen Taijiquan First Form
Journal and Notes by Michael P. Garofalo

Week Two, May 7-16, 2021

The first five movements of the Laojia Yilu (First Form) are the same as the he first five movements of the Chen 18, so my start is a little easier than other beginners since I learned that Chen 18 short form around 2010.


List of Movements in Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's Short 18 Form (1 Page, PDF) English Only

List of Movements in Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei's Short 18 Form (1Page, PDF) English and Chinese

List of Movements in Chen Taijiquan, Old Frame, First Form, Laojia Yilu (2 pages, PDF) English and Chinese

Comparison of Chen 18 Taijiquan Form with the Chen Taijiquan Old Frame First Form Laojia Yilu.

Chen Style Tai Chi Chuan in 1840, 74 Movements, 
Old Frame, First Form, Laojia Yilu, Section 1:

1. Beginning Posture of Taijiquan (MPG)   Taiji Qi Shi 
2. Pounding the Mortar  Jin Gang Dao Dui  
3. Lazily Tying One's Coat  Lan Zha Yi
4. Six Sealing and Four Closing  Liu Feng Si Bi
5. Single Whip  Dan Bian 
6. Pounding the Mortar, Buddha's Warrior Attendant Pounds the Mortar  Jin Gang Dao Dui  
7. White Crane Spreads Its Wings  Bai E Liang Chi  
8. Walking Obliquely  Xie Xing  
9. Brush Knee, Withdraw Hands  Lou Xi  
10. Stepping to Both Sides  Ao Bu

Practiced movements 1-5 each day of Section 1 in Week Two.  These movements appear many times in the 74 Old Frame First Form.   

Updated webpages on this subject:  Chen Taijiquan First Form Laojia Yilu  and  Learning the First Form

For Section 1, I viewed, many times, instructional DVDs by Grand Master Dr. Jesse Tsao and Master Ken Gullette. 

 I studied the many photographs for each movement in the fine book by Ren Guangyi  "Taijiquan Hand and Sword."  I find this book extremely useful!  It is a must have printed resource for a beginning Chen First Form student.  

"If one is persistent and practices every day, proficiency in the form will be achievable within half a year."  -  Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim

 

Silk Reeling     Standing     Fang Song - Loosen, Relax

Rooting     Eight Gates Energies and Five Directions       

Journal of Michael P. Garofalo - Case Study - Learning the Chen First Form - Weekly Notes

  

Blessed with Peaches

This peach, these peppers,
These grapes, these tomatoes
Will all soon become me.
Such a tasty fact.
I am That and That is Me.
Bless the gardens!
Bless the gardeners!

Bless the kitchens!

Bless the cooks!  

Bless the food!
-  Mike Garofalo, Pulling Onions

Jen Miller recently sent me her summary of the benefits of eating peaches.  Her lengthy and interesting article is titled: "12 Health Benefits of Peaches, According to Science (+10 Peach Recipes)."  

Peach trees and peaches have a special place in my heart.  I carefully tended the peach trees in our former orchard, but a bountiful crop was often just a gift, grace, luck. 

"In China, the peach was said to be consumed by the immortals due to its mystic virtue of conferring longevity on all who ate them. The divinity Yu Huang, also called the Jade Emperor, and his mother called Xi Wangmu also known as Queen Mother of the West, ensured the gods' everlasting existence by feeding them the peaches of immortality. The immortals residing in the palace of Xi Wangmu were said to celebrate an extravagant banquet called the Pantao Hui or "The Feast of Peaches". The immortals waited six thousand years before gathering for this magnificent feast; the peach tree put forth leaves once every thousand years and it required another three thousand years for the fruit to ripen. Ivory statues depicting Xi Wangmu's attendants often held three peaches. The peach often plays an important part in Chinese tradition and is symbolic of long life. One example is in the peach-gathering story of Zhang Daoling, who many say is the true founder of Taoism. Elder Zhang Guo, one of the Chinese Eight Immortals, is often depicted carrying a Peach of Immortality." - Wikipedia

Peaches are native to China and introduced to Persia via the Silk Road before Christian times.

Xi Wang Mu, Queen Mother of the West, keeps the Immortals fed with the Sacred Peaches.  "No one knows Her beginning, no one knows Her end."

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Xi Wangmu, Braham, the Divine, the Supreme Universal Spirit, the Unmanifested and Manifested, the Absolute, the Everlasting, the Shining, Everything, Food for Life, God ...

Karen also enjoys our crop of peaches in the summer months in Red Bluff.

Ah, Such a tasty peach!!  

To get peaches in the summer, you must plant bare root peach trees in the winter.  Karen and I have planted nearly 100 trees in our orchard in Red Bluff, California.  We will miss these trees when we move to Vancouver, Washington, in April of 2017.  Someone else will enjoy them for decades.

Written in 2016.  

Concordance for the Dao De Jing by Laozi

 Tao Te Ching (Dao de Jing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) 

Resources, Index, Concordance, Commentary, Recommended Reading
Selected Translations in English, Spanish, and Chinese


Concordance for the Tao Te Ching
Alphabetical Index by English, Spanish, and Wade Giles Terms (Words)


Chapter Index to the Tao Te Ching

English Language Versions of the Tao Te Ching - Translator's Index

Spanish Language Versions of the Dao De Jing

Thematic Index to the Tao Te Ching

Ripening Peaches: Taoist Studies and Practices

Taoism: A Bibliography

An Old Philosopher's Notebooks

Cloud Hands Blog Posts About the Daodejing

How to Live a Good Life: Advice from Wise Persons 

Tao Te Ching  Chapter Number Index Standard Traditional Chapter Arrangement of the Tao Te ChingChapter Order in Wang Bi's Daodejing Commentary in 246 CE Chart by Mike Garofalo Subject Index
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40
41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50
51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58	59	60
61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69	70
71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79	80
81

A typical webpage created by Mike Garofalo for each one of the 81 Chapters (Verses, Sections) of the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing) by Lao Tzu (Laozi) includes up to 25 different English language translations or interpolations for that Chapter, 5 Spanish language translations for that Chapter, the Chinese characters for that Chapter, the Wade-Giles and Hanyu Pinyin transliterations (Romanization) of the Mandarin Chinese words for that Chapter, and 2 German and 1 French translation of that Chapter.  Each webpage for each one of the 81 Chapters of the Tao Te Ching includes extensive indexing by key words, phrases, and terms for that Chapter in English, Spanish, and the Wade-Giles Romanization.  Each webpage on a Chapter of the Daodejing includes recommended reading in books and websites, a detailed bibliography, some commentary, research leads, translation sources, a Google Translate drop down menu, and other resources for that Chapter.   

Good Taijiquan Books by Andrew Townsend

I have enjoyed reading and using the information found in the books by Professor Andrew  Townsend.  He is a dedicated student of Grand Master Jesse Tsao in San Diego.  Mr. Townsend has studied and practiced Taijiquan for forty years.  He now teaches in Florida.  

His seven fine Taijiquan books are readily available from Amazon.  I use the Kindle Ebook versions the most, and own five of his books.    

I am now studying his book:  The Principles and Practice of Taijiquan: The Solo Form, Volume One.  I explains 50 essential concepts needed for good Taijiquan practice.  

Chang San-Feng on Mount Pahto

Comings and Goings Around Mt. Adams (Pahto)
Chang San-Feng on Mount Pahto
By Michael P. Garofalo

I met a sturdy young man, Frank, at a campground along the Klickitat River,
far below Mt. Adams.  We talked for a good while at sunset.
He told me that he had met a fine fellow, a Mr. Chang San-Feng,
in the forest below Old Pahto; who had published a book of
poems and short essays.  I later found a copy of that book
at Klindt's Bookstore in The Dalles.  Here is one poem
from the book by Mr. Chang San-Feng:

 

"Ancient Mt. Adams glows in the last light,
winds whistling in the thick flowing firs. 

Slithering snakes in the cracks of warm
lava beds.  Dry skies: empty vastness.

A dusty camp near shallow Trout Lake, all
cooling in the darkening shadows.

Stellar Jays check my table
for crumbs.  Nothing there to eat.

Both Presence and Absence wrapped
in Becoming.  Just sit─ a mirror in the dim dusk.

Long stretches of not thinking just
listening.  The mountains are speechless.

Turning on a flashlight reveals the tent's
thin armor.  The beam pierces the walls.

The Tao unfolds itself─ moon rising
midnight.  Sleeping away losses and fears.

Coyotes calling at first hour hunting
hungry.  The hard ground gets colder.

The Yakima's named It "Pahto or Klickitat" many
centuries past.  Thus It became something human,
Something Pointed Out, Something Named,
Something Talked About, slipping away from Presence.

Some man loudly snoring and a dog barks in a nearby tent
at second hour.  My watch does not really embrace Time.

At third hour I awaken, sit up, nurturing
my liver.  I smile, alone, in passing Darkness,
without Her but within Her,
the Valley Spirit Here and Now.

At fourth hour, Buddha-Mountains disintegrate, and slowly
drying racoon crap shrivels on Buddha-Poppy seeds.  

In the distance, somewhere, out there,
Rising, rising into the black clouds, just-so,
Making Clouds Itself, As Is, and in no-mind,
the Transforming Pahto.  

I remembered something Sifu Miao Zhang once told me:
"Master Yellow-Bitterroot Mountain asked Sifu,
'What is the meaning of Old Pahto emerging in the West?'
Sifu lifted his cane and placed it in his mouth, saying nothing.
Later, zany Zen liar that Sifu was, he wrote:
"No minds, no dharmas.  No-mind, much Dharma."

Daybreak crawls in earlier in June, Solstice
Rising, Growing more Sunbeams, Ch'i
Flowing over Everything awakening.

Dawn, we are the Light, everything appearing
pristine, startling, sudden brief jolt of Insight.

After the Awakening,
roll up the sleeping bag, put on a jacket, 
eat some cereal."

Meetings with Master Chang San-Feng 
By Michael P. Garofalo

Native American Legends about Mt. Adams (Mount Phato, Mount Klickitat)  

Sifu Miao Zhang Points the Way 
By Michael P. Garofalo

Relaxing and Loosening Up

 "True relaxation is always a dropping into ourselves, a movement toward our core and very center of self.  In addition to distorting what we can see, hear, and feel, the inability to relax and release tension will inevitably fuel the involuntary internal monologue of the mind.  As we become more enmeshed in the drama that our mind is scripting about ourselves, our ability to relate in a wholesome and relaxed manner with the current condition and circumstances of our lives becomes further distorted. ... The relaxation of tension in our bodies melts the armoring that keeps our bodies hard and inflexible.  This hardening of the tissue creates a layer of numbness that keeps our awareness of the rich web of shimmering sensations concealed and contained.  Relaxation allows the armoring to begin to soften and melt away.  The inevitable result is a much greater awareness of sensational presence and a diminution of the ongoing involuntary monologue of the mind.  Learning how to relax by surrendering the weight of the body to the pull of gravity and remaining standing at the same time significantly catalyzes the practice of mindfulness."

-  Will Johnson, Aligned, Relaxed and Resilient, 2000, p. 55

"To be relaxed means to release tension, but not to let go of substance.  There is a quality in-between stiff and loose which is stable, yet flexible, that has fullness without being rigid, that is calm in motion yet conveys a vigorous presence.  For lack of an equivalent English word, I refer to this concept as flowing within firmness, firmness within flowing.  Flowing and firmness do not gain support from a rigid skeletal posture or strength from muscular tension.  Rather, their integrity comes from expansion.  Expansion is the ability to spread out in all directions.  This is the key to relaxing without collapsing."
-  Ting Kuo-Piao, Understanding Flowing and Firmness, 2000


"Relaxation of the whole body means the conscious relaxation of all the joints, and this organically links up all parts of the body in a better way.  This does not mean softness.  It requires a lot of practice in order to understand this point thoroughly.  Relaxation also means the "stretching" of the limbs, which gives you a feeling of heaviness.  (This feeling of heaviness or stiffness is a concrete reflection of strength.)  This feeling is neither a feeling of softness nor stiffness, but somewhere in between.  It should not be confined to a specific part, but involves the whole body.  It is like molten iron under high temperature.  So relaxation "dissolves" stiff strength in very much the same way.  Stiff strength, also called "clumsy strength," undergoes a qualitative change after thousands of times of "dissolution" exercises.  Just like iron which can be turned into steel, so "clumsy strength" can be turned into force, and relaxation is a means of gradually converting it into force.  Our ancestors put it well: "Conscious relaxation will unconsciously produce force."  There is truth in this statement."
-  Yang Zhenduo, "Yang Style Taijiquan", p 16


Relaxed (Sung, Song, Fan Song):  Quotations, Bibliography, Resources

Standing Meditation

T'ai Chi Ch'uan

Somaesthetic Practices and Theory

Right Place at the Wrong Time

 

"I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd have said the right thing
But must have used the wrong line
I been on the right trip
But I must have used the wrong car
Head is in a bad place and I wonder what it's good for

I been in the right place 
But it must have been the wrong time

My head is in a bad place
But I'm having such a good time

I been running trying to get hung up in my mind
Really got to give myself a good talking to this time 
Just need a little brain salad surgery
Got to que my insecurity

I been in the wrong place
But it must have been the right time
I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong song
I been in the right vein
But it seems like a wrong arm
I been in the right world
But it seems like wrong-wrong-wrong wrong-wrong

Slipping dodging sneaking creeping hiding down the street
See my life shaking with every who I meet
Refried confusion is making itself clear
Wonder which way do I go to get on out of here
I been in the right place
But it must have been the wrong time
I'd have said the right thing
But I must have used the wrong line
I took the right road
But I must have took a wrong turn
I took a right move
But I made it at the wrong time
I was in the right trip
But I made it in the wrong car
Head is in a good place and I wonder what it's bad for ..."

Dr. John, 1973
The bass line in this song seems to lift my spirits.

Warding Off and Bouncing Off Movements in Taijiquan

Péng (掤)

Péng Jing is outward expanding and moving energy.  It is a quality of responding to incoming energy by adhering to that energy, maintaining one's own posture, and bouncing the incoming energy back like a large inflated rubber ball.  You don't really respond to force with your own muscular force (Li) to repel, block, or ward off the attack.  Peng is a response of the whole body, the whole posture, unified in one's center, grounded, and capable of gathering and then giving back the opponent's energy.  

Péng Jing is often referred to as a kind of "bouncing" energy.  Péng Jing is also considered one fundamental way of delivering energy and embodied in some way in each of the other Eight Gates.  Although, there are frequent references to "energies" or "intrinsic energies," Jing is more of a skill, an expertise developed through much practice, an experience, a pragmatic achievement.  Authors such as Chen Kung identified 38 different intrinsic energies, e.g., Sticking/Adhering Jing, Listening Jing, Receiving Jing, Neutralizing Jing, etc.  Jing is used in various ways in both offensive and defensive applications. 

Examples of movements with Péng Jing Ward Off characteristics (i.e., stepping, turning waist, curved arm, outward and upward, strong lunge stance) in the Yang 108 Taijiquan Form:  Grasping the Sparrow's Tail (Ward Off Right), Ward Off Left, Fair Lady Works the Shuttles, Press, Parting the Wild Horses Mane.

 

"Peng Ching is the source of these eight methods.  When you Push Hands or practice the set, at no time can you neglect this category of energy.  Actually, one can say that T'ai Chi boxing is Peng ching boxing because without Peng ching there is no T'ai Chi boxing.  Peng ching is the power of resilience and flexibility.  It is born in the thighs and called Ch'i kung.  Ch'i kung is concealed through-out the entire body.  Then the body becomes the wheel's rubber band and you can gain achievement of defense.  But this is not the striking aspect.  When you have this reaction force, you then have the ability to strike by returning the strike to its originator.  This is the energy of the defensive attack.  It is used to evade and also to adhere.  When moving, receiving, collecting, and striking, Peng ching is always used.  It is not easy to complete consecutive movements and string them together without flexibility.  Peng ching is Tai Chi boxing's essential energy.  The body becomes like a spring: when pressed it recoils immediately."
-  Kuo Lien-Ying, the T'ai Chi Boxing Chronicle, 1994, p.44. 

 

"Taijiquan has been called Peng Jin Quan or "Peng Energy Boxing" as described in the famous Chen book by Gu Liuxin and Chen Jiazheng.  Peng carries two meanings.  The first is a sense of buoyancy throughout the body, giving it a feeling of vitality and resilience (ne qi).  It is contained in every movement at all times and is an inflated, outward-expanding energy.  The second is an action, a technique that uses a vertical circular movement that spirals upwards and outwards, intercepting and warding off an advancing force. Peng energy is created by the elastic force of muscles, combined with the elongation of the joints and tendons.  It can be compared with the buoyancy of water.  On it a tiny leaf can drift, but it can also carry a ten-thousand ton ship.  Peng energy prevents and opponent from reaching one's body.  The Peng strength used never exceeds the strength an opponent is using in attack.  It is sufficient to hold off an attack, but not to resist or stop the attack.  The main purpose is to prevent the opponent from reaching one's body and then to change the direction of the attack by utilizing one of the other hand methods.  Peng energy, therefore, acts as the foundation for the change of energies in Push Hands.  As it is an organic (living) force, it can only be truly felt and realized in Push Hands.  It is difficult for those who have never pushed hands to fully comprehend this concept.  Proper understanding of the concept and acquisition of the authentic skill cannot be achieved by attempts at logic or theoretical guessing.  Only through diligent and consistent as well as intellignt practice can one reach a level of proficiency.  Example of Peng: Transition from Single Whip to Buddha''s Warrior Attendant Pounds Mortar."
-  Davidine Siaw-Voon Sim and David Gaffney, Chen Style Taijiquan, 2002, p. 152.  "The Eight Kinetic Movements of Taijiquan" (Ba Fa)

Tye's Peng Path Analogy  Beads on a string.  

 

"Peng is a form of Jing that responds to incoming energy by adhering or sticking to it, and then bouncing the incoming energy back like a large inflated rubber ball. It is the primary Yang or “projecting” energy force in Tai Chi, and can be equally defensive and offensive. Peng is expressed by the entire body as a whole, unified in your center and grounded. When one standing in the correct Peng posture, it is almost impossible to move them.  The first energy is Ward Off, expressed as you Step Forward into the left Bow Stance, round the left arm forward and float the right hand to the hip.  Peng puts a curved barrier between you and your opponent; creating a buffer zone that prevents the first shock of an incoming attack from penetrating your defenses. This buffer zone also gives you the critical microsecond to avoid being overwhelmed by an attack, giving you neurological space to to deflect, absorb or counter an attack.  Peng energy can be compared to the type of force that causes wood to float on water or a balloon to inflate, or a garden hose to fill with a torrent of water. It has a “bounce off” sensation, like the feeling of rebounding off of a beach ball or Yoga ball. It is Peng that enables the Tai Chi fighter to hit opponents and cause them, as the Chinese like to say, “to fly away.”  Imagine a young mother standing on a crowded beach pier, searching frantically for her child. After a moment, she spots her toddler climbing up the pier railing, some 60 feet above the ocean. As she rushing to grab her child, anyone in her way would literally be “bounced away” by her singularly-focused forward energy. This is Peng."
-  Tai Chi Transformation

 

Eight Gates and Five Directions