aintmt

In the past few years, I have increasingly experienced a kind of internal signal for which I lack a good descriptor. During daily qigong, in both prescribed sequences and "no-form" practice, I sometimes make a familiar gesture in a new way, or spontaneously make a new-to-me movement. (Some of these get incorporated into the daily forms.) Especially if the movement is more extreme in force or extension than usual, I may question its utility or safety. And if it feels particularly good, I might be wary of hedonism. Often, though, the inner voice says something like this is good or this is right and fitting, or even this is necessary - whether or not comfortable or familiar. My current framing is that such signals arise when action and intention align with some aspect of Tao - physical conditioning, healing, mind/body integration, some more subtle opening or connection. Assuming that this is a liminal indication that I'm belatedly learning to attend, I wonder if there is a term of art for such perceptions. I also have the perhaps-simplistic understanding that there is no "entering" or "surrendering to" or "embracing" Tao, since everything (including apparent separation or turbulence) is also Tao. So maybe the experience is not one of a signal per se, but the diminution of perceptual and conceptual noise. As someone said of one Zen koan: Mu! is not a negation It is not a command, nor even an instruction: It is an invitation To relax Reference points: Greek kairos for "the critical/correct moment" (as distinct from chronos, time generally) apparently derives from the precise instant when a loosed arrow will find its mark. In the Eightfold Path, "right mindfulness" and "right samadhi" seem especially relevant. And from Shakespeare: "There is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune..." So - can anyone here please help with existing words or phrases (in any language) that describe or define these experiences, in any field of activity (or stillness)? Thanks in advance for your attention and guidance.

Hmm... I'm no scholar, and wouldn't presume to special knowledge or interpretive powers. Perhaps more to the point, though Taoism was probably the first Eastern philosophy that I encountered, it was mostly in accessible forms like Thos. Merton's Way of Cuang Tzu. But I didn't dig into the Tao Te Ching, reading closely in parallel translations, until after years of Zen and other non-dual practices. So when I read Laozi in a serious way, I just thought "not one, not two" - and never really experienced paradox there. I would be happy to engage any specific perceived paradox, but after browsin the group for less than a year, and can affirm that many or most posters here know far more than I do, and understand what they know far more deeply than I do or likely could.

Stolen valor, frankly - and also a slight play on the notion of non-duality. I grew up surrounded by computer pioneers,, and attended progressive schools that stressed cognitive method over fact. So never learned civics or history, and am still trying to un-learn the Aristotelean excluded middle and Boolean exclusivity generally.

Greetings from a new member. I have been practicing meditation, yoga and qigong (all at a pretty low level) for a long time. Have been drawn to Taoist writings and principles for almost as long, but - intending no disrespect - do not find personal resonance in magical or religious aspects. I consider myself a Zen student, since that Tao-influenced flavor of non-dual Dharma feels most congruent with principles of natural being and flow. I look forward to expanding my own perspectives by reading many of yours, and perhaps posting a few questions for wiser and better-informed practitioners.