doc benway

Lot's of folks claim to have visited heaven... This one happens to be a doctor. I think that our ideas of what heaven is influence memories we have of states in which our consciousness was altered. It really doesn't mean much to me.

It's a shame Otis hasn't been around lately to address this, he's a master of playfulness... I'm way too serious most of the time.

Nice, do I have your permission to borrow that sometime?

In my opinion, the Taoist who criticizes Zen hasn't yet had much insight into either ...

I just started reading Ghostwritten by David Mitchell. Interesting so far... He's the guy who wrote Cloud Atlas which was very good.

All good points. It is very subtle and is a skill that can be developed and mastered with practice. It's most definitely not easy and yet it is the simplest thing in the world. A starting point is to observe yourself (your thoughts, feelings, interactions with others, responses, behaviors) as if they were happening to someone else. Just observe. No resistence, no separation (just like taiji), just be with it and pay attention. Another aspect is that it is important to not identify with what is going on: - rather than say to yourself "I am sad" or "I am angry" take the approach "there is sadness there, this is what sadness feels like, it will linger for a bit and eventually will pass" - that sort of thing. There is much more to us than one particular emotion. And from moment to moment that emotion changes. Not identifying is sometimes easy and sometimes very hard. It is not unusual to find oneself in the throes of a particular emotion or reaction and, just like in meditation, it's important to not be hard on yourself and feel like you've failed, but just practice awareness and attention. And with patience it really pays off... I recently listened to some talks by a retired priest turned Celtic spiritual teacher/poet named John O'Donohue. He reinterprets the phrase, "the meek shall inherit the Earth" as "the gentle shall inherit the Earth." This brings a whole new meaning to this phrase - he is reading this as extolling the virtues of sensitivity, subtlety, and gentleness in spiritual matters. And those of us who meditate know just how critical it is to approach the inner landscape with sensitivity, subtlety, and gentleness.

Another approach to change - If you take time to pay attention to things - to really be aware of what is going on inside and around you, over time that very process of becoming aware fosters profound change. You don't have to do anything. No need to desire or intend anything. All you need to do is watch and listen and pay attention. It really works. This is doing by non-doing.

Spend time looking at trees and respectfully asking for their help. Even with expert instruction, it was a tree that taught me how to stand and walk the circle...

If I were to subscribe to a single tradition, I would say it is awareness. I try to pay attention to myself, my behavior, my thoughts, my relationships. I try to see myself not just through my own filter but through the eyes of others. I came to it through a combination of influences - Krishnamurti, Demello, Osho, Watts, Daoist meditation, Acceptance/Commitment Therapy. All traditions contain truth - sometimes very obvious, often buried and subtle. Truth has no religion or tradition. You will find bits and pieces everywhere you look if you are diligent and sensitive.

My guess is that smoking, for most people, is a mindless ritual. A habit, an addiction. It is nothing like true meditation. That said, anything done with complete mindfulness can be a meditation but I doubt that is what is going on with most smokers. It certainly wasn't a part of what I did when I was a smoker...

Joni's version was pretty good too...

I've been listening to some talks by a great speaker named John O'Donohue. Here's a quote I stumbled upon about friendship: “Real friendship or love is not manufactured or achieved by an act of will or intention. Friendship is always an act of recognition.” An act of recognition - I love that! My good friend Jeremy is like that for me. At first our friendship was awkward and tentative. Little by little, we've come to really know each other and recognize ourselves in each other. There are all the qualities we like to think about and talk about in a friend - supportive, dependable, there when I need him, someone to hang out with, train with, share happiness and pain with, and all of that. But what he has really become to me that is extremely valuable and unique is a mirror that reflects back something about myself that I may sometimes overlook or deny, and I to him... And I think that quality of our relationship challenges each of us to know ourself better and therefore to grow further into our potential than we might otherwise have done. That dynamic may also be there to some degree with a lover or a spouse, or a sibling or even a parent, but there's something about a friend that doesn't bring quite so much baggage or context to muddy the waters. I really like how this thread has stimulated me to think about friendship. Thanks for that Aaron and everyone.

And we've got to get ourselves back to the garden...

Styles don't fight, people do. Great style, lazy student, crappy teacher --> good luck... "Watered down" style, great teacher, diligent student = plenty of potential. I think it can be very tough to judge the quality of a teacher, especially if you aren't already familiar with what he/she is teaching. I've been blessed with some great teachers and have crossed paths with a few crappy ones. It wasn't always obvious in the beginning which was which. Furthermore, it is not unusual in a traditional school for the master to teach only the advanced lessons and have senior students teaching the basics. Some of the instructors in a school will be better than others. No one is perfect. My current teacher is the best I've had the privilege to train with, by far. When I joined his school, i barely had a chance to meet him other than a brief introduction, and had no direct training with him at all. Occasionally, he'd gather all the students and allow them to ask any questions they wanted for an hour or two but most of the beginner, basic, and intermediate classes were taught by his senior students. After about 2 years, I got an invitation to his class - advanced Taijiquan. Only after about a year in that class did I really begin to glimpse the depth of his knowledge. When he allowed me, I started practicing meditation with him and sought private instruction in the other internals (Xingyi and Bagua). When he thought I was ready, I jumped into teaching for him. Little by little, I've come to understand his method of teaching and how effective it is. However, it is not the sort of thing where everyone that joins his class becomes an expert. His method of teaching rewards the very few folks who work hard on their own, inside and outside of class, the ones who really dig into it and go above and beyond, the ones who stick around for a long time and get involved in teaching for him and so forth. The only way we really got the maximum benefit from his instruction was to find like minded folks in the class who would come in before class, stay after, meet on off days, and really work the stuff. Repeating the drills over and over, trying to really figure out how to make the stuff work, looking for variations, lots of trial and error. And then asking questions when necessary. He could tell who was working and how hard by the questions. And that guided what he would share with a student... I never saw him happier than when he would stop in on a Sunday when the school was closed to find a few of us hard core students training on our own (once we started teaching, he'd give us a key). His way of teaching (and what he referred to as the "traditional" method) is to show the student the basic movement and then allow them to really explore the possibilities on their own while periodically giving corrections as needed to keep them headed in the right direction. So much of the art cannot be "taught" by the teacher but rather unearthed, developed, and polished through diligent practice and study under proper guidance. I'd follow GrandmasterP's advice. Jump in, see what comes, and over time you'll know if you made the right choice. In the beginning it's hard to go too far wrong with the basics. Any school you spend time in will be better than reading our posts and looking at youtube clips! Good luck!

In that case, you must not have read my earlier post on Song in this thread or perhaps you disagree with it. Do you think that Yin must exist without Yang and Yang without Yin? Only one way to find out the answer - practice, practice, and more practice! Contradiction is healthy, it invites you to investigate further.

I try to listen carefully to the subtle stirrings within and without...

I think true friends are a blessing and a gift. I also think that it is important to recognize that my happiness doesn't depend on others, whether they be friends, lovers, or family. Friendship is only a trap if you attach your happiness to the relationship. It is beautiful to enjoy the camaraderie of friends and equally wonderful to be comfortable completely alone when you (or they) choose.

To the OP - I'm partial to Osho's definition of religion- I will paraphrase: Real religion is a person's private, internal search for their true nature Everything else is politics. If you have a background in Christianity and tend to think of the world in terms of that concept of God, there are two sources I'd highly recommend for a glimpse into "real" religion (as opposed to institutional politics and idolatry) - Anthony Demello (http://www.demellospirituality.com/) - now deceased Jesuit priest and psychologist from India. All of his writings are priceless (especially Awareness) and his CD collection called Wake Up to Life is brilliant. It's about 8 CDs and I've listened through them all multiple times, always learning something new. John O'Donohue (http://www.johnodonohue.com/) - also deceased priest who retired from the clergy in 2000 to teach spirituality in a Celtic framework informed by his love of poetry and nature. I'm currently listening to a set of CDs of his talks called Wisdom from the Celtic World (for the second time). Absolutely beautiful and brilliant stuff. He perfectly reveals the essence of Daoism in the language of Celtic spirituality and Christianity. I never could really see the wisdom in the Christian scriptures until seeing it through the eyes of the these two teachers. I'm not a Christian, mind you (never have been), but I can now hear and see how those scriptures are pointing toward the truth, like the great writings of other traditions. Sadly, most of that is intentionally and effectively obscured by the institutional framework within which it is presented. In fact, the church was so threatened by DeMello's words that the present pope issued this warning to Catholics in his previous job as official censor for the Vatican - http://www.ewtn.com/...ia/cdfdemel.htm

I made no assumptions but I did reach some conclusions based on your earlier comments. Song, Ting Jin, and Fa Jin are names of three important skills used by Taiji players. All three are used offensively and defensively. I still listen when I issue. I am Song at all times. All three require intensive practice and expert instruction to develop. There is no Fa Jin without Ting Jin. There is no Ting Jin without Song Jin. And so on... You can artificially try to dissect out specific concepts in your head but that's not where Taijiquan is practiced. You are too wrapped up in words - to understand requires practice and expert guidance, especially with respect to subtle and complex skills like Ting, Song, and Fa Jin.

I'm not here much anymore (or anywhere else online for that matter) but I do think you bring a sense of maturity, wisdom, and sincerity with you Shanlung. Marblehead, also. And I think Marblehead hit the nail on the head, as usual... So I just would like to say that I hope you continue to spend a bit of time here, Shanlung. Yes, it can be frustrating but if you connect with a few sincere folks and are patient, it can grow into something more rewarding. I've developed some valuable connections here (sadly, most of those folks are quite scarce, but that's ok). And it's good practice to work on letting go of any attachment to the words we put out there and the replies they evoke....

So important to recognize this! It all starts inside each of us.

Interesting that we make the assumption that "the universe is exactly as it should be - perfect." Perfect is without flaw, "exactly as it should be" implies no need for any change or growth. The universe is full of flaws, errors, mistakes. Nature hates stagnation and is always changing. These very flaws are the genesis of growth, variation, and creation. The natural universe is beautifully fucked up and flawed and it is our orderly, rationally minds full of a need for security and control that clash against this. The universe is not perfect - it's imperfect as hell, as are we. It is not as it should be, it is as it is. Should doesn't exist in nature. Why isn't the world in harmony? I would agree that we have lost something as a consequence of our use and misuse of technological and intellectual prowess. The farther we get from our basic human nature, the more we insulate ourselves from our wildness, the more we suffer. All of the ease and convenience we create for ourselves is at a cost. First, the developed world, to a large degree, maintains that ease and convenience at the expense of those less fortunate --> conflict and suffering. Second, that very ease and convenience leads to boredom and disturbance. Third, the insulation from direct contact with our natural ways disrupts the balance of how things exist among all other living creatures on earth. And all of this is reinforced by our social and cultural convention and conditioning. Can we change all of that? Go "backwards"? Hard to say and unlikely to happen on a large scale. Although, we could reach a critical threshold that will take us there, like or not, if we're not careful. Already things like overpopulation, climate change, environmental toxicity, and so forth, are offering (threatening) to do this for us... I've been fascinated for a long time with the paradox of 'what is natural?' If humans have managed to create this technological morass, how can it not be natural? I've come to think that perhaps it is not, but I'm still really not sure. And to be honest, who cares? It's just the nature of my intellect to want to classify and categorize. It is at it is... What counts is what I do with it.

Bagua is the yang side of the coin, Tai Chi being the yin This is a bit misleading, IMO, even when looking at the martial arts. Taijiquan is all about balance. By it's very name, it promises to apply the balancing of Yin and Yang to martial application. People mistake Taiji as being a "yin" art simply because the form is usually practiced slowly and that's the only part of the method most are exposed to. The form is a very small part of the martial training method regardless of family name. Many Bagua folks also practice walking and palm changes using the principles of Song, Jin, and Zi Ran. It's a great training tool. If the statement refers to the fact that Taiji is more focused on internal methods (ie developing the Yi and using it to guide the Qi, and so forth) then perhaps it could be considered more Yin. But even Xingyi practitioners, despite the inherently "Yang" nature of the art, spend an enormous amount of time standing quietly in Santishi. Nothing about Taiji martial applications is slow or gentle. It matches and merges with the opponent until the opportunity arises then it is explosive!

I meant to reply to this also - IME, mud stepping really doesn't do much to develop Song per se. Mud stepping is great for strengthening the legs and improving the balance. It also helps with rooting you on the support leg to allow the upper body rotation and twisting Jin that is so central to the system. I think Baguazhang Zhan Zhuang postures do more to develop Song than anything else, along with hours of circle walking (with or without mud step) and endless practice of the basic palm changes (especially the most basic which in my style is called Lone Phoenix at Dawn). Bagu definitely develops a unique set of energetic skills related to all of the circular stepping and body movement.

My current approach is that the most direct approach to accessing "higher dimensions of consciousness" is to start with the familiar one. The one in which "we" operate and exist. To what degree has each of us plumbed the depths of that dimension of consciousness? Where is the boundary over which one steps to move from the present "dimension" to another? Once there, are we no longer of the starting dimension? Too often are we looking beyond what we already are and yet, I say with conviction, few if any of us have even explored that thoroughly enough to understand it's potential.